♪♪ -A virtuoso drummer with an electric love story, Cindy Blackman Santana is our guest this week on Nevada Week In Person.

♪♪♪ Support for Nevada Week In Person is provided by Senator William H. Hernstadt.

-Welcome to Nevada Week In Person.

I'm Amber Renee Dixon.

As a baby, she would tap out rhythms on whatever she could find that made a noise when you hit it.

That's according to her mom who played the violin.

Her grandmother was a classical pianist.

And at 13 years old is when she got her very first professional gig as a drummer.

She'd go on to play in Lenny Kravitz' band, then later meet and marry Carlos Santana.

Now a touring drummer in that band, she is also a composer, singer, and a songwriter.

Cindy Blackman Santana, thank you for joining Nevada Week In Person.

(Cindy Blackman Santana) Thank you.

It's a pleasure.

-So I was telling you off camera that in my research, I learned a new word, which is virtuoso.

You are a virtuoso drummer.

Many other people describe you in this way, and what that means is you are "someone who excels in the technique of an art, especially a high-skilled musical performer."

You don't remember, though, when someone first called you that?

-First, no, I don't remember the first time.

It's-- you know, that's something that kind of stays on the periphery of my brain, because I'm not there yet from my perspective, because there's so much that I am learning about.

-Still?

-Yes, about playing my instrument.

You know, there are so many incredible musicians to draw from.

You know, I listen to my heroes, and I'm like, I don't have that like I want it yet, or I'm hearing this, and how best can I get this sound out of my drums?

So there's always something to, you know, to strive for, something to find, and that's part of the fun is finding new things to learn.

And then applying them is also very fun.

-Who do you reach out to?

Do you have mentors still?

-I have mentors, yes.

My greatest drum mentors are no longer here, but the music that they've left is still here.

And so there's a lot to draw from.

You know, Tony Williams, my ultimate favorite drummer, there's tons of stuff to draw from, you know, that he left for all drummers, especially including me, to listen to and learn from.

-Tony Williams, you went to one of his drum clinics as a teenager.

Am I right?

-I did, yes.

-What was that like?

-Girl, that was one of the most incredible things.

You know, I love sci-fi and I love sci-fi movies, but when I saw Tony, it made science fiction boring.

All my friends were into Star Wars, and I was like, Okay, that's cute.

But to me, the real star wars was watching that guy play drums.

I mean, it was incredible.

I saw this clinic, as you mentioned, with just he and a bass player, and it just blew my mind, because the sound of the drums, his technique, his whole posture behind the drums, his delivery, everything, it was completely innovative.

The sound was amazing.

It felt great.

It was like an exciting journey.

I'll never forget it, because once I heard that, I'm like, Okay, that's my path.

I've either got to be chasing that level or else I'm going to do something else.

-What did Mom think about you becoming a drummer?

-Oh, at first, she was not too happy about it.

My mom is a violinist, and for her, the drums were like just this thing in the, in the back.

She didn't really want to hear them, you know?

So she wasn't really excited about it initially, but I begged my parents for about a year, and then when they really realized that I was very serious, that's when I got my first drum kit.

And my mom tells me that at first she was like, Oh, it just sounds like noise to me.

But she says, Oh, when you started really getting musical and I could hear, I started to like them.

Now she loves the drums, so I converted her.

-You were performing at 13.

Where?

Where was this professional gig of yours as a teenager?

-We played in local bars in local places.

I also performed like, colleges and high schools and little parties and outside festivals and stuff like that, yeah.

-And then I remember, in an interview you gave, you talked about hearing some people in the crowd referencing that you were a lady playing the drums.

And why is-- what were they saying?

Do you remember?

-Girls are not supposed to play drums.

You shouldn't be playing.

Why are you doing that?

You're not supposed to play drums.

And I was the kid.

I was 13, so I was crushed.

-Oh, I thought that you just heard whispers.

-Oh, no, I heard it.

This was in a little bar.

The first time I heard that was in a little bar, so everything was close.

So you could just hear people, and it were these guys saying this.

And I'm like, Why would they say that?

But I went home and I set up my drums.

I was relegated to playing in the basement.

I set up my drums in the basement, and I started playing, and I forgot all about it.

And then that, that was a lesson to me, because I'm like, You know what?

That shows me that whatever they said has nothing to do with me.

That's their own stupid thought.

That's their own opinion, but it's not my opinion.

It has nothing to do with me, and it doesn't affect the fact that I love this instrument so much, so I'm gonna keep playing.

-Awesome.

Yeah.

And you came to that on your own, nobody had to tell you that?

-I did, yeah.

-It says a lot about you probably as being pretty advanced as a young girl, do you think?

-Well, thank you.

Maybe.

You know, I was probably spending a lot of time alone, so I had a lot of time to think, because I was with my drums most of the time.

I liked to really hone in on something and develop.

And the way that I realized that I could do that best was if I was focused, and I'm not going to be focused if I'm running around in the streets.

And I did some of that, too.

I mean, I was on sports teams.

I was on the basketball team, my track team, so, you know, I had my social life.

And I was in the school bands.

So I was around people enough.

So when I had my solo time, I was very happy to have that, because then I could just focus on playing drums and reading.

I did a lot of meditation as a kid, actually.

So I started reading.

I was turned on to the Baha'i Faith as a, when I was 13, so that really helped keep me on a certain path.

-And will you explain that faith for our viewers and for me, too.

Honestly, I'm not familiar with it.

-It's a faith that believes in oneness of all humanity and kindness to all humanity.

-And you know, I don't really practice it anymore, but it's in my core in terms of how I feel about life and how I feel about people.

So it really helped me a lot.

It's a beautiful thing for me to learn and to become involved in as a young teenager, as a young adult, you know?

And it is something that has just really rolled into part of my philosophy.

-Oneness, is that something I've heard recently?

-You've heard that because, you know, I know somebody else who believes in oneness, too, and so the tour that the Santana band is doing is called Oneness.

And that, of course, is Carlos' idea.

And, you know, we didn't even talk about it, and I didn't even correlate the two in terms of what the Baha'i Faith means and, you know, and this tour, until you just said it right now.

But he is totally into that.

So that's probably one of the reasons that we get along so well.

-Okay.

So you meet Carlos Santana when you're playing with Lenny Kravitz, but then how many years later is it that you played in his band for the first time?

-See, I first met him in 2005, and I sat in with his band five years later, in 2010.

-Was there-- there was chemistry, I read, after you performed together, but was there chemistry prior to that?

-No, no.

Because, you know, when I first met him in 2005, I had a boyfriend.

I don't know what he had, you know, but was just a quick meeting, like, because we were on the same festival, you know, and his band played first, and when they came off, I was like-- you know, I was friends already with Dennis Chambers.

He's like a big brother to me.

So he introduced me to Carlos, that was his drummer at the time, and he introduced me to Carlos.

We met, Hi, how you doing?

And then I just kept on my way.

And Dennis and I were watching videos of Tony, so I was interested in that.

And it was always great to meet him, because he's incredible.

-Carlos.

-Yeah, the incredible Carlos.

But there was no chemistry in terms of romance there.

That came after when I subbed and we started talking, and I realized what an incredible spiritual path he was on and the music that he loved.

It's like the same music that I love.

So there was a lot of chemistry that was naturally there and chemistry that was created by the joining together and finding out what we both loved.

So that all came kind of after.

-I know we just met, but who made the first move?

-He did.

And he always says that I did, but I did not.

He did.

-Why would he say that?

-Because he's a joker.

[laughter] You don't know Carlos like I know.

People ask me, you know, they say, What is it like to live with Carlos?

I say, You have no idea.

This guy is so funny.

He has me laughing all the time.

He's just-- he's hilarious.

He always says funny things.

-Well, and how many people know about you, that you sing, that you compose, that you're a songwriter?

-Singing part is very new.

-When did that start?

You haven't been singing for a long time?

-No.

-I've just been wondering this.

No?

-In my shower.

-Okay.

So this was not as a teenager?

This was not throughout your musical development?

-No, not at all, not at all.

-What happened that made you pursue that?

-I wrote this song called "I remember" that was just something that came out of some emotion.

And I wanted to record it, and I wanted Corey Glover from Living Colour to sing it.

And so I demoed it first, and I gave him the demo.

And he was like, This is a woman's song; this isn't a guy's song.

He's like, You should sing, and I said, Well, I'm not a singer.

He said, Yeah, but you should sing it.

You sang it on the demo.

And that was the end of it.

It didn't go anywhere.

And then years later, fast forward to being here in Las Vegas with Carlos, and we're getting ready to do the Power of Peace record with the Isley Brothers, and it came to the last day of the recording, and I said, You know, Carlos, I have this song that I was kind of shy to ask, but I'm wondering if, if Ronnie Isley would sing it.

His voice is so beautiful.

And I played it for Carlos, and he was like, Yes, let's take that into the studio.

So we took it to the studio, and Ronnie said the same thing, This is a female song.

This is not a guy's song.

Somebody else should sing it.

And so he started naming all these women who he thought should sing, and Carlos said, No, they're not singing it.

She's gonna sing it.

Like, Me?

I'm gonna sing it?

Well, I'll give it a try.

So I sang it, and it went on the record.

And then Michael Narada Walden heard that, Carlos played it for him, and he said, I want you to sing.

I want to produce you.

I'm like, Dude, I'm not, I'm not a singer, I'm a drummer.

And he says, Oh, no, you can sing.

And I said, Yeah, but you can't produce me, and I don't want you to.

You did Aretha and Whitney and, like, singers, like real singers.

I'd be scared to work with you.

And he's like, I can produce you, trust me.

No, you need to do this.

And so he kept at it, because I kept saying no, and, fortunately for me, to get another expression out, he kept saying, No, you need to do this.

So we got together and we worked on that, and I sang on my last record called Give the Drummer Some.

-Yeah.

-Yeah.

So that was really my first time singing.

-That's awesome.

Last question.

Because we are in Las Vegas, you told me you moved here with Carlos Santana.

What has this city meant to you in your career?

-Las Vegas is a great launching pad, because, first of all, so many people come here from around the world.

So you know, even if you're not touring or traveling, you're going to come in contact and you're going to be playing and performing for people from everywhere--from Asia, from Europe, you know, from every place.

So it's great for that, and it's wonderful because there's a lot going on here.

And I'm used to a city that has a lot of creativity happening, because, you know, I'm born in Ohio, but I'm really a New Yorker because I lived in New York so long, and there's so much energy in New York and so much creativity.

There's a lot happening here.

So for me, it's exciting because there's always something going on.

And even if I'm not at a show all the time, we're not going to-- I feel the energy of that, you know, the energy of things going on.

So I love that about this city.

-Thank you so much for your time, Cindy Blackman Santana.

-Thank you.