Photo by Layla Farmer
Calvin Napper practices on his drum kit.
Napper lands dream gig
BY LAYLA FARMER
[HE CHRONICH
City native Calvin
Napper is traveling the coun
try, playing the drums for
R&B icons Maze featuring
Frankie Beverly. One could
say that it is the kind of gig
that Napper has been prepar
ing for all of his life.
Almost from birth,
Napper has dreamed of being
a professional musician.
"I started playing drums,
1 think at the age of three," he
related. "All my aunts, they
have stories of me coming to
their house, beating up their
pots and pans in the kitchen."
Be it nature or nurture,
Napper was born into the
right family. His mother and
her four sisters were musi
cians themselves and mem
bers of the gospel group The
Napper Singers.
"My family, they're all
musical," said Napper. "I
grew up playing with them."
He first graced the stage
as a drummer around the age
of 12. as part of his family's
act, touring the country with
his mother and aunts on the
weekends. Napper. who is
self-taught, says he under
stood then that drumming
was more than a just a hobby.
"I pretty much knew
that's what I wanted to do,"
he said of performing.
As a teen. Napper was a
member of the basketball
team and the jazz band at
Reynolds High School. Two
years after graduation, he
landed his first gig with a
major performing artist -
gospel singer John P. Kee.
"It was an experience,"
Napper said of the grueling
tour schedule, which includ
ed long road trips on uncom
fortable buses and setting up
his own equipment before
each performance. "It was
what I would call 'paying my
dues."'
After two years of touring
with Kee, Napper returned
home and went back to per
forming at local venues.
Bishop Sheldon McCarter.
pastor of Greater Cleveland
Avenue Christian Church,
was looking for a drummer to
complement the contempo
rary gospel sound he felt
would attract younger mem
bers. He asked Napper to
come on board, and. "the rest
is history because it definite
ly works," the pastor said
with a chuckle. The partner
ship has lasted nearly 17
years. McCarter. who has led
the congregation for two
decades, says the church is
grateful for Napper's contri
butions.
"Music is essential in the
African American perspec
tive." McCarter declared.
"Good music provides for
good church. If the music is
anointed and very moving, it
makes preaching easy."
Napper. who says he
often looks to McCarter for
inspiration and guidance
even when he's not at the
church, says his faith has
played an important role in
his journey as a musician.
"Just being a Christian in
general, you have to have
faith to believe that you can
actually achieve the things
that you dream and desire to
do," he said. "I think that's
been the thing for me, being
in a ministry where I'm being
fed and can grow in the
Word."
In addition to playing at
Bishop McCarter
Greater Cleveland, Napper
joined folk rock band
Last One Standing and spent
several years performing in a
variety of venues in the area,
opening for such acts as
Edwin McCain.
In 1996, Napper hit the
road again, this time drum
ming for Donald Lawrence
and the Tri City Singers. He
worked with Lawrence until
2003 and continued to play at
GCACC when he was in
town.
Being out on the road and
away from home is some
times a challenge, but both
Keva, an educator and
Napper's wife of 10 years,
and Bishop McCarter, have
been understanding of the
demands of his chosen pro
fession. Napper said.
McCarter said he has made it
a point not to get in the way
of Napper's opportunities
outside the church.
"I'm very proud of who
this young man is and what
he is doing throughout the
country." said McCarter. "He
keeps himself very, very
humble. I think he is an
inspiration to many young
musicians."
Making a living as a per
former can be touch-and-go
at times. Napper said.
"I think the biggest chal
lenge of living this lifestyle
is not really knowing what
you have coming in from a
financial standpoint," he
commented.
Still, he couldn't imagine
living any other way.
"Everybody's not cut out
for the 9-5. I'm one of those
people, so I've just had to try
to really stay focused and
grind and make this thing
happen." Napper declared.
"It hasn't been easy, but I
love what I do, so I guess that
kind of makes up for it,
makes it easier."
In July 2004, Napper got
an unexpected offer to travel
to Europe with Donnie
McClurkin.
"They called me maybe
two or three days before they
were leaving to go to London
and asked me if I would be
able to go," he related.
Napper even played on
McClurkin's "Psalms,
Hymns and & Spiritual
Songs," which won a
Grammy in 2005 for
Traditional Soul Gospel
Album. After making the trip
to Europe. Napper was asked
back several times, and the
relationship continued until
2008, when Napper began
working with recording artist
Stephanie Mills, who has
worked in both the R&B and
gospel genres. When Mills
opened for soul act Maze fea
turing Frankie Beverly at
Pier 6 Pavillion in Baltimore.
Md. last summer. Napper
caught Beverly's attention.
He was invited to audition
for a spot as the group's
drummer.
It was the first time
Napper had been asked to try
out for a role. He watched
videos of the group perform
ing onstage, memorizing the
strokes of the drummer in
each show, then he headed to
California, where the audi
tion was held.
"I studied, 1 prayed, so
from that point on, it was
what it was," he stated.
Napper's hard work paid
off, the audition was a suc
cess.
"He was really telling me
how much he thought I could
play and he really appreciat
ed the lengths I went to (to
prepare)," he said ol
Beverly. "They were just
saying they telt like I was
that piece that they were
missing."
Since September. Napper
has been on the road with the
group, which does 85 to 100
shows a year. The work has
been both demanding and
rewarding, he said.
"Wow. it's been an expe
rience; it's been great, relat
ed Napper, who has even
released his own instruction
al DVD.
The group is contemplat
ing a tour in Brazil in the
near future, and Napper is
hopeful they will make the
trip. Getting to visit faraway
lands is one of the greatest
perks of his occupation, said
Napper, who has played in
destinations from Korea to
South Africa.
"I never would have
imagined that 1 would have
traveled and gone to some ol
the places that I've gone to."
he remarked. "You couldn t
have told me that I d be able
to go to some of those places
at someone else's expense
and do what 1 love and get
paid for it."
Though Napper says he
enjoys all genres of music,
his true love is contemporary
jazz. He and fellow musician
Vincent Crenshaw currently
perform as the duo, "Destiny
Brothers." and have recently
released their first CD.
"Smoove Avenue."
Destiny Brothers will per
form on Friday, March 1 8 at
Boston's House of Jazz. 422
N. Edgeworth St. in
Greensboro, at 9:30 p.m.
For more information, call
<336) 279-1152. For more
information about Calvin
Napper, v,v"
www.calvinnapper.com
The Chronicle (USPS 067-910) was established by Ernest H.
Pitt and Ndubisi Egemonye in 1974 and is published every
Thursday by Winston-Salem Chronicle Publishing Co. Inc., 61 7
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POSTMASTER: Send address changes to:
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News
Clips
Ernst named WSSU's
assistant legal counsel
Joshua R. Ernst has
recently joined the Office of
Legal Affairs at Winston
Salem State University
(WSSU) as an Assistant
Legal Counsel.
Prior to coming to
WSSU, Ernst worked as a
temporary staff attorney at
the University of North
Carolina School of the Arts,
where his practice primarily
focused on the areas of pol
icy development, employ
ment law and intellectual
property.
Ernst received his Juris
Doctor from Wake Forest
University School of Law,
where he served as the
Manuscripts Editor for the
Wake Forest Intellectual
Property Law Journal. He
co-authored an article on
the issues created by the
courts' current disparaging
trademarks jurisprudence,
which was published in
Spring 2010. Ernst graduat
ed cum laude from Case
Western Reserve University
with a B.S.E. in electrical
engineering, a B.A. in soci
ology and a minor in
Russian.
Schools receive
nature grants
NC Beautiful has
announced the winners of
the 2011 Windows of
Opportunity (WOO) Grants
from The Duke Energy
Foundation. Seven schools
were awarded WOO Grants,
which were created to culti
vate an appreciation of natu
ral environments by helping
K-12 children get out of
school and into natural set
tings. The grants also build
leadership awareness, devel
op environmental education
al mentors and ambassadors,
create materials and
resources that can be used
by other students, and devel
op a sustainable outdoor
program.
Stick Williams, SVP of
EH&S and president of The
Duke Energy Foundation,
says that the Foundation has
enjoyed a good and long
standing relationship with
NC Beautiful and that reach
ing out to children now
about the importance of
environmental preservation
is a sbund investment for the
future.
"Supporting environ
mental education in the
classroom can excite the
minds of many students to
explore and pursue future
careers in science," says
Williams. "The
Foundation's contribution to
NC Beautiful is an example
of how one grant can
become a catalyst for many
to study and experience
environmental education."
The Duke Energy
Foundation 2011 Windows
of Opportunity Grants recip
ients, including the name of
the teacher submitting the
winning entry, are: Kathleen
Melious of T. Wingate
Andrews High School in
High Point; Jennifer
Pegram of The Children's
Center in Winston-Salem;
Celeste Morehead of Marvin
Ridge High School of
Waxhaw; Ellen Mace of
North Cove Elementary of
Marion; Linda West of
Jefferson Elementary of
Winston-Salem; Rose Marie
Cook of Greensboro Day
School; and Janet Cain of E.
Lawson Brown Middle
School of Thomasville
(Davidson County).
Shepherd's Center to
offer Spring Life-long
Learning Series
The Spring Adventures
in Learning education series
sponsored by the Shepherd's
Center will be held on
Tuesdays and Thursdays,
March 22, 24, 29 and 31 at
St. Paul's Episcopal Church.
The series will begin
with light refreshments from
8:30 a.m. - 9:15 a.m., fol
lowed by six morning course
selections, which include
topics like "Writing Life
Stories," "Art and Drama,"
"Financial Decisions,"
"Spiritual Discussion of
Death and Dying" and
"History of Religious
Denominations in America."
The lunch and learn
course option at 12 noon
will be a discussion on
American Foreign Policy
based upon the Great
Decisions Series at Wake
Forest University.
Two afternoon sessions
begin at 1:30 p.m. and
include an Art iq Sacred
Places Tour arid an Exercise
Sampler featuring different
forms of exercise for older
adults.
The cost for the full
series is $15 for members
and $20 for non-members.
Lunch is available for an
additional fee. Call the
Shepherd's Center at 336
748-0217 for more informa
tion or to register.
Dick completes Air Force
training
Air National Guard
Airman 1st Class William
B. Dick graduated from
basic military training at
Lackland Air Force Base in
San Antonio, Texas,
The airman completed
an mten
s i v e ,
eight
week
program
that
included
training
in mili
tary dis
cipline L
and stud
ies, Air
Dick
Force core values, physical
fitness, and basic warfare
principles and skills.
Airmen who complete
basic training earn four
credits toward an associate
in applied science degree
through the Community
College of the Air Force.
He is the son of Jamie
Dick and Bonnie Delar.
Dick graduated in 2008
from West Forsyth High
School.
339 Witt Street
Winston-Salem, NC 27103
336-765-8854, ext. 131
Web: www.habitatforsyth.org
Do You Want to be a
Homeowner?
Attend an information session to learn if
you qualify!
M arch 28, 6:30 p.m.:
Habitat Office
(Spanish translation available at this meeting.)
April 1, Noon:
Habitat Office
April 11, 6:30 p.m.
Winston LakeVMCA
April 20, 6:30 p.m.
Walkertown Public Library Branch
New Habitat homes as well
as renovated existing
homes are available.