Many teenagers struggle to know what they want to do with their lives. For 15-year-old Sheila Escoveda, the choice was typically hard, not because she couldnÕt find a path but because she had so many to choose from. Offered five music scholarships to play violin, trained as a sprinter with Olympic potential, music fans worldwide have one night in San Francisco to thank for the fact that Sheila E., as she became known, chose to become a percussionist.

"I did one concert with my dad and my life changed," explains Sheila, a member of Local 47 (Los Angeles), remembering the gig at the city's Civic Center in front of a crowd of 3,000, a benefit for former Mayor George Moscone. "My father and I didn't realize how much I knew. We did that show and then we hugged and cried backstage, and right there I said, 'Pops, this is what I want to do.'"

Sheila's father, timbalero Pete Escovedo, of Local 6 (San Francisco, CA), didn't want her to be a percussionist. But there was little he could do about it, says Sheila, considering that he filled the house every day with the evocative sounds of his practicing and left exotic instruments lying around for his eldest daughter to play with. Sheila describes her household growing up as "loud," with 22 uncles and aunts and many cousins visiting her family -- which already had six members -- eating, playing sports, and jamming on the percussion.

"It was wonderful. I started playing when I was three," remembers Sheila, whose father suggested the violin as a way to wean her off drums. "I think watching him practice was how I learned because I never took percussion lessons."

At age 14, Sheila joined her first band as a traps drummer, before moving on to percussion when another drummer joined. But at this age, Sheila's passion was as much for sprinting as it was for music. If the music gene runs down her father's side, then it's from her mother's side that she got her athleticism and competitive spirit.

"My mother's very athletic, and a couple of her brothers actually played pro basketball," says Sheila. "Because girls couldn't play baseball at her school, my mother formed her own team, and they all played even after they got married."

Today, at age 67, Sheila's mother still keeps in shape and can, remarkably, beat her daughter running. "She plays ping-pong, pool, and basketball, and at the same time she's learned how to play piano. She sings and tap dances. She's an entertainer," explains Sheila.

Healing Touch
Pete didn't just teach his daughter to play drums, he also instilled in her a philanthropic spirit which today consumes more and more of her time. Sheila recalls going out to the homes and institutions that looked after the Bay Area's destitute and abused children to play and lend a hand. She recalls her father telling her that, no matter how poor the Escoveda family was, there was always someone worse off and deserving help.

The Lil' Angel Bunny Foundation (LABF), a charity dedicated to helping abused, abandoned, and neglected children through music therapy, was formed by Sheila partly as a response to memories of her father's charitable work and partly as a response to a far uglier memory from childhood.

"At the tender age of five I was sexually abused by a babysitter," Sheila writes on the LABF Web site. "Fortunately, I had an outlet. Not until I was an adult did I realize how my exposure to music at an early age assisted in the healing process."

Currently, Sheila, along with Co-Chair Lynn Mabry, former singer with P-Funk's Brides of Funkenstein, are hard at work raising funds for The Compassion Care Center, planned as a Los Angeles-based haven for victims of child abuse. In December 2003, Sheila produced the "Family Jamm!" benefit concert; on June 11, she raised $800 at a Sheila E. concert held in Inglewood, California; but a February appearance on "The O'Reilly Factor" proved perhaps her most lucrative fund-raising appearance. O'Reilly was filming in LA and invited Sheila as a guest to talk about LABF. During the program, a caller donated $30,000 to her charity, which O'Reilly matched immediately with his own check for $30,000. "It was fantastic. People said we'd get a great response, but we didn't realize Bill would write us a check," says Sheila.

In addition to the LABF, Sheila's current projects include running a production company, Heaven Productions, and the Blue 52 recording studio; performing concerts as part of her Christian outreach; and designing a line of instruments in collaboration with Toca Percussion.

"Schools are taking away music, and that's not a good thing," she explains, describing the rationale behind the Sheila E. Player Series, aimed specifically at children. "The kids have nothing to do, and they are getting into trouble. We're trying to get kids to express themselves musically because it strengthens their minds, their social skills, and even their math scores."

Playing with a Legend
Between her philanthropy, outreach, and business ventures, her calendar is pretty full, but not full enough to stop Sheila E. touring, both as a solo artist and as a side musician to some of the biggest names in music. Sheila has played percussion for, among others, Tito Puente, Lionel Richie, and Stevie Wonder. More recently, she has joined a band fronted by one of her childhood heroes, legendary drummer Ringo Starr.

"Playing with the All Starr Band was another amazing moment in my life," says Sheila. "I grew up watching him on the Ed Sullivan Show, and 40 years later I'm playing with him. It was fantastic."

Sheila describes Starr as funny, full of Beatles stories (including the one about the night he had only cymbals to play, his Ludwig drum kit lost, and the girls screaming so loud it didn't matter), and a better drummer than most people realize.

"He's one of the most amazing drummers I know," observes Sheila. "He invented the Beatles drum sound. It sounds easy to do, but if you break it down, you go, 'Wow!'"

Mixed Feelings
Starr was young when he became a professional drummer, but Sheila was younger, going on the road with her father at 15 years old and shortly afterward settling in Los Angeles as a session musician. She explains that her impressive business acumen is a result of learning by experience, especially as part of the LA music community, which she says was a lot less laid-back than Oakland, where she grew up. But she also credits the Federation, which she joined as a 17-year-old, with helping her get the most out of her long career.

"Joining the union was a good move for me," says Sheila. "Unpredictable things can happen to you, so you need to be protected. We all need to support each other, agree on things, and change laws. If the union didn't exist, we'd be in a lot of trouble."

The decision to settle in LA and diversify her business ventures came after Sheila decided she couldn't support herself as a percussionist. This move also coincided with her decision to leave Prince and the Revolution, the band with which she made her name in the 1980s.

Sheila has mixed feelings about her collaboration with Prince Rogers Nelson, of Local 30-73 (St. Paul-Minneapolis, MN). On the one hand, the '80s saw her record a string of solo hits with Prince's help, including the Top Ten hit "The Glamorous Life," as well as tour with Prince and the Revolution. On the other hand, she became known more for her sexy clothes and outrageous behavior than for her excellent musicianship, a fact that she blames on herself.

"I created a monster, and then I didn't know how to undo it," confesses Sheila. "When I knew I could do whatever I wanted to do and that there were no rules, I crossed every single line possible. I used that feminine, sexy part of being a woman, because sex sells, but it took away from who I was, the musician. So I thought, I have to get back to that. There was a hole in my heart. My life was a little empty."

Leaving the Revolution in 1988 was a sacrifice, Sheila says. The money was good, better than what she makes from jazz albums, although the hours were long, up to 18 hours a day during the 1984 "Purple Rain" tour. Fame also put a strain on her relationship with Prince, who she has known since the late 1970s. However, the two keep in touch and had a chance to catch up on old times recently when she opened for her old bandleader at LA's Staples Center on June 3.

"I put a band together in two days, and we created a whole new show. We had a blast. The band was totally awesome," says Sheila.

Lifelong Learning
As a member of the Revolution, Sheila was known as a pop diva, a considerable move from the Latin jazz she grew up playing, but then her exploration of musical styles always has been wide-ranging. Describing herself as a chameleon, perhaps Sheila's most impressive skill is her ability to adapt her drumming to any style, from the soul of Marvin Gaye to the adult pop of Stevie Nicks (Local 47, Los Angeles) to the experimental jazz of Herbie Hancock (Local 802, New York City). At the Country Music Awards in 2002, she played with country music duo Kix Brooks and Ronnie Dunn, both of Local 257 (Nashville, TN).


In fact, new experiences seem to be what keeps Sheila young at heart and constantly successful. She says not a day goes by that she doesn't want to learn something new. That's partly because Sheila knows how much the music industry can change and that new ideas and new projects are ways to stay in the business she loves. But another reason for her adventurousness is purely personal.

"I want to keep my mind open to learning," she explains. "If I don't, I'll stop growing, mentally, spiritually, physically, and even musically."

-- For more information on the Lil' Angel Bunny Foundation, visit www.lilangelbunny.org
http://www.afm.org/im/cov.../07-04.htm

Reading all this Makes me Love Shelia E as a Performer and Person....SHE CARES....SHE Has HEART....I Like That in a PERSON...That's a Good Trait but she has to Stay Sexy....I Cannot Stand her with Farty Clothes when she was Always a Sex-Pot...She Don't have to Torture her Feet and all but I Cannot See Someone who Was with Prince EVER go Farty Looking...Well, I Guess I just Hate that when Ya Go Drab..She was AWESOME back in the LOVESEXY time....Lookwise she was a Peach and Playing Fabulous.....I'll Always be a Fan...Shelia's Cool...

nice article.

I love Sheila.

bkw said:

Remember the Lovesexy tour - Prince announing "on the drums - Sheila EEEE" - followed by an outstanding solo - and then Prince again "not bad - for a woman", tongue in cheek

Krid said:

I think Prince used to say, "Not bad for a girl" actually

I didn't know this stuff about her. She's such an inspiration.

"Leaving the Revolution in 1988"

We are talking after Sign O' The Times and LoveSexy Albums.

That was not the Revolution~ Duh~

I love Sheila 2 and always will. Incredible energy and talent. That's y i don't listen 2 critics. B. Spears on Mag covers and not Sheila E. That is blasphemy!

I've loved Sheila E from the time I first saw the video Love Bizarre until now. She is a phenomenal human being and inspiration to all. She is definitely one of the top fiercest percussionists in the industry male or female, and she's more gorgeous with age! Love You Sheila!!![b]

I love me some Sheila.

beauty & the beat indeedy

Ain't she WONDEFUL?!?!?

aqknight said:

Second that. What 'behavior' is the articte refering to? I don't recall any deva-ish stuff going on. My all time fave Sheila moment - the solo she did on Arsenio Hall. I don't think the audience knew they were in the presence of greatness. Another Sheil moment - just watch her prentending to know the words in the "We Are The World" video. Man, I love her.

Good article!! I learned more about Sheila!

FYI Sheila is playing at the House of Blues in Chicago on July 29th.

Victor321 said:

Interesting... As I was reading this article, I started wondering if Prince was a member of the union as well...there's my answer!