Keep on talking here!

Hi Michael. I think it's really cool that you are offering so much of your time to Prince fans here. It's certainly a unique opportunity for many of us.

Two questions:

1) What do you remember from filming the video for "Partyman"? Did Prince do anything funny like stay in character in between shots? At the end, the video implies that there will be more videos in the same vein. Did Prince have plans at any time to do more videos for Batman in character like "Partyman"? Perhaps "Electric Chair" or "Vicki Waiting"?

2) In '95, you guys performed in Dublin at a club. Bono came on-stage to do "The Cross" with Prince. I think he forgot most of the words, which happens to him quite a bit, even on his own songs. Did Prince every say anything about it afterwards? Did Bono ask to sing with Prince or did Prince invite him? I know that Prince has dissed U2 many times, but he seems to like Bono and has publicly complimented him, but not the group.

Thanks.

old thread for reference purposes:

http://www.prince.org/msg/5/177296

Mike I didn’t realize this was you, do you remember that nightclub in Buenos Aires on the Rock in Rio II tour LOL…………..

ShellAnswerMan said:

Man, you should check out all the stuff he has posted in this thread (or better, the previous "MB is Back" thread ) ! Tons of insightful stuff!

Hey, Michael.

I was just watching "The Continental" video from the symbol album. (Can you believe that was a DECADE ago? )

I see that you're in it toward the end. Right after the part where Prince gives the girl he just finished "doing" the cold shoulder as she slinks out of bed. Seemed like a wham-bam-thank you moment

You say something about "All alone" and everybody starts laughing (at her?). What's that all about? Don't know if you remember.

Seems like you were all bad boys back then.

Damn, those were the days for ya'll, no?

Thanks!

Michael B!

Thanx for taking the time to answer some of our questions. It shows that you have a lot of respect for the fans. I have a few questions, but I won't overwhelm you. The first three off the top of my head are:

1) Do mentioned that your first track with Prince was The Grand Progression. When did it happen and what do you remember about it? I thought it was originally tracked in 1987, but maybe you added drums or re-recorded it from scratch. It is such a subtle song, and it doesn't seem like your type of track. What was your reaction to it?

2) What do you remember about a song called No Cones Allowed? Did you work on this? I've heard it was supposed to be for the Conehead movie.

3) Did you record much on the road? Can you remember any examples in Europe?

thank you for everything and your sounds are missed on Prince's newest songs.

u2prnce said:

the "partyman" shoot was one of the first things i did with prince. it was a very standard video shoot, long, hot hours. shot in culver city, ca. sylvester stallone and kurt russell were shooting "tango and cash", and pee wee herman was shooting the sequel to "big adventure", i think.
no, prince didn't stay in character. he was too busy directing.
i don't know of any plans to shoot any other videos using that character..

no, prince never said anything about bono forgetting the words.
bono asked to sing that one.

michael b.

ShellAnswerMan said:

yes. what about it?

michael b.

altavista said:

we weren't that bad!! LOL

the "all alone" was me making fun of alexander o'neal in the video for "if you were here tonight".. i don't know why.. it was just funny... i was like, "who's this?" and everyone immediately knew what i was doing.

michael b.

madhouseman said:

i cut drums on "the grand progression" in 1989.
prince was saying that it was gonna be in a film, and the reason it was so sketchy sounding was because in the scene the song was going into, it's supposed to sound like you don't really know the song.

i don't know anything about "no cones allowed"..

yeah, we recorded on the road all the time. in sydney, we recorded several songs on "the vault".. and we recorded "it's about that walk" in paris..

michael b.

ebonyrhythmbuddha said:

Thank you. I have a follow up question (or two) if you have a minute.

It looks like you recorded some sort of Miles Jam the same day you recorded It's About That Walk (Sept. 2 1993) at Guillaume Tell Studios as well. What sort of jam was that, and who was involved? Didn't you also work on a song with Ophelie Winters during that same session? Can you give us any details about those songs/sessions?

Did you do much recording with Prince before the Saturday Night Live show (Sept. 24 1989)? How long had you been with him by that point and can you remember any details (who/what/music type/song names, etc.) about the first few tracks you worked on in the studio with Prince?

Also, did you do anything that was supposed to be for The Time?

Thanx again. I think a lot of people are really enjoying your thoughts. Have a great weekend.
[Edited 4/23/06 10:22am]

Michael, did you ever record a studio version of Mary, Don't You Weep? How about Villanova Junction? Those cover versions from '93-'94 were beautiful.

booyah said:

no.


michael b.

madhouseman said:

i don't remember working on any other tracks at guillaume tell, other than "it's about that walk"..
the ophelie winter stuff was recorded some time after we were no longer under prince's employment..

i joined in june 1989, i think.
all we did was jam after hours, during that time.. with the exception of shooting the partyman video, and working on songs for elisa fiorillo's record.
that fall, we played "electric chair" on SNL.

no, i didn't work on anything for the time. when i joined, prince already had an album done for the time called "corporate world".. several songs from that appeared on "pandemonium"..

michael b.
[Edited 4/25/06 16:12pm]

Hey Michael B.!!! Fist off, NOBODY pounds them drums like you!! I wanted to ask, knowing that Prince is a prankster and has a great sense of humor, is there anything that sticks outs as "hilarious" during your time with him? Like a joke he played or something funny he said during rehearsal. Cause in concerts, he's always cracking jokes.

Thanks Micheal B!

ebonyrhythmbuddha said:

I love "The Walk" .. nice and funky.

He starts it off with "On my way to Nell's in NY"... Well, I'm here in NYC and I recall going there (last summer?), only to find that it had closed the DAY BEFORE!!

That used to be the spot, man. I know that P used to do aftershows there. The place was mad chill, not exclusive or pretentious --- great vibe. It is missed.

Do you remember Nell's? Any interesting stories to tell if you hung out there.

ebonyrhythmbuddha said:



How come then "The Gold Experience" notes include Guillaume Tell as one of the studios where it was recorded?

Speaking of studios, how would you rate Paisley Park? what's your favorite studio (if other than Paisley) to this date and why?

Thanks Michael, we love you, man.

Cecy said:

not really... i wouldnt characterize him as a prankster..

michael b.

altavista said:

yeah, i have a couple of particular stories from the days of Nell's, but i really can't tell either of them here.. this is not the place.. LOL

michael b.

zxcvbnmmnbvcxz said:

i dunno. maybe, prince was in france and decided to do some overdubbing there. none of the tracks on "The Gold Experience", that i played on, were started at guillaume tell.

paisley park was, and is, a world class facility. i prefer studio B. the sound is more organic, and the environment is not so oppressive. it's just a basic room, with a great sounding console.
i like alot of places. only a couple in minnesota. but, usually i go wherever the work is.. it really doesn't matter..

michael b.

Hey Bland...

Received my copy of Sons of the Almighty last week. Really good stuff. My girlfriend is blasting "Cry" right now.

One question for you...I saw Prince's performance at the Brits the other day which was really kickin. It was so great seeing him back with Wendy, Lisa, and Sheila. Did you ever get the chance to play with any of them? Any chance in the future that you might share a stage with them on Prince's tour? I thought I heard somewhere that old friends will showing up on the upcoming tour. It would be cool to see you and them on the same stage...

Jackeblu said:

i suppose anything is possible.. but we haven't gotten any offers to do anything like that..
i did get to jam around with sheila a little bit, but that's about it.

michael b.

Hi Michael B!

I just wanted to say that you have been my favorite Prince drummer. Even thought I guess I like the Lovesexy/Sign of the times band the most...I love your hard rock style of playing drums.

You are so lucky to have a creative talent! But I'm sure you already know that.

I just had one question...in the 3 chains of gold video collection...why at the end right before the video for 7 the band members were like "I don't get Mayte" "What does she do?" Was this something that Prince just had you guys say for the video? Was this really how most of the band memebers felt about her? What was the purpose of this little interlude?

Ok...thanks for talking to us! Don't ever stop banging on those drums!!

Krystal666 said:

i would venture to say that for most of us, her level of involvement and influence was a mystery..

michael b.

Hey Michael,

It's great to see you posting here. I am a big fan of your playing.

I obviously love Prince but I have to admit he has been the source of many a frustration during the time I've been into his music. One of the biggest frustrations I've had with him was the fact that he never officially toured the United States with you guys. I mean I can remember him playing a gig in New York and L.A., a few dates on the Act 1/2 tours, and of course on Arsenio, but he didn't tour the bulk of the United States like Houston, Dallas, New Orleans, St. Louis, etc. As a result there are many of us who never got the chance to see you, Sonny, Tommy, etc., actually play live in concert with our own eyes and ears.

A lot of us fans really enjoyed the music of those years you guys were together. If you know or if you are allowed to say, do you know why Prince never did what I would characterize as an extensive tour of the U.S. with that version of the NPG?

VelvetJ said:

i don't know if i have a solid answer to that question.
my suspicion would be that the lovesexy tour probably lost alot of money, and left a bad taste in prince's mouth for extensively touring the US.
but, that's me talking.. i dunno for sure.. but, losing money usually makes people think twice about what they invest in..

michael b.

Michael B.

U may be the only one that can solve the "mystery" of Philip C.
This was they guy "playing" keyboards in the Graffiti Bridge Movie. His famous line in the movie was "Bang!"

Anyway - who was this guy? Was he an actual musician? Did U guys (the NPG) play or record with him? Was he just an actor/extra? He is one of the great Prince mysteries -perhaps U can help.

On the recording side
One of my favorite trax is "What's my name"
How do U prepare 4 a song like that? what I mean is, its mostly all drums
and very little music. Was that a "written" part or did Prince describe 2 U what he wanted? Love - hearing U beat the crap outta those drumz!

peace

7

thaCONcept said:

Oh man, yes! Michael, that song has been one of my favorites since first hearing it back before it was released. Love it!

thaCONcept said:

i'm gonna leave the mystery of phillip c. a mystery..

there was no actual preparation for "what's my name".. we worked it up together over the span of a few work hours, and cut it.. no written parts, just prince asking for something memorable to go down.

michael b.