Santana Drummer - Michael Shrieve

Cover of Transfer Station Blue

Famous Drummer - Michael Shrieve by Drew Mers

Some drummers only have chops, but Michael Shrieve has vision, thus says Carlos Santana of Mike Shrieve, an American drummer, percussionist and electronic music composer, best acknowledged for being the original drummer of Santana.

Born on July 6, 1949 in San Francisco, California, Shrieve attended the Junípero Serra High School, and then joined the early lineup of the band Santana at the age of nineteen. At 20, he became the youngest man to perform at the 1969 Woodstock Festival. He helped compose and produce eight albums with the band, but left in 1974 to pursue solo projects.

Since his departure with the band, Shrieve has done collaborations with various artists. In 1976, he played in guitarist Pat Thralls Automatic Man. In 1983, he also became a part of the band Hagar Schon Aaronson Shrieve, also known as HSAS, with vocalist Sammy Hagar, lead guitarist Neal Schon, and bassist Kenny Aaronson. The group recorded during two shows at the Warfield in San Francisco, and released a semi-live album, Through the Fire, in 1984.

During this year, he also played in Roger Hodgsons first album, In the Eye of the Storm. For 5 years, Shrieve was percussionist in Klaus Shulzes side project, Richard Wahnfried, and was able to record with him in three albums, while working also on Schulzes first solo album of electronic music, Transfer Station Blue.

Shrieves other collaborations were with Mick Jagger, the Rolling Stones, Pete Townshend, Steve Winwood, David Beal, Andy Summers, Steve Roach, Stomu Yamashta, Jonas Hellborg, Buckethead, Revolution Void, and jazz musicians Freddie Hubbard, John Laughlin and Jaco Pastorius. He worked together with artists in diverse genres.

Shrieve was producer in a total of 21 albums, some of which are Douglas Septembers Ten Bulls, released in 1998, Santanas Aye Aye Aye in the 2003 album Shaman, and AriSawkaDorias Chapter One in 2006. His work on Aye Aye Aye was regarded by Rolling Stone magazine as one that achieves globe-spanning euphoria. Shrieves television and film credits include the 1982 Paul Mazursky film The Tempest, 1986s Children of Time Square, 1987 Curtis Hanson film The Bedroom Window, and 1990s The Take.

Apart from writing, producing, and playing on albums that have sold millions of copies worldwide, Mike Shrieve also had his share of recognitions. In 1998, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and in 2005, he received Guitar Centers first annual Lifetime Achievement Award. He is on the alumni Wall of Fame at John F. Kennedy Middle School in Redwood City, CA. Shrieve was also cited for his exceptional work in a number of publications, such as The New York Times, Downbeat, Billboard, Modern Drummer, Musician, Drum, Paris Match, Melody Maker, and Life Magazine.

Shrieve currently lives in Seattle, Washington. He continues to compose, produce, and play drums. At present, he plays with Spellbinder, a jazz/fusion group. The band performs on a weekly basis at ToST in Fremont, Seattle.

Drew Mers is a consultant to Empire Rehearsal Studios, which rents aspiring bands, musicians and drummers rehearsal studios in Long Island City, Queens, New York - about 10 minutes from midtown Manhattan and consultant to City Closet Storage, one of the largest New York self-storage companies.

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