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PrintableDear Michael,
this is just a quick post to let you know how much I miss that old NPG , the tightest band in the world, and your unique sound that added a lot to Prince´s music. People love to reminisce about the Revolution days, the influence of Wendy and Lisa, the skills of the Sign of the Times and Lovesexy band, but , now that enough time has passed since 1995/96, people slowly but surely seem to realize what we witnessed in the mid nineties and what we sadly miss today, and that is that incredible musical chemistry of that old NPG, especially the chemistry of what we call the "New Power Trio", you and Sonny and Prince....unbelievable ! Sure, Prince has always changed his lineups and we all know it´s always been like that, always going to be like that, but , having seen you live in 1993 ( Rockfestival in Lüneburg, Germany), 1994 ( Berlin, MTV Awards aftershow), and 1995 ( two concerts in Den Bosch, Netherlands, plus that incredible aftershow at the Paradiso in Amsterdam) I still have difficulties in understanding how he could EVER let go of that band, especially you on the drums.This was the tightest band ever, forget about the occasional electronic fuck ups . It´s good to see you and Sonny back again on 3121, even if it´s just one track. I like all of Prince´s drummers, whether it´s Sheila E, John B, even Bobby Z, and I think even Kirk J plays a certain part in the Prince universe, though some people here might feel different about that, but that old NPG will always be my favorite band...you guys even managed to take a song into a totally different direction each and every night, like you did with Days of Wild during the 1995 European tour. PS: If you happen to see Morris Hayes, please say "Hi" from Eyup ( 4th of July /Big Mike Spicer, he knows...  )
Ahh. one question...I know you guys did at one time give three concerts within 24 hours..I think in NYC, 1994...how is that physically possible ? Did Prince give his bandmembers certain advice how to stay awake for hours ? Any special diet ? Ginseng ? Tons of coffee ? What´s the secret ? I remember when I wrote my thesis I stayed awake for more than two days, reading and typing , but how on earth did you guys manage to hit the right notes with almost no sleep at all ? [Edited 4/2/06 16:03pm] " I´d rather be a stank ass hoe because I´m not stupid. Oh my goodness! I got more drugs! I´m always funny dude...I´m hilarious! Are we gonna smoke?" | |
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KoolEaze said: Dear Michael,
this is just a quick post to let you know how much I miss that old NPG , the tightest band in the world, and your unique sound that added a lot to Prince´s music. People love to reminisce about the Revolution days, the influence of Wendy and Lisa, the skills of the Sign of the Times and Lovesexy band, but , now that enough time has passed since 1995/96, people slowly but surely seem to realize what we witnessed in the mid nineties and what we sadly miss today, and that is that incredible musical chemistry of that old NPG, especially the chemistry of what we call the "New Power Trio", you and Sonny and Prince....unbelievable ! Sure, Prince has always changed his lineups and we all know it´s always been like that, always going to be like that, but , having seen you live in 1993 ( Rockfestival in Lüneburg, Germany), 1994 ( Berlin, MTV Awards aftershow), and 1995 ( two concerts in Den Bosch, Netherlands, plus that incredible aftershow at the Paradiso in Amsterdam) I still have difficulties in understanding how he could EVER let go of that band, especially you on the drums.This was the tightest band ever, forget about the occasional electronic fuck ups . It´s good to see you and Sonny back again on 3121, even if it´s just one track. I like all of Prince´s drummers, whether it´s Sheila E, John B, even Bobby Z, and I think even Kirk J plays a certain part in the Prince universe, though some people here might feel different about that, but that old NPG will always be my favorite band...you guys even managed to take a song into a totally different direction each and every night, like you did with Days of Wild during the 1995 European tour. PS: If you happen to see Morris Hayes, please say "Hi" from Eyup ( 4th of July /Big Mike Spicer, he knows... )
Ahh. one question...I know you guys did at one time give three concerts within 24 hours..I think in NYC, 1994...how is that physically possible ? Did Prince give his bandmembers certain advice how to stay awake for hours ? Any special diet ? Ginseng ? Tons of coffee ? What´s the secret ? I remember when I wrote my thesis I stayed awake for more than two days, reading and typing , but how on earth did you guys manage to hit the right notes with almost no sleep at all ? [Edited 4/2/06 16:03pm] kooleaze, you're hilarious!!! no, man.. no special diet.. just the fear of humiliation from making mistakes was enough... it's still enough for me. a drummer recently asked me, "how do you stay so consistent? so excellent all the time? i told him, "fear of sucking in public!!" sometimes, i reminisce about mistakes i made, in concert with prince. and how i used to stay up all night psychologically punishing myself over even the slightest mistake. but, i also know now that this is a sign of excellence in a musician.. when it hurts you in your SOUL to make even one small mistake.. no matter how many hours of sleep you got.. thanks for the kind words, too, man!! michael b. | |
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ebonyrhythmbuddha said: no, man.. no special diet.. just the fear of humiliation from making mistakes was enough... it's still enough for me. a drummer recently asked me, "how do you stay so consistent? so excellent all the time? i told him, "fear of sucking in public!!"
sometimes, i reminisce about mistakes i made, in concert with prince. and how i used to stay up all night psychologically punishing myself over even the slightest mistake. but, i also know now that this is a sign of excellence in a musician.. when it hurts you in your SOUL to make even one small mistake.. no matter how many hours of sleep you got.. michael b. OKAY, now I NEED to ask about this one... do you remember a certain gig in 1995 (Belgium, Flanders Expo, I believe during Get Wild) during which a certain Prince was less than subtle about the mistakes a certain drummer made... (I'll shut up again, ok) 'Sifi' [Edited 4/3/06 3:52am] | |
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Sifi said: ebonyrhythmbuddha said: no, man.. no special diet.. just the fear of humiliation from making mistakes was enough... it's still enough for me. a drummer recently asked me, "how do you stay so consistent? so excellent all the time? i told him, "fear of sucking in public!!"
sometimes, i reminisce about mistakes i made, in concert with prince. and how i used to stay up all night psychologically punishing myself over even the slightest mistake. but, i also know now that this is a sign of excellence in a musician.. when it hurts you in your SOUL to make even one small mistake.. no matter how many hours of sleep you got.. michael b. OKAY, now I NEED to ask about this one... do you remember a certain gig in 1995 (Belgium, Flanders Expo, I believe during Get Wild) during which a certain Prince was less than subtle about the mistakes a certain drummer made... (I'll shut up again, ok) 'Sifi' [Edited 4/3/06 3:52am] and yes, every one in a while, i just wasn't paying attention. but, unless you can tell me more information about this particular instance, i can't tell you whether or not whatever went wrong was really my fault, or if you just witnessed the random rantings of "a certain prince" that were just aimed in my direction.. awright, smart-alec schifano??? LOL michael b. | |
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ebonyrhythmbuddha said: and yes, every one in a while, i just wasn't paying attention. but, unless you can tell me more information about this particular instance, i can't tell you whether or not whatever went wrong was really my fault, or if you just witnessed the random rantings of "a certain prince" that were just aimed in my direction.. awright, smart-alec schifano??? LOL michael b. I always thought it had to do with un-audible/visible cues by Prince...And for my personal rest I will stick to that 
We'll show you the video someday, so you can give your comments right there. Thanks for the new nick-name...wasn't an album by Foley named after that? Oh wait, you are on that one too! See, how all pieces of the big puzzle seem to glue together! Ciao! [Edited 4/4/06 1:12am] | |
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ebonyrhythmbuddha said: "exodus" was one where we kinda knew we were working on a specific set of songs for a specific album.. even "chaos and disorder" was a means to an end. we were specifically tracking songs that would go on prince's final warner bros. release..
the murky territory was around "come" and "the gold experience".. and still, a bunch of songs that had no particular affiliation leaked out.. "acknowledge me" "mad" "the funky design".. we didn't even realize we were working on two albums, until prince showed us two separate orders. On a somewhat related note.... At some point between Diamonds and Pearls and the  album, Warner Bros. Records began using a series of album catalog numbers starting at 45000, with the numbers being assigned sequentially.
The Gold Experience was released on Sep/26/1995 as 45999. Now, the cancelled U.S. release of Exodus on WB was -- at least at one point -- assigned number 45937. That suggests a plan for WB to release the two albums in rapid succession, with Exodus being the first. OTOH, the catalog numbers could have gotten out of whack due to issues surrounding the release and non-release of these two albums. Even after it looked as if things had finally been worked out for TGE, a release date of Sep/12/1995 was scheduled and then pushed back two weeks. Alternatively, maybe Exodus was assigned 45937 at a time when TGE still didn't have a release date and catalog number. Another possibility is that WB intentionally assigned 45999 -- out of sequence -- to TGE because of its similarity to "1999." Maybe Prince requested that number, perhaps as a hidden reference to the fact that his Warner Bros. recording contract would expire in the year 1999. (I know that sounds a like a stretch, but consider the smashed 1999 record on the cover of Chaos and Disorder, with a teardrop containing what looks like an upside-down WB logo.) With all that said, I guess my question for Michael is this: Can you tell us anything about the plans for and cancellation of the U.S. release of Exodus on Warner Bros. Records? Please note: effective March 21, 2010, I've stepped down from my prince.org Moderator position. |
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moderatoron a blatant tangent, how come 'get freaky let your head bob' chant on both exodus and newpowersoul?
not enough people heard it on one or other? 'Energy cannot be created or destroyed, it can only be changed from one form to another.'- Einstein
Dance on beautiful one | |
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Michael, my previous question never showed up - I was asking about your NPG-era clothes. I was looking at The Beautiful Experience CD a few days ago, and saw your shirt with your picture on it, with "MISSING" written under it. Do you still have or wear clothes from that era? How about the shirt with The Exodus Has Begun lyrics on it?
To build on Matt's question, I remember reading back in '95 that the planned Exodus US release would not contain the segues - do you know anything about that? And can you tell us anything about the blues album that was mentioned in an interview in '95 ( was quick to point out that this was a separate album than The Undertaker)? | |
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matt said: ebonyrhythmbuddha said: "exodus" was one where we kinda knew we were working on a specific set of songs for a specific album.. even "chaos and disorder" was a means to an end. we were specifically tracking songs that would go on prince's final warner bros. release..
the murky territory was around "come" and "the gold experience".. and still, a bunch of songs that had no particular affiliation leaked out.. "acknowledge me" "mad" "the funky design".. we didn't even realize we were working on two albums, until prince showed us two separate orders. On a somewhat related note.... At some point between Diamonds and Pearls and the album, Warner Bros. Records began using a series of album catalog numbers starting at 45000, with the numbers being assigned sequentially.
The Gold Experience was released on Sep/26/1995 as 45999. Now, the cancelled U.S. release of Exodus on WB was -- at least at one point -- assigned number 45937. That suggests a plan for WB to release the two albums in rapid succession, with Exodus being the first. OTOH, the catalog numbers could have gotten out of whack due to issues surrounding the release and non-release of these two albums. Even after it looked as if things had finally been worked out for TGE, a release date of Sep/12/1995 was scheduled and then pushed back two weeks. Alternatively, maybe Exodus was assigned 45937 at a time when TGE still didn't have a release date and catalog number. Another possibility is that WB intentionally assigned 45999 -- out of sequence -- to TGE because of its similarity to "1999." Maybe Prince requested that number, perhaps as a hidden reference to the fact that his Warner Bros. recording contract would expire in the year 1999. (I know that sounds a like a stretch, but consider the smashed 1999 record on the cover of Chaos and Disorder, with a teardrop containing what looks like an upside-down WB logo.) With all that said, I guess my question for Michael is this: Can you tell us anything about the plans for and cancellation of the U.S. release of Exodus on Warner Bros. Records? wow!! you're blowing my mind, matt!! LOL here's the short story: the gold experience was never intended to be released through warner bros. prince didn't want them handling the release, even though they were his record company. instead, prince offered EXODUS.. they took EXODUS, and began plans to release it INSTEAD of TGE.. somewhere down the line, prince and warner bros., came to an agreement, and set a release date for TGE.. so, the serial numbers do reflect the actual plan... chronologically, what was supposed to be released when.. shortly after TGE was planned to be released on warner bros., prince shose to release EXODUS on edel, the german label that handled the "the most beautiful girl in the world" single release, and maxi-single.. michael b. [Edited 4/5/06 13:00pm] | |
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maleeboo said: on a blatant tangent, how come 'get freaky let your head bob' chant on both exodus and newpowersoul?
not enough people heard it on one or other? i only remember that chant being on BIG FUN... i haven't listened to that record in years...so, i dunno what you're talking about, exactly.. michael b. | |
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booyah said: Michael, my previous question never showed up - I was asking about your NPG-era clothes. I was looking at The Beautiful Experience CD a few days ago, and saw your shirt with your picture on it, with "MISSING" written under it. Do you still have or wear clothes from that era? How about the shirt with The Exodus Has Begun lyrics on it?
To build on Matt's question, I remember reading back in '95 that the planned Exodus US release would not contain the segues - do you know anything about that? And can you tell us anything about the blues album that was mentioned in an interview in '95 ( was quick to point out that this was a separate album than The Undertaker)?1. no, i don't dress like that, and have almost no clothes from that era.. alot of them were drycleaned so often that they were nothing but tattered rags, by the time we were fired. 2. i don't remember anything about an alternate version of EXODUS.. but it doesn't mean that this wasn't something being considered. 3. no, i can't tell you anything about a blues album. prince plans to do some records years before he even starts on them. sonny told me that when they were kids, prince said he was gonna make a record with mavis staples.. and obviously, he made two.. so, who knows if this record exists as more than idea in his head.. i know that he was talking about TGE in interviews before we started working on that. michael b. [Edited 4/5/06 13:15pm] | |
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Michael I'm coming to the Twin Cities for the 4th of July weekend. Will the Combo be playing Bunkers on Monday July 3rd?!?!?
My friend turns 21 a few days prior..and we based her bday celebration over the weekend, hopefully with some kick ass fireworks and FUNKY music....and a stop in the Milwaukee area on the 2nd for a Dave Matthews concert. | |
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ebonyrhythmbuddha said: maleeboo said: on a blatant tangent, how come 'get freaky let your head bob' chant on both exodus and newpowersoul?
not enough people heard it on one or other? i only remember that chant being on BIG FUN... i haven't listened to that record in years...so, i dunno what you're talking about, exactly.. I think she's referring to the 1998 track "Newpower Soul," from the album of the same name, as opposed to "New Power Soul" from Exodus. The 1998 song does use the chant from "Big Fun." Not that I have any firsthand knowledge concerning either album, but Prince has occasionally "recycled" stuff. For example, the "dog chorus" on "  Wanna Melt with U" is from "La, La, La, He, He, Hee" (B-side of "Sign 'O' the Times"). Similarly, the "party noise" segue after " No" also appears at the beginning of "Joy in Repetition."Please note: effective March 21, 2010, I've stepped down from my prince.org Moderator position. |
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ebonyrhythmbuddha said: wow!! you're blowing my mind, matt!! LOL
the gold experience was never intended to be released through warner bros. prince didn't want them handling the release, even though they were his record company.
instead, prince offered EXODUS.. they took EXODUS, and began plans to release it INSTEAD of TGE.. somewhere down the line, prince and warner bros., came to an agreement, and set a release date for TGE.. so, the serial numbers do reflect the actual plan... chronologically, what was supposed to be released when.. That makes sense. The possibility of Prince offering Exodus in lieu of The Gold Experience had crossed my mind. I thought it was a bit unlikely, given: 1) how much "promotion" Prince was doing for TGE; and 2) his creating the impression that the problem was WB blocking the release. But I forgot reading later that WB was willing to go forward with TGE circa March 1995, if not earlier, and the holdup was Prince's alleged refusal to deliver the master. Thanks for the info! BTW, I wonder if WB created any test pressings of Exodus... that could verify the rumor that a planned U.S. version did not contain the segues.  I assume that catalog numbers don't get assigned until something is pretty much ready for pressing and release, so I wouldn't be surprised if WB did prepare such a disc.Please note: effective March 21, 2010, I've stepped down from my prince.org Moderator position. |
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hi Michael! How are you? You are one the reasons I became a Prince fan. I explain: I hated Prince until 93, but I heard ´The most beautiful...´ on the radio and enjoyed it. I asked a friend to record a Prince album for me and he recorded Diamonds and Pearls. I only liked ´Gett Off´. But it was a cassette tape, so I had to listen to some songs to get on that song (I was lazy to try to FF it). I hated the first listen. I was a hard rock/metal guy, I wasn´t used to falsettos and lots of keys.
But I started paying attention to some details, like your amazing drumming in the end of ´Daddy Pop´ or ´Live 4 love´....the rest is history...I recorded other albums and became a fan (just wanted to let you know). Too bad it happened after you played in my city (Rio de Janeiro)... 
I have some questions (I hope you dont mind answering them) 1) I heard that Jef Lee Johnson wasn´t the original guitarist for the ´News from the jungle´ project. Is it true? It´s interesting because he contributed with some songs for it. If so, who was the guitarist you first had in mind? Can you tell us more about it? Was it very improvisational or you had several rehearsals? I like this CD a lot. 2) I am always confused about "She spoke 2 me" (extended version) credits...Uptown said that Levi was there. The keyboard solo sounds like Barbarella...bass and drums are Sonny and you. Didn´t Prince play on this track? Was it him or Levi doing the two guitar solos? 3) A question related to number 2. I love jazz, and Prince said in an interview that his Vault had some jazz...but I never understood Prince´s relationship with it. We all know he can play some jazz phrasing (on keys and guitar) but sometimes it seems he is not so much into it, or not so comfortable. I mean, on SOTT video, he didn´t even play on ´Now is the time´ and he released only few songs with jazzy improvisation. Did you, Sonny and Prince play/record some jazz improvisational stuff that is locked in the Vault (besides Madhouse, ´Letter for Miles´, etc)? Well, thanks for your time to reply all these questions. It´s great that one of my favorite musicians talks about music with his fans |
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sovembol said: Michael I'm coming to the Twin Cities for the 4th of July weekend. Will the Combo be playing Bunkers on Monday July 3rd?!?!?
My friend turns 21 a few days prior..and we based her bday celebration over the weekend, hopefully with some kick ass fireworks and FUNKY music....and a stop in the Milwaukee area on the 2nd for a Dave Matthews concert. yes, the combo will play.. however, i have a gig at taste of minnesota with soul asylum that night, and i don't yet know whether or not that gig is gonna interfere with my participation at bunker's.. michael b. | |
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GustavoRibas said: hi Michael! How are you? You are one the reasons I became a Prince fan. I explain: I hated Prince until 93, but I heard ´The most beautiful...´ on the radio and enjoyed it. I asked a friend to record a Prince album for me and he recorded Diamonds and Pearls. I only liked ´Gett Off´. But it was a cassette tape, so I had to listen to some songs to get on that song (I was lazy to try to FF it). I hated the first listen. I was a hard rock/metal guy, I wasn´t used to falsettos and lots of keys.
But I started paying attention to some details, like your amazing drumming in the end of ´Daddy Pop´ or ´Live 4 love´....the rest is history...I recorded other albums and became a fan (just wanted to let you know). Too bad it happened after you played in my city (Rio de Janeiro)...
I have some questions (I hope you dont mind answering them) 1) I heard that Jef Lee Johnson wasn´t the original guitarist for the ´News from the jungle´ project. Is it true? It´s interesting because he contributed with some songs for it. If so, who was the guitarist you first had in mind? Can you tell us more about it? Was it very improvisational or you had several rehearsals? I like this CD a lot. 2) I am always confused about "She spoke 2 me" (extended version) credits...Uptown said that Levi was there. The keyboard solo sounds like Barbarella...bass and drums are Sonny and you. Didn´t Prince play on this track? Was it him or Levi doing the two guitar solos? 3) A question related to number 2. I love jazz, and Prince said in an interview that his Vault had some jazz...but I never understood Prince´s relationship with it. We all know he can play some jazz phrasing (on keys and guitar) but sometimes it seems he is not so much into it, or not so comfortable. I mean, on SOTT video, he didn´t even play on ´Now is the time´ and he released only few songs with jazzy improvisation. Did you, Sonny and Prince play/record some jazz improvisational stuff that is locked in the Vault (besides Madhouse, ´Letter for Miles´, etc)? Well, thanks for your time to reply all these questions. It´s great that one of my favorite musicians talks about music with his fans 1. jef lee johnson was the only guitar player ever thought of for "news from the jungle".. we had no rehearsals. the songs were written either at the sessions, or in jef lee's hotel room the night before.. yes, there was alot of improvisation, but the duke ellington covers were supposed to give the record a theme, or some kind of continuity. 2. prince played piano on "she spoke 2 me" while we cut the basic track. i remeber levi taking a guitar solo on this song. but i haven't heard it in forever.. anything is possible. prince could have overdubbed a solo, or not.. i don't recall anyone else playing on that track except levi. 3. i dunno, man.. we recorded constantly for 6 years.. there's alot of stuff that's just been forgotten about. michael b. [Edited 4/7/06 0:36am] | |
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Great that you're posting here! You and Sonny are, for me, the "dream" rhythm section!
I loved the trio stuff you cut for "The Undertaker" - was there much music recorded by only the three of you in this vein? | |
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ebonyrhythmbuddha said: 2. prince played piano on "she spoke 2 me" while we cut the basic track. i remeber levi taking a guitar solo on this song. but i haven't heard it in forever.. anything is possible. prince could have overdubbed a solo, or not.. i don't recall anyone else playing on that track except levi.
- Hey, thanks for that info. I am sorry about being on this subject again, but could you tell us more about these The Vault sessions? I mean, the band is soo tight on "She spoke 2 me"...was it fully rehearsed, did you all recorded live? When you mean "Prince played the piano" you talked about the key solo also, right? Or what is Barbarella? Michael, thanks again for everything. You have been great here. |
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jjam said: Great that you're posting here! You and Sonny are, for me, the "dream" rhythm section!
I loved the trio stuff you cut for "The Undertaker" - was there much music recorded by only the three of you in this vein? some things started out that way, but evolved differently.. "dolphin" "dark" "zannalee".. the undertaker was just a live jam session that was a direct to dat mix.. that's all.. we jammed like that all the time, for a stretch of two months, probably.. not sure what was recorded.. probably all of it. i would guess that most of that would never surface, really.. michael b. | |
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GustavoRibas said: ebonyrhythmbuddha said: 2. prince played piano on "she spoke 2 me" while we cut the basic track. i remeber levi taking a guitar solo on this song. but i haven't heard it in forever.. anything is possible. prince could have overdubbed a solo, or not.. i don't recall anyone else playing on that track except levi.
- Hey, thanks for that info. I am sorry about being on this subject again, but could you tell us more about these The Vault sessions? I mean, the band is soo tight on "She spoke 2 me"...was it fully rehearsed, did you all recorded live? When you mean "Prince played the piano" you talked about the key solo also, right? Or what is Barbarella? Michael, thanks again for everything. You have been great here. i kinda already discussed the vault sessons, on this thread.. i don't wanna start getting redundant, so you should just check around for it. as far as the keyboard solo is concerned, if it's a synthesizer, it was probably tommy.. if it's piano, it was probably prince. and yes, we cut this music live, and it was worked out in the studio. michael b. | |
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On another thread:
I've read something like this in the NME and Michael Bland has said in interview that the Boss and Prince have indeed jammed together, I don't know much more. true? | |
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Hey Michael'
I just read the Star & tribune's article on you that came out today. And I really enjoyed it. It was very informing. But I must say, from one drumhead to another. The part about Madonna bothered me. I've lost a bit of respect for her after reading that part. How could she choose to use a drum machine tech over you? And then tell you you're overqualified? Was Tony Thompson who played on all those hit records for Chic overqualified when he played on her "Like A Version" album? I always thought that a major act, Especially one as huge as Madonna would always want the best musicians they can find when going on tour. I bet I know what it is. The drum machine tech is a distant relative who needed some cash LOL! Seriously though, Good luck on your future endeavours. I hope the Soul Asylum gigs go well. And let us know when new music from Sons Of Almighty comes out. I'm very interested in hearing music from you guys. Take care. | |
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Ronny said: On another thread:
I've read something like this in the NME and Michael Bland has said in interview that the Boss and Prince have indeed jammed together, I don't know much more. true? are you talking about prince and bruce springsteen? i have no idea.. i couldn't see that being very engaging for prince.. michael b. | |
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ThePunisher said: Hey Michael'
I just read the Star & tribune's article on you that came out today. And I really enjoyed it. It was very informing. But I must say, from one drumhead to another. The part about Madonna bothered me. I've lost a bit of respect for her after reading that part. How could she choose to use a drum machine tech over you? And then tell you you're overqualified? Was Tony Thompson who played on all those hit records for Chic overqualified when he played on her "Like A Version" album? I always thought that a major act, Especially one as huge as Madonna would always want the best musicians they can find when going on tour. I bet I know what it is. The drum machine tech is a distant relative who needed some cash LOL! Seriously though, Good luck on your future endeavours. I hope the Soul Asylum gigs go well. And let us know when new music from Sons Of Almighty comes out. I'm very interested in hearing music from you guys. Take care. the guy was steve sidelnyk.. he was a drum programmer on "ray of light".. i could tell from how she looked at my setup that i was bringing something probably more organic than she wanted to the party.. the protools rig was already in full effect.. there wasn't really room for me to do what i do best.. she was right.. i woulda been bored out of my mind. she's brilliant, and she knows what she wants. i'm fine with it. you should be, too.. LOL michael b. | |
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ebonyrhythmbuddha said: ... she's brilliant, and she knows what she wants. i'm fine with it. you should be, too.. LOL michael b. Here, Here! 3121... Don't U Wanna Come? |
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ebonyrhythmbuddha said: Ronny said: On another thread:
I've read something like this in the NME and Michael Bland has said in interview that the Boss and Prince have indeed jammed together, I don't know much more. true? are you talking about prince and bruce springsteen? i have no idea.. i couldn't see that being very engaging for prince.. michael b. I think I recall seeing a photo a while back of Springsteen on stage with Prince in the mid-80's. This reminds me of something that I've always been curious about... Michael, how aware is Prince of the various music scenes around him? Especially when it comes to differnt genres, such as alternative, hard rock, etc? I've always been curious about how he is influenced by other artists. Do you consider him particularly "open-minded" when it comes to listening to artists or musical genres he may not be overly familiar with? How about classic rock, such as Led Zeppelin, Beatles, Floyd, etc...I think I read that he was not familiar with "While My Guitar Gently Weeps," before he learned it for the RRHOF. I found that hard to believe. Finally, are there any bands or artists that you know he listens to or greatly respects that may surprise us? Outside of the ones we know like Sly, Jimi, JB, etc. I remember reading where he said he respected Brian May's guitar playing, which was cool. | |
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true?[/quote]
are you talking about prince and bruce springsteen? i have no idea.. i couldn't see that being very engaging for prince.. michael b.[/quote] I saw Springsteen during his "human touch' tour...I thought he was a pretty good guitar player... | |
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Ronny said: true?
are you talking about prince and bruce springsteen? i have no idea.. i couldn't see that being very engaging for prince.. michael b.[/quote] I saw Springsteen during his "human touch' tour...I thought he was a pretty good guitar player...[/quote] i dunno.. see, i don't really even like clapton.. and i don't wanna assume that cuz you dug the boss, that you dig clapton.. but i'm gonna presume that we have totally different ideas about what a good guitar player is.. there are many, many sought after musicians in the world who have tried to perform at prince's level in prince's environment. that never goes well.. they all try to be something that their not.. so, unless the boss was the exception, i'm gonna presume that if it happened, it went down like it always did.. prince shined.. the boss probably choked a little.. sometimes, even the environment has no bearing on prince's capacity to take mastery over someone else's musical situation. while we were having production rehearsal in 1993 for the act 1 tour, we were in fort lauderdale. santana was playing at the sunrise. prince went to sit in. he showed us the video footage, the next day.. santana was getting his mind blown, cuz prince was playing all of santana's best licks before HE could!! we were cracking up!! prince virtually spit out santana's entire vocabulary on guitar before he had a chance to figure out what prince was playing.. the boss plays "some" guitar.. prince really is a virtuoso. believe it.. even on a good day for the boss, he's probably not gonna fair so good.. michael b. | |
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MrGoldstruck said: ebonyrhythmbuddha said: are you talking about prince and bruce springsteen? i have no idea.. i couldn't see that being very engaging for prince.. michael b. I think I recall seeing a photo a while back of Springsteen on stage with Prince in the mid-80's. This reminds me of something that I've always been curious about... Michael, how aware is Prince of the various music scenes around him? Especially when it comes to differnt genres, such as alternative, hard rock, etc? I've always been curious about how he is influenced by other artists. Do you consider him particularly "open-minded" when it comes to listening to artists or musical genres he may not be overly familiar with? How about classic rock, such as Led Zeppelin, Beatles, Floyd, etc...I think I read that he was not familiar with "While My Guitar Gently Weeps," before he learned it for the RRHOF. I found that hard to believe. Finally, are there any bands or artists that you know he listens to or greatly respects that may surprise us? Outside of the ones we know like Sly, Jimi, JB, etc. I remember reading where he said he respected Brian May's guitar playing, which was cool. i don't know if prince's awareness has anything to do with what influences him.. when "one hot minute" by the red hot chili peppers came out, we listened to it in prince's office.. he also had the primus album with "my name is mud" on it.. do you hear any primus influence, or red hot chili peppers influence on prince's music? he was also into "thunderstruck" by ac/dc when it came out.. we never talked about led zeppelin, or the beatles, or pink floyd, really.. aerosmith, a little.. and the stones, probably.. prince and i did have a common affinity for the first couple of records by the pretenders. we talked about chrissie hynde for about 15 minutes, or so.. you also know, most likely, that prince was very much into joni mitchell.. as far as his familiarity with the beatles catalogue, it's probably true.. bobby z. told me a story about being on an airplane with prince and the rest of the revolution. bobby and fink started talking about sgt. pepper. prince apparently never heard it, and had no idea what it was about. so they turned him on to it. this was in 1982 or so.. 15 years after it's release.. michael b. | |
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