Mmmmmm I am so there. This should be a good time.

Peace-

mplsbadgrl said:

You will probably see Pascal, as he is there as well !

Have fun and talk to you soon

xenophobia2002 said:

NO way.... Tell him to call me prior to Friday if he can!!! He should have my number!

Thanks!
Peace-

Prince was at the Dakota Jazz Club in downtown Minneapolis last night so if he is hanging around town you never know.....

sonicfreak said:

That would be beautiful, if he was in Mpls and he showed up, even if he just peeked in to see what was going on. I'll be there "Partyin' It Up" ...

Anxiety said:

i think that just means its Alexander O'neal....in which case he probably will be there...i use to work at Bunkers and he came out....so i betcha that is who it is.....

So ... y'all ready for the player's ball tonight ?

Man, freak-ing-a-Ma-za-ra-ti slammin' the house

Film it, record it, snapshot it, tape it. I'm trippin not being able to be there.

The Tide is High!! Count Down!!

Love

Prince Freaks Unite!! Can't wait to see you all there.
Anyone know if it's been sold out?

XNY said:

I'm wondering about that, too, and hoping it's NOT since I am having to buy my tickets at the door.

StephaniePlum said:

Highly doubtful it's sold out. You'll get in. There were LOTS of tix when I bought mine on Tuesday this week.

I'll be there. I'm driving the SUV with the license plate that reads POPLIFE

No expectations. just gonna chill!

The hubby & I are here. We got VIP tickets. Already
saw Jellybean warming up a bit. This show is gonna
be great! Talk to u all after the show. Probably
will post a review tomorrow.

Peace & Love,
Barbara

GOING.....

http://www.playbsides.com/?p=1273

http://elbo.ws/post/17301...e-in-mpls/

http://www.citypages.com/...on-916642/

http://www.startribune.co...page=1&c=y





http://minneapolis.craigs...90027.html

The return of Mazarati: "Y'all don't think they're funky? You're wrong!"

BY JAY GABLER, TC DAILY PLANET
May 31, 2009
“Mazarati’s coming back,” shouted Tony Christian with a grin, “and it’s gonna be dangerous!”

Christian was in his Bloomington garage on Sunday evening with the founding members of Mazarati, the Minneapolis band whose 1986 debut album was release number 001 on Prince’s Paisley Park label. The occasion marked the first time in 20 years that the band had been together. They were at Christian’s house to rehearse for their reunion show: they’re playing a set Friday night at the Prince Family Reunion at the Cabooze. Appropriately, the Cabooze was also the venue where the band played their very first show—tickets were $2.

“We have rehearsal space,” said lead singer Sir Casey Terry as he ducked into Christian’s basement, “but we wanted to do it this way because this is where we started—playing in the basement.” Terry grew up with Prince, who was nonetheless surprised when he came upon Terry playing at First Ave. “I had real long hair then,” remembered Terry, “and it was hanging down covering my face. Prince came up and said, ‘Is this your music?’ I pushed my hair back and said, ‘Yeah, this is my music! You know who I am.’”

Prince signed Mazarati to his label, contributing songs and musical cameos. “He’d jam with us when we were still a bar band,” said Terry. “You’d hear this voice on the monitor—Play “Head”—and you’d know he was there. Once we were playing an awards show in L.A., and the room was full of all these great musicians—legends, like Smokey Robinson. They weren’t that into it, and Prince jumped up on stage. ‘Y’all don’t think they’re funky?’ he said. ‘You’re wrong!’”

Mazarati’s 1986 debut was a modest success; they toured nationally, played live on MTV, and had a top 40 hit with the Prince-penned “100 MPH.” “We were playing four to seven nights a week,” remembered keyboardist Aaron Keith. “We went from playing bars to playing for ten or twenty thousand people.”

When Mazarati’s producer Brown Mark parted ways with Prince, the band signed with Motown Records—but the band members weren’t happy with the resulting album, Mazarati 2. “I didn’t sound ethnic enough for Motown,” said Terry. At the label’s urging, the band brought in an assortment of other producers, songwriters, and performers. “The sound was generic,” said Terry. “It was just a byproduct of the original Mazarati.” The band left Motown, and their second—and last—album was released only in Canada.

Today, Mazarati may be best known for the fact that they were the first act to record Prince’s #1 hit “Kiss.” Prince gave the band a brief demo of the song, which he originally envisioned as a countryish swing number. Mazarati gave the song its funk arrangement; Prince was so pleased with the result that he re-edited the recording—adding his own lead vocal and guitar solo—and released it on his 1986 album Parade.

“People sometimes say Prince liked us because we were the band he could never be,” said keyboardist Marvin Gunn (a.k.a. Marr Starr). “We were hard black funk rockers with”—Gunn gestured at Keith and drummer Pancho Lopez—“two white guys who were also funky.”

Since the band broke up, all the members have remained active in music. Keith restored the Varsity Theater, and Christian and Gunn performed as the Wild Pair—best known for their duet with Paula Abdul as the animated MC Skat Kat on the #1 single “Opposites Attract.”

On Sunday the band declined to be photographed or to be heard in rehearsal, preferring to reemerge in style at the Cabooze. “We hit too soon,” said Christian. “We were young and dumb. Now we’re fluent and we know how to do it! You can quote me on that.”

Jay Gabler (jay@tcdailyplanet.net) is the Daily Planet’s arts editor.

http://www.tcdailyplanet....wrong.html




Two notable Minnesota acts get back together this weekend.

Last update: June 4, 2009 - 4:25 PM

SOUNDS OF BLACKNESS
When: 8 p.m. Sat. • Where: Janet Wallace Fine Arts Center, Macalester College, 1600 Grand Av., St. Paul. • Tickets: Sold out.

No wonder Sounds of Blackness' 40th anniversary reunion concert Saturday sold out so fast: They needed to save room for the roughly 100 current and past members of the venerable gospel/funk/R&B choir who plan to make it for the show, including some from as far away as Japan and Italy.

"It makes me want to quote one of the old spirituals: 'My soul looks back and wonders,'" leader Gary Hines quipped about the turnout.

Among the better-known alumni and associates from the Grammy-winning ensemble, Ann Nesby is unavailable to come, Jimmy Jam, Terry Lewis and Alexander O'Neal are all maybes, and Cynthia ("Funkytown") Johnson will for sure make the show, which coincides with Macalester's own alumni weekend. Of course, rehearsing with that many people will be no easy chore, but Hines said it's actually gotten a lot easier than it was 40 years ago.

"We've been sending out MP3s via e-mail to people of the repertoire, so we're going to be almost ready even before everyone gets to town," he said.

Since Saturday's concert is sold out, Hines left open the possibility of another big reunion show down the line. For sure, though, look for a new Sounds album to land in August, titled "The Third Gift: Story, Song & Spirit."

CHRIS RIEMENSCHNEIDER

MAZARATI
When: 9:30 p.m. today. • Where: Cabooze, 917 Cedar Av. S., Mpls. 612-338-6425. • Tickets:$25.

There are probably seven different versions of the truth if you talk to the members of Mazarati, an underrated funk-rock band from Prince's secretive purple reign. What they all agree on is that they're excited to reunite tonight after 20 years, even if it's just for three songs.

Fittingly, their comeback will be at the Cabooze as part of the third annual Prince Family Reunion (in honor of his 51st birthday on Sunday).

"We played our first show at the Cabooze" in 1984, said guitarist Tony Christian.

Mazarati, which gigged on the Upper Midwest club circuit, scored their only hit -- "100 MPH," co-written by Prince (they also recorded "Kiss" before he decided to keep it for himself) -- on a self-titled album produced by Prince bassist Brown Mark on Paisley Park Records in 1986. A revamped version of the group recorded "Mazarati 2" on Motown. "Fourteen thousand copies were released in Canada," sighed lead singer Terry Casey, who has a Mazarati logo on his left bicep.

Since then, Casey, now with salt-and-pepper curls, has toiled as a machinist. Christian and keyboardist Marvin Gunn (aka Marr Starr) worked on Paula Abdul's hit debut; now Gunn is an actor and musician in Phoenix while Christian has been producing with Prince sideman Dr. Fink. Bassist Jerome Cox (aka Romeo) worked with Death Row Records in L.A. before dropping out of the music biz. Guitarist Craig (Screamer) Powell has continued to gig, mostly with Westside. Keyboardist Aaron Keith played in a piano bar for 10 years, reopened the Varsity Theater and has served as a union stagehand for everyone from Eminem to Barack Obama.

New to Mazarati is well-traveled Twin Cities drummer Pancho Lopez, who did stints with Stevie Wonder and Kool and the Gang.

The band sounded as tight and funky as ever at a recent rehearsal. "We're going to do an album" -- and some gigs -- Christian promised.

Also appearing tonight are such familiar Purple faces as Dez Dickerson, Bobby Z, Dr. Fink, Michael Bland, Margie Cox, Tyka Nelson, Mike Scott and the Family, the Paul Peterson/Susannah Melvoin group that recorded the original version of "Nothing Compares 2 U" and is working on a new album.

JON BREAM

http://www.startribune.co...page=1&c=y



On that note, a few updates i found of 2 other Mazarati's


Jerome "Romeo" Cox : http://www.myspace.com/jeromecox



Marvin "Marr Starr" Gunn : http://www.myspace.com/onegunn



As for the Cabooze-reports. Spill 'em ... NOW !

Club looks cool

I got there late but was able to see Mazarati perform...great show, I wish they had played a little longer. Didn't hear 'Player's Ball' my fave, oh well. The portion of the show I saw was good, esp Margie Cox's version of 'Nasty Girl'- that was awesome! Even moreso, Mint Condition's version of 'She's Always In My Hair' was the highlight of my night(I got there halfway thru the night).
I would've like to have heard G-Sharp more, he was the best part of last year's show by far. Seemed like there were too many bands this year and not enough time to get to enjoy them all before they were done, and then onto the next band...Promoters: think about making it two nights next year. You have plenty of talent and songs to work with. (something like: tix for both nights $40, one night $25). Thanks for the show folks!

XNY said:

THANK YOU FOR SHARING XNY Hope someone captured it on audio or video. Did you get a chance to talk to some musicians/singers ?

What a night!

The highlight for me was The Family - St. Paul, Susannah, Eric and Jellybean TORE IT UP.

Their performance of "Mutiny" was seriously one of the funkiest things I've seen on a stage in a long time. GOOD STUFF.

Anxiety said:

SO nice 2 c u! Riccotheartist also wanted to know where you were bro! We had the VIP section but didnt stay in it too long. My partner loved The Family!

paisleypark4 said:

It was nice running into you too, and tell Ricco I said hey. We were all over the place last night, I'm surprised we didn't run into him too!

The Family sounded great and they were a lot of fun to watch. What more can you ask for in a band?

paisleypark4 said:

was good to finally meet you pp4! you are so damn good looking! even better in person!

Anybody got any feedback or footage of Mazarati? What song did they do? Please say they did "She's Just That Kind Of Lady".....that would be hot!!!!!

glad 2 read that some ppl actually went 2 that reunion

SomewhereHereOnEarth said:

it was packed actually...it felt to me like there were more people there last night than there was there last year....

it was fun. i loved the family...susannah was up there shakin it out so cute. it was awesome.

also loved the first 45 minutes of the show...was all good.

when krik johnson was asking the crowd who knew the words to sexy mf...i was going crazy... yelling em all out...the peeps around me were like what?! lol

really was a alot of fun.

MAZARATI SHUT THE PLACE DOWN

they jammed out on shes just that kind of lady for what seemed like an eternity. they flipped it into stroke and then stopped and started again with 100MPH for a finale

incredible.

minneapolisFunq said:

OMG that was exactly the set I would want to see from them. especially them jamming on 'she's just that kinda lady' flipping into 'Stroke' GOT DAMN.....maybe the only track i'd also want to see the jam on would be 'strawberry lover'.

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE LET SOMEONE HAVE RECORDED THIS (audio or video, either way)

I need to see or hear this shit. I blast the Mazarati album weekly if not more.
[Edited 6/6/09 19:47pm]

Last night was awesome!!!

I talked to Stokely.

St. Paul gave me a hug.

the drummer 4 Mazarati last nite is my uncle...talked 2 him this morning...

said it was slammin'...if any1 got pics or vid, i'd love 2 send him a link...he's not very computer savvy...
[Edited 6/6/09 20:39pm]

violett said:

Thank you boo! I thought you were adoreable too!