At age sixteen, Michael Bland won the “twin cities’ best drummer” contest and was the beginning of a rewarding career.
With his recognition as a prodigy, Michael was actively sought by many local acts. At seventeen, Hiram Bullock snagged him up, and took him to Pittsburgh and New York to do some one-nighters. That same year, he joined Dr. Mambo’s Combo, a house band at Bunker’s Music Bar and Grill, a local club where many Minneapolis musicians cut their teeth. Bunker’s is where Prince first spotted Michael, Michael joined prince in 1989 and he toured, recorded, and performed with the new power generation for the next seven years.
In 1996, immediately after his tenure with Prince, Michael went on tour with Paul Westerberg, which led to tours and recordings with other national acts, such as Chaka Khan, Maxwell, Dionne Farris, George Benson, Phil Upchurch, Howard Hewitt, and many others. Since 2005, Michael has been a member of the band Soul Asylum.
In this episode, Michael talks about:
- The demands of working for Prince
- How he got the gig with Prince
- The podcast, MUSIPOLITIX he ran during the pandemic
- Drumming for Soul Asylum
- The power of mentorship
- Stories of working for Chaka Khann, Madonna
