I would like to see Andre Cymone put out a few songs. I haven't heard from him in years.

meyoqu said:

like I have mentioned a few times before, i worked with Andre on a few songs and one with Andre and Morris. This was back in 95 with Morris and Andre and 96 & 97 with Andre. Last time I spoke to Andre was a little over a year ago. He was putting together a girl's group ala Destiny's Child.

blackguitaristz said:

Do you know why he seems to have shied away from doing his own albums?I just think he's too talented to be unknown to the general public.He could be tearing it up.I'll bet he plays a pretty decent guitar and maybe he could do some Stanley Clarke/Waymon Tisdale/Victor Wooten type project.I would really like to talk to him.

rockwilder said:

Two points: One, Andre isn't really interested anymore in doing the artist thing anymore. Been there, done that type of thing. At least that is what he conveyed to me. Two, although Andre is a multi-instumentalist like P, he's not as a bassist, anywhere on the level as a Stanley Clarke, Tisdale, Wooten.

blackguitaristz said:

I see.Thanks.I often wonder if guys like this do anonymous session work to keep ends meeting.I miss Andre,Dez,and Jesse.

I would love to see Andre record again also. One thing though, I would like to see him either use the old sound he used to use, or go more towards a rock album. I would hate to see him follow the current trend in today's R&B music. If that's the case, I would rather he stay in retirement and not destroy his reputation.

I applaud Jesse Johnson for doing an all rock album in the the late 1990s. The state of R&B music in the 1990s and today is totally dead so I'm glad to see he didn't even go there and ruin his reputation. I wish I could say the same for Morris Day. His 1990s album "Guaranteed" and his studio tracks on his latest album are absolutely horrible. They sound just like all the other so called "artists" today.

I notice you mentioned he is working with a girls group ala Destiny's Child. I just hope they don't sound like Destiny's Child. That weak little hip hop drum machine sound cannot measure up to the strong sounding drum machines in the 1980s. I truly hope there are some fast jams on the album also because I've never liked midtempo and never will. I really enjoyed the girls group he produced in the 1980s called The Girls.

vainandy said:

Tthat's what hesaid, that it would be patterned after The Girls, but more updated like Destiny's Child. But who knows, that was well over a year ago. And Jessie doing a rock album wasn't a stretch for him at all, cuz that's what Jessie is and always has been is a rocker. He was that in The Time, but he was SO held back by P, even in live gigs. P would always tell Jessie or have Morris to tell Jessie to knock it off with the guitar solos, mainly because he felt Jessie was showing P up on the axe. A lot of shit went down between those two.

rockwilder said:

I miss Dez most of all.

blackguitaristz said:

Really? I had no idea. That's pretty cool. Where is he living now btw?

minneapolisgenius said:

He was living in downtown L.A. in this HUGE loft. That's where his studio was.

I remember an Andre thread in the Associated Artists and someone said that they considered Andre the equal or near equal of Prince. I don't really know much about Andre, i do know that Prince supposedly borrowed ideas from him and they had somewhat of a falling, but I don't know much about his whole story or what his career was like after he left Prince's band.

I remember reading that in the linear notes in Jesse's "Bare My Naked Soul" album. Jesse said he was always into rock and would come up with ideas for songs and Morris would laugh until he had tears streaming down his face.

I remember also reading about the first time Jesse met Prince after a live gig. He asked Prince if he was into Jimi Hendrix and Prince said he had never heard of him. Jesse told him he was lying because he had all of Jimi's moves. Next thing you know, Jesse's got the job.

Of all the people who have left the Prince camp, Jesse seemed to be the most successful on his own and got the most airplay, other than Andre's work with Jody Watley of course. Prince, of course, was (and still is) on his retro trip. Just think of the albums that could have been made if Prince had continued the Minneapolis Sound with Andre, Jesse, Dez, and Fink. Those could have been some KILLER albums.
[Edited 9/28/04 18:33pm]

vainandy said:

I agree with you 100% Those albums would have been a treat to the ear. It's a shame that egos got in the way of the Minneapolis Sound.

I definitely miss seeing Jesse's present in the Time b/c I admire his guitar playing ability. Jesse can play the hell out of the guitar. I had the oppurtunity to see him in concert and I was blown away.
[Edited 9/28/04 22:25pm]

Hotlegs said:

Yeah, I seen Jessie at The Roxy and he got down something hard. I yelled out "play some Hendrix" and he said back to me "Who's that?" That's the gospel truth. I was like "you silly motherfucker.'

I would've loved to have seen Jesse live!!!

My old boss (I used to work at a guitar store) was/is a soundman at Saturday Night Live. He told me about what he and his cronies still refer to as "the Jesse Story". When The Time appeared on SNL, they warned Jesse that using a wireless rig was risky. Jessie insisted upon it, though, and it conked out on him during "Jerk Out". That's why when it first aired, you can see a tech rushing behind Jesse to plug in a cable. Suffice to say, the other members were not very happy. What they're showing on repeats is the dress rehearsal version of "Jerk Out".

My boss gave me a Jesse Johnson guitar pick (pink, of course) as a going-away present when I left

Blackguitaristz, any more Jesse/Andre stories to share? I can read them all day!!!

Also, check out Tommy Bolin - the cat was ahead of his time!!!

Some JesseDezz funk: www.soundclick.com/dejablue

JesseDezz said:

No shit? I used to have that SNL on tape. I thought that shit looked funny. Yeah, Tommy Bolin is cool.

JesseDezz said:

Agreed. I wonder how many more Jesse or Angre stories that Blackguitarist has in store.

DITTO for me also. I love hearing about Jesse and Andre.

Me 2. ALOT.


>>I miss Andre,Dez,and Jesse.[/quote]

blackguitaristz said:

You're not that fool in the front who kept yelling "Where'd you get that axe?" are you?

blackguitaristz said:

blackguitaristz,
of course by now you know Jesse was "messing" with you!!!
!!!You were "punked" by Jesse Johnson"!!!
GGD