Tico Torres

Childhood

Hector Juan Samuel Torres was born on October 7, 1953, in New York, and brought up in the Colonia section of Woodbridge Township, New Jersey. His parents, Emma and Hector, immigrated from Cuba in 1948. He attended John F. Kennedy Memorial High School in Iselin. He has a sister called Opi.

Music career

Torres was a jazz fan as a youth and studied music with Joe Morello. In 1969 he played drums for the psychedelic rock band Six Feet Under. Before joining Bon Jovi in 1983 he had already played live with Joe Cerisano's R-Band aka Silver Condor in the New Jersey Rock circuit, and in the studio with Franke and the Knockouts, Pat Benatar, Chuck Berry, Cher, Alice Cooper and Stevie Nicks, recording a total of 26 albums with these artists. Tico was also one of the drummers auditioned by Kiss in 1980 after original drummer Peter Criss left the band.

Torres was the original drummer for the glam rock band T. Roth and Another Pretty Face and played on their debut album Face Facts.

Bon Jovi

Tico met Alec John Such while playing with a band called Phantom's Opera and it was this friendship which led to him joining Bon Jovi. When Jon Bon Jovi, the lead singer of the band, approached Torres, he was put off by the fact that Jon was 9 years younger than he was. Regardless of this he said it was Jon's charismatic appearance and watching Jon perform that attracted him to join the band.

Equipment

Tico is an endorser of DW Drums and hardware since 2013, previously he had endorsed by Pearl Drums. He uses Signature-Reflector & 2oo2 Paiste cymbals, Ahead Tico Torres signature drum sticks/gloves/griptape, Remo drumheads, Emperor X on (top) snare (Ambassador *resonate* Snare), Coated Emperor on (top) Remo Starfire Chrome (on resonate toms/floor toms) Coated Powerstroke 3 on bassdrums 22 x 18 x'2 (Powerstroke Ebony (Remo), DW Drum Pedals (DW 9000) LP percussion and Beato bags.

Current Setup DW Collector Series Drums

22 x 18" Bass Drums x2

12" Rack Tom

13" Rack Tom

16" Floor Tom

18" Floor Tom

14 x 6.5" Maple Snare Drum

Paiste Signature-Reflector & 2oo2 Cymbals From Left to Right

Signature 16" Power Crash

Signature 10" Splash

Signature 14" Heavy Hi-Hat

Signature 18" Power Crash

Signature 16" Power Crash

Signature 20" Power Crash

2oo2 22" Power Ride

2oo2 20" China

Signature 18" Power Crash

Art

Known as "The Hitman," Tico discovered another talent: painting. He has exhibited his art since 1994. The successful first show was at the Ambassador Galleries in Soho, New York. Tico is a self-taught painter, who paints expressive pictures which show scenes from everyday life and the life with the band.

His painting talent was shown in one of the three videos made for the single "Who Says You Can't Go Home." There is a scene in one of the videos showing Jon Bon Jovi, David Bryan, and Richie Sambora painting a wall of a house a solid color, while Tico is at the other end of the room, painting an extravagant picture of a house surrounded by a multi-colored heart on the same wall. His art can be found at http://www.walnutst.com/.

He also owns a fashion line for babies called Rock Star Baby (selling baby clothing, strollers, soft toys, jewelry and furniture, etc.), which is viewable at http://www.rockstarbaby.com

Personal life

Tico and his first wife divorced soon after the formation of Bon Jovi in 1983. In 1996, Torres married Czech-born model Eva Herzigova in Sea Bright, New Jersey. The ceremony was attended by their closest friends and family including Donald Trump and the members of Bon Jovi. The band serenaded Eva and her husband with the hit single "Always" during the dance. Their marriage ended two years later. Tico married Maria Alejandra in September 2001, his third marriage. They have a son, Hector Alexander, born on January 9, 2004.

Richie Sambora

T. Roth and Another Pretty Face