A Dream Defered
Proteges in the Shadows
Aborted Project
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There looks was mirrored after Cat's Lovesexy outfits
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Robin Powers (lead vocals)
Joanie on bass
Tracy on guitar,
Lisa B on keyboards
Liza on keyboards,
Dione the dancer
Alisa backup singer
Kimberly (dancer)
Kim (drummer)
http://www.findarticles.c...ai_9252045
Perhaps that is what you remember reading.
Before the movie was released, Robin and the Dames did a music video of "Number One." I bet you that video is in the vault. I never did get a copy of it, dargonnit. Prince asked us to act real wild in the video and told me to put my foot on my keyboard at some point. On one take, I fell on my butt - which made him chuckle in the edit suite.
He worked us to near death that day. We did so many takes, I thought I was going to collapse. Joanie had pneumonia (but would not miss this for the world) and had to sit down and put a coat on in between takes. One of the dancers had to throw up in the trash can. Krystal, you ask me what Prince was like? Well, that's one of the things about him. But we were willing to go the distance.
After that, we were flown back home, waiting for the call to return again after the movie was released.
Stay tuned for more stories...
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artpal¤
04/06/05 7:07am
Joined 3/05
Guess - just guess - who introduced Carmen Electra to Prince? But first, read this article:
http://www.geocities.com/...2/bio.html
"Was it you? Wow, interesting! Too bad Carmen's singing career never took off but I guess it all worked out for the best. "
Nope. Twasn't me. 
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So anyway, months after the music video shoot, I’m still waiting for that call to return to Paisley. Meanwhile, my songwriting partner Jon and I own a small recording studio where we could write and produce songs for ourselves and other artists.
I’m not sure if this was before or after the Graffiti Bridge movie flopped, but one day Robin finally called me up. Her voice had this urgent tone to it. She told me that Prince was no longer interested in finishing her album but was willing to give her one last chance to put the Dames together and impress him with a great show at the Glam Slam. And that he would not help us. Robin had noticed in my resume that I not only play keyboards, but also write and produce my own music in my own studio. She said, “You can direct us, can’t you? And help finish the album?”
So I was thinking to myself, “So… in essence, you want me to fill in Prince’s shoes?” 
But on the outside I said to her, “Sure, no problem.” 
Robin then told Prince that I would be directing the band and helping to write the rest of the songs for the album. According to Robin, Prince replied something along the lines of, “You think you girls can direct yourselves without any help?” 
Now looking back at it, I believe Prince was expecting us “helpless chicks” to fall on our faces and let Robin exit gracefully. We didn’t know it at the time, but when he met Carmen, that was in his mind the end of Robin Power and the Uptown Dames. And we hadn’t even played one gig.
Ironically, because he set us free artistically, I will be able to release you some music from the Uptown Dames (coming soon - I’m having technical difficulties right now).
Meanwhile, I’ll keep you entertained with more stories…
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Ready for another story? 
Somehow, Robin convinced Prince that yes, we could do this. So he agreed to fly us to Minneapolis to get the band together. Our mission was to learn the songs, take care of any technical requirements, create a set order with transitions, choreograph, get costumes together, etc. etc. And we only had two weeks to do it. Egad - if you are a musician, you might know what a demanding schedule that is. I had no other option than to say let's do it.
My associates and I quickly produced two songs for Robin. She loved them. One of them was just a groove to which she could write her own rap. The other was music and rap. Since we were short on time, she sought material from other artists as well - I'm not sure who they are.
We assembled the collection on audio cassette and sent copies out to the musicians in different parts of the country. Since we did not have much time, we all agreed to learn all the songs by ourselves at home before we even got to Paisley Park.
When I got to Minneapolis, I met most of the musicians for the first time. By the second day, we were able to play our whole set because we had done our homework. The Paisley Park people were shocked - not only because we learned the set so fast, but also because we were women and we did it all by ourselves.
We earned our respect, and the president of Paisley started showing more interest in us. Even Prince started lending us a few tips here and there. Imagine - picking the brain of Prince! I couldn't believe what was happening... yet it was so hectic - it all seems like a blur to me right now.
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“I love you artpal. I just LOVE you! Prince seems to be a bit of a male chauvanist, did you get that vibe??”
Does that surprise you? Look at how he dresses his female protoges. Watch his movies again. Listen to the songs these protoges sing. The thing is, the whole music industry is this way - I'm not trying to pick on Prince or Paisley Park.
On top of being women, we were selected for our looks as well as our talent. And if you think about it for a minute, if you are a good looking woman, you might get the first job more easily; but at a higher level, it is even more difficult to prove your competence. I think you can probably relate to that, can't you, Krystal?
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Thanks for the compliment, Krystal. Hey - I'm not complaining - if I had three eyes and one eyebrow, there is no way I could have had this and other similarly wonderful experiences. It's sort of a double edged sword. But if someone told me I could be on tour or work with Prince as long as I wore makeup, heels, and sexy outfits, I was like - "okay!" 
I hope I don't seem egotistical bringing up looks. It's just that the subject was constantly brought up. They told us why they wanted us. We were constantly told to go to the gym, wear this, wear that, eat this don't eat that. I was just a musician minding my own business and people just kept bringing up that subject.
I actually feel insecure about my looks - I felt like I didn't quite belong in that group. I later learned that most of us felt that way. I guess we were all brainwashed by the advertisement media and couldn't match up to the "ideal." But hey - everyone was bringing up the subject of our looks - so at least on an abstract level we had to believe it sometimes.
And we were prejudiced against ourselves. When I wrote down some music off the top of my head for the other keyboard player, she said she was surprised. She thought we were just a bunch of pretty airheads. (Ironically, that bunch included her.) I must admit, I have those same stereotypes. So we had internalized the same prejudices.
Anyway, sorry I have not posted the music yet - I've been busy running my company and now I have to leave town for a week. I'm not sure how often I'll have internet access.
Meanwhile, y'all have a good week!
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Krystal666 said:
Oh artpal, I was wondering if you remember your first encounter with Prince? Were you scared? Nervous? Didn't really care? Were you a Prince fan before you worked with him? So curious!
Let’s see – the first time I met Prince… First of all, yes, I was a fan and I still am. However, my brand of fandom is that of a musician to musician admiration. I marvel at how well his music and lyrics work so well together – as if one cannot survive without the other. I marvel at how well he plays so many instruments. I marvel at his showmanship. I am not the kind of fan that keeps track of all the personalities in his world -not that there’s anything wrong with that 
– that’s just me. The one trivia I did get excited about was the fact that Prince enjoyed using the Emax sampler keyboard/module. That excited me because I liked the Emax too. In fact, when I was on tour with Stacy Lattisaw a few years earlier, my nickname in the group was “Emax.”
The first time I met Prince was when we were filming the video for “Number One.” We were working hard physically – dancing, moving etc. – to make the video cool. It went on and on and on until finally, on one take, Prince suddenly walked into the huge sound stage that we were shooting in. He was wearing a purple outfit and just stood there watching us. To me it felt surreal – like – is this really happening? I was thinking, “Got to keep working hard and doing my job – while trying to keep cool at the fact that Prince is watching us. “ So I kind of kept an eye on him from the corner of my eye while moving to the music behind my keyboard. When the song ended, he just kind of threw his head back and affectedly strutted away like a Beethoven-type supergenius. It was so surreal.
He never spoke directly to me – even when I was the musical director. He told Robin what to tell us and she relayed to us what his directions were. He did speak one sentence to me later on in the game – I’ll tell you that story later. Because of that vibe, I got the sense that it was not cool to initiate any conversation with him, much less ask him for his autograph etc.
When he walked back into the videotaping session to view the footage, he stood right next to me. The first thing that struck me was how little he was. He was my height with his big heels on. (I’m five foot four inches). He was kinda quiet. He had that male/female androgynous symbol on his back. So that was him – kinda quiet and unapproachable.
But it was still exciting for me.
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"What was Robin like?"
Robin... Robin... I actually got to know Robin pretty well, so it's hard to know where to begin. She grew up in Chicago - the rough part as I remember. She had a hard life and had to deal with poverty. I vaguely remember stories of her not having heat etc.
Because of her beauty, she was able to escape that through show biz, as you well know. After her stint at Paisley Park, she married basketball star Donald Royal of the Orlando Magic team. In fact, they were already dating when I was in MN.
The last time I spoke to her was in the year 2000, and it sounded like she was doing pretty well. They had a daughter. She was still in touch with Prince and told me he had become a Jehovah's Witness. I have since lost touch with her. (Hey Robin, if you are out there reading this, I'm trying to reach you okay? Send me an org note or something.)
Anyway, if you think she looked good in the movies, you should see her in person. She is much more beautiful in person. She had a strong personality but she was generally nice and respectful towards us Dames. She was very driven for success and would do what it takes to get there. She was quite resourceful too.
She and I come from polar opposite backgrounds. I come from a background of privilage etc. etc. So it was quite an adjustment for me to share an apartment with her and some of the other Dames. One nice part about being a musician is that you get to work with people who are from different backgrounds, races, etc. from yourself. It's definitely an enriching experience.
I'm not sure I should say much more. I got to know her so well, that I might inadvertantly invade her privacy. I think I'll just end it here if that's okay.
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"Artpal, did I miss a post or did you just not ever tell us who DID introduce Carmen to Prince? Was I suppose to assume it was Robin if it wasn't you? I've re-read this thread 4 times and I'm not seeing it, so who was it? Thanks."
You got it! It was Robin! Ironic, huh?
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Okay - I'll cut the bs. Robin liked sex and was not ashamed of it. This article pretty much sums up the Robin I knew:
http://www.ejeanlive.com/basket.htm
I myself am an artsy fartsy moral relativist, so my whole attitude towards her was "to each her own." I remember Robin telling me that Prince changed her name from "Robin Herron" to "Robin Power" because of her strong independent personality and drive. 
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(Request was made to tell stories about other celebs I met)
I was briefly introduced to Rosie and the keyboard player of NPG (white guy with long brown hair – I forget his name). They were generally nice, but the meeting was so brief, that’s all I can say. The real stories come from my meeting Jerome and Sheila E. I’ll start with Jerome:
As I previously said, I was not the kind of fan that kept track of Prince’s surrounding personalities. I was a musical nerd, ok? 
So when I met Jerome it was a comedy of errors.
One night some of the Dames, Robin, and I decided to go out to a club where the MN Vikings and other celebs hang out. I forget the name of the club. Anyway, we dress up, primp, parade into the club, and sit down at the bar. I already had a boyfriend, so I went just to hang with the girls. Soon, this regular looking black dude with a baseball cap sat down next to me and said, “Hi, I’m Jerome.” In my ignorance, I simply said, “Hi, I’m Liza (pronounced Leeza).” I think he could tell by my blank but polite facial expression that I was not particularly impressed by him. But he was persistent – and luckily I was polite. We talked on and on about I don’t remember what, and then he finally asked me if we could get together sometime. I told him no thanks cuz I already had a boyfriend. He kept persisting and I kept saying no thanks. Thank God I was otherwise polite and friendly. Cuz when I was riding in our car back to the apartment, I learned who he was.
The girls said, “Liza, do you know who that was?”
“No,” I said. 
“That was JEROME!”
“Jerome who?”
“Jerome Benton!”
“Who’s Jerome Benton?”
The girls were bursting out laughing at me. “Remember the guy who held out Morris Day’s mirror in the Purple Rain movie? That was Jerome!”
“Oh…” I said, “Ohhhhh. Oh shit.” 
They just kept laughing at me. That’s also when I learned that Jerome had a thing for Asian women (I’m Asian).
If I had known, I could have asked him more interesting questions like what was Prince like etc. I must say he was nice enough to take the rejection like a good sport. He seemed really nice – just like a regular guy.
Here are some pictures of how we looked when we went to the club that night (taken in Robin’s apartment). I’m in the first photo.
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As far as Sheila E is concerned – no, I didn’t snub her. In fact, I’m sorry to say that she snubbed us Dames.
She and a friend came in un-announced to see one of our rehearsals and listened to us play for a while. They were kinda walking around amongst us checking out the band. Can you imagine playing and watching that out of the corner of your eye? (And yes, I knew who Sheila was ).
On the outside, we played it cool; although inside, we were star-struck-panting-drooling-fans-turned-Paisley-Park-newbie-protégé-subordinates.
When we finished a song, something happened but I didn’t see it cuz I was the musical director and probably was distracted by some technical concern. (I kinda wish I hadn’t been the director cuz I probably would have enjoyed myself more like some of the other Dames.)
Anyway, they walked around and stopped and leaned against the wall close to me. Sheila looked good and was dressed to the tee and she had these shades on. She and her friend seemed kinda distant (and I’m very sensitive to that) so I didn’t say anything. I vaguely remember one of the Dames saying, “It’s an honor to meet you,” or something like that, and she barely acknowledged that. She was really on the “I’m a such a star" vibe. So what else do you say? Nothing – ya just kinda stare. But not too long cuz you don’t want to look like too much of a geek. Soon they left.
Later on, I learned that our drummer Kim had tried to say something (probably while I was distracted) but apparently felt snubbed. Which is such a shame because Sheila was Kim’s idol – being a female drummer and all. Kim said she was so disappointed and lost respect for Sheila. I felt so sorry for Kim – imagine your idol becoming a reality and treating you like that. I still feel for her.
I guess while we admired Sheila, she probably saw us as competition. Too bad – we didn’t see it that way at the time. On the other hand, she could have just been uncomfortable with our hero worship – I’ve seen other celebs become quiet cuz of that when I was on tour with them.
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