Rony Armas
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Sheila E. and the E. Train are taking over the Musical Instrument Museum for two nights, Jan. 12 and 13, with two shows each evening to serve up a mix of Latin-pop, soul, funk and R&B.
The vigorous show, delivered by expert-level players, is nothing short of a masterclass in percussion and rhythm led by Sheila E., an unstoppable, dynamic performer who continues to dazzle. In 2021, she received a Latin Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, followed by a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame a couple of years later. And if you think for a second, she’s not still having a blast, peep her 2024 Tiny Desk Concert.
Oakland native Sheila Escovido, best known as Sheila E., has music in her blood. Her father is percussionist Pete Escovedo, and her uncles include Coke Escovedo, who played in Santana, and Alejandro Escovedo of the early San Francisco punk band The Nuns, who has gone on to have a prolific and critically acclaimed solo career. The family’s musical accomplishments can fill a lengthy scroll.
She has been playing live since the 1970s and became a mainstream success in the early 1980s with the release of her record, “The Glamorous Life.” It reinforced why she became a household name. A precision drummer with a great voice delivering infectious songs with energy you wish you could bottle.
Her gravitation to rhythm instruments started early. “I was young, 5 years old. My parents noticed that I loved percussion. My dad would play every single day at home. He’d practice to vinyl, so there was live music and music in the house every day,” she says. But a few years later, she pivoted. “When I was 9, he wanted me to take violin lessons. I was like ‘violin?’ but I did it. I took lessons for five years, but still dabbled in percussion. When he would get up to stop playing, I’d jump on his congas or timbales and play them.”
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It wasn’t that much longer until she got a chance to do more than that. When she was 15, her dad’s band, Azteca, was touring with Earth, Wind & Fire, Santana, and The Temptations when their drummer got sick.
“I told my dad, ‘I know every single song by heart, I can replace him,’ she says. And it happened, and it was the moment that truly solidified the course of her life.
“One gig, a show in San Francisco in front of 3,000 people, that day changed my life. I realized this was what I was supposed to do.”
It might seem like, with all of that musical immersion at home and that deep attraction to percussion, that this would come as no surprise, but there was another path Sheila was on.
“I was training for the Olympics. I was a track star sprinter. So, that’s what I wanted to do. I wanted to win a gold medal, and I knew I was going to win one, and that one show changed my life at 15 years old with my dad.”
Even after years of intense training, the choice was much easier than you’d expect.
“I love competing,” she tells us. “I was breaking records in all the schools and at the different meets. I was also part of an undefeated women’s soccer team for five years, and I won trophies for scoring the most goals and other achievements. It was nonstop, and it was my life, even though I played music with local bands, and I loved it. But the one show, once that happened, I realized this is not what I’m supposed to be doing. I had an out-of-body experience.”
The emotional charge from that show changed everything.
“When my dad and I got off stage, we both started crying, and I said, ‘You know, Daddy, this is what I’m supposed to do. I’m supposed to play music,’ and he’s like, ‘Oh my God!’ He didn’t realize it either. He had seen me play with the local band, but playing with his eighteen-piece band was a different story. I said, ‘I need to go out on tour with you,’ and two weeks later, we got on a plane to Colombia, and that was the beginning of my new life. I never turned back.”
That’s a huge life choice to make, but Sheila E. has absolutely no regrets. All that athleticism, in its physical and psychological intensity, to her was “training.”
“I ran 30 miles a week, training for soccer. All that running for both soccer and track led me to where I am today. To play drums the way that I play, that was my training to do this.”
Throughout her career, Sheila E. has collaborated with numerous legends. Herbie Hancock, George Duke, Prince and Lionel Richie. And aside from the violin, she cites experience as the entirety of her music education. “I learned so much playing with everyone. With Lionel, I watched how his team put together the show. I was a sponge and absorbed it all — why he had to stand in certain spots, how to set up the stage. I was always asking questions.”
All of that served her well. In addition to her own prolific musical career, the artist has also produced shows for other acts.
Not to put her on the spot, but I had to ask how it feels to be such a prominent inspiration for people, especially women, who want to play music. Let’s face it, when she broke through, you’d hear names like Neil Peart, Phil Collins and Rick Allen, when it came to drummers.
Not many women in the mix. She didn’t just break through, she broke ground.
Sheila says she doesn’t think about that until someone brings it up. And recently, that happened. Someone she knows just shared an example of that with her, in the form of a video of a performer sharing her own musical journey and how a personal message from Sheila E. 10 years ago was a driving force for her to stay on the path.
“I watched it, and I cried,” she says.
Her passion for everything she does is electric. The same can be said for the gratitude she expresses for how things have unfolded.
“I came from working clubs, having no money, my parents being on welfare and food stamps. Sometimes my dad and I would play in a small club and make $20, barely having enough to buy milk and bread for the family. I’ve just learned so much from everything I’ve done and everyone I’ve worked with. The education of life and learning, and being open to learning, is the biggest lesson ever.”
If you’re heading to the show, Sheila E. says to “be prepared to be taken on a musical journey, literally.”
“It’s exciting and uplifting. You’re gonna sing and dance, and also, be prepared … we’re known to bring people on stage.”
Sheila E. and the E-Train play at 6:30 and 8:30 p.m. on Jan. 12 and 13 at the Musical Instrument Museum.
