Sheila E. | Part 2

Now let's get into the fact that You decided to play the instruments you decided to play and man you're good at it You're good. You're playing the precautions to ballet you're playing the drums. You're just ripping it And you get exposed to other industry people specifically men and Don't really care for you that much They feel like No girl should be playing a man's instrument No, where the hell that came from but I guess drums are supposed to be a man's instrument like That had to At least expose some things in your mind As far as how people view you and how people view what you do Did you sense more or less They were just being jealous where they Intimidated because again you have that Byrie spirit and I'll tell you a little secret about us guys Not me per se but The the the male species is that sometimes We get a little intimidated by girls that Really speak out for themselves and know who they are and are very confident Sorry fellas to expose you so openly, but it is the truth There's some fellas that just cannot take a woman that just knows what the hell she's doing Did you sense that did you feel that did you know what that was or were you confused like you were like what what was going on when you were approached with this type of energy? Well, yeah, it was strange because growing up in the Bay, you know, there's Berkeley People would meet up at different parks and locations and then we would have these gigantic jump circles everyone played young old Women they would bring you know talking drums or or a jambay drum everyone played instruments We all just played together just a jam. Mm-hmm. So, you know me saying oh, I was the only one not really but You know playing professionally I didn't see very many women so when I started Traveling from Oakland to LA and doing session work. I would walk into a studio and you know the drummers there because he's you know Setting up his stuff and he goes, excuse me. Can you give me some coffee? And I say well, what You could beat that was All right Yeah, it's all right. I'm from Oakland. Yeah, what are you saying? All right anyway that part? No, you don't have to beat it up No, thank you. We don't be about stuff here good Nobody was crazy because I'm like what do you I said? I'm not the receptionist I said, but you know I'll get I'll get you some coffee It's not a problem. I want to go to coffee and then come back goes. What are you doing here? I said I'm the percussion player I'm gonna play percussion is like huh? And then the next thing was always who do you know? Oh, dang It's gonna be like that. It can't be just on my gif like it's like not even that wasn't even they never it was never like oh you know how to play? I mean, you know, can I can I say something? Yes, I think part of it was it was a few things all right again me knowing men Me being one again not being like these guys, but me knowing these guys because I never trip like I Just as a disclaimer like I never Understood why men treat women a way that they do a lot of times as if they don't know nothing. Yeah Like there's some of the most smartest most resilient Efficient I'll tell you right now stuff my wife do and things like I ain't doing that Most of my favorite people are women. Yeah, like like you know saying like like I mean I never got that I never understood that Yeah, I don't I don't know what that is about right, but you know, I think it was too You will come in You're beautiful So one they're disarmed with that Okay, who's this fine You know, they coming in me get it. You know wearing no bra Okay, he went there, but that was a truth cuz I was that like no no I'm trying to I'm trying to give you the understanding of what men think okay cuz they they checked out everything when you walked into the room So they like oh Lisa Lisa story Right, right exactly exactly how Lisa Lisa got her name Lisa Lisa You know, I'm saying like you know, so yeah again, so got you walk in cute self Do as he like Okay, who's this young interned right? It was a whatever right cuz she can't be that fine and good and good Once you start talking now you're talking so now they're like Now they don't know what to do Like men don't know what to do with those emotions cuz at first, you know, well a girl supposed to be like this You know, she's not supposed to say that to me Yeah, I'm saying so instantly the ego Kicks in the chest pops up cuz you don't want to look like a suck in front of his friends Like there's so much going on That really has nothing to do with you Yeah, but I don't know that when you Yeah, yeah, she like what the heck is that? I hope you at this time just for reference of age Like 15 16. Oh, you were a child still child. Yeah, still young young fresh and green. Yeah, but Comes in with this energy That most men are either intimidated by or it's completely foreign They don't they don't know what to do with it. So their first instinct with a lot of Little dig dudes are the one is basically to insult yeah Exactly you know, it's men do get insecure believe it or not. Oh, no, I believe it. I know I know they just express it a certain a different way. Yes. It's a different language Yeah, it was you know, I mean, I just walked out the room going what that anyway Because I hadn't really experienced any of that being in the bay you know Everybody knows each other and when you sit in it's like word of mouth. Oh here comes Sheila. She's gonna play a lot You know, so I you know um I go back into the room we start recording and most of the time if I could get the music ahead of time or Kind of know what I'm gonna do I make sure that I'm well prepared like I always want to make sure I'm early and prepared And so if I walk in the room and especially because I'm not gonna read so I've got to know what I'm doing if I can Uh, and the feel of it like really open to like if I'm not gonna read everyone's got charts I just got to know when to stop and what you know and everybody kind of knew that I didn't read Uh, at least the artist who hired me to to play which obviously didn't matter. Yeah, yeah and then you know It was the drummers a lot of the times and those situations Were the ones that were making a lot of mistakes. They were uncomfortable Once they made a mistake because I had never really made any And so then they were weren't really prepared Which made them feel even worse and I'm saying they're going I'm just playing having a good time because I already learned the music So I don't have to think about it. It's just a done deal. So I'm playing what I feel and It Anyway, that's part of it. No, no, no, listen again It correlates exactly what I mean. Yeah, you're playing and they screw up and you didn't right now It was a lot of security heat Rises even higher because they like oh man, I just got shown out By a girl And adding really don't like you are they all kind of same age you are they much older all the guys Oh, they were always always much older than me. Yeah, she was a YG No, I was in these studios. I know. I was saying the same age. I'd be like I'll be trying to get your number forget No, that always happened, but it was but it was uh, it was interesting because then it was it was either that or then it was like Oh, okay, all right, well, you know if you want to do love something like a hook you up and here's There's my room number and blah blah or It it became all of that or I can uh-huh or you know I'm a producer and I can you know um how'd you navigate all that like just my parents with your parents where my yeah we Yeah, they were just so awesome to To navigate help me to navigate through not knowing and especially because a lot of times I would uh come to LA by myself, you know, but Like for instance George Duke, you know when I when I played out went out and I'm touring with him He called pops and said look, you know, I make sure that I'll keep the dogs off of Sheila That's what he called the dogs But I'll make sure I keep the dogs off of Sheila and I'll take care of her make sure she's okay um, you know if I have your permission to take her out on tour with me So and I always had someone kind of looking out for me, but there were times where you know uh Some crazy thing like I Offered so many ridiculous things like I hear what men get offered from women and it's almost like I got offered the same Thing as a woman from men who are just like I'll you can have your own hotel I'm gonna make I'll build you your own hotel in Vegas with your name on it and your own plane If you could just be my side piece and I'm like really Like no, no, no Sheila sweetheart. No woman has ever offered that to me Yeah, okay No Let's let's let's clarify There's not a woman alive. That's come up to me and say they were gonna give me my own hotel if I was her side piece I might have considered it. I was like Consider this is different You mean my own plane And there's not like they didn't I mean I knew you know, I Yeah, I'm not gonna say No, but I'm just yeah, no, I wouldn't but I'm just saying it's like it was easy for them to do that. Yeah, that's how much much you know They had it. Yeah, yeah It was a real offer wasn't like a yeah, it wasn't all like what's your name? Well, let me look you up. No, that I already knew that's sick. Yeah, no stuff like that all the time Offer of all offers. Yeah, that was a good one They're gonna know that was a really good one. That's one of the good ones I think that they're really like hurting my life Sean And it was No, no, no, it was it was both of those together like that was the offer Yeah, think about it Sheila hotel Nah Because see I can say I didn't sleep my way to the top. I can sleep at night saying I did not that's a good thing But but but to put to answer your question with my parents like just helping me to go You know pops is like these guys don't kind of explain with you They don't know nothing and they're just jealous or they didn't do their homework You know your work, you know, you learn the music and and so you're gonna be able to get through this And you enjoy yourself and have fun and don't listen to what they're saying, you know Because even at some point pops was shocked like mom's a pops like wait, what did they say? Why would they say that you know because we never Experience to any of that at home. Yeah, and it was outside of you know outside of our group of family friends The Bay Area and you get outside to play with other artists. You're going what is happening? It's really interesting the music industry because the lingo definitely is different like It's life, but times a hundred Like you know saying like like come on man like People in the Bay or where I'm from don't get offered Jets and hotels, but these do really offer that no, but that's wild But that's my point. It's like people are they really play different. That's just how it was no that is What is it was It is okay Circumstance I'm leaving I'm leaving Don't leave don't leave Yes, yes, we want to clarify with no offense here Damn it you're blowing it, but All right, so you mentioned George Duke you yeah, right you mentioned George Duke and you being out in a row with him He wasn't the only person that you were blessed to actually work with there's this gentleman Um, what's his name? Marvin Gaye. Oh, that's that's it. Yeah, yeah, that's that's his name young young upstart. Yeah You were able to play with him there was a song that you really enjoyed Playing with him and You actually brought your brother on yeah as a you know percussionist as well and You guys are jamming to it and this sound really good and you know, I guess you kind of felt Thought that little too too much where you Hit a beat on a conga That one supposed to be there Marvin was a happy no he wasn't um and I'm glad that happened early first of all In my career first of all Marvin Gaye period That was That was I never dreamt in a million years and I'd be able to play with Marvin who would I mean There wasn't even all my bucket list like so and and was so awesome as that he heard about me And I didn't even have to audition so they're like we have a gentleman who wants you to go out on tour with him and If you want to do it, it's yours And I'm like what and out well who is it Marvin Gaye? Yes Yes And I was playing with my dad at the time I said daddy I hate to leave your band But I want to go play with Marvin Gaye. He's like of course. So they talked everything was good um We're rehearsals, you know first of all this song what's going on was a famous song. He still is What's going on yeah, I think I heard yeah, it's an amazing song Yeah, yeah, and I used to play it when I was being bused up to the school from the hood to the good school And I was being bused up and I would play that beat on the back of the window of the bus Yeah, I would play that yeah, yeah, and so then to finally play with Marvin and he had like a 23 piece band orchestra Yeah, so anyway, we're rehearsing and what's going on? We're playing that song and I'm just like oh my god I'm in heaven again And I'm playing the song boom boom back didn't got on the congas my so we have three congas three congas three congas My brother and our and a family friend and we have Tim Bollies Tim Bollies Bollies Bongo Bongo Bongo toys It's so much stuff. Mm-hmm. So that we can trade and go do different things. Okay. We're playing that song Marvin has his back to us with 23 or so people playing and he's soft spoken. He's like hey Sheila How you doing? How's mom and dad? Oh, it's so nice. Thank you. I you know, I just he just talked so much I met him. Oh, man. Oh, you never got to meet him. No, amazing. So he talks off and we're playing and uh I automatically dance when I play most of the time. I mean, I can't help it because it's my whole body that's involved in feeling what needs to be and I started doing that Jackson five dance step like right Didn't get I started doing that so my brother started dancing and then our friend started dancing So the whole percussion group is dancing and no one else is then that horn players are going Oh, wait, we could do so they started doing the same So next you know most of the whole band is playing and doing that dance step and it's like oh, we just choreographed the show Well that song anyway. Yeah, so that's happening and I'm like shoot this feels good So I'm playing but I hit the low drum as an extra, you know, because I felt like um I gave a little something and You know 23 people playing at the same time is not like you're gonna hear everything at least you would It would be hard to but we're speaking of Marvin, but we're speaking of Marvin game And his back was to us and he said hold on hold on hold on hold on like he yelled in a mic and It startled everyone because he's so soft and we're singing that playing that song and you just hear stuff just stopping like You know on the drummer stops and everyone's going what why he's yelling he turned around and he Literally you can hear a pin drop because we're jamming and he turned around and he said someone played extra beat And I'm like oh my god My heart I was so scared first of all he didn't say someone sang I extra know someone played extra note because it could have been any you know melodic instrument he said beat There's three percussion puller for that now is that down that now is a damn a lot And Marvin just stood still and he didn't say anything. He's just looking at the whole band And no one moved everyone was still they didn't I literally they just stood still frozen and I'm like I Think I think I think I think I think I'm gonna faint that's what's gonna happen to her faint because I can't breathe right now And I'm like this is crazy. So Oh my god dog it. I gotta say so I said I'm gonna be fired before we leave on tour So I said excuse me mr. Gay And he said yes, and I said I'm sorry my brother will never do that I That is terrible they never knew it was me He never knew it was me I say it was my brother because I got my brother the gig time her brother The gig No, so he raised his hand to go I'm so sorry. I'll never do it again like that and it goes okay Just letting making sure you try to take your own brother out What a sadson boy like god Lee Sheila it worked out great Would your brother say to you like oh he loved it. No, but here was this is this is what this is what was crazy about the whole thing is I My friend had already had the gig and then they called me to play so there's two percussion players Then there's a young lady who's playing by percussion right I wanted my brother on the gig and I and I always pulled my family And if I could so I told my brother just start coming to rehearsal They hadn't hired him. He was just coming hanging out. I said to play with us And no one said anything so Marvin thought he was hired Anyway, he thought he was in the band. He had no idea. He wasn't hired. So we knew the road manager Next you know, we're done with rehearsals like the next day and then Peter Michael says well, I guess that was it I just you know jammed with you guys and that was fun and the road manager says oh no Peter Peter Michael come over here Go to the fitting over here. They're gonna size you up. He goes well No one hired me goes no you got the gig. He doesn't even know you're in so I mean That's some Bay Area. Yeah, that's that G. She You let them know that this is what it is It's that part. That's my mommy. See that's my mommy. That's that energy right there Yeah, you you can't like yeah, you have to be homegrown in that type of like sauce You know, I'm saying well you went from Marvin to Another guy. Yeah, that's got that is named Lionel Richie And uh you went from there to tour with him and I had to research this Because when I read it, I was like I've never noticed this before but um her debut acting job Was in the Lionel Richie Video running with the night. Yeah, if you ever see that video again kids She's a young lady sitting at the table sad Like this with the pretty afro and a nice little dress Never noticed that until you mentioned in a book and then I had to go to youtube And look it up and there's Sheila like First off, how'd you get that gig who asked you to be the The lonely girl that Lionel practically lonely girl gets up and does the dance to and you can dance pretty well by the way Thank you like what what how did that formulate? So As I was doing Marvin Gays tour the road manager who Randager who toured with Marvin also did Lionel Richie So he's like well, we're putting the band together for Lionel so you should just be in that band too. I was like, it's cool You know So sometimes I would Rehearsing the daytime with Lionel and fly out at night to play with Marvin the last couple of weeks to Trying to do both gigs at the same time So being the Lionel's band they were gonna shoot the video I had also played on the record so it was like all night long and dancing was a dancer um I want to see you lose dance on the ceiling. Yeah, but anyway playing On the record as well and being in the band. They're like we'll just have Sheila dance with you now Really and we kept it was funny because we just kept making each other laugh They have to keep cutting like don't make him laugh, you know We just look like I had to look like I was in love and then we're going don't even you know They should have had the the bloopers because they're must there were a lot of them We just made it to the line. Yeah, and your sister was in the video too. And my sister is in a Yeah, yeah, that's really good. Yeah, no, no, no, again, I do my research man I know so so you're on tour with Lionel You go back and forth with Marvin things that nature um, but there was a somber moment when uh When we all heard the world heard about the passing of Marvin Um, where were you when you got the news? um What happened when when you when you heard that that Marvin passed away Um, I asked my brother this because we were trying to figure out and I have to ask him again But I believe either we were at rehearsal or at soundcheck with with Lionel Mm-hmm, and yeah, it was just crazy because it was April Fools day. It was April one. That's right It was April one and everyone thought everybody thought it was a joke. I remember that yeah Um, what year was it 84 or maybe yeah, I think it was 1984 on April Fools day on April So everybody thought it was a joke everybody thought it was a joke. Yeah, yeah, no, it was so sad It was it was it was like you It was hard to believe that it was even possible like wait, we just saw him like a week ago or two weeks ago, whatever Like how is this possible? It was hard to comprehend that that was real first of all and it took Like a couple of hours to find out is this really true or is it April Fools? It's not a funny joke We had to try to get you know from the source from someone who really knew Lionel and it's like no, it's true What it was so sad. It was sad. Yeah, it really was because he was Marvin was gone out of the country for a long time and when he this was his first tour coming back To the states and so you know, we were out on tour for a long time many months and it was a it was a big tour for him Yeah, and he was really excited about that and doing a new record and all time. Yeah, he had a lot of plans Yeah, it was just sad. Well rest in peace. Yes, Marvin. Yeah, you're one of my favorite artists ever and you will be miss incredible You worked with a lot of Motown acts. Um one of them being uh Via Quincy Jones Uh with Michael Jackson. I've heard this story and It still amazes me to this day For those of you who likes the Michael Jackson little ditty called don't stop to you get enough There's just a cussive thing going on and guess who it is now How she did the bickessive work is the amazing thing can you please explain The the water and the bottles and the different levels of water in the bottles That Made us hear that now iconic Procursive sound that you created. Can you please break that down for us please? Yeah, so I took uh You know, I brought on my gear with me because Quincy said Q said bring everything so You got like 10 cases of percussion and sometimes I won't even use it all Um, you just figure out what's gonna work for the song And I was kind of known for making stuff up anyway out on the spot If you you can't find it in your box of toys um, but the sound Uh Quincy's like there's this thing blah blah blah and I was like okay, so I got water bottles Um, and I filled him to tune it to the song So if you hit the if you you know some of and it's different because depending on the size of the bottle If you put a lot of water it usually gets higher some of them do the opposite if you put a lot of water It gets a lower note so it depends on the size and the shape of the bottle Um, are you writing this down kids? And then I tuned it to the song and I took the the steel little stick that I used for a triangle And I took two of those and I tuned it to the track and I played You know that whole intral thing that's happening Light work And so I was really excited to play on Michael's song because I met them I met the Jackson five when they were in the 70s because I was out on tour with George Duke and we were in Europe And I was like all the Jackson's are playing, you know down the street list We all went to go see them and that's when I first met them And then they asked me we want to you know, can you uh You know give lessons to our our brother Randy and teach him how to play you know show him some lessons I'll light. Yeah for sure So I met them a long time ago and then Michael's also close with Lionel and everything so you know that whole circle of people So I had no Michael for a long time. Do his real excited and he would call me meet me at the record store in Berkeley. I'm gonna The albums coming out and I'm gonna do a signing now. I was like, okay, so I meet them there And I was excited. I was like I'm gonna get the record so I get the record and my name's out on the record for percussion Still isn't I get royalties, but I my name was never on and I was like they overlooked That's what I said and I told Quincey is like oh man, and then feeling gains Greg filling gains told me is well I think he was left off the record too There were a couple of us like there was so many people you get so many people playing and and then you forget to put their name like There's no way to fix it after the fact. I don't know Yeah, you do masters all the time. Yeah And vinyl's coming back Yeah, so you just make those pro you know, lighter changes and put the names on man. Yeah, that's ridiculous. I don't know So but anyway, we all know we all know that she's on it and and that's all that matters now you've uh Played the back a lot I love playing behind artists which which is great and you do well and you've even done some vocal work with albums which you and your pop right yeah Um, so you're not a stranger to the microphone But there's one person in particular That kind of helped you I guess helped you along guided you in a way of Realize making you realize that hey I could I could sing You know in the front too and even though it was a little nerve-wracking for you guy named uh Prince Rogers Nelson uh Kind of helped you realize the gift of not just percussion and drums but the gift of voice that you had There was an incident in sunset studios Where you guys realized that gift together Can you explain that for us please break that down yeah Sunset sound I go into the studio um Those prints said you know, me and the studio I go down um The studio and I don't see any of my percussion in the room and I'm like oh what do we do they didn't bring the stuff He goes no, we don't need it. I was like oh okay, and then there's a microphone there and um He said yeah, no, we're just gonna sing I said okay, and he said but I want you to sing lead on this song. It's like no now I don't want to sing lead because I was already singing with Lionel and During Lionel's tour if you remember I think it was 83 He did the song with Diana Ross. Mm-hmm. So Lionel asked me could you please sing that song with me Uh that Diana Ross did so that you know, we can put that in the show I was like I would never sing Diana Ross. I can't sing like Diana Ross I'm not even that singer so he had to pay a lot of money to do this screen to bring back then it was that to push Discreen that to you know film her doing that. So I was like, you know, I'm cool singing backup But Prince is like no, no, no, this is a li it's easy Life what is it so is the song a Rodic City Yeah, dope song Yeah I'm sorry Yeah, and I love it and I still play that song every show. Yes So yeah, he wanted me to sing and I was like, ah, he goes, no, you come on. I was like, okay. So anyway, I sang the song, but there were some words that I was like, I'm not saying that. Yeah, you had a problem with one of those words, but what was that? The word that starts with the F. Okay. Right. Not funky. Right. The other word. Not Frank. Not fresh. Right, right, right. Yeah, no, I didn't want to say that word. I'm like, uh-uh. So anyway, he said it. I didn't mix it up so that you, it sounds like whoever's saying it, you know, but it was a dope song when we were doing. I was like, ooh, this is funky though. Okay. You know, you play and you go, oh, yeah, I want to sing on this. Yeah. I will make it work. Oh, it's a baddie. Yeah, but it was, uh, it was nerve-wracking because this would, I earlier on when my dad and I were doing our first record, well, the first time I had ever recorded it professionally was with my dad. But there were other times when I tried to do demos and every time I tried to sing like a song by myself, you know, you get scared and it's like, yeah, I, it wasn't comfortable. And I got used to singing and playing all the time and, and singing back up. That was fine. But to sing lead is like, oh, I don't know, you know, but it worked out fine. It worked. It worked. It worked out really good. I did. And now, now this, was this the, the moment that made you realize it, hey, I can be in the front and not always have to play the back. Like was there, was there a confidence booster there? Or was that something that you always wanted to do? But just never knew how to approach being an actual artist yourself. No, I always wanted to be a solo artist. Okay. Yeah. I don't know. 77 he and I met. So, you know, during the years, you know, I ended up later on giving them some demos and I was always doing demos, trying to teach myself how to write, how to engineer, how to, you know, do whatever. I'm just, any money that I got, I had, like, I'm going to build a studio. I'm going to figure it out myself. And then hanging around with pops and learning how to, what, what, what microphones do you use? And how do you, how do you, you know, put, put these chords and where do they go and all that stuff? So kind of just, I love production part of it and everything. And so I was like, I want to be a solo artist not yet, but one day I do want to do that. And so Prince was always coming to see me during Lionel's tour. And then one day he just said, you don't, you could do your own thing. I was like, yeah, I want to do it, you know, well, it was easy to get a deal because he had already had one. So I signed to his company and we did, did the record. So it wasn't that it was a confidence boost because already had the confidence to play and sing all the time. The issue was, if I was playing to Bolly's and singing no big deal, even if it was kind of lead, I'm still playing percussion. The hard part was taking the mic and walking away from my blanket. That blanket was everything. And it's like, okay, wait a minute. What do I do with my hands? I'm so used to playing. Yes. Singing and playing. That was my life. So when I take the mic, I'm going to walk and do what? Like I had to think about, well, where does this hand go? And then I got to switch, you know, I had to practice that. Because it is a different discipline. Totally. Yeah, yeah, totally. You know, yeah. Well, you came out with a debut album that did pretty damn good. I did. The single, Glamour's Life, amazing song, unlike anything that was on the radio, at that moment in time, your vocal deliverance was clean. It was pure. It had a swag to it. And then again, seeing the videos of this fine young woman behind some, with some sticks and everything. I love your crush now. Yes. Okay. Very much so, sir. Okay. And it was like, it was like, whoa, like with the swooge hair and, you know, the whole prince-esque type of energy. It was quite impressive. It left an impression on a lot of people. And being in that space of now being a popular solo artist, what changed as far as how you saw the industry? You're not playing the back anymore. You're in the front. So that makes a big difference now. Because now the spotlight's on you. How did you handle that at first? Was it hard? Was it something that you had to get used to? Like, you know, because being an artist, like, it's funny reading your book. And I'll explain it later afterwards afterwards after you say what you got to say, because it's different how people perceive fame. Mm-hmm. And you were very famous. So how did feel being an industry this long? And then now everybody knows you. Yeah, it was different. It was different because you're playing your music. And all of a sudden you see everyone singing that song. Like, they know it. It's like, how do you know it though? I know it's on the radio, but like, it's something that you try to strive for because you're not that you want to be famous, but you want people to like what you do. And that kind of comes with a price as well. Because then your privacy, like, all I saw was walls of security. People at one point, I couldn't go anywhere. Like, you guys know, at that time for you guys, it was pretty amazing. It was scary, but, you know, you just kept going. It's like, it was a circle of, we're doing interviews for 10 hours. And then we're going to go play the show. And we're going to get two, three hours sleep and go to the next play. I just kept going. It got to the point where, and this was before I went out on the purporting tour, I had a talk with my team and I said, we want to break the record in Europe first before the states. So when I come back to the states, it'll be right. Right. And that's what we did. So we spent like a month or so in Europe first and broke the record. But I did every publication, every single thing. And what I tried to do was so I wouldn't feel like I was doing it by myself. I forced the band. I told them that everything that I do, you guys have to do it with me. So it was because I also knew about being comfortable with having a band because I grew up with bands. Yeah. It's all about bands. So everyone's got to do everything together. Everyone had their own makeup bags. I was like, you got to come. Right. Everyone's got to put on makeup. You got to put on your outfits. We go do these signings at these record stores. All this, the interviews, everyone has to do it with me. And they were burnt. Yeah. They're like, wait, yeah. A couple of the people in the band before we even got on the tour wanted to quit. I was like, why? It's too much. And I'm like, I know it is. Yeah. But you know, it also like we just wanted to play. But there's that other side of it. Like I would rehearse my band. We rehearsed for 12 hours. Like, there's a boot camp that I had. And it was no joke what we had to do. Because once we got on tour, like now let's have fun. You did, we did the work before we got on there. Let's do that. Yeah. You got to play this rehearsal like it's the show. So you're ready to go. And, you know, so you get to that point. And now here comes the screaming and the people trying to tear your clothes off. And they're throwing me through the window of the of the limo, where I'm climbing out of a bathroom window out of a store to get the back way. Because then we were going to get stampede it in the mall. It was, it was crazy. Like, I, it was, it was. And I'm like, I don't know that. And it got to the point where I just said, you know, a year or so later. I just said, nah, I don't think so. I don't want that. Really? I turn the management. Everybody was like, what are you saying? I want to go play drums. I'm on a, I want to stop doing it like this. Because it's too much. And I'm missing the most important part of that feeling. Why I started what I was doing, which was playing. And that spirituality of the essence of the real reason why you did it. The real reason. And I was more so singing now and not playing as much. And I just went, this doesn't feel right. I don't want to play drums. I want to play with other artists. And they're like, but, but you, you're you now. Yeah. But you're not just the drummer anymore. You're, you're Sheila E. You, you know, you know, we are the world now. Like, you know, you're being invited to it. For sure. Yeah. You know, you know, you know, yeah. So it was, I mean, it was a lot. You could, even if someone told you how it would be, if that possibly have, you're never prepared. Because you, you can read the book and just say, okay, here are the steps. It doesn't go like that. It does not go that way. You have to like figure it out. And you have to make sure that you have the right team with you to help you get through it. And I always said that, that it was, you know, we talk about having the foundation correct. And it was my foundation wasn't always correct. And meaning the foundation of the right people to help you to get through. And because a table does a stand on two legs, you need three legs. Mm-hmm. So if you got to have the, the best three people and you're to, to house that foundation to make it right. Yeah. And that, you know, it, it fell. It's, it's funny because a lot of what we understand, and about the industry, we don't realize it because we're going through it at the time. But, um, there are shifts. Mm-hmm. Like, you know, you, you, you start off one way, then you start off another way. And, and it seems like the pendulum goes from far left to far right. And that's where the anxiety comes in. Because when you think about it, that's what we want it, right? We want to be famous. We want to people scream your name. Then we get it. And then we're like, I don't want this. Never mind. Right. You know what I'm saying? Right. So now, and I know personally myself, I went through kind of a, a guilt phase. Because it's like, well, Sean, this is what you want it. Mm-hmm. You can't slap God in the face. Right. You asked for it. Right. He gave it to you. Right. So what's the problem? So now you're going through kind of a, like, man, should I accept this? Should I sign all 300 people's autograph while I'm trying to eat a taco? Exactly. You know, you go through these guilt. I know you go through 100%. You know what I'm saying? And the only solution is to do what you did, which was going. Because it becomes too much. But then you realize, again, this is the other phase that you can have both. Yeah. Right. It's very possible. Yes. I know personally, I'm in what I call the gold standard for an artist. I can have great conversations with legends like yourself. And then get in my car, go to Ralph's, get Turkey bacon. Right. Hang out with my kids. Julie, do you shop at Ralph's? Yes. Yes. Not all the time, but yes. Ralph's is where is that? I'm telling you. So, so, so, so, so, income thing. Yeah, you know, I mean, you know, you know, you get like us, man. But, um, and, and then be able to get on a plane, whether it's commercial or private, and perform for 30,000 people. And they go back home. And I go in my office and play Call of Duty. Like, yeah. It's that sweet spot that we were looking for. Right. But we had to go through. Correct. Those two extremes for us to find the middle. Mm-hmm. Another thing that Terry Lewis taught us, he was like, the middle is where is that? Mm-hmm. That's where it's at. It won't be too high. It's nowhere else to go. Mm-hmm. You don't want to go on the bottom. Because it's the bottom. So, to be in that sweet spot where, just like you said, tomorrow, you're going to Washington state. The performer from the thousands of your fans. Mm-hmm. That love you. Mm-hmm. And you, because you've been through these extremes, you understand how to go. Okay. I did the show. I'll go back home. Drink my tea. Watch my favorite program. I'm going to do it next week. You got both. I don't know. It's amazing. It's a great place to be. It's a great place to be. It's a great place to be. Oh my God. It's an awesome place to be. It really is. Because you realize I don't have to have four bodyguards. First off, they're too expensive. Well, it draws. It draws too much attention. It does. Right. And I don't need it. When I have security with me, then the jaw's attention. It draws too much attention. If I don't have to, I don't. How do you stay in Cognito now? I don't. I'm just being mean. And that's the sweet spot. This is the sweet spot that we're talking about. I'm not trying to not. I'm just being mean. If people recognize me fine, I can take a picture of what it is. And because you don't make it a big deal, they don't make it a big deal. They don't make it a big deal. Exactly. So they're still excited. Yeah. Like, I can show you a picture now. You can go on my Instagram now. I took a picture with a guy in the airport. I saw that. And he posted. So I just reposted it. Yeah. I was like, it's all good. You know what I mean? Like, he was, oh my god, you show him about the cry. I was like, that's cool, man. Just take a picture. We just took the picture. Don't do all that. Yeah. I was like, okay, cool, man. Have a good flight. And I left. You know what I'm saying? And you made his day. It made me feel good. Yeah. Because I was acknowledged and he was real cool about it. Right. Exactly. And that was it. But it is funny that you have to go through these extremes. Yeah. To find the middle passage in the ocean. That balance is everything. Yeah. That's kind of the analogy of life too. It is. Very much so. Yeah. Like I said, being a parent, being a husband or wife or anything. Exactly. The music industry is about is life times 100. It is. That's all it is. Yeah. But the fame actually led you a role in a hip hop classic. Mm-hmm. Crush groove. Now, I'm going to, I'm going to be honest. When I went to see that movie and I saw the previews, I was like, um, I'm uncomfortable. This is me as a kid because I was like, okay, I know Sheila E love Sheila E. I like LL too. Like Rundee MC too. How are they going to blend these cultures together? And it not either look corny. Or it'll slight one or the other. And even back then, I was like really sensitive about my culture. Mm-hmm. Sure. So when I saw you on the screen, I was like, oh, I'll just. You're not the only one who said who felt like that. Yeah. Yeah. No, no. I heard. Yeah. No, I was like, I really hope that they don't either play her or make the whole thing look kind of washed. And in that whole thing, you had those same types of feelings or. No, no, no, no, people around us and when. And the way that I was treated with the other artists in that movie, some of them, it was bad. And they're, you know, it's like, how are you just going to come in and try to rap? And I'm like, trying to like I just love music. I just want to play. And this is not that it's an interpretation, but a lot of stuff that we were already. And I was recording at the time, had somewhat of a rap situation with, with melody. And, you know, jump beats like all day, no, I can make those jump beats. Yeah. No, no problem. Right. But I wasn't trying to be someone else, but because they looked at me as, you're not a hip hop artist. Why are you even in the movie is what I got? Why are you here? Yeah. And I'm like, why are you asking me? Well, it was, it was, it was a trip because I'm like, I didn't, to me, they made me look at it. It was like, I never even thought of it that way because I'm playing music. I love music and I love hip hop and I love, I love all music. Yeah. Like, why can't I be here? Yeah. Yeah. It was weird. And you almost quit. I did for a minute. Yeah. I did quit the movie for a minute. I had two intents and the, there was the scene. Oh, actually, it was love is our, we were filming love is our, and that was the, for one of the singles, we're filming love is our in the club and the audience, you know, the, the, where we're back east in New York. I don't know, remember where was where we were in the crops. Hard core hip hop. Yeah. Hard core. So you got all these extras and we're doing love is our, and at the end of love is our, you know, they're supposed to clap when we go down the stairs. We're done with love is our, they're like this. They're like, and the director said, wait, hold on, cut. Michael's like, cut. And he said, you guys, we're filming a movie. You're supposed to clap for Sheila E. Like, they're like, she, you know, you know, it was crazy. Like, love is our was not a hip hop song. We didn't say that it was, right. It was a me performing in the club. I was trying to get seen, but it was the, it was the scene. It, the extras stood there like this. Like, this is gave her shame. And disrespect like that. Wow. Yeah. And then some of the other artists who were there, they were just treating me like, what you coming in here trying to do. Like that whole, like, and I, and I had to go the, the, who'd I talk to? Um, it was Curtis. And I went to him and I said, man, these people are so mean. And he's like, what? And I said, and I named the rappers who were really mean to me. And he's like, what are they doing? And I told him, he goes, are you serious? I said, I am serious. I said, I don't need to take this like this is wack. You know, I, it was wrong. And he said, that's not. And then him and besides someone else, they came up and they said, you have to stand up to them. But why do I have to go like this when it should just, I respect, I'm respecting who they are and I love and I'm fans. But I got to go to you like this. Right. Why do I have to do this? Right. That was the point. Yeah. So I was like, no, I'm leaving by. I literally just walked out. I walked out and said, I'll see you. I'm done. I didn't care about the contract money. It didn't matter. That's not, that's not why I was there. because of the love of music. Right, right, right. Right, right, right. Right. And they had to talk... Listen up. Huh? That means you. Yes, you. We know you're pointing at yourself. When it comes to party power games, we've got a place made for all sorts. From the experts to the drama queens. It's made the JC. The finance bros. Look at those stucks, lads. We'll stick with slots. It's what we're good at. And not forgetting you. Yes, you, the one listening. Because at party power games, we've got all sorts of games for all sorts of tree coals. eligibility rules in terms of conditions apply. Please gamble responsibly. Aton Plus, gamble aware.org. I, you know, the scenes that were coming up, I was like, see, I'm not doing nothing. That's wow. Well, thank God that you were able to get through it because it's still one of my favorite movies. And it did become a hip-hop classic. You know, but again, I ain't going to lie as a kid sitting in the screen. I was like, this... LAUGHTER Let's hope this is good, guys, because I'm going to be really pissed off as, you know, 12-year-old or whatever, however old I was. But, okay, you know what? What's going to happen is we're going to need a part three and a four much later on down the line. I told you, Sean. I know, I know. No, I told you. No, no, I told you. LAUGHTER I said we got to have that five hours there. Yeah, like, because... I would love to come back. No, I really appreciate it. Because there's still a lot of things that... Yeah. I want to touch on... We told each other about that, Sean. Yeah. But all right, but let's lighten the load a little bit. You mentioned in your book that you have a lot of... You had a lot of good... A lot of memories of TV shows. Oh. Your top five favorite TV shows you watched as a kid. Mm-hmm. Oh my God, the Brady Bunch. A classic. Wow. Who doesn't like the Brady Bunch? I know. And it's hard because there's so many... You got to do five. Oh, that is so hard. Batman and Robin. Yeah. The OG Batman and Robin. Yeah. The OG Adam West. Adam West. Adam West. Oh, I could name 10... OK, five. Nope, just five. Brady Bunch, Batman and Robin. Yep. OK. Three more. Green Hornet. Green Hornet or Bruce Lee? Yes. Yeah. See, you see, you all know about that? Yeah, yeah. I'm not that young. Good. Yeah, yeah. Did you like Bruce because he was from the Bay? No, not because he was just the most incredible human being ever on the planet. I just saw a video him catching a bow and arrow. I saw that. I saw that. Six. No, he's... OK, what is that? OK, that's three. Two more. Two more. I don't want to say Partridge family because that... No, the Brady Bunch is better. It was. It was. But I fuck with Departridge. Family, you know what I was saying? It was cool. All right, but go ahead. Two more. Does it have... Can it be Speed Racer? Hell yeah, can be Speed Racer. Go Speed Racer. Go Speed Racer. Go Speed Racer. Oh my God. I can't even... I know I'm going to be mad because there's like... OK. One more. Last one. Got to be a good one. Love boat. OK. Love boat. OK. That was what... OK. I know. I know. Well, here's a thing because when Love Boat came out, this was my first boyfriend and I was in elementary school and it was like, we're going to call each other during Love Boat. Yes. So it was a thing. That was my first crush. There it is. There it is. I love those. I watched every single one of those. I was going to think that you was going to see, say either Love American Style or a breeze company. No, not that much to this company now. OK. All right. OK. All right. What's your favorite restaurant? Here in LA. Anywhere. I don't care. Home. All right. So you're sitting at home. Mom and pops just, well, moms, whooped you up a nice little dish. OK. Shout out to moms. Hi, mom. And you're eating at the table. And in walks. A younger version of yourself. OK. Uh-huh. She's been looking for you. Uh-huh. He's been trying to figure out some things. And she wants to know what her future holds. So you sit across the table from you. Grab some of your food. She sits across the table for me. OK. And she looks in your eyes. Waiting. Uh-huh. You tell us something good. What would the older Sheila say to the younger Sheila? What advice would you give her? Everything that you're going to go through. There's a reason. There's a light at the end of the tunnel. Some of the struggles are something that you would never want anyone else to go through. However, God has a reason to bring you through those trials and tribulations to get you to be the person that he wants you to be. Um-hmm. Um-hmm. Part three will consist of exactly what it is she's talking about because I know what she's talking about. But we're going to get into it on a part three. And we're going to talk about how she's triumphant of all of those great, you know, trials and tribulations that she had to go through in her life. For her to still be the beautiful, amazing spirit that she is. Ladies and gentlemen, please give it up for Miss Sheila. Thank you. Thank you. The eternal Sheila. That's the least stands for eternal Sheila eternal. Hey y'all and that was on that note. Hope you guys enjoyed it. And if you did, here's a couple more videos for you to check out. Do not forget to like, comment and subscribe.