#135 Bashiri Johnson- Percussionist for Whitney Houston, Michael Jackson, Luther Vandross & More!
This week’s episode is sponsored by Sweetwater. It is the end of their drum month with all sorts of giveaways. Head over to Sweetwater (dot) com and also check out the other deals they have.
This week’s guest is Bashiri Johnson. He is a New York City-based percussionist, whose work has appeared on many records, as well as in commercials, films, television, videogames, and concert performances. He is known to be one of the most recorded percussionists in the music business, as well as one of the most visible. While he has recorded with such artists as Luther Vandross, Miles Davis, and Patti LaBelle, he has also been a part of numerous on-stage performances; he has performed on stage with artists such as Sting, Michael Jackson, Whitney Houston, Lionel Richie, Aretha Franklin, Steve Winwood, and Mirco Nasuti.
Special guests (and friend of the show), Nate Morton (episode 65) and Sean Halley join Damon and Marcos for the segments. They have a new album called: Poptosis! Their band name is the Fraudprophets. The song we featured is called “I Think I Just Said That”.
Damon mentions that there are parts of it that remind him of the Serious Moves instructional DVD by Dennis Chambers (along with Gary Grainger , Jim Beard, and John Scofield).
Educational Spotlight for this week…..
Pasic badges go up in price after the 31st of July, so get yours ASAP!
CD Baby’s DIY Musician Conference announced two keynote speakers in Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson and Darryl (DMC) McDaniels.
Product Reviews for this week…..
The wearable metronome, Soundbrenner was talked about.
Iconic Recording for this week….
“I’m Every Woman” by Chaka Kahn, performed by Whitney Houston, featuring our special guest this week, Bashiri Johnson on percussion. The great Narada Michael Walden was brought up when talking about album credits. The bar Damon brings up is the Sugar Bar in NYC.
Damon got to hang out with (friend of the show) Aaron Draper (episode #10 and episode #77) who is on tour with John Mayer right now. While in attendance, Damon ran into (friend of the show) Carter McLean (episode #92).
If you’re looking for festivals in your area, head over to Jambase (dot) com (slash) festivals for more listings.
Music News for this week…….
How to Book Bigger and Bigger Shows Over Time. ‘Hitsville’: Dr. Dre, Jamie Foxx Talk Motown’s Legacy in New Doc Trailer coming to Showtime with other great guests involved. Sean mentions Dr. Licks, and his instructional books. The Newport Folk Festival 2019 went on this past weekend in Rhode Island and it was celebrating its 60th year (shout-out to friend of the show, Scott Quintana -episode #109, for performing with Kacey Musgraves). PledgeMusic Pulls Its Site Down as Artists Remain Unpaid. Here’s a sample of some of the artists owed money by Pledgemusic. Prince Once Refused to Collaborate With Nas Because He Didn’t Own His Masters.
The song leading into the interview is “Never Too Much” by Luther Vandross.
Damon and Marcos traveled to Brooklyn to talk with Bashiri. One of Bashiri’s inspirations is Airto Moreira. You can check out some of the recordings Airto is on by CLICKING HERE.
Bashiri’s name means “bringer of goodness” in Swahili. It was given to him by the percussionist, producer Mtume who played with Miles Davis. He also had his own band that had the popular song “Juicy Fruit”, which was later sampled by the Notorious B.I.G. in the song “Juicy”.
One of the first recordings Bashiri ever did was on the Stephanie Mills track, “What Cha Gonna Do With my Lovin’”
One of the programs that helped out Bashiri in his youth was Jazzmobile.
The “bussing program” that Bashiri references is in regard to desegregation.
Damon talks about visiting the M.I.M. (Musical Instrument Museum) in Phoenix, AZ.
You can see Bashiri featured in Michael Jackson’s documentary, “This is It”.
Bashiri participated in the Grand Opening of The Shed (NYC).
You can sign up for Bashiri’s newsletter if you would like. Just CLICK HERE.
One of the important moves that Bashiri made to further his career, was to embrace the new electronics that were coming out.
Bashiri mentions his Sample Libraries. Here are a couple…..
as well as this one too!
One of the drum machines Bashiri brings up is the Yamaha RX7. Another one brought up is the Roland TR-808, which was featured in Marvin Gaye’s “Sexual Healing”.
Damon brings up Bashiri’s cameo in the movie “Get Him to the Greek”…..
He’s also in the final scene in Sex in the City 2 with Liza Minnelli.
Bashiri talks about his process if he gets called to record on someone’s project.
This is the breakdown of “What’s Going On” and the Detroit Mix Damon mentions.
A couple other drum machines that Bashiri mentions are the Akai S900 and the MPC.
Bashiri uses Roland Electronics, Latin Percussion instruments, Sabian Cymbals, Vic Firth Sticks and Mallets, Gibraltar Hardware, Audix microphones, & Remo Drumheads.
You can follow Bashiri on his Website, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
The song leading out of the interview is “I Miss You Good” by Bashiri Johnson.
