When did you first know you were a drummer? axolotly
I still don’t know if I’m a “drummer”! Sometimes people mean percussion – like congas and timbales – and sometimes they mean drum set, which wasn’t a thing for me until I played with George Duke in the mid-70s. My dad [Pete Escovedo, a well-known Mexican American jazz percussionist] played and practised at the house every day. I’d have heard him while I was in my mother’s womb. I couldn’t reach his percussion instruments so my mum would put the pots and pans on the floor and I’d bang along on those. I played with a local band when I was 15 and I learned a lot from Billy Cobham, and would play his drums for a minute, but sitting in with George Duke for one song was enough to start me playing drums.
Was there anything that stopped you progressing as a female musical artist and have these problems lessened today? Whovian79
Growing up in Oakland, California there were a lot of jam sessions in the streets and parks. A lot of young women would bring shakers, djembes and such. Once I knew I could play, I’d go to concerts and ask if I could sit in. Lots of times they said no so I’d go to the other side of the stage and get someone to say yes. Once I left home and started flying to Los Angeles to play with other artists I did experience male chauvinism – “You’re a girl. Girls don’t play drums” – until word of mouth was that Sheila Escovedo can play. Now there are more female drummers and percussionists all over the world. I message them on social media and just say: “Hey, I’m a fan.” There’s so many that I reach out to on a daily basis.
Is it true that you and Prince went straight into the studio in the middle of the night and recorded the amazing Erotic City directly after seeing Parliament-Funkadelic live? Bauhaus66
We did go see Parliament-Funkadelic. I don’t think we went into the studio right after, but Erotic City was the first song we recorded together. I had just moved to LA and hadn’t even finished unpacking when I went into the studio to sing that song. Obviously you can’t begin to guess that there will be so many more, but we played together for a long time.
It must have been incredible to play with both Diana Ross and Stevie Wonder. What are your favourite tracks of theirs to play? axolotly
Ain’t No Mountain High Enough with Diana Ross – “Miss Ross” at the time – and anything from Stevie’s Songs in the Key of Life. He created and played a lot of his drum beats but he let me play whatever I wanted and we played really well together, just jamming. One time he called asking if I remembered playing on a particular song on one of his records, and I said: “I think it’s you.” We sat there arguing over who was playing. I went away to listen to it and called him back. I still believe it was him and he thinks it was me!
Is it true that you played water bottles on Michael Jackson’s Don’t Stop ’til You Get Enough? VerulamiumParkRanger
I did. Quincy [Jones, producer] called me and said: “There’s some sounds that Michael is making in the studio. We have no idea what percussion instrument it is, but maybe you can figure it out. Bring all your stuff.” I showed up at the studio with cases of gear, listened to Michael and decided to fill small bottles up with water and tune them to the track. That little “dink dink” is me, playing on the bottles using the metal piece used to play a triangle. I’ve used hairbrushes, spatulas, things from the kitchen, my car keys, the compressed air sprays that blow dust off computers as a hi-hat. Once I bit an apple, sampled it and layered it over my snare drum to make it sound more crunchy. I think what’s kept me in the business is thinking outside the box.
What are your abiding memories of playing with Marvin Gaye? DaveSimpson
I used to play [along to] the rhythm to What’s Going On and on the school bus the kids would say: “Play that beat on the window.” So finally getting to play that conga beat with Marvin was pretty incredible [she played with him on his final tour in 1983]. During rehearsals my brother was in the percussion section. I started playing that rhythm and the whole orchestra started dancing. It felt so amazing I hit an extra beat. Marvin was such a softly spoken, gentle and kind man, but he suddenly yelled on the mic: “Hey! What is that? Someone played an extra beat.” Twenty-six people in the orchestra turned around. I was scared to death and blamed it on my brother. But that was a crucial lesson: it’s important to know when not to play.
You played a fictionalised version of yourself in the 1985 urban cult hip-hop classic Krush Groove. What memories do you have of making the film? VerulamiumParkRanger
I was coming off the Purple Rain tour and I was so exhausted I wasn’t even sure if I wanted to do it. Run-DMC were in it along with LL Cool J and all those guys. I flew to New York to audition with Blair Underwood, the main actor, so they could see if we had chemistry. I was extremely nervous because I’d never acted. My biggest memory is that it was the worst possible time to get the biggest blemish on my nose! It looked like a horn. I was so embarrassed I couldn’t even concentrate. I didn’t even know if I’d got the gig or not. All I could think about was this enormous blemish.
Are there any tracks that you recorded with Prince still in his vault that you hope will be released someday? Neil101
In 1989 or thereabouts he and I listened back to at least 200 songs. I have no idea how much I’ve done with him but there’s a lot! It’s so long ago and I can’t remember one particular song which hasn’t come out, but there were so many and sometimes we’d just jam; that would be recorded and go into the vault, whether it became a song or not. It was just constant, constant recording. So there are literally hundreds and hundreds.
What did you learn from making Bailar, your first salsa album? VerulamiumParkRanger
Growing up as a Latin jazz artist, salsa isn’t my go-to so I knew it would be musically very challenging. I wanted to do a couple of cover songs to play homage to Tito Puente, Celia Cruz and Cheo Feliciano and the Fania All-Stars. The challenging part was to make it sound authentic but also bring in elements of jazz, Latin, R&B and pop. It took longer than I expected to get it right and get the right people on the record. Rubén Blades hardly says yes to anyone so it was very important to get him singing Anacaona, a Cheo Feliciano song. Getting Gloria Estefan was just a joy, and then people I’d never met before like Víctor Manuelle or Debi Nova. El Canario is one of those old guys who’s sung with everyone – the real deal. It was beautiful and extremely fun to put together and I’m still on a high from playing our first show with it last week.
You’ve been a huge inspiration to me as a drummer and I want to thank you. Do you have a favourite female drummer? TanyaistheG
My favourite female drummer growing up was Karen Carpenter. I saw her on television with her brother [in the Carpenters] and thought: “Oh wow, a female drummer, just like me.” I felt like we were equals even though I was probably 10 years old! I’ve since seen black and white footage of female drummers, even all-female bands, but she was singing like she did and playing drums and all these other things 50 years ago when nobody was doing that. Just incredible.
I recently watched a documentary about the We Are the World charity single in 1985. Were you disappointed that you didn’t end up with a more prominent part on the record? Prestonian79
No. It was what it was at the time. I was in awe at my first ever live performance on television for the American music awards in front of the world. It was one of the biggest shows at the time, I was on the Purple Rain tour and [Grammy nominated solo album] The Glamorous Life was out, so to be able to convince the network to turn the lights down so that my sticks would glow was a big deal. What happened that night [a promised solo vocal on the record never materialised] was a little disheartening, but the reality of why we were there was the most important part, raising money for people that needed help. It’s a for ever moment in my life that I’m still proud of.
What is your favourite drum rudiment to practise? ChristiaanMuadDib
I didn’t learn technical drumming in school. I don’t read music and I don’t do rudiments. I write music by ear, play a few things and just embellish. I can go “par-a-diddle” but technically it’s always been single strokes or double strokes and that’s it!
Is there an achievement that you feel has passed you by? patriciapolloy
Nothing’s passed me by. As you get older, things change and what you feel is important in life and what you write about also changes. If I look at my discography I think: “Wow, that’s a lot.” It’s a blessing, but I’ve never been stuck in the 80s. People always want to go back to that, but I’m way more than that. So top of my bucket list is to continue. I really hope people enjoy the new record because I believe it’s one of the greatest I’ve done so far.
• Bailar is out now on Stiletto Flats
