Rudy Mariani

The moment that changed everything

«I am two years old. My mother switches the television on. Zucchero is playing at the Kremlin. Behind him there is a drummer. His name is Lele Melotti. I do not know yet what a drum kit is, but I already know that is what I want to do. From that moment on, I never stopped.»

Training and mentorship

Rudy Mariani (born 1988) grew up in the province of Ferrara. Music arrived early, but sideways: percussion in the fourth year of primary school, with his class teacher; the clarinet at middle school, assigned to him because he was the only one who did not already play something; the saxophone in the final year, and a little band with schoolmates until his second year of high school. No music school, no plan drawn up in advance.

In 2004 he builds his own music in front of a computer: with ProDJ, between loops and samples, he puts together six techno and hardcore tracks signed DJ Whisker. They are his first original pieces.

He buys the drums at Christmas 2005 and sets them up in the rehearsal room in 2006. He starts playing straight away with his first band, Nova Era, and that band is his school: Deep Purple, Led Zeppelin, Iron Maiden, Metallica, Stratovarius, Dream Theater, Angra. Getting those songs out, one after another, is the course he never took. By June 2006 he is already on stage, two hours of repertoire.

Self-taught at first, then through courses in the area and finally at the Accademia Lizard in Verona. He built his own language through direct contact with some of the greatest drummers in the world, having decided to follow the instrument's most influential figures. Among them Thomas Lang, whom he has followed at every Italian stop and for whom he has organised several events since 2013; in 2014 he was his assistant at the Croatia Drum Camp, where he earned the International Diploma. From that point on he deepened his studies with Marco Minnemann, Benny Greb, Eric Moore, Gerald Heyward, Virgil Donati, Gergo Borlai, Art Cruz, Riccardo Merlini, Jojo Mayer and many others.

Artistic path

From 2006 to 2011 he played with around twenty different line-ups across north-east Italy, gathering experience in genres and settings very far apart from one another. That is the period in which his versatility took shape.

• Nova Era (2006–2011) — His very first band: from covers to progressive metal in the vein of Dream Theater and Symphony X, with two self-produced EPs. The first can still be heard in full on his YouTube channel. In 2011 he left, because the European tours with Asgard and Neurasthenia no longer let him be as present as the band needed; six months later the band stopped. He would take the name back, years later, for the project he cares about most.
• Asgard (Ferrara) — Drummer of the speed/power metal band with which he recorded two official albums: The Seal of Madness (2011) and Outworld (2013), playing festivals and European tours.
• Neurasthenia (Bologna) — From 2010 to 2016 with this long-standing thrash metal band: European tours including Russia, sharing the stage with Testament, Kreator, Sodom and Exciter.
• Mary Cutrufello — In 2015 he was hired as a session drummer for the Texan artist's Italian tour: 10 dates across Italy.
• Atroci — In 2016 he joined as drummer, replacing Luca Martelli (now with Litfiba), in the Emilian comedy-metal band.
• Session recording — Over the course of his career he has recorded in the studio as a session drummer for a number of projects, across various genres and formats.
• Nova Era – The Rock Soundtrack Experience — Co-founder, drummer and co-artistic director. It is the project he invests in most artistically: an ensemble that combines a rock band with a string quartet to reinterpret film soundtracks. Dates already played include Teatro ai Colli (Padua), Verona and Ferrara Film Corto Festival 2024.
• Harley Max (883 & Max Pezzali Tribute) — Since 2023 drummer and operational member of this project, which plays more than 80 dates a year on the main national stages.

Management and organisation

Alongside his live work, Rudy has handled the production and logistics of major events: he organised Gerald Heyward's first Italian tour (drummer for Beyoncé and Michael Jackson) and collaborated on the organisation of Thomas Lang's events in Italy. Since 2023 he has been Riccardo Merlini's technical assistant for the Drumzilla and Drum Gala events in Rovigo.

Teaching and leadership

He has taught drums since 2012 and is the director of the K Music Arts & Entertainment project, which runs several music school locations across the provinces of Ferrara and Rovigo, where he has trained over 100 students. His approach combines technique with research into groove and creativity, with a strong focus on developing each student's professional independence.

The philosophy

Rudy talks about music as a trade, with everything that comes with it: fees, contracts, the market, visibility. Through his social channels he keeps up an honest account of the music business, far from the rhetoric of passion for free. He is available for brand collaborations, product reviews and partnerships in the music and live entertainment sector.

#caragdur — in the dialect of Ferrara: «full of energy». It is the attitude with which he walks on stage, walks into the rehearsal room, sits down in front of the camera and welcomes his students.