Calire drums up new gig
By Jesse Phelps

When Mario Calire was a senior at Nordhoff in 1991, he was voted Most Talented student by his classmates. It was clear to those who appreciate such things that Calire had a bright future ahead of him.

Thus, it came as no surprise when, about five years ago, he got his first big-time gig as the drummer for the Wallflowers, an up-and-coming pop band led by Jakob Dylan, son of Bob.
From there, a whirlwind of touring and recording took Calire all over the globe, with performances on "The Tonight Show," "The Late Show with David Letterman," "Saturday Night Live" and others.

"Bringing Down the Horse" became a huge hit album, spawning four hit singles. While the follow-up records have not performed as well, the band continues to tour extensively and sell records to a worldwide following.

But earlier this year, Calire says he "realized that ideas that the band had in terms of career direction were different" than his own. It may take quite a leap of faith to leave something so successful but that's what Calire decided he would do.

After completing a tour at the end of February, Calire took some time to do studio recording and free-lance gigs. Then, just last Thursday, Calire auditioned to play in the respected 12-piece Latin-rock fusion band Ozomatli, from Los Angeles. Famous for their live shows, which include an entrance through the crowd, danceable rhythms and an overarching message of unity, the band has developed quite a fan base over the last several years.

"Two days after that," Calire said, "I was rehearsing with them. That first jam went really well."

Ozomatli, which has been around for eight-and-a-half years, is on their fourth drummer (none of whom, ala "Spinal Tap" have spontaneously combusted as of yet) and is making a new CD, also their fourth. They plan to go into the studio at the end of August. "They want me to have as much time as I can with the new songs," said Calire.

Calire said he's excited to begin playing with a new outfit, particularly one that will allow his to showcase more of his skill.
"Lately I'm maxing out my ability to learn tunes," he said. "And it's fun. I haven't really pushed myself as hard in that regard for a while. Every day I'm coming home wiped out and in rehearsal my head is about to explode, but it's full of really cool, fun music."

Calire, as always, gives much of the credit for his success and drive to his father, local saxophone and keyboard playing legend and Rotary Club Living Treasure Jim Calire. "He always taught me and trained me to be versatile," says the younger Calire. "And I still consider that my greatest strength. So far I can tell that playing with Ozomatli will bring out a greater percentage of what I do."

Ozomatli's bassist, Wil-Dog, says it was clear immediately that Calire would make a good fit. "We had auditions and had four guys came in on one day," he said. " The first guy, a guy that I called, was the guy until Mario walked through the door.
Instantly, within the minutes of playing, we knew he was it. He's by far the best drummer we've ever had."

Calire has Ozomatli connections from his school days and the new gig won't be the first time he's set down a rhythm together with Wil-Dog. "I've known Mario for years, since he played with (Los Angeles power-funk trio) The Two-Piece," said Wil-Dog. "(Percussionist) Jiro (Yamaguchi) and (lead singer and trumpet player) Asdru (Sierra) knew him from Cal-Arts. My first paying gig ever was subbing for the bass player in Two-Piece. At that point I knew I was a pro. Them asking me to sub meant a lot to me. I've always loved Mario's playing. We speak the same language in that way."

For his part, Calire, who now lives in Ventura and recently got married, knows that playing and touring with a 12-piece band on a single tour bus could make for slightly less luxurious living than his former outfit. But he says he's anticipating the new milieu.

"I'm well aware that I'm going into a situation that's going to be different," he said. "The guys are really cool and I look forward to being exposed to all these different people who have a lot of different backgrounds and different musical tastes and places where they're coming from."

Meanwhile, Wil-Dog is predicting great things for Calire. "Next thing you know," he said, " He'll be on the cover of Drum Magazine."

© 2003 The Ojai Valley News

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