This is still a mystery to me:

How does a guy like Kirky J become prince's best friend, fellow producer and best-man?

Did he take Levy's place?

Why did Prince ditch Michael B. for Kirk?
[Edited 8/18/06 15:40pm]

miguelbulcao said:

I met Kirk Johnson. He's cool, quite the comedian. I don't think Prince ditched Michael Bland. I think Mike left on his own to pursue other interests. Kirk and Prince go back aways. He was in Purple Rain as a dancer so it's possible they became friendly then.

I've wondered about that myself. I didn't know he knew Kirk from way back.
Did he know those other awful dancers before they worked for him too?

ThePunisher said:

In another thread here, Michael has said many times that he was FIRED, along with the rest of the NPG (with the exception of Kirky, obviously).

Since Kirky was probably the LEAST talented NPG member (besides Tony M and that other dancer, what's his name), this should indicate how completely fucked Prince was at that point.

Maybe Mayte made him do it after they all had a magical threesome and God came and told Prince that Kirky was destined to be the one. Or something.

kirk is princes blood cousin...true

MinneapolisFunk said:

That would explain things...he's an awful drummer.

why do you find kirk to be awful drummer???
he is no michael bland but he is in the pocket drummer

thebanishedone said:

I agree. Nothing wrong with his drumming.

united1878 said:

so then could it be that folks are just madd that prince had a dark skinned brotha on the drums? cause you know, everyone here is a racist and cant handle seeing prince with dark skinned folks.


(sarcasm alert...sarcasm alert)

kirk is good drummer,he is no extraordinary drum virtuoso but he is good.
people hate him becAUSE OF HIS Plastic drum beats he programmed on emancipation and nps.
his drumming is ok.
he is more rnb drummer less rock oriented like michael b

doesn't prince play the drums? prince's beats are one of my fav quality about him.

Mong said:

No he's not, He's a much better drummer then Bobby Z.

To all you Kirk haters read carefully. If you think he's an awful drummer then you all are an awful musicians. To understand why prince asked Kirk to play you need to understand the meaning of the word 'POCKET' That what prince likes. Monster chops don't get you no where, all that is called wow factor and it is also what michael bland calls... 'CHEATING'

Yall need to understand that Prince don't give a rat's a** if yall hate Kirk.
I've spoken to Michael Bland personally and he says that Kirk is good and is one of the drummers that he likes in MPLS. And you know what I'm glad to have to rub in in your face. If you Kirk haters wanna be mad at somebody, be mad at your self because yall to stupid to understand that music is what matters not the wow-factor.

Kirk is a good solid drummer. Prince knows that and there ain't nothing yall can do about that. Now quit complaining about Kirk, he's not with prince anymore. Happy now?????

PearlDrummer said:

Amen to that!.

Hey Dude, I know that Kirk is truly a lovely person who kept in touch with me by email when i went through a tough time. He didn't have to do it, i didn't encourage him to, it just came from the heart. Guy's a genuine Dude from my experience. Seem to recall when he set up his own band in 2001 [?] and supported Prince on some gigs a lot of orgers changed their opinion of his drumming and started to give him some more props.

thebanishedone said:

Prince did most of the drum programming on both 'Emancipation' and 'New Power Soul'... Kirk is a great guy, and if anything, a solid drummer 4 the most part.

PearlDrummer said:

Thank you PearlDrummer. Kirk is also a gifted percussionist. And as I mentioned before, he's one of the coolest cats you'll ever meet.

[/quote]Thank you PearlDrummer. Kirk is also a gifted percussionist. And as I mentioned before, he's one of the coolest cats you'll ever meet.[/quote]

I Know Kirk personally too. I see him from time to time. I don't want to say who but I am the son of one of prince's former band member. I've been around prince's band since I was 8 years old. I'm 24 now. It is the reason why I'm defending Kirk. I understand prince's music and why he fired Michael Bland and replaced him with Kirk. Lots of fans considers that a step down. I don't even look at it that way. Don't get me wrong. Michael Bland is an amazing drummer and my second favorite. I just prefer Kirks's sound.

PearlDrummer said:

Thank you PearlDrummer. Kirk is also a gifted percussionist. And as I mentioned before, he's one of the coolest cats you'll ever meet.[/quote]

I Know Kirk personally too. I see him from time to time. I don't want to say who but I am the son of one of prince's former band member. I've been around prince's band since I was 8 years old. I'm 24 now. It is the reason why I'm defending Kirk. I understand prince's music and why he fired Michael Bland and replaced him with Kirk. Lots of fans considers that a step down. I don't even look at it that way. Don't get me wrong. Michael Bland is an amazing drummer and my second favorite. I just prefer Kirks's sound.[/quote]




Cool story and all but

sosgemini said:

Kirk is there b cuz he can tune into P's beat.

PearlDrummer said:

Thank you!!

"Keep that pocket, don't get excited!" ~Prince