April 16, 2025 • 31 mins
On this week's In Service Of an incredible episode as the legendary Carlos Santana sits down for a one on one conversation with Steve Baltin. During the remarkable chat Santana talks about meeting Jimi Hendrix, his friendships with Miles Davis and promoter Bill Graham, his days at the Fillmore and much more.
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Speaker 1 (00:04):
Hi, it's Steve Balton and welcome to In service of
this week, we have such a treat for you. I
sat down with the legendary Carlos Santana for a guided
tour through rock and roll history. Listen to Santana's stories
about Jimmy Hendrix, Miles Davis, Bill Graham, B. B. King,
(00:25):
and so much more. This is one of the shows
you will be riveted to and you do.
Speaker 2 (00:30):
Not want to miss. Thanks so much, Well.
Speaker 1 (00:48):
First off, thanks for being here. It's always so great
to see you. I mean, you know, it's really interesting
that both this record and the book take you on
the journey through your past, because last time we spoke actually,
come to think of it, it was for the documentary
for you. The record is particularly interesting to me because
when you put these pieces together from your career, you
(01:09):
get to see all these different things in a different way.
Speaker 2 (01:12):
You know.
Speaker 1 (01:13):
It's funny like you have songs on there with Michael Jackson,
Smoking Robinson, look at your friendship with Miles. Did these
songs sort of like do that change for you over
the years, because you know, you're a different person now
you've had this whole life.
Speaker 3 (01:29):
Yes, it's such a blessing to be in a situation
where I'm ating to participate with Miles and Smoking Robinson
at Michael Jackson at my brother's home Run DMC, so
(01:49):
uh and my wife Sindy. You know, it's it's a
real blessing to be part of I quote, a big
rolodex and a big portfolio kind of thing, you know,
because since the beginning in Santana's never been a one
trick pony. You know, we like expand and expand in
(02:14):
that sand, you know, because of the cold trade.
Speaker 1 (02:18):
Yeah. Well, you know it's interesting though, because what I
particularly love about it, it's a wonderful record, and the
guitar work on there is like stunning. But what's interesting
about it is, you know, again, when you're in the
midst of playing with Miles or maybe when you're working
with Michael Jackson or Darryl from Run DMC, you know,
they're just your friends. And now, of course you have
(02:39):
this history of looking at them and the perspective of like,
holy shit, they change the world. So does your view
on them change and does it also make you appreciate it?
Like being part of that history of getting to work with,
like I mean, Miles is one of the most influential
people in history. People called Michael the King of pop
and now you can look back on them with some dish,
(03:00):
because when you're doing it, you're just trying to get
the song right.
Speaker 3 (03:05):
Just sort of compliment, you know. I learned a long
time ago in San Francisco because of Bill Graham. He
would create a situation at the Field World where if
you want to see the Grayful Dad, you gotta see
Miles Davis first. If you want to see Santana, you
gotta see Roland Kirk. So he created a situation for
the hippies that he exposed us as hippies to life
(03:31):
and music from all over the world, including soundbra you know,
and Willie Bogo and bock bo Is. I was like, bam,
you know all so we played Bill Graham Immensity for
Bill Brahm and Cloud Knobs from Montreux. You know, they
were supreme instrumental and helping musicians spread their ways of
(03:53):
creativity and imagination.
Speaker 1 (03:57):
That's interesting said, Do you think that because you and
I have talked so much over the years about collaboration,
do you feel like your appreciation for collaboration came apart
from Bill.
Speaker 2 (04:07):
Oh?
Speaker 3 (04:08):
Yeah, because Bill, I learned to appreciate B the King,
Peter Peter Green, Michael Bloomfield and Willie Nelson, you know,
and and and one and one breath, you know, which
is like, uh, it was it as they call it now.
(04:28):
It was very organic, very natural, normal, and it opened
my ears and my heart too that I could learned
to articulate the language of sun Ra and Albert Eiler,
you know, and and at the same time with the
Grateful Dad and quin Silver and you know, uh and
(04:49):
Genius Choplin. Uh. Somehow I convinced myself to believe that
I belong in that stage with all of it.
Speaker 1 (05:01):
Well, you did. But it's funny because I mean, as
a kid, you know, as a musician, of course, you're
always trying to prove yourself. You're always trying to better yourself.
Was there one moment for you where you sort of
had that epiphany of like, Okay, I can be up here.
Because I remember the first time I interviewed BB King,
I was scared shitless. He could not have been nicer,
but I was sear to say seventy one. I was like,
(05:21):
what are they going to be asking this legend that
he hasn't been asked one hundred and sixty eight times before.
Speaker 3 (05:27):
I agree with you, BB King me coming from Tikwana,
BD King was the white whale. He was the ultimate,
you know for guitar players. You know, because I did
grew up with Jenley Booker, Lightning Hopkins and Jimmy Reed
by b. B King was on a whole other level.
And because I had discovered gob O Versavo or west
(05:51):
Legomer you get, you know, so BB King.
Speaker 2 (05:54):
Was was it?
Speaker 3 (05:56):
Therefore I joined Peter Green and Michael Bluefield with the love,
respect and nomination for BB King. And once I met
Baby King, he told me, he said Santana. I said, yes, sir.
He says, you don't only have a great sound, you
have a brand sound. I was like, whoa, thank you, BB.
(06:18):
You know, so I'm going to create a book about
validations because if I tell you what Miles said about me,
or what Jimmy said, like Jimmy, I met Jimmy and
he came and shoot my hand and he was Santana right.
I said, yes, he goes, I love your choice of notes.
Can you imagine hearing that from Jimmy Andrews to you?
(06:39):
I was like, paint you sir no, and with Mia
I said. Michel said to me, if he said I
was walking away from him, and his dephew said, Miles
said to me, if you were walking away, that's a
bad motherfucker there, you know.
Speaker 2 (07:01):
So to be.
Speaker 1 (07:02):
Validated just having Miles like you is enough.
Speaker 3 (07:05):
Yeah, to be validated by Miles and way Shore and Herbie,
you know, and Donty Williams. I mean, I'm just really
grateful and this is a beautiful life.
Speaker 2 (07:16):
You know.
Speaker 1 (07:17):
Well it's funny do you see that now when you
put this book together, which is so beautiful. But it's
like because again, like we talked about the documentary, as
an artist, you're always looking ahead. So when you have
something like this where you know Jeff Tremarkin, who I've
known it for years and I think I'm at once
or twice great journalist, you know, you get to see
everything through someone else's eyes. So is it interesting to
(07:40):
you to look back and see like wow, like this
is so cool to look at this and this record
and you know, to appreciate everything in life, because again
it's funny, like you know, Rob Thomas, I've known for years,
and when you look at the sort of arc of
it to see the success of Smooth and everything in
the Grand scheme. It's kind of a little surprise. It's
(08:01):
like Aerosmith becoming this huge rock band in the eighties
based on MTV videos.
Speaker 3 (08:08):
Yeah, I developed a peak appreciation to have a place
in the sun, in a place in the United States.
I came to America in sixty two, and the biggest
things back then were Royan Rogers and Willie Mays, you know,
and I was like, yeah, you know. But then all
of a sudden, I come to America and because with
(08:30):
Bill brand I discover consciousness revolution. In San Francisco, you go,
you go to this guy's house, the hippie house, and
they're playing Robbie Shall guard in John Coltrane, you know,
and they're playing the Doors and Jimmy Henders. You know.
So by going to people's houses, it was it was
(08:51):
to be with like being a university and you go
into a dormitory and everybody's room. You're learning something incredible
about artists. And so that iobil Graham in San Francisco
a lot.
Speaker 1 (09:07):
And when you look back on his fuddies, they're like
those musicians that you know, maybe at the time too,
you're in the midst of things, and then you look
back and you're like, wow, that changed things for me,
you know, as like just a player, or as a
friend or as a fan. You mentioned the validation you got,
but I'm sure there are players that you can look
back and see, like, I learned so much from that person,
(09:30):
you know, and when you take it into this record again,
we can look at the fact that, like you've gotten
to work with so many different people, you know, is
there one person that you feel like you besides Bill
Graham one musician they really learned to develop an appreciation
for collaboration for Was there one musician, because like Miles,
you'll collaborate with so many people, but he had fucking
(09:51):
high standards.
Speaker 2 (09:52):
Man.
Speaker 3 (09:52):
Yeah, but that person was that month to bid asset
because our man assep uh maybe a where a tunci
which in olo tuni drums a passion and we did Jingo,
which is one of our first singles on the first album.
So the difference between Peter Green and Marvo Bloomfield and
(10:13):
Eric Clapton a lot of guitar players was the Santana
learned meticulously about old Tunji and Gino Puente reva Reto.
You know, and so I really learned to articulate. I
used to be called Caribbean music musica, then Caribe then
they call it salsa, but really what it is is
(10:35):
African music from all the islands Dasco. Santana learned different
Momo revato, you know. And because I didn't see Jared
Garcia listening to this music, Jared Garcia stock to Blue
Brass and what he listened to. So when I listened
to Reva reto and uh, it's Momo Santa Maria in
(10:59):
Motown with Conga's, you know, and then Bob Dylan, Uh,
Santana just became a whole lot of entity in the
Bay Area.
Speaker 2 (11:09):
You know.
Speaker 3 (11:10):
Uh, I wasn't Uh, I wasn't lagging all of a sudden,
I was right right in the in the front with
everybody as far as like overside of Santana Slidestone.
Speaker 2 (11:25):
You know.
Speaker 3 (11:26):
Uh, We're we're creating music. This going outside of San Francisco.
It's becoming global, you know. Uh, Santana one of the
was one of the first global bands. Because of my
association with bab King, Jeter Gwente and Olotuni and Coltring
and Miles Davis. All of a sudden, Santana became where
(11:50):
Bob Marley is what they call it third world? Uh
what do you call it? Third world music?
Speaker 2 (11:56):
You know?
Speaker 3 (11:57):
Uh? For me it was natural because I just love
African music and the rhythms and the colors and the melodies,
and so I learned that I could articulate this that's
the word. I could articulate and and understand this language.
So then when I play now with the Boris, which
(12:18):
is in Hungarian gypsy, you know, I grew up with
the Gypsies. Man. I grew up with Manita, Lata, Jack Radart,
the Borisa, Popular Lucia and Segobia. So when I learned,
like like George Harrison, we learned to expand ourselves, you know,
and listening to Robbie Shocker Dalia par Khan, all of
(12:41):
a sudden, our fingers became a lot more aware of
other dimensions of expression.
Speaker 1 (12:53):
You're such a trendsetter, because it's funny you look at
things now where the world is so much smaller because
of the Internet and every thing. Do you think now,
like how funny it is that like fifty sixty years ago,
you were understanding global music in a way that people
are probably most other people that figure out so thirty
forty years later.
Speaker 3 (13:15):
Yeah, you're right. But for me, I always had a
thirst thirst for adventure, and I wanted to, like like
way Shorter in Moths Data says, I wanted to dive
into the unknown, you know, and and learn how to
play with alt of either or John Coldprin or Alice
(13:38):
Coldprane or Tony Williams and Larry Young and John mcconklin.
I wanted to know what it's like to go from
Johny Hooker to John Coldpran, you know, in one bread
doom Doom Doom Doom doom doo and boom boo boom
boom boom, we do you know, literal together. And that's
(14:01):
what Myleson's doing and Way Short was do with Sanctuary.
You know, when he did Sanctuary and he played it live,
he put the boogie on it like Johnny Hooker.
Speaker 2 (14:11):
Yeah, but.
Speaker 3 (14:15):
Then got it out, you know, and I was like, yeah,
you know, so I realized that I wasn't the only
one there was experimenting with multi dimensional, multi dimensional cameras.
Speaker 1 (14:40):
So interesting. I never thought about this until this conversation
as we're talking about it, but it's like you know,
you have the residency coming up in Vegas. We just
talked about the success of Smooth. You know, thirty years
after your career started. Do you think the fact that
you were on the global tip so far ahead of
everybody that people are now catching up and that's why
it's still so popular and successful because now people are
(15:03):
understanding like, okay, shit, you were doing this many years ago,
and now the rest of the world is so into it.
Speaker 3 (15:11):
Like I said, it was natural for me because I
grew up at the Filmore the film was. I spent
more time at the Filmore the Mission High School, you know,
so Mission the Film was my alma Mada.
Speaker 2 (15:23):
You know.
Speaker 3 (15:23):
I go to see Cream and Arthur Brown, you know,
and everything that Bill Graham brought over there. I was
there and I used to tell them Bill, I don't
have any money too, but I gotta learn and you
gotta let me in. So I convinced him that, I said,
you know, I need to learn. The only way I'm
going to learn men is that you let me come
in and learn from them, you know. So he said, okay,
(15:45):
you know, you realized that I wasn't going to b
S and I was really coming to the Filmore to
like a sponge, take everything from The Who to Hollywood Wolf,
to Steve Miller to Chot Berry. I mean, I want
I was like a sponge. I'm still a sponge, you know.
And and then he saw that, he says, he says,
you know, I love this is too. Compliments. I got
(16:07):
two compliments, one from Bill Grant and one Clyde Davis.
Bill Grahma says, I love everyone. I love Michael Bloomfield,
I love Eric Clapton, I love Jimmy Hendrews says, but
you you're the perfect child of BB King and TiO Quende.
And I love saw some music, So I love I
love what you're playing. And Clyde Davis said to me,
(16:29):
you and Whitney Houston is my heart. What everybody else
is a job, But with you and Wynney Houston, it's
my heart. And I was like, oh my god. You know,
so I have hold those things very clear to my heart.
You know that someone like Clyde Davis and Bill Graham
would call me so endearingly and after their hearts.
Speaker 1 (16:53):
All right, man, you probably maybe can't answer this question,
I know if you get it up. And now I'm
just curious as a music geek. Best show you ever saw.
Speaker 3 (17:01):
Big show I ever saw was Jimmy Hendrix Vine in
Santa Clara Fairgrounds. I've seen Jimmy many times, but that
day he was beyond supernatural. He was beyond superlatives. I
never seen a human being. Stevie Ray got a little close,
(17:21):
but not quite. There was something about Jimmy Hendrix who
became I mean, you know, you're seeing the guy, You're
hearing the guy, and you can't believe it, you know,
because it's campus that day with Jimmy hender The way
he painted with that guitar, it was so galactic like Coltrane,
(17:41):
I love Spring, it was, it was. It was unbelievable.
Speaker 2 (17:44):
You know.
Speaker 3 (17:45):
I never heard him play better than that day, and
I heard him play a lot of times after that day,
but there was something extremely extreme that day, the way
he played. Of course we were all on ass it,
the audience, you know, and he was two, but he
took us do displays as far as they can take
(18:07):
us in the universe and the galaxy him back in
one breath, you know, and we were like, damn, who
is this guy?
Speaker 2 (18:15):
You know?
Speaker 1 (18:17):
You know that's so interesting as a player, because I've
talked to so many musicians about this, and you get
in the zone where your mind just goes and you're
free and for you can you look back and is
there one show or a moment or like one solo
where you're like, I don't even know who I was anymore?
Like Patti Smith, I'm a huge fan of and she
has said when I'm on stage on like half Perst
(18:39):
and half Animal, and you're like, when you get into
the group, you just started a zone and you're like
someplace else, and is there one show for you where
you can look back on that, like one with Jimmy
and just be like, man, I don't know what happened
that day, but God was just hanging out with me
and playing my guitar.
Speaker 3 (18:58):
Yes, it was a I'm just kidding International. I played
with Ruben Bladdis, Nemo Brothers and Miles Davis in one day,
and each time I sat in with them, I didn't know.
I didn't know what I was doing. I mean it
just I became possessed. Something just took over me. And
(19:18):
when I listened, when I listened to the videos back,
I go damn. And my ex wife said, why don't
you play like that? All the time. And I said, Uh,
easy for you to say, I don't know what the
hell I'm doing. I'm just I'm just it's like you
hanging out to I said, Jim and in the tail
and I'm just going out to be her life. So
(19:39):
I missed the International I think it was. That was
the concert I played with Ruben Bladis and Fella Kunti
and the Uh and the Neville Brothers and Miles Davis
in one day.
Speaker 1 (19:55):
Do you think it's interesting? Do you think it was
just the caliber of the musicians they you were trying
to rise up to them, or it was just that day,
Like I said, God was moving your fingers or the
universe or whatever you want to call it.
Speaker 3 (20:08):
Well, first of all, that day I flew from Australia
to Honolulu, from Honolulu to San Francisco, and from San
Francisco to New Jersey and then I made and so
I had no idea what zone I was in. You know,
my body was like my body just said forget it,
(20:29):
you know, my body just gave up. My mind was
like like a blank canvas.
Speaker 2 (20:34):
You know.
Speaker 3 (20:34):
I was so I wouldn't even say fatigue or tired,
but I was so out of my body. I mean again.
I flew from Australia to Honolulu, Honolulu to San Francisco,
San Francisco to New Jersey and then I went on
stage and played and I was like wow. So when
I heard it and I saw the video, and again
(20:56):
when you see Santia, I played the wood start soon
as you start playing sol sacrifice, the whole audience rice
us after their feet. Now you got a picture this minute.
Santana's never been hurt before. On the radio, there was
no Santana, but we got people up like Slicestone a
Jimmy Hendris. Same thing happened at this concert with the
(21:20):
Naval Brothers, Ruby Blade in My Old Lady and just
something about my energy just went up.
Speaker 1 (21:28):
That's awesome. Well, we're not gonna have a ton of time.
And there's so much to ask you about the name
of the podcast that didn't service up, and it was
it's all about giving back, which I know is something
amazingly important to you. So talk about how giving back
has inspired your work and your music over the years.
And giving back is such a broad thing as a musician, because,
like you say, when you're playing an amnesty with their
(21:50):
you know, with those great musicians. You are lifting a
crowd and you're inspiring them and you're motivating them. That's
a giving back, you know, and of course you get
back so much through philanthropy as well. So talk about,
you know, how this is important to you and how
it's motivated you over the years.
Speaker 3 (22:07):
So I learned from the Lord's pot and says that
jold Is. I learned from Margo Luther King, I learned
from Maala Theresa. One of the greatest compliments that I
ever received was from Morti Gande. This we've played in
Montrox Cloud Nounced. We played with a lot of African
decisions and at the end of the concert, he came
(22:27):
to my dressing group and he started speaking in African
and I don't know what he was saying. To the
translator says, I'm going to translate what he's saying to you.
He said, Santana, your belly is fool, but you're hungry
to feed the people. And I was like, wow, you know,
I never heard anybody give you a compliment like that.
(22:48):
Your billy is fool, but you're hungry to feed the people.
You know that, Just like wow, thank you.
Speaker 1 (23:06):
So talk about how you found the people over the
years something that like that the greatest moments for you
of doing that, because like I said, you do that
both musically and through different work you do.
Speaker 3 (23:16):
I have been aware more than ever that I came
to this planet to remind the individuals, every single person,
you are worthy. God loves you, cherishes you. Look in
the mirror and say, God loves me. He believes in me,
and He's proud of me. And I am number one
(23:38):
in God's heart. Everyone is number one in God's heart.
So Santana's messages, everyone is number one in God's heart.
God made the world round so we can all have
center stage. God made a circle so vast that no
one can stand us outside, you know, And that's missed
it the Santana briefs where we played and I can
(24:00):
kill whether the acts of Eric Clapp or Jimmy Page
or anybody, when we've played, they see the hearers play,
they know that we're bringing that goodness. You know, it's
not American music anymore, and it's not you know, British
music anymore. It's it's it's like a tsunami wave of
(24:21):
light and love. Well, what do you want.
Speaker 1 (24:25):
People to take from the book when they read it,
because I think it's so cool to do a project
like this, and you have so much in there. So
for you, what do you take from it when you
read it? And what do you hope others take from
your experiences? Because, as you say, you came to America
in sixty two, you know you've had such an You've
been around everybody, and you've achieved so much. But you
(24:46):
know through all of that, you've always kept centered and
kept your sense of love and humility. So what do
you hope others take from this?
Speaker 3 (24:55):
I hope they think how much I love my mother
and my father. My mother was a supreme architect. She
got us at an outlami standing little town. Then we
went to Tijuana. Everybody told her she was crazy. And
then from Tijuana she brought us to San Francisco. And
because of my mother, I was able to leave Tijuana.
(25:19):
Was I thought I was gonna die in Tijuana, you know,
because I love Tijuana so much, playing in this nightclub,
and I didn't see myself coming to junior high school
and starting all over and hanging around kids, you know,
because I was hanging around strippers and grown up people
and smoking weed and all kind of stuff, and to
go back to junior high school and hanging around kids
(25:42):
talking about what are you gonna do tonight? Oh, I'm
gonna go steal a car and enjoy ride. I'm like
that she is sounded boring, you know. I'd rather go
to the film where and hang around Bobby Blue Bland
and Rage House and Bide King or something, you know.
So anyway, coming to America because of my mother, that
baby or where that Especially one day we went to
(26:06):
this picnic in Santa sing in the park and when
I got out of the car, I heard all this
music at the same time coming at me. It was
Mariacci music, Latin music, uh, you know, I like Puerto
Rican Cuban music, and some surfers playing rock and roll
(26:27):
all at the same time. It's like a big sandwich
sound common at me, you know. And I said, oh, okay.
So then I combined, you know, this music with that music.
I put it all together. And that's what Santana is,
you know, because see, at that time, the biggest thing
also was Sam de Shamin de Ferres with Willie Bully,
(26:49):
you know, and and uh and and Paul Bottomfield and cream.
So I just I just grabbed all of it, you know,
like this, and when I played my guitar, all of
a sudden, Santiaa could fit with Creta's clear Water. It's
step of the Wolf and sly and we held our own,
(27:11):
you know. I mean, it's quite an adventure, you know,
to come to America and believe that you can actually
belong on stage with them, you know.
Speaker 1 (27:24):
Well, you know what's so interesting is for you to
say it's quite an eventually come to America and believe
you can belong, and you're talking about musically and then
but you know, the irony of that is not lost
on me. And the fact that we're so fucked as
a country in twenty twenty five. So for people to
hear that now, to believe that you can come to
America and belong, it's funny because you mean something so different,
(27:48):
But it's such an important message today.
Speaker 3 (27:52):
Well, yeah, because a lot of people in America are framed.
They have a superiority and in priority conflex and they
want to put this border. You know, see the border
is in the mine already. You don't even have to
build a wall. The walls already in the mine. You know,
we need one another We need people who to come
to America to pick up the food because a lot
(28:13):
of Italians and Irish people and even black people, they're
not going to pick up the food at those prices
and in the heat and the sun, you know. So
we need Mexicans and Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Filipinos. We need
these people to come to America and pick up the
food that we're going to eat. And so for me,
(28:35):
this was this is the this is the best part
of this interview. I learned that we are one family.
Speaker 2 (28:41):
You know.
Speaker 3 (28:41):
I don't believe in patriotism. I don't believe in nationalities.
That's notuff. It's prehistoric and it's bullshit to me, you know,
to me, it is one family. I already went through
the moon, and when I'm a space capsule out there,
I get to see the Earth and we're all one family,
you know. And so that's what's easy for me to
(29:03):
be to see that I belong in our stage in
Ireland playing old Danny boy, you know, and I could
be in the South playing you know, uh whatever with
the Olwen brothers and and this and that. You know,
I don't have any fear men to play with anybody.
You know because I wake up the compliment. You know,
(29:27):
I will not selute anything except the highest good for
old people, live, people in the planet. That is my
flat life. People in the planet that is my flat,
that is my family. Anything else that's a corrupt corporation business,
and I don't follow that.
Speaker 1 (29:45):
That's such a great wrap up note. Is there anything
you want to add that I did not ask you about?
Speaker 3 (29:51):
No, just thinking for it allow me to express uh,
my centeredness, you know, deep in my heart and my center.
That's I bring. I want to bring for everybody, be
free from the trapmans of entanglement trappings. Did you you
you know when I go to the zoo, I am
all the animals, not just the penguin. You know, I
(30:14):
am the tiger, the lion, you know, the giraffe, the buffalo,
you know, the egos. That's who I am. Santana is
is a multi dimensional saying. With astrology, people say what
is your sign? I go all of them and none
of them, you know, because I don't allow anything to
tell me what kind of day I'm going to have.
(30:35):
I decide what kind of day I'm going to have
because I'm connected with God's grace and it's my choice
to have a wonderful, delicious life every day
Hi, it's Steve Balton and welcome to In service of
this week, we have such a treat for you. I
sat down with the legendary Carlos Santana for a guided
tour through rock and roll history. Listen to Santana's stories
about Jimmy Hendrix, Miles Davis, Bill Graham, B. B. King,
(00:25):
and so much more. This is one of the shows
you will be riveted to and you do.
Speaker 2 (00:30):
Not want to miss. Thanks so much, Well.
Speaker 1 (00:48):
First off, thanks for being here. It's always so great
to see you. I mean, you know, it's really interesting
that both this record and the book take you on
the journey through your past, because last time we spoke actually,
come to think of it, it was for the documentary
for you. The record is particularly interesting to me because
when you put these pieces together from your career, you
(01:09):
get to see all these different things in a different way.
Speaker 2 (01:12):
You know.
Speaker 1 (01:13):
It's funny like you have songs on there with Michael Jackson,
Smoking Robinson, look at your friendship with Miles. Did these
songs sort of like do that change for you over
the years, because you know, you're a different person now
you've had this whole life.
Speaker 3 (01:29):
Yes, it's such a blessing to be in a situation
where I'm ating to participate with Miles and Smoking Robinson
at Michael Jackson at my brother's home Run DMC, so
(01:49):
uh and my wife Sindy. You know, it's it's a
real blessing to be part of I quote, a big
rolodex and a big portfolio kind of thing, you know,
because since the beginning in Santana's never been a one
trick pony. You know, we like expand and expand in
(02:14):
that sand, you know, because of the cold trade.
Speaker 1 (02:18):
Yeah. Well, you know it's interesting though, because what I
particularly love about it, it's a wonderful record, and the
guitar work on there is like stunning. But what's interesting
about it is, you know, again, when you're in the
midst of playing with Miles or maybe when you're working
with Michael Jackson or Darryl from Run DMC, you know,
they're just your friends. And now, of course you have
(02:39):
this history of looking at them and the perspective of like,
holy shit, they change the world. So does your view
on them change and does it also make you appreciate it?
Like being part of that history of getting to work with,
like I mean, Miles is one of the most influential
people in history. People called Michael the King of pop
and now you can look back on them with some dish,
(03:00):
because when you're doing it, you're just trying to get
the song right.
Speaker 3 (03:05):
Just sort of compliment, you know. I learned a long
time ago in San Francisco because of Bill Graham. He
would create a situation at the Field World where if
you want to see the Grayful Dad, you gotta see
Miles Davis first. If you want to see Santana, you
gotta see Roland Kirk. So he created a situation for
the hippies that he exposed us as hippies to life
(03:31):
and music from all over the world, including soundbra you know,
and Willie Bogo and bock bo Is. I was like, bam,
you know all so we played Bill Graham Immensity for
Bill Brahm and Cloud Knobs from Montreux. You know, they
were supreme instrumental and helping musicians spread their ways of
(03:53):
creativity and imagination.
Speaker 1 (03:57):
That's interesting said, Do you think that because you and
I have talked so much over the years about collaboration,
do you feel like your appreciation for collaboration came apart
from Bill.
Speaker 2 (04:07):
Oh?
Speaker 3 (04:08):
Yeah, because Bill, I learned to appreciate B the King,
Peter Peter Green, Michael Bloomfield and Willie Nelson, you know,
and and and one and one breath, you know, which
is like, uh, it was it as they call it now.
(04:28):
It was very organic, very natural, normal, and it opened
my ears and my heart too that I could learned
to articulate the language of sun Ra and Albert Eiler,
you know, and and at the same time with the
Grateful Dad and quin Silver and you know, uh and
(04:49):
Genius Choplin. Uh. Somehow I convinced myself to believe that
I belong in that stage with all of it.
Speaker 1 (05:01):
Well, you did. But it's funny because I mean, as
a kid, you know, as a musician, of course, you're
always trying to prove yourself. You're always trying to better yourself.
Was there one moment for you where you sort of
had that epiphany of like, Okay, I can be up here.
Because I remember the first time I interviewed BB King,
I was scared shitless. He could not have been nicer,
but I was sear to say seventy one. I was like,
(05:21):
what are they going to be asking this legend that
he hasn't been asked one hundred and sixty eight times before.
Speaker 3 (05:27):
I agree with you, BB King me coming from Tikwana,
BD King was the white whale. He was the ultimate,
you know for guitar players. You know, because I did
grew up with Jenley Booker, Lightning Hopkins and Jimmy Reed
by b. B King was on a whole other level.
And because I had discovered gob O Versavo or west
(05:51):
Legomer you get, you know, so BB King.
Speaker 2 (05:54):
Was was it?
Speaker 3 (05:56):
Therefore I joined Peter Green and Michael Bluefield with the love,
respect and nomination for BB King. And once I met
Baby King, he told me, he said Santana. I said, yes, sir.
He says, you don't only have a great sound, you
have a brand sound. I was like, whoa, thank you, BB.
(06:18):
You know, so I'm going to create a book about
validations because if I tell you what Miles said about me,
or what Jimmy said, like Jimmy, I met Jimmy and
he came and shoot my hand and he was Santana right.
I said, yes, he goes, I love your choice of notes.
Can you imagine hearing that from Jimmy Andrews to you?
(06:39):
I was like, paint you sir no, and with Mia
I said. Michel said to me, if he said I
was walking away from him, and his dephew said, Miles
said to me, if you were walking away, that's a
bad motherfucker there, you know.
Speaker 2 (07:01):
So to be.
Speaker 1 (07:02):
Validated just having Miles like you is enough.
Speaker 3 (07:05):
Yeah, to be validated by Miles and way Shore and Herbie,
you know, and Donty Williams. I mean, I'm just really
grateful and this is a beautiful life.
Speaker 2 (07:16):
You know.
Speaker 1 (07:17):
Well it's funny do you see that now when you
put this book together, which is so beautiful. But it's
like because again, like we talked about the documentary, as
an artist, you're always looking ahead. So when you have
something like this where you know Jeff Tremarkin, who I've
known it for years and I think I'm at once
or twice great journalist, you know, you get to see
everything through someone else's eyes. So is it interesting to
(07:40):
you to look back and see like wow, like this
is so cool to look at this and this record
and you know, to appreciate everything in life, because again
it's funny, like you know, Rob Thomas, I've known for years,
and when you look at the sort of arc of
it to see the success of Smooth and everything in
the Grand scheme. It's kind of a little surprise. It's
(08:01):
like Aerosmith becoming this huge rock band in the eighties
based on MTV videos.
Speaker 3 (08:08):
Yeah, I developed a peak appreciation to have a place
in the sun, in a place in the United States.
I came to America in sixty two, and the biggest
things back then were Royan Rogers and Willie Mays, you know,
and I was like, yeah, you know. But then all
of a sudden, I come to America and because with
(08:30):
Bill brand I discover consciousness revolution. In San Francisco, you go,
you go to this guy's house, the hippie house, and
they're playing Robbie Shall guard in John Coltrane, you know,
and they're playing the Doors and Jimmy Henders. You know.
So by going to people's houses, it was it was
(08:51):
to be with like being a university and you go
into a dormitory and everybody's room. You're learning something incredible
about artists. And so that iobil Graham in San Francisco
a lot.
Speaker 1 (09:07):
And when you look back on his fuddies, they're like
those musicians that you know, maybe at the time too,
you're in the midst of things, and then you look
back and you're like, wow, that changed things for me,
you know, as like just a player, or as a
friend or as a fan. You mentioned the validation you got,
but I'm sure there are players that you can look
back and see, like, I learned so much from that person,
(09:30):
you know, and when you take it into this record again,
we can look at the fact that, like you've gotten
to work with so many different people, you know, is
there one person that you feel like you besides Bill
Graham one musician they really learned to develop an appreciation
for collaboration for Was there one musician, because like Miles,
you'll collaborate with so many people, but he had fucking
(09:51):
high standards.
Speaker 2 (09:52):
Man.
Speaker 3 (09:52):
Yeah, but that person was that month to bid asset
because our man assep uh maybe a where a tunci
which in olo tuni drums a passion and we did Jingo,
which is one of our first singles on the first album.
So the difference between Peter Green and Marvo Bloomfield and
(10:13):
Eric Clapton a lot of guitar players was the Santana
learned meticulously about old Tunji and Gino Puente reva Reto.
You know, and so I really learned to articulate. I
used to be called Caribbean music musica, then Caribe then
they call it salsa, but really what it is is
(10:35):
African music from all the islands Dasco. Santana learned different
Momo revato, you know. And because I didn't see Jared
Garcia listening to this music, Jared Garcia stock to Blue
Brass and what he listened to. So when I listened
to Reva reto and uh, it's Momo Santa Maria in
(10:59):
Motown with Conga's, you know, and then Bob Dylan, Uh,
Santana just became a whole lot of entity in the
Bay Area.
Speaker 2 (11:09):
You know.
Speaker 3 (11:10):
Uh, I wasn't Uh, I wasn't lagging all of a sudden,
I was right right in the in the front with
everybody as far as like overside of Santana Slidestone.
Speaker 2 (11:25):
You know.
Speaker 3 (11:26):
Uh, We're we're creating music. This going outside of San Francisco.
It's becoming global, you know. Uh, Santana one of the
was one of the first global bands. Because of my
association with bab King, Jeter Gwente and Olotuni and Coltring
and Miles Davis. All of a sudden, Santana became where
(11:50):
Bob Marley is what they call it third world? Uh
what do you call it? Third world music?
Speaker 2 (11:56):
You know?
Speaker 3 (11:57):
Uh? For me it was natural because I just love
African music and the rhythms and the colors and the melodies,
and so I learned that I could articulate this that's
the word. I could articulate and and understand this language.
So then when I play now with the Boris, which
(12:18):
is in Hungarian gypsy, you know, I grew up with
the Gypsies. Man. I grew up with Manita, Lata, Jack Radart,
the Borisa, Popular Lucia and Segobia. So when I learned,
like like George Harrison, we learned to expand ourselves, you know,
and listening to Robbie Shocker Dalia par Khan, all of
(12:41):
a sudden, our fingers became a lot more aware of
other dimensions of expression.
Speaker 1 (12:53):
You're such a trendsetter, because it's funny you look at
things now where the world is so much smaller because
of the Internet and every thing. Do you think now,
like how funny it is that like fifty sixty years ago,
you were understanding global music in a way that people
are probably most other people that figure out so thirty
forty years later.
Speaker 3 (13:15):
Yeah, you're right. But for me, I always had a
thirst thirst for adventure, and I wanted to, like like
way Shorter in Moths Data says, I wanted to dive
into the unknown, you know, and and learn how to
play with alt of either or John Coldprin or Alice
(13:38):
Coldprane or Tony Williams and Larry Young and John mcconklin.
I wanted to know what it's like to go from
Johny Hooker to John Coldpran, you know, in one bread
doom Doom Doom Doom doom doo and boom boo boom
boom boom, we do you know, literal together. And that's
(14:01):
what Myleson's doing and Way Short was do with Sanctuary.
You know, when he did Sanctuary and he played it live,
he put the boogie on it like Johnny Hooker.
Speaker 2 (14:11):
Yeah, but.
Speaker 3 (14:15):
Then got it out, you know, and I was like, yeah,
you know, so I realized that I wasn't the only
one there was experimenting with multi dimensional, multi dimensional cameras.
Speaker 1 (14:40):
So interesting. I never thought about this until this conversation
as we're talking about it, but it's like you know,
you have the residency coming up in Vegas. We just
talked about the success of Smooth. You know, thirty years
after your career started. Do you think the fact that
you were on the global tip so far ahead of
everybody that people are now catching up and that's why
it's still so popular and successful because now people are
(15:03):
understanding like, okay, shit, you were doing this many years ago,
and now the rest of the world is so into it.
Speaker 3 (15:11):
Like I said, it was natural for me because I
grew up at the Filmore the film was. I spent
more time at the Filmore the Mission High School, you know,
so Mission the Film was my alma Mada.
Speaker 2 (15:23):
You know.
Speaker 3 (15:23):
I go to see Cream and Arthur Brown, you know,
and everything that Bill Graham brought over there. I was
there and I used to tell them Bill, I don't
have any money too, but I gotta learn and you
gotta let me in. So I convinced him that, I said,
you know, I need to learn. The only way I'm
going to learn men is that you let me come
in and learn from them, you know. So he said, okay,
(15:45):
you know, you realized that I wasn't going to b
S and I was really coming to the Filmore to
like a sponge, take everything from The Who to Hollywood Wolf,
to Steve Miller to Chot Berry. I mean, I want
I was like a sponge. I'm still a sponge, you know.
And and then he saw that, he says, he says,
you know, I love this is too. Compliments. I got
(16:07):
two compliments, one from Bill Grant and one Clyde Davis.
Bill Grahma says, I love everyone. I love Michael Bloomfield,
I love Eric Clapton, I love Jimmy Hendrews says, but
you you're the perfect child of BB King and TiO Quende.
And I love saw some music, So I love I
love what you're playing. And Clyde Davis said to me,
(16:29):
you and Whitney Houston is my heart. What everybody else
is a job, But with you and Wynney Houston, it's
my heart. And I was like, oh my god. You know,
so I have hold those things very clear to my heart.
You know that someone like Clyde Davis and Bill Graham
would call me so endearingly and after their hearts.
Speaker 1 (16:53):
All right, man, you probably maybe can't answer this question,
I know if you get it up. And now I'm
just curious as a music geek. Best show you ever saw.
Speaker 3 (17:01):
Big show I ever saw was Jimmy Hendrix Vine in
Santa Clara Fairgrounds. I've seen Jimmy many times, but that
day he was beyond supernatural. He was beyond superlatives. I
never seen a human being. Stevie Ray got a little close,
(17:21):
but not quite. There was something about Jimmy Hendrix who
became I mean, you know, you're seeing the guy, You're
hearing the guy, and you can't believe it, you know,
because it's campus that day with Jimmy hender The way
he painted with that guitar, it was so galactic like Coltrane,
(17:41):
I love Spring, it was, it was. It was unbelievable.
Speaker 2 (17:44):
You know.
Speaker 3 (17:45):
I never heard him play better than that day, and
I heard him play a lot of times after that day,
but there was something extremely extreme that day, the way
he played. Of course we were all on ass it,
the audience, you know, and he was two, but he
took us do displays as far as they can take
(18:07):
us in the universe and the galaxy him back in
one breath, you know, and we were like, damn, who
is this guy?
Speaker 2 (18:15):
You know?
Speaker 1 (18:17):
You know that's so interesting as a player, because I've
talked to so many musicians about this, and you get
in the zone where your mind just goes and you're
free and for you can you look back and is
there one show or a moment or like one solo
where you're like, I don't even know who I was anymore?
Like Patti Smith, I'm a huge fan of and she
has said when I'm on stage on like half Perst
(18:39):
and half Animal, and you're like, when you get into
the group, you just started a zone and you're like
someplace else, and is there one show for you where
you can look back on that, like one with Jimmy
and just be like, man, I don't know what happened
that day, but God was just hanging out with me
and playing my guitar.
Speaker 3 (18:58):
Yes, it was a I'm just kidding International. I played
with Ruben Bladdis, Nemo Brothers and Miles Davis in one day,
and each time I sat in with them, I didn't know.
I didn't know what I was doing. I mean it
just I became possessed. Something just took over me. And
(19:18):
when I listened, when I listened to the videos back,
I go damn. And my ex wife said, why don't
you play like that? All the time. And I said, Uh,
easy for you to say, I don't know what the
hell I'm doing. I'm just I'm just it's like you
hanging out to I said, Jim and in the tail
and I'm just going out to be her life. So
(19:39):
I missed the International I think it was. That was
the concert I played with Ruben Bladis and Fella Kunti
and the Uh and the Neville Brothers and Miles Davis
in one day.
Speaker 1 (19:55):
Do you think it's interesting? Do you think it was
just the caliber of the musicians they you were trying
to rise up to them, or it was just that day,
Like I said, God was moving your fingers or the
universe or whatever you want to call it.
Speaker 3 (20:08):
Well, first of all, that day I flew from Australia
to Honolulu, from Honolulu to San Francisco, and from San
Francisco to New Jersey and then I made and so
I had no idea what zone I was in. You know,
my body was like my body just said forget it,
(20:29):
you know, my body just gave up. My mind was
like like a blank canvas.
Speaker 2 (20:34):
You know.
Speaker 3 (20:34):
I was so I wouldn't even say fatigue or tired,
but I was so out of my body. I mean again.
I flew from Australia to Honolulu, Honolulu to San Francisco,
San Francisco to New Jersey and then I went on
stage and played and I was like wow. So when
I heard it and I saw the video, and again
(20:56):
when you see Santia, I played the wood start soon
as you start playing sol sacrifice, the whole audience rice
us after their feet. Now you got a picture this minute.
Santana's never been hurt before. On the radio, there was
no Santana, but we got people up like Slicestone a
Jimmy Hendris. Same thing happened at this concert with the
(21:20):
Naval Brothers, Ruby Blade in My Old Lady and just
something about my energy just went up.
Speaker 1 (21:28):
That's awesome. Well, we're not gonna have a ton of time.
And there's so much to ask you about the name
of the podcast that didn't service up, and it was
it's all about giving back, which I know is something
amazingly important to you. So talk about how giving back
has inspired your work and your music over the years.
And giving back is such a broad thing as a musician, because,
like you say, when you're playing an amnesty with their
(21:50):
you know, with those great musicians. You are lifting a
crowd and you're inspiring them and you're motivating them. That's
a giving back, you know, and of course you get
back so much through philanthropy as well. So talk about,
you know, how this is important to you and how
it's motivated you over the years.
Speaker 3 (22:07):
So I learned from the Lord's pot and says that
jold Is. I learned from Margo Luther King, I learned
from Maala Theresa. One of the greatest compliments that I
ever received was from Morti Gande. This we've played in
Montrox Cloud Nounced. We played with a lot of African
decisions and at the end of the concert, he came
(22:27):
to my dressing group and he started speaking in African
and I don't know what he was saying. To the
translator says, I'm going to translate what he's saying to you.
He said, Santana, your belly is fool, but you're hungry
to feed the people. And I was like, wow, you know,
I never heard anybody give you a compliment like that.
(22:48):
Your billy is fool, but you're hungry to feed the people.
You know that, Just like wow, thank you.
Speaker 1 (23:06):
So talk about how you found the people over the
years something that like that the greatest moments for you
of doing that, because like I said, you do that
both musically and through different work you do.
Speaker 3 (23:16):
I have been aware more than ever that I came
to this planet to remind the individuals, every single person,
you are worthy. God loves you, cherishes you. Look in
the mirror and say, God loves me. He believes in me,
and He's proud of me. And I am number one
(23:38):
in God's heart. Everyone is number one in God's heart.
So Santana's messages, everyone is number one in God's heart.
God made the world round so we can all have
center stage. God made a circle so vast that no
one can stand us outside, you know, And that's missed
it the Santana briefs where we played and I can
(24:00):
kill whether the acts of Eric Clapp or Jimmy Page
or anybody, when we've played, they see the hearers play,
they know that we're bringing that goodness. You know, it's
not American music anymore, and it's not you know, British
music anymore. It's it's it's like a tsunami wave of
(24:21):
light and love. Well, what do you want.
Speaker 1 (24:25):
People to take from the book when they read it,
because I think it's so cool to do a project
like this, and you have so much in there. So
for you, what do you take from it when you
read it? And what do you hope others take from
your experiences? Because, as you say, you came to America
in sixty two, you know you've had such an You've
been around everybody, and you've achieved so much. But you
(24:46):
know through all of that, you've always kept centered and
kept your sense of love and humility. So what do
you hope others take from this?
Speaker 3 (24:55):
I hope they think how much I love my mother
and my father. My mother was a supreme architect. She
got us at an outlami standing little town. Then we
went to Tijuana. Everybody told her she was crazy. And
then from Tijuana she brought us to San Francisco. And
because of my mother, I was able to leave Tijuana.
(25:19):
Was I thought I was gonna die in Tijuana, you know,
because I love Tijuana so much, playing in this nightclub,
and I didn't see myself coming to junior high school
and starting all over and hanging around kids, you know,
because I was hanging around strippers and grown up people
and smoking weed and all kind of stuff, and to
go back to junior high school and hanging around kids
(25:42):
talking about what are you gonna do tonight? Oh, I'm
gonna go steal a car and enjoy ride. I'm like
that she is sounded boring, you know. I'd rather go
to the film where and hang around Bobby Blue Bland
and Rage House and Bide King or something, you know.
So anyway, coming to America because of my mother, that
baby or where that Especially one day we went to
(26:06):
this picnic in Santa sing in the park and when
I got out of the car, I heard all this
music at the same time coming at me. It was
Mariacci music, Latin music, uh, you know, I like Puerto
Rican Cuban music, and some surfers playing rock and roll
(26:27):
all at the same time. It's like a big sandwich
sound common at me, you know. And I said, oh, okay.
So then I combined, you know, this music with that music.
I put it all together. And that's what Santana is,
you know, because see, at that time, the biggest thing
also was Sam de Shamin de Ferres with Willie Bully,
(26:49):
you know, and and uh and and Paul Bottomfield and cream.
So I just I just grabbed all of it, you know,
like this, and when I played my guitar, all of
a sudden, Santiaa could fit with Creta's clear Water. It's
step of the Wolf and sly and we held our own,
(27:11):
you know. I mean, it's quite an adventure, you know,
to come to America and believe that you can actually
belong on stage with them, you know.
Speaker 1 (27:24):
Well, you know what's so interesting is for you to
say it's quite an eventually come to America and believe
you can belong, and you're talking about musically and then
but you know, the irony of that is not lost
on me. And the fact that we're so fucked as
a country in twenty twenty five. So for people to
hear that now, to believe that you can come to
America and belong, it's funny because you mean something so different,
(27:48):
But it's such an important message today.
Speaker 3 (27:52):
Well, yeah, because a lot of people in America are framed.
They have a superiority and in priority conflex and they
want to put this border. You know, see the border
is in the mine already. You don't even have to
build a wall. The walls already in the mine. You know,
we need one another We need people who to come
to America to pick up the food because a lot
(28:13):
of Italians and Irish people and even black people, they're
not going to pick up the food at those prices
and in the heat and the sun, you know. So
we need Mexicans and Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Filipinos. We need
these people to come to America and pick up the
food that we're going to eat. And so for me,
(28:35):
this was this is the this is the best part
of this interview. I learned that we are one family.
Speaker 2 (28:41):
You know.
Speaker 3 (28:41):
I don't believe in patriotism. I don't believe in nationalities.
That's notuff. It's prehistoric and it's bullshit to me, you know,
to me, it is one family. I already went through
the moon, and when I'm a space capsule out there,
I get to see the Earth and we're all one family,
you know. And so that's what's easy for me to
(29:03):
be to see that I belong in our stage in
Ireland playing old Danny boy, you know, and I could
be in the South playing you know, uh whatever with
the Olwen brothers and and this and that. You know,
I don't have any fear men to play with anybody.
You know because I wake up the compliment. You know,
(29:27):
I will not selute anything except the highest good for
old people, live, people in the planet. That is my
flat life. People in the planet that is my flat,
that is my family. Anything else that's a corrupt corporation business,
and I don't follow that.
Speaker 1 (29:45):
That's such a great wrap up note. Is there anything
you want to add that I did not ask you about?
Speaker 3 (29:51):
No, just thinking for it allow me to express uh,
my centeredness, you know, deep in my heart and my center.
That's I bring. I want to bring for everybody, be
free from the trapmans of entanglement trappings. Did you you
you know when I go to the zoo, I am
all the animals, not just the penguin. You know, I
(30:14):
am the tiger, the lion, you know, the giraffe, the buffalo,
you know, the egos. That's who I am. Santana is
is a multi dimensional saying. With astrology, people say what
is your sign? I go all of them and none
of them, you know, because I don't allow anything to
tell me what kind of day I'm going to have.
(30:35):
I decide what kind of day I'm going to have
because I'm connected with God's grace and it's my choice
to have a wonderful, delicious life every day
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