Ok ,

So I suprised my wife with "on stage " tickets to prince on 22/10 in melbourne.

She has been a BIG fan for ages (before we met )

I am a fan also...of course...

And I gotta say , it WAS worth every cent.
especially since it went to charity...


Contrary to what some have said, There was no "gag order" placed on people going into the "meet and greet".

The only provisions were that there were to be NO photos and no autographs, (as he wanted to talk not be worshipped)

so...run through what happened then...was he open...friendly...what happened on stage...how long did you get with him...oh, and was an autograph not too much to ask when paying $1000!!!

Yeah can we get some more detail? Damn you're a tease! :)Did you have a one-on-one conversation with him?

we were taken to just outside the dressing room area , then given the ground rules , which were like I said no photos or autographs,

My view is that connecting with a person like this is much more lasting and valuable than an autograph, and I would not have asked for one, even if it was allowed.

.

So then the obligitory who y'all doin, how do like melbourne , etc...

Then a few people jumped in with questions for him...

when the questions were silly or "INTERVIEW" like , he went to the quiet prince you see in interviews, but when on a subject he wanted to talk about it was like sitting talking with an old friend, animated lively and louder .

he explained how the interview went with richard wilkins , and taking him away from the camera to explain some things before continuing the interview on camera.

we talked about:
concerts
performing
old band members
royalties
record companies
MTV
interviews
rock n roll hall of fame
films and videos
RIAA
internet and newsgroups
websites
paisley park
religion
communities
high heel shoes(not comfortable with this one)
foot massages (same here)
big business
ownership of music
band names
religion
Michael jackson
Cost of making records.

And those are just a few of the things I could think of off the top of my head.

we were in his dressing room from about 6:15 pm till close on around 8pm (the show went on at 8:45 pm)

We then went ON stage to take our seats at 8:30PM.

a couple of times when he came past us on stage he gave us a pat on the back etc... and the wife boogied down with him during one of maceo's solo's

coool!!
thats really excellent that you actually got to talk to him. i feared it might have been only five mins talk per person and then move on type of experience, so its really cool you just got to chill with prince, that would be a dream!!

what did he say about mj and the internet???

ally85 said:

yeah initially we thought it would be a hi / bye sort of thing... but then I remembered kevin smith talking about how he got people out to paisley park to listen to rainbow children before it's release and sat down and talked with small groups of them ...it was just like that...

He talked about MJ buying peoples back catalogues of songs ie beatles etc etc...

He joked about ringing him and telling him"i'm selling my catalogue" mj:"really!?!?" prince: "No ! psych !"

he also said that he DOESNT read what people are saying about him on the net.

which I found interesting...

he also said that he doesnt listen to much music either...

but then went on to talk about some songs he had heard on the radio. etc...

He said that people always give him CD's he couldnt understand that!

"people are always , ummm what do we get him...I know a cd , He likes music !" what the ?!

He was very interesting to talk to ...

far out that would be my biggest dream just hanging out and chatting with prince, its hard to imagine him just being a "normal" person, i would give anything to do that, i would probably freeze and not say anything but who cares

Thanks Stuh. At least you're willing to share your experience and I again praise you on your openess.

I know those that paid the extra $$$ want to keep their experiences to themselves. However, we who may not be able to afford this "experience" live vicariously through those of you. And your reviews mean a lot to us.

(I'm speaking for myself)

But there's always talk about "Fams" and "Sheep" and it kinda make you wonder if no one was talking about it because you may have had to sign some time of "gag order"

That's all. Just my

Thanks again.

I'm just curious...did anyone ask him if he plans to have another celebration at Paisley Park next June?

purplekat said:

Yeah, see THAT's the question right there!

jonty1975 said:

thanks you sounds like you have a great time - congratulations

Thanks for posting your report. I have another question: how is the sound on stage?

hjd said:

it was VERY VERY loud on stage, We were ten rows back on the first night , but my ears hurt more the day after the "on stage" concert.

They have what is called "side fill" which are the TWO large speaker boxes , one on each side of the stage , plus the monitors for each player...

which is interesting since they all use in-ear monitors >!

No , no one asked about the next cellebration , We are in Australia , and I dont think any body was planning on trekking over there for that...

Although , some of thepeople we met had done an around the world trip following him on a tour , and saw every show !

one more thing...how many people coughed up the $1k to take part in this cash for questions experience...? i heard it was around 20...this right?

letsgocrazy said:

yes , 20 people, the money going to charity.

stuh said:

Interesting...wonder why. Have 2 say, I KNOW it's not really important - but im just SO intruiged 4 once!

stuh said:

Really. I thought it might have been a little better on stage because the biggest overhead hanging speakers were in front of you and facing away. Guess I was wrong, hehe.

DarlingCaroline said:[quote]

stuh said:

Yeah I figured the on stage sound would be quieter , but those side fills were DAMN loud!...

Prince said that his shoes were custom made for his feet so they fit perfectly and he has never had foot problems...

I do know , tho that he has had a bad knee in the past and when some one had suggested it could be from the high heels , he was not impressed.

some one else then sked if the girl who offered prince a foot massage , would massage his feet , and prince said , "there you go , make a new friend..."...

Thank you very much for sharing your experience, stuh.

Can you expound a little on what you remember it was said on old band members.

thanks

nickfunk

nickfunk said:

ok...

I asked how he felt about ex band members spilling their guts on stories about him , and riding on his coat-tails...

Particularly Dez dickersons new book...

he said "I aint mad at him" , he's obviously doing it cos he needs the money... thats fine...

no point sueing him !

cool experience

i'd love 2 meet and chat with prince

what was he wearing?

i once read that he always smells wonderful

did u notice his cologne?

how comfortable did he seem talking 2 u?

how much security did he have at the meet and greet?

sumtymes said:

He was wearing the black sweater from the soundcheck still..

I didnt notice any cologne.. but the room smelt great , he had an oil burner in there...

There was no security , we were alone in his dressing room with him.

door shut.

Wow, i'm suprised you got to hang out with him for almost 2 hours. That's well worth the money seeing as you didn't have security and so on, not to mention a time limit or anything like that. I hope he does the ON stage thing at some of the cities when he tours in the US. thanks for sharing stuh.

stuh said:

alone in his dressing room!!!

he must have felt really comfortable with u guys

do u remember the scent of the oil burner?

if u had 2 choose between the concert or

the meet and greet, which one would

u choose?

alone in his dressing room!!!

he must have felt really comfortable with u guys

do u remember the scent of the oil burner?

if u had 2 choose between the concert or

the meet and greet, which one would

u choose?[/quote]

If I had to choose , I would see the concert...

But we went the to first show in melb and watched in the crowd...

Then second day , saw soundcheck and then met him , and then watched the show from on stage in the middle at a cocktail table to start with then over the side area...

My wife got to boogie down with him at one stage when Maceo was playing a solo...

All in all something not soon forgotten.

Stu

If y'all go on over to Housequake, you'll see my 2 Meet n Greet stories over there...

Stuh, i was in the 22nd with you - what i remember Prince saying about websites was that he DID read them, it just didnt affect him - his exact words were - if someone makes a statement about me or my music, its up to THEM to prove it, not me... he said he LIKED the arguements that go on because it means people are still thinking about him..

Do you remember it that way? we do...

If you DO go over and read my stories, you'll see how his mood changed DRAMATICALLY between my 1st meet n greet and my 2nd - he was a different person altogether...

Stu, i wore the earplugs provided to us on-stage, through those earplugs strangely nough i could only here Prince sing and nothing else!! I thought that was weird.. but at least i could hear properly the next day!

The other BIG thing i noticed from up on-stage - Prince can see AND HEAR everyone in the first 10 rows or so PERFECTLY!!! So when u r down there screaming your heart out and waving to him, it doesnt go unnoticed...

stuh said:

Did anyone mention Family Jamm or Wendy and Lisa at all??