Casagrande began playing at age seven, when he got a toy drum from his mother; after a year, he got a real drum kit. In 2004, at age 13, he was the winner of the Batuka International Drummer Fest, sponsored by Vera Figueiredo. Later, Casagrande also won Modern Drummer's Undiscovered Drummer Contest 2006 in New Jersey, and the following year, toured the United States.