From high school marching band to leading the groove for the highest caliber of world-class musicians, Narada Michael Walden is living proof that inspiration and education can take you anywhere. We spoke with Narada about his new book, education and inspiration in drumming, and what he is up to with the Narada Michael Walden Foundation.
We are so excited about your new book, Narada Michael Walden: Drumming Spirit and Music, published by Hudson Music, a longtime friend of Drummerworld. What can we look forward to reading about when it’s released?
Something happened, and it was kind of a miracle to me. I met this gentleman on YouTube named Aubrey Dale, and he took my first composition ever on record, “The Cosmic Strut,” from the Visions of the Emerald Beyond album by Mahavishnu Orchestra, and transcribed what I played. Which is not easy! He transcribed what I was playing note for note.
When I realized he could do that, I was like, “Wow, you are really gifted! Why don’t we meet and see if you can’t transcribe more of my pieces?” and we did. Then, it spilled over into making a book so drummers could read it and play it. It’s a very deep book on drumming and that aspect of my life. I’m very excited about the release!
We all begin our journey in music somewhere, and you often proudly sport your high school marching band hat. Did you learn anything in your marching band days that helped you later in your career?
Plainwell, Michigan. Where I come from is out in the country. When they do parades, they’re long—they could be seven miles long. You’re playing for seven miles straight because the drums never stop. All the horns stop, and they keep marching, but the drums never stop. So you really get strong.
Our drum major was also a drummer of the highest caliber, a snare drum champion. So, knowing he was up there, we had to give it to him and do our very best. During my freshman and sophomore years, it got me really strong. Then, he was going to graduate, and he asked, “How would you like to be the drum major?” I said, “I’d be honored.” He said, “You’ve got to go drum major school.” I said, “Okay”.
So before my 11th year, I went to drum major school and learned how to do the baton, the whistle, and the commands. As soon as you arrive at the school, you’re competing against other people. Very, very intense, but I loved it and loved being a drum major. That also brought up my leadership qualities. I’m really happy that all these things happened when I was younger, as I can now draw from these experiences.
So many drummers today are learning to play differently than in the past, given the evolution of YouTube and other remote lesson platforms. Do you believe the structure of playing music in school and taking in-person lessons helped you more than a “do it yourself” approach would have?
With the way I was raised, it was perfect for me. I needed to have hands-on in the room, saying “do this, work on this, try this”, to develop playing one hand on one thing, and the other hand against it playing something different, you know what I mean?
Train your brain like riding a bicycle, like the Jim Chapin book, The Blue Book (Advance Techniques for the Modern Drummer), and then train your feet to become involved so you can do four things at once. Then, if you’re going to sing, you’re going to do five things at once. It’s really independency. So many people say, “Well, you sound so great on Wired with Jeff Beck or Mahavishnu!”, but it’s really because of my childhood lessons in independency, where I could do these things.
I’m really thankful for Harold Mason in my life, who first taught me about independency. Tom Kerry, for the five-stroke and seven-stroke rolls. My teachers were also on the road, seeing all these drummers as I traveled across America, playing a little dive nightclubs. You see so many genius drummers in the world that are out there playing nightly. Learning from watching and how they’re turning the audiences on and getting the vibe. I’m just really, really thankful I was able to get out when I was young, and see things, learn things and adopt them.
You have mentioned how being able to play the drum beat on James Brown’s “Cold Sweat” was a must as you came up. Please tell us more about what this drumbeat signifies.
Yeah man, Clyde Stubblefield, even back then we didn’t even know his name or who was playing on the new song by James Brown. It was just like, “stop time”, when you heard that record, it was just something you had never heard before. That is a beat we had never heard before. Like, “What is this?”. Then people started dancing to it. It hooked you.
As a musician, you had to be able to play “Cold Sweat.” Once you could play it, your family looked at you differently, your friends saw you differently, your neighbors saw you differently, musicians saw you differently. That’s how deep “Cold Sweat” is. Play that and make people dance? You’re a pro! That beat was mighty, and to this day, it’s mighty. We have a lot of love for all those cats like Clyde Stubblefield.
What other drummers were big influences as you grew up?
All the cats of that generation who brought the funk to us. Motown Records, Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, all the great people who did all those records in Chicago with Curtis Mayfield, and the young Maurice White, who started Earth, Wind and Fire. All those great cats who brought the funk in new ways to us.
I want to thank Billy Cobham for inspiring me the way he did with Mahavishnu Orchestra’s In the Morning Flame album and Birds of Fire, his band called Dreams, and of course, his own solo work. He’s a phenomenal gift. I also want to thank Jimi Hendrix’s Mitch Mitchell and how genius he is to put it down for Jimi.
On the jazz side, Elvin Jones and Art Blakey and all those genius people. There’s so much that we have to pick from, you know. On the funk side there is one hero a lot of folks never heard of, but he’s big in my book. His name is Sandy McKee from a band called Cold Blood. I listened to him so much and I just tried to imitate how clean he was. He was animalistic, like a tiger, and fiery. I have many heroes, but I have to say Steve Gadd is another one because he’s so clean, and so passionate, and so raw when he wants to be. He’s a raw, raw, raw, man. He needs to go into jail, we need to lock him up! And Bernard Purdie, all these! I just ball up all these things that I love and put them in my own gumbo!
You established the Narada Michael Walden Foundation in 2004 to help young people in the bay area. Could you share more about the work you do with the foundation?
Thanks so much for asking. Years ago, there was a real drought in the schools out here in California and maybe across the nation, where music was not being taught in school. And we, as board members for the Grammys, would go into the schools and try to inspire kids with music. I really saw that there was a great need for more love, light, and music with the kids, the young singers, the young musicians and the young drummers. They needed some real juice.
So I thought, “What can I do?” I decided to start here, in Marin County, putting together shows where I could hand-pick up-and-coming kids and get them on a show. Then, I would plug in a superstar or two to the show, and playing and working together would inspire them, the audience, and everyone. I just love what happened. The superstar was encouraged and inspired, and the kids were encouraged and inspired. It was a win-win.
This year the great Lisa Fisher came, who sings with the Rolling Stones and has sung with Tina Turner, as well as having her own solo albums. I was very happy to have such greatness working with the kids. Also, we had Run DMC, Darryl McDaniels, come out and really raise the roof with “Walk This Way” and all that New York energy! I’ve been doing this now for 25 years. It’s really grown, and we do it almost every year.
When you look at Narada Michael Walden’s whole career, it is easy to see how his influences and education helped build one of the most impressive resumes in drumming, and all of music for that matter. Add that to his talent, fire, and energy, and you have a recipe for success. Stay tuned as we continue to tell more of his story!