this guy's bass playing is about as interesting as watching grass grow!of all the great bass players in the world why would prince pick a texas southern university reject?

i'm listening to all my london aftershow bootlegs and he hitting wrong notes and out of tune really bad!

why is HE playing with prince?

my theory is that prince bringing on josh and cora are more of a social thing than a case of finding amazing musicians to play with him. prince has a history of bringing people from his personal life into his professional world, and maybe now that he is in a place in his life where he can just coast on his legend, he can invite some friends into his band who know how to keep up with him, and have a good time with people he knows won't cause any problems.

that's the vibe i get from them, anyway. i don't think they're bad musicians, but i don't think they bring anything special to the band like his musicians usually have in the past. i'm sure keeping up with prince in concert can't be easy, but he can't have chosen them for their chops.

at least he knows they'll never upstage him. maybe he likes that too.

"pick a texas southern university reject?"
"he hitting wrong notes and out of tune really bad!"
"why is HE playing with prince?"

Dayum!!!! You made some harsh statements. Are you a musician? Do you play bass? Ever done any gigs on a Prince calibur level? If the answer is no then how are gonna "hate"(? his purpose in life,call him a reject) on Josh cause he's held down a gig w/Prince since 05/06?
Is every show and aftershow is suppose to be perfect,flawless, error free? I've listend to and watched plenty aftershow boots over the years and have heard and seen mis-cues,heard off key singing,etc. by some of the org's favs.That's nothing new. People have off nights,instruments can get knocked out of tune while playing.

Prince has had, in my opinion, some questionable musicians(kirk,levi,Kat,game boyz,etc) in the past that I haven't really cared for but in the end it wasn't what I wanted to see but what Prince wants and likes. Josh can't be all bad if a musicians musician like Prince wanted him to play for him. Hate em or love em he's got an opportunity majority of us here on this site wish we could get.

you thought levi was a questionable musician?


maybe he was, i dunno, but i always thought he was pretty good.

I thought Levi was questionable as bass player. He followed Brownmark,who many regard as one of P's best. Only to be replaced by Sonny, who many think helped re-establish P's funk in his early to mid-90's output.

Now I'm not demeaning his musicianship by any means. He still had a job to do and he did it.

plus he was originally a guitarist.

mirrorbestfriend said:

-----
Everybody has off nights Are you a musician?

Anxiety said:

Double .


This is the first time EVER that I have seen/heard Levi's musicianship and talent come into question?

When people question Cora and Josh's musicianship it really baffles me. What specifically about their playing makes people say they are subpar Prince band members? There are never any specifics given other than they lack personality. Well whose fault is that when you know who is dictating every little thing they do? So what do you expect?

I think when Prince was younger he was much more collaborative and desired input/inspiration from his band members. However, I think that's changed and now he wants them to play what he wants them to play. He even clowns them on stage for stepping out the defined box. However in the aftershows each person is allowed to deviate from the script and shine on their own.

SCNDLS said:

i think renato shines and has lots of personality. to be honest, i really don't like his style but that's more a matter of my tastes and less about if i think he's a good musician or not. i think he's fantastic at what he does and he has a very distinct sound, though it's not a sound i'd choose to listen to if it weren't part of a prince concert. if that makes sense.

and john blackwell CERTAINLY has style and personality to his playing. i think he's amazing, but again - he has a very distinct style.

prince has always been able to get musicians with some kind of very unique flavor to what they do. i think josh and cora is the first time he's gotten a rhythm section that lacks flash. maybe that shouldn't be held against them...but it is noticeable to those who have seen him live over the years.

Interesting....."lacks flash"....hmmmmm. I remember some people bashing Sonny for sitting in a chair during the 93-95 period he played w/Prince. Yet his playing was never questioned partly because HE WAS P's IDOL GROWING UP so P let him rip more often.

One could argue that Cora and Josh are participating in a Prince era that isn't as flashy or theatrical as some of his previous shows.

I think Cora is a better drummer than Kirk J. and Bobby Z.
I think Josh adds a better bass element than Levi did during his tenure on bass.Nothing aganist Levi's musicianship....I think he played guitar better than he did bass.

Compared to the Revolution every band afterwards will lack personality. P has always had some great musicians but no matter who he gets because of PR the world will forever remember "Wendy,Lisa,Matt,Mark and Bobby - the Revolution" . Regardsless if they are your fav band members or not.

"Revolution...put the groove on the bus!!!!!"

JQuad said:

i disagree. in fact, that's why i used two members of the musicology tour-era NPG as examples. i'm not talking about the pop culture persona aspect of his band members. i'm talking about their musical ability and their ability to create a distinguishable sound within his band.

Anxiety said:

Still no answer to my question: What specifically about their playing makes people say they are subpar Prince band members?
Besides, how are subjective elements like "flash, style, and personality" quantifiable, measurable aspects of musicianship?

Anxiety said:

That's my point, obviously P does not want them to stand out therefore they don't. They pretty much blended into the background in the main shows and concerts I went to but in the aftershows they displayed a COMPLETELY different, multidimensional persona.

SCNDLS said:

well, if what they have to offer is an ability to blend in without calling any attention to their talent, they're doing an amazing job. since you put it that way, you're right and you win this debate.

Anxiety said:

Alright smarty pants. I'm just saying that they are hired guns and are doing what the guy signing their checks is paying them to do. Doesn't mean they're not exceptional musicians though.