Published Tuesday
April 13, 2004

Asked and Answered: Prince duet leaves fan on cloud '1999'

BY NIZ PROSKOCIL



WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITER
At last week's Prince concert at the Omaha Arena, Richard Schultz was among two dozen lucky fans allowed on stage to bust some moves with His Royal Badness.


Richard Schultz

Sings and plays guitar in local rock band The Special People Club.

Has attended five Prince concerts since 1997.

Met Prince in 2002 during a sound check before a Kansas City, Mo., concert.

It was Schultz's voice, though, that the nearly 14,000 audience members heard when Prince put his microphone up to Schultz's mouth during the song "Kiss."

The 34-year-old diehard Prince fan, who works as a data analyst, talked with us about his moment in the spotlight.

Q. How did you get on stage with Prince?

A. I think it was one of the horn players who came down to the front row and started picking people to come on stage. I grabbed my fiancee's hand and was like, "I'm taking her with me." We were the last two people let in. I remember a big burly guy, I think it was a stage hand, telling me, "Don't touch (Prince)!"

Q.What happened when you got on stage?

A.I got up there, checked out the lay of the land. I went out on one of the ramps to get out of people's way. Prince and the band were dancing and jamming all around us. About five, maybe eight minutes later, the band starts playing "Kiss," and I was just dancing and singing along like everyone else. Prince walks right by a few times. He heard me singing and then stuck his mike in my face.

Q. What did you do then?

A. I reached out and grabbed it, and I remember tilting the mike a little bit. He never let go of it. The whole time we were both holding the mike, but I still never touched him.

Q. What part of "Kiss" did you sing with the mike?

A. (In a falsetto voice) "Ain't no particular sign I'm more compatible with. I just want your extra time and your kiss." I sang it for all I was worth.

Q. Does your band, The Special People Club, cover any Prince songs?

A. Yes, we've done "Kiss" before. So if people want to hear it again, I'll do it.

Q. So are you going to change your name to a symbol and make people call you "the Artist Formerly Known as Richard"?

A. No, probably not. I always admired him for doing that, though. Talk about following your muse wherever it takes you. Something inside him told him to abandon his name, which was a worldwide trademark, and he had the guts to do it. But like everyone else, I was glad when he changed it back, and honestly, I never called him anything but Prince anyway.

Q. What was Prince's reaction while you were singing?

A. I couldn't see his face but I was told later that it made him smile. All these years of listening to him and being inspired by his music, it was just incredible. I know it's geeky fanboy stuff. But I mean, come on. Who gets to do something like that?

wHY DIDN'T U TOUCH HIM..LAST TIME IN THIS LIFETIME U WILL COME THAT CLOSE TO GREATNESS.

Go Richard!

are we supposed to be impressed that he has been to 5 whole concerts since 1997? sorry but i was more impressed in London 2002 when people actually got on stage to sing a whole song or the 'karaoke' evening during celebration 2002.

Prince has done this a number of times, why is it such big news now?

call me a cynic but if this is the news that is gonna come out of his renewed popularity i might become a naysayer

smoo said:

remember this is a newspaper article aimed at normal people and not us prince loonies...and be happy he is getting the column inches - everyone complained when he didn't!!!

His bodyguards warn everyone specifically not to touch him. Brush into him and you'll be carried out to the parking lot and beaten. Well probably not that seriously. lol

I was at this concert and saw this guy on the screen. His voice came out good actually, but his dance moves were something between Billy Ray Cyrus and awful. My seats were 1000 feet away fortunately so noone can see my bad dancing.

This is the setlist from the Omaha concert. It was tight as hell, but wish I would have paid for better seating, too bad Im a broke mother****er.


Intro (Alicia Keys speech)
Musicology
Let's go Crazy
I Would Die 4 U
When Doves Cry
Baby I'm a Star
Shhh
DMSR
I Feel for You
Controversy
God (Instrumental)
The Beautiful Ones
Nothing Compares 2 U
Insatiable
Sign O' The Times
The Question of U/The One/The Question of U
Lets Work
U got the Look
Life o the Party
Soul Man
Kiss
Take me With U

Acoustic Encore:
Little Red Corvette
Sometimes it Snows in April (strummed the first few notes then said, "that one's too sad".)
Twins in My Bed
On the Couch
Sometimes it Snows in April
I Could Never Take The Place of Your Man
7 (Started off acoustic but the band came back and joined in)
Purple Rain

smoo said:

Hey! I got a chance to sing at paisley park but never with Prince. I'm psyched for this guy. that would be dream come true for me.

smoo said:

Man, lay off. Let the man have his moment in the spotlight. It's a really cool thing to have happen.

Richard,i think that was great,i am happy for you.This is a once i lifetime. :clap:GOD BLESS

I was at this show, this guy danced and looked like a fool. my row (first row by the way, whoo hooo) was laughing at his "dancing"
i sat behind him the following night in Ames, IA. The whole night he was trying to figure out how to get up there again, just an annoying little man.

He already posted his review of the show. http://www.prince.org/msg/12/88418

I don't know why some of you guys are being so nasty... So what if he can't dance? Why is this "Big" news? It's not, it was in a local paper... Maybe he's only attended 5 Prince concerts because he was busy playing HIS OWN shows!

smoo said:

Well take your ass back to London!! Tally Ho, muthafucka!

flowermeanings said:

I was also at this show in the front row over by Rhonda. We were laughing as well. I never saw or heard him sing with Prince so I still think he's pulling everyone's leg. I was sitting in front of him in Ames the next night. He is an annoying little man!

I'll give props for him getting up on the stage and attempting to dance though. I wish I would have been able to get up on that stage. I will in St. Paul! I will show you that white men can dance!
[This message was edited Wed Apr 14 10:09:22 2004 by way2funky]

billysparxxx said:

biatch i don't need to take my ass back to london cos i am already there. i was bitching about the paper article being news or is that not allowed now?

...that's a very nice memory to always cherish...you go boy!!! & that was nice you grabbed your fiancee along with you to experience it all...thanks for sharing.
[This message was edited Wed Apr 14 20:56:18 2004 by Starmist7]

I think that's awesome.

It was news to a local paper for local residents who got to see a local artist perform with an international superstar. That's awesome stuff that, on a slow news day, could land on the front page.

Go, Richard!

MoneyMade said:

I didn't really *try* not to touch him. It wasn't until later that I realized I didn't! I think I just internalized the clear message "touch him and get thrown out" so I didn't. Oh well!! I bet I will shake his hand one day. I'm patient. I can wait.

Oh, and I'm sorry I haven't replied to anyone. I've been doing last minute preparations for my wedding tomorrow (Friday)! I will quickly reply here to everyone who warrants it!

MightBQueen said:

Thank you, Queen!!

smoo said:

This is touched on below but yes, this was for a local paper. In the original article the number of concerts is in a bullet under my picture.

Sorry I haven't seen Prince more, really I am! I never got a chance for one reason or another until 1997. But I see him when I can.



Its just big news in Omaha- my hometown. There were 12,000-14,000 people there. ONE happened to get on mic and on screen. That is worth a little ink here. It was a small human interest type article. No big deal.



Truthfully they would have ran this article last year or the year before if it would have happened. Prince is and will always be newsworthy in this way in this market, IMO. When he reaches out and touches something local they will write about it. I don't think this has anything to do with his recent media blitz (RRHOF, Grammys, etc.)

letsgocrazy said:

'Xactly, LGC!! And around here seeing Prince 5 times DOES make me a Prince loonie. Even my musician friends who like him have mostly only seen him once or twice!

blumer said:

I think this whole deal has been very educational to me. I always realized that I admired Prince, MJ, et al for their ability to move and dance. I am a white guy with not the best co-ordination in the world I guess so I can't do it. But you know what?

I still love to dance! I think its basically human to like to dance and move. But we get so hung up on what we "look" like and if we're "good" at it that most of us don't allow ourselves the freedom to be who we are and just do what we're made to do.

Not everyone is Michael Jordan. Does that mean the rest of us can't shoot hoops and enjoy it? I'm not a good dancer. But I have the balls to LET myself do it anyway. I get off my ass and participate in life. And I enjoy it.

I wish I knew where this line came from- "You've got to dance like nobody's watching". Anyone out there know? Well that's what I did with Prince. I danced like I was at home with the stereo cranked and just had a good time. My fiancee, myself, and I do believe Prince enjoyed it. Good enough for me!

I have a song about this sort of. It is taking on new meaning for me. One of the lines is- "Don't let 'em tell you that you can't dance- some people never take a chance".

Well I took the chance. Didn't hesitate for a second. Whether or not I was a professional caliber dancer I don't care. I am just proud of having the balls to GO FOR IT. I admire anyone who does that.

Participate in life. Get off your ass and go for it. Nevermind the petty and fearful. They have always thrown rocks at the bold and happy. They are annoying- but that is all they are.

dearlybeloved said:

Thank you, dearly!

lillybleu said:

Thanks, lilly!!

flowermeanings said:

Really? That's funny because we weren't in the section where they were pulling people up... So I just danced and sang like any other show. When Prince came my way I tried to catch his eye like everyone else. Not sure if I ever did.

All I remotely did to "get up there again" was after the people were already on stage when he tried to recreate the Omaha "Kiss" singing thing I did. The first two people he gave the mic to did not do well. One ran away and the other didn't know the words or couldn't sing or both. So I stepped into the aisle to see if I could go up. The usher told me I couldn't go forward so I went back to my row. I spent all of 15 seconds "trying to get up there again".

I had my moment. Let other people have theirs, in front of their hometown and friends.

I only even considered trying when it was obvious Prince was looking for people to sing and the people he had on stage weren't pulling it off. Sorry if that annoyed you, man.

VinaBlue said:

Word, Vina. Thanks. Indeed I long ago passed the mark where I have played more shows as a musician than I have seen as an audience member. I have seen Prince more times than any other performer, though. (Lucinda Williams, Michael Hedges (RIP) and Concrete Blonde are 2,3 and 4).

Peace.

Richard, that line comes from Kathy Mattea:
"Work like you don't need money,
Love like you've never been hurt,
And dance like no one's watching. "
--Kathy Mattea

(She's got a song Come From The Heart where she says "Sing like you don't need the money", but her written prose is where she says the above quote.)

Dude, I am so jealous. I've only seen Prince *twice*. Last week's Musicology stop in Champaign, Illinois was number two. And Chicago in June will be number three. CONGRATULATIONS on your once-in-a-lifetime opportunity....and on your MARRIAGE! May the guidance and peace of the Almighty be with you and your wife.


B u t t a
http://unclebutta.tripod.com

way2funky said:

Yep. Its a cospiracy. You caught me! All that money I paid to the radio stations and newspaper... not to mention a couple dozen orgers to lie and say I sang with Prince... all foiled by you, way2. I would have gotten away with it too, if it wasn't for you meddling kids!! bwahahahaha!!



Well thanks for that, way2. And you know what? I don't care if people were laughing. Entertainment is entertainment. If my dancing induced laughter, hey. At least you were entertained and had something to enjoy on some level. Good enough for me.

And I hope you do get up in St. Paul. That would be awesome, man. I hope everyone who wants to can get up on stage with Prince. Its a magical experience.

And I think we all know white men *can* dance. It just seems to be a little more rare, that's all! But you don't have to be *good* at something to *enjoy* it!

Starmist7 said:

Thanks SM7. Yes having my sweetie there is really what puts it over the top for me. She still can't believe the places we go and the things that happen to us!!