Hi guys n gals. I read on a recent thread a discussion on Bobby Z's drumming that stated on the old tours all they used were drum machines and he just hit cymbals. Well, being a fan of old I found this hard to believe so I went back and watched the old Syracuse concert again. Sure enough he spent most of his time dancing! I couldnt believe it! Now usually I'd rip someones throat out for saying the Revolution were not his best band ever but now I begin to question myself. I wonder if anyone know why this was the case, did Prince not allow him to play? Can he play at all? Did he even program the machines himself? Help me out here guys, restore my faith in The Revolution!

prince even said in interviews around that time that bobby wasn't the best drummer in the world.

Really? I missed that. I must have been too into it to care at the time. Well, I was only 12.

Well Bobby was around for a few years, it seems really strange to me that Prince would tolerate a sub-standard musician for so long. Any thoughts?

try to google the 1985 rolling stone interview, "prince talks". it's where he mentioned bobby not being the best drummer, but that he brought other strengths to the band...

I guess Bobby Z was to Prince, what Andrew Ridgley was to George Michael then!

amf666 said:

apparently, bobby z is a pretty decent producer - he produced one of boy george's early albums.

Quite an interesting interview that, thanks for putting me on to it.

amf666 said:

i remember getting that issue of RS at the mall the week it came out, and just INHALING it. i remember my mom made me read it out loud to her on the ride home.

Bobby played the drums during the Family Jamm show because I was standing 5 feet from him during parts of the show.

whether or not he was a good drummer back then, i bet he's a good drummer now.

amf666 said:

Bobby used to work for Owen Husney as a runner. Ran errands and shit like that. That's how P met Bobby. Charles, who was P's cousin, thought that the drumming spot would definately go to him. P didn't want a black drummer. He wanted to be like Jimi and Sly and have a white drummer, so Bobby was at the right place at the right time, basically. Bobby and P became tight. Really good friends. I think P trusted Bobby more than anything else. Bobby probably tolerated way more shit from P than someone else like, say, Andre would. Andre would go tell P to go fuck himself. Plus, Bobby had a cool image as well. Bobby was there from the get, along with Fink.

I don't hink he always just played cymbals. Just mainly on Purple Rain tour, manu of those songs needed to be done by the Linn to sound liek hte record (e.g. When Doves Cry).

THe parade tour, Bobby plays live drums for most of it.

madhouseman said:

Were you on the stage for the finale? I was too, but was hanging out next to Sheila

amf666 said:

Okay, now if Bobby would have busted into some triplets or doing drum solos in the middle of the Purple Rain tour his ass would have gotten fired. Most of the songs were the LINN drum machine in the studio so they stayed that way live. As a drummer I think Bobby had the hardest job of running the drum machine and all the hand cues Prince would do back then. If you want to see Bobby kick ass go watch a Parade show.

INTERESTING comments here on Bobby Z..


in my opinion, I think he was a "good enough" drummer skillwise to be in Prince's band - I think of him in the "dirty mind" & "Uptown" videos..

then I also do think - he definitely had a "cool look" that fit in with the band..


plus, he NAILED his line in Purple Rain :

"what difference does it make.. we're still a group, right??"

Anxiety said:

LOL...I'm right there with ya! LOL

"you tired to?", "were still a group, right"

4nowneway said:

Boy,
he really nailed that sucker, didn't he?

amf666 said:

I heard that Bobby Z was in a Country Western Band before he joined Prince. He's an adequate drummer, but he's not even close to being as good as Sheila E, Michael Bland or Mr Blackwell. The drum parts on Prince's first couple of albums were'nt that difficult for Bobby to play. The drum machine did most of the work on others. But he served his purpose. I like the story that Strib Writer Jon Bream told about Bobby. He said that during his first interview with Prince, Backstage at a rehearsal with he and Dez Dickerson. All three were sitting down talking. Bobby came back there to get a sandwich from the buffet table. All of a sudden Bobby yells "HEY! WHERE'S THE MAYO?!" A Very pissed off Bobby Z then knocks over the table, food and all. And somehow Prince and Dez get knocked over too. Bream said Prince and Dez just got up, Brushed themselves off and acted like nothing happened.

ThePunisher said:

wow...prince was bobby z's bitch?

amf666 said:

Hello fellow Prince fans -- Good thread topic - can someone answer the question by providing specifics? What are some tracks that he (Bobby Z) really can be heard. How much input did he have in the music? On Prince and The Revolution tracks, is Prince really drums and drum programming or do we have Bobby Z actually contributing and playing? How much input did he have in the early recordings (and not jacket sleeve credits, but real input)? That is what I think the question is about and it's a good, good question.

napoleon370 said:

Right off the top of my head, I know that Bobby played on the unreleased REBELS album. I know that he also played on Jack U Off (with Lisa, Matt and Prince). That was recording live in the studio because they had been doing it as a band on tour in Europe. He also did some percussion and cymbol work on D. M.S.R as well as a few other 1999 songs. Extralovable is a great track that was a band jam that included Bobby.

On Purple Rain, Lets Go Crazy, I Would Die 4 U, Baby I’m a Star and Purple Rain.

On ATWIAD, Raspberry Beret, The Ladder, some overdubs on Paisley Park, and America.

Also on the Family album he played drums on River Run Dry.

On Parade, the ones that stand out are Love or $, and Mountains.

And I almost forgot GONNA BE A BEAUTIFUL NIGHT off of SOTT.

I know he was on a few others, but those are the songs that I can think of, off the top of my head. I’m sure there are a few others to add to the list, but I without listening to them all, this was all I could recall.

madhouseman said:

He played the drums on Beautiful Night? Are you sure because the liner notes say Sheila on percussion, and also in the SOTT video it's Sheila and Prince on the drums.

jone70 said:

Percussion and drums are two seperate instruments. The credits also list Prince and the Revolution. The song (at least the basic tracks) were recorded in Paris on the Parade tour. Prince re-recorded many of the instruments, but some of Bobby's drumming remains. Anything in the SOTT video would not qualify as that was a performance of the SOTT band, which didn't include Bobby Z. Hope that clears that up.

madhouseman said:

A lot of these songs are Linn LM 1 though (LGC, BIAS, even Purple Rain as well as Mountains). Are you saying Bobby was playying pads hooked up to the Linn or he overdubbed acoustic on top..... or what?

GaryMF said:

As far as I know, he was playing the Linn. Many of the songs I've listed were recorded with the full band, or at least with many of the Revolution. For example, Mountains was recorded on Saturday November 30, 1985 at the Washington Avenue warehouse in Minn. The entire band was recording the song and Bobby definitely played drums for that session. A side note on that date is that it was the first time that Atlanta Bliss played with Prince, not that you asked, but I thought it was sort of a fun fact.

Any sounds on the drums were probably set up ahead of time by Prince because he was very familiar with almost everything that the Linn could do by that point.

madhouseman said:

Love or $ I'm pretty sure is Prince. On the outtake that the basic tracks were taken from he counts himself in.

BlurredEye said:

Blurred Eye and Madhouseman -- Great Information! I recently viewed 'Life Can Be So Nice' concert video. Bobby actually kept up pretty well - the licks were simple, but effective. On the America video (concert), Bobby and Prince were both impressive; again simple licks but effective. Madhouseman, if you know exactly how Bobby contributed to 1999, please explain. Also - BE and MHM, please see my keyboard thread - Evaluation of Prince's Synth/Keyboard players and tell me what you think.

madhouseman said:

Meaning he was play8ing those hexagonal pads hooked up to the LM-1 (like in the America video), or live drums with triggers attached tot he LM-1?

BTW, I have a LinnDrum (LM-2) if anyone cares. it's in the original box sitting in my closet. one day i'm going to get the LM-1 chipset for it

napoleon370 said:

A good chunk of my information about Bobby's input on the 1999 album, etc. comes from an interview with him done by UPTOWN as well as my own research. I don't have time to go back to my notes for more details, but maybe one day I can get it all down for everyone. It is fun knowing this stuff and I'd love to share it with everyone in some form. For right now, this is the best form.