Renato Neto
Music has been a part of Renato's family life since he was a child. His parents had a love of music which they shared with their children at early ages. Although different genres of music were playing throughout the house, the majority of the music was being played by brazilian composers such as; Chico Buarque, Gil Gilberto, Martinho da Vila, Elis Regina and others. The families summer vacations were often spent visiting Renato's grandfather's farmhouse just outside the city of Sao Paulo, Brasil. It was there that Renato, age 7, saw the piano that his father use to play when he was a child. It was obvious to Renato's parents that he had a musical interest, so they took the piano home. Inspiration was inevitable for Renato's musical journey. The pianist and arranger Cesar Camargo Mariano was the first musician that gave him his desire to know the piano. He wasn't the only child in the family that was musical. Renato's brothers also showed interest. Fernando, older brother, played drums. Flavio, younger brother, was about 5 years old when he started jamming with percussion instruments. Today Flavio is a successful saxophonist. It was at early ages that the lessons and practicing became a part of their lives.
For the past three years Renato has been on tour playing with Prince and The New Power Generation. Successfully their 2002 "One Nite Alone" tour was a hit along with the live DVD going platinum. The Musicology CD also went platinum and their tour achieved major success.
Renato performed with Prince at this year's 2007 Pepsi Super Bowl XLI Halftime Show. The 12-minute performance featured Prince accompanied by two dancers he calls “the Twins” and the Florida A&M University marching band, the Marching 100. He played before 74,512 fans at Dolphin Stadium (who had been given flashlights to point at the stage during the performance of Purple Rain). The event was carried “to the biggest audience of his life - 140 million television viewers.” Overall, the show was energetic and quite well-received by the rain-soaked audience surrounding the stage. Music critics have been extremely enthusiastic about his performance, one calling it "arguably the best halftime show in Super Bowl history," and others saying it was one of the best ever. The event marked the first time that a Microsoft Windows based keyboard workstation, the NeKo was played live at the Super Bowl. The NeKo keyboard played by Prince's other keyboardist, Morris Hayes, was later auctioned by the Make-A-Wish foundation. The Halftime show has been nominated for two Emmys: Outstanding Special Class Program and Outstanding Technical Direction, Camerawork, Video For A Miniseries, Movie Or A Special. The Emmy's will air Sunday, September 16, 2007.
Equipment Used
Purchased NeKo 64 (Gen1) upgraded to NeKo LX (Gen3)
Purchased MiKo LX (Gen3)
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