Chris Johnson played a Kotz Rumba Cajon on tour with Anastacia
Taku Hirano playing Kotz Wedge Cajon with Slap Pads on tour with Lindsey Buckingham.
Leon Mobley playing a Kotz ToneCajon on tour with Ben Harper & The Innocent Criminals.
Alejandro Sanz & Destiny's Child Grammy Performance. Rafael Padilla & Ebenezer DeSilva on Kotz ToneCajones with Slap Pads which can be heard clearly during the intro to the song.
Taku Hirano playing his custom Kotz cajon with Slap Pads on PBS Soundstage DVD with Lindsey Buckingham.
Michael Kotzen's Details
Status:
In a Relationship
Here for:
Networking, Friends
Orientation:
Straight
Hometown:
Claremont
Zodiac Sign:
Pisces
Michael Kotzen's Companies
www.ToneCajon.com Upland, California US
since 1997
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Welcome to Kotz ToneCajon. I've been building custom cajon drums & marimbulas since 1997.
Cajones are wooden box drums that originated in Peru and Cuba when African slaves forbidden to play their native drums improvised rhythms on fruit packing boxes, cod shipping crates, dresser drawers and whatever else was available.
From the beginning, my goal has been to build a cajon with a broad range of tones, hence the name "ToneCajon".
One of the most rewarding aspects of designing and building custom instruments is to hear the incredible music different players create with them.
What began as a hobby has grown into an opportunity to work with some of the world's finest musicians. A sampling of the percussionists I've been fortunate enough to work with include:
Lenny Castro - used a Kotz Cajon on a session with Mick Jagger for "Goddess in the Doorway" as well as countless other recordings including a session with The Crusaders. Recently he used the cajon & marimbula at a clinic/show in Germany.
Rafael Padilla & Ebenezer DaSilva - played cajones on the Grammy's with Alejandro Sanz & Destiny's Child.
Leon Mobley - toured the world with Ben Harper & The Innocent Criminals where his cajon solo was featured during their classic, "Steal My Kisses" (featured on Ben Harper Live at the Hollywood Bowl DVD.)
Taku Hirano & Mick Fleetwood - used them on the Fleetwood Mac tour where the cajones were featured at the front of the stage with both played them during "Red Rover." Taku also played a Kotz Wedge cajon with Slap Pads on the recent Lindsey Buckingham tour. An amazing player, Taku uses the cajon & assorted percussion to cover both the drum set and percussion parts. If you missed the tour, check out the PBS Soundstage Lindsey Buckingham DVD or Lindsey Buckingham Live at Bass Hall DVD.
Chris Johnson - toured the world with Anastacia where he held down the groove with his Kotz ToneCajon on unplugged versions of "Who's Gonna Stop the Rain" & "Over Due Goodbye" (both featured on Anastacia - Live at Last DVD).
David Leach - played a Kotz Snare cajon on tour with Rickie Lee Jones.
Walfredo Reyes Jr. - plays a Kotz Wedge Cajon with Slap Pads on tour with Lindsey Buckingham (per Lindsey's request). He also used it recently on a session with Alphonso Johnson & David Garfield for Spanish artist Thomas Lorenzo.
Mark Chipello - rocking his signature model Kotz Cajon for the past 3 years on tour with Tyrone Wells.
John Humphries - plays his Kotz String Cajon on tour with Seether for unplugged radio station gigs as well as for a recent MTV session.
For acoustic sessions with Thriving Ivory, Paul Niedermier plays a Kotz Snare Cajon.
Mike Ortiz rocks the cajon on tour with Company of Thieves.
Derek Ries from PushPlay reported that the Kotz String Cajon has added a whole new dimension to their acoustic shows.
Mike Bennett recorded sample tracks for Roland on a ToneCajon and Michael Longoria used one on a session for a Del Taco commercial!
I've also built cajons for: Alberto Salas (Santana Supernatural), Tico Torres (Bon Jovi), Debra Dobkin (Bonnie Raitt), Jenna Elfman, Los Lobos, Tom Waits, Poncho Sanchez and many other wonderful musicians.
Marimbulas are essentially bass versions of kalimbas or mbiras (thumb pianos). They're often referred to as the Caribbean Bass or Rumba Box in Jamaica. They were used in place of the upright bass in Cuban and Puerto Rican music. In Puerto Rico they're called Marimbolas.
Wil-Dog of Ozomatli has one with an internally mounted pickup that he played on "Embrace the Chaos" as well as on Los Super Seven's CD "Canto" and the soundtrack for "The Price of Glory". Lately he's been incorportating it on Hip Hop tracks as well.
Thanks Michael....that is Marcos "Congas" to my right and Sal "Drums" on my left. The both play with the band "WAR". By the way....I still get alot of compliments on the shirt !
Michael, So glad to have finally had the chance to meet you! I hope we're in Los Angeles again soon; next time as a trio with the fantastic Cajon Gajate you built for us.
Hi Michael. I have some pics to send you soon. All my other drums are jealous. I love this cajon and cant wait to get more. The reason i am writing is there is only one thing its missing......the cool Kotz logo. I was wondering if you had some decals or stickers I could buy. Not a big deal, just thought I would ask. I hope you are having a great summer.
Hey Michael, Yes, it went well! Homero brought some of your cajons and they sounded great! By the way, I get alot of great comments from the Kotz T-shirts.
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