HI Michael B,

It's a pleasure to speak with you.

Can you describe the "vibe when recording the gold experience (there was no Prince album that had capture the sound).

How was Mayte to work with??

During any recording of "The Jam" did Prince call you anything but "master" before your solo??

Thanks!!!
B.

myrtobelly said:

yes, we enjoyed working with giorgia. rickey minor called and said that he and michael baker had a conflict with some of giorgia'a dates. he wanted me and sonny to cover for them. she dug us, and asked us back, later on.
no, it wasn't boring, but definitely different. we had to take her music and "americanize" it. italian pop is a bit archaic, and behind whatever is happening in the states. she wanted us to give her songs kinda a facelift..
we had alot of fun. italy is like my home away from home. i love it there...

michael b.[/quote]

Great work with Giorgia! It's nice to see Mike Scott, Tommy Barbarella work with her too!
-Why don't you work with her anymore (would you work with her again)?
-What's your favorite Giorgia song?

Bye

Myrto [/quote]

we had a publishing dispute. i dunno if i'd work with her, again. from what i hear, she's in a different headspace than when i was working with her, on a regular basis. she may have evolved, artistically, into someone i wouldn't enjoy working with as much. however, she is the best singer in italy, to me. and for the most part, i was treated like royalty, and given a chance to spend alot of time in probably the most beautiful country i've ever seen.

i liked playing "marzo", alot. she used to almost make me cry, on that.

michael b.
[Edited 8/21/06 8:20am]

avasdad said:[quote]HI Michael B,

It's a pleasure to speak with you.

Can you describe the "vibe when recording the gold experience (there was no Prince album that had capture the sound).

How was Mayte to work with??

During any recording of "The Jam" did Prince call you anything but "master" before your solo??

Thanks!!!
B.[/quote

"the gold experience" and "come" were essentially recorded at the same time.
we were just recording songs.

she and i never had any personal conflicts, really.

yeah, he changed it all the time. the camera just happened to be rolling when he called me "master"..

michael b.]

Michael B, thanks for continuing to answer questions.

Just out of curiosity, though you've had much success and continue to do so, have you ever given any thought to moving to New York or L.A., to be "closer to the business" in terms of getting more gigs? I've noticed some guys have left Minneapolis like Jimmy and Terry and some of you guys have stayed. As a working musician, are there any disadvantages to staying there? Also, in your opinion, would you consider Minneapolis to be a good place for a up and coming musician to learn from it's environment, or should they go straight to one of the coastal cities?

Hey Michael. It's been a while since I had posted, but I have been here periodically reading up on what you and others have said. I have two quick questions if you don't mind.


1.I haven't been watching a lot of TV. Does Soul Asylum have any videos on rotation or will there be? By the way, great performance on Leno!

2. Do people recognize you a lot in public when you're just taking care of business or just being you? Just curious.

Thanks, and take care. Good hearing or reading from ya.

Michelle

VelvetJ said:

i never had any real reason to relocate. i started working for prince when i was a teenager, and i've been a working musician in mpls since i was 16. by the grace of God, opportunities come that take me different places in the world. things have never been so dry for me here, that i really had to leave.
but, if you ask some other musicians around here, this town is dead. now, i consider mpls my "hub" city. it's where i wait until the phone rings, and i go somewhere else. the cost of living is awright. there is a market for live entertainment. it's a great place to develop your skills, but there is really no industry, here.

michael b.

drums31 said:

1. no, we have no videos on regular rotation. i haven't heard of a real plan to do that, yet.
2. sometimes. other times, they think i'm notorious B.I.G., ressurected.. LOL

michael b.

Hi Michael
Will you be buying a copy of the Diamonds And Pearls DVD collection coming out today? Is that kind of stuff fun for you to see in stores and/or watch, or does it just feel like something from the past that's neither here nor there?
Have you ever walked into a store and heard your own drumming over the sound system? What's that feel like?
Is there a venue you've never played that you'd like to? Or a recording studio? Have you ever recorded at Abbey Road?

booyah said:

it's fun, sometimes, to look back.

for me, it usually takes me back to which ever session the song was recorded at... where the session took place.. who was there... stuff like that.

not really.. no.

michael b.

Michael,

Did Prince ever seem to second guess himself as far as what single was released from an album or what songs were or were not included in an album?

Michael,

I remember reading a few articles in which Jimmy Jam (or Terry Lewis) would say that back in the day Prince would bring a tape full of songs and tell them it was his next album. Then when the album actually came out, some of the songs were replaced with songs as good or better than what they first heard.

Did this ever happen when you were with Prince?

Sowhat said:

he never seemed to.. if what you mean by "second guess" is to show regret after a release..

michael b.
[Edited 8/25/06 4:49am]

Sowhat said:

yeah. there was an early line up of songs for diamonds and pearls that included "horny pony", an earlier version of "the flow", and a song called "something this house funky comes"..


michael b.

Hi Michael, Thanks for continuing to reply to everyones questions!

Im curious to know if there was any time Prince ever struggled to write or come up with certain parts of songs, if you know of any. And did he ever forget parts of his songs during rehearsals or even on stage. Thanks again.

ebonyrhythmbuddha said:

Exactly what I meant. Thanks.

Michael,

Does Prince have a bad temper, or is he relatively calm? Does it take a lot to get Prince fired up, or does he fly off the handle at the smallest things?

What about yourself?

Count the days.

Hi Michael "Count the days" is a song I REALLY like on EXODUS (my favourite NPG album btw).

Can you please share any info/anecdotes you have regarding this song. What did you feel when you saw the video? Was it directed by Prince? How was it in the studio during the recording?

Thanks Michael.

mangoust2004 said:

Ummm...the song doesn't have drums..lol.. except a minor part in the clean edit.

mangoust2004 said:

i liked the song. i thought the video was a bit predictable, but ok.
not sure who directed it. i wasn't there, during the recording.

michael b.

FunkJam said:

i'm sure he struggled. all good artists do.
every once in a while, he would blank on lyrics. but, i don't think he ever had a problem remembering anything, musically.

michael b.

Sowhat said:

like most people, he had his good days, and bad. he could be verbally abusive, at times. but, i'm quite sure that the same has been said about me.
i, like prince, tend to focus on the music first, and the person playing it, secondly. so, quite often, to hear music played poorly is enough to anger me. it makes me mad when people don't play as well as they can. it's insulting to me, when musicians phone it in. when it happens, i let 'em know i don't appreciate it. honestly, i think one of the reasons i was able to last, working for prince for so long, is that we are similar minded, when it comes to discipline and music. but i've said before, if you don't subscribe to prince's philosophies about music, work ethic, and excitement about what you're doing, you shouldn't be working for him. and i'll be the first to admit, i make friends with the baddest musicians i meet, so that i can make music with people who are after what i'm after. call me an elitist, but if you suck, we don't have any reason to keep company.. LOL

michael b.

ebonyrhythmbuddha said:

Hey MB,

That's not being elitist, that's being RIGHT.

I've played gigs where we didn't have to move gear, just show up dressed nice and professional, play some Motown and Dance Music for 90 minutes and get a grand each member for your work. With guys moving your gear and the usual amenities. And guys would drag their feet and complain about that!

That's when you sing ..... "Think I better..... Let It Go go go go go. (High part) 'cause it looks like a band member TKO."

And that vibe spreads quickly in a band like cancer.

I tell them go work in a warehouse for a year. Go do a dayjob and come back and SEE if you don't appreciate what a blessing it is to play music for a living.

Peace and Positivity and thank you for sharing your experiences with us.

Carl Cranshaw
[Edited 8/26/06 14:09pm]

Michael, I was listening to Hallucination Rain today and I was reminded how much I love Exodus. Are there any memories that stand out about recording that album/song? You guys made it sound like a lot of fun.

Thanks in advance and have a great day!

Michael,

Has there ever been a song (with Prince or anyone else) where you layed down the basic tracks, thought the song was great, then heard the final mix with all the vocals and over-dubs added and just went when you heard the final version?

babynoz said:

not in particular, no. we were always recording, and it was always a reasonable amount of fun..


michael b.

Sowhat said:

not that i can remember...

michael b.

Michael B I wanted to tell you that the Exodus album is really fantastic. The "Cherry, Cherry" song gives me such a feeling. I love that song. I just wanted to let you know that you, Prince, and the NPG make people really happy with your music.

Hey Michael,

Thanks for uploading that live The Jam/Shhh! on your website! Could you upload more live material with soundboard quality from that era??

Take care,

zxcvbnmmnbvcxz said:

thanx for calling that to my attention.. that was not supposed to end up there. my web programmer took liberties he was not supposed to, and uploaded some bootleg material he found.. that will be taken down, immediately..

michael b.