I dont have anyting to say. I am just bringing him up on a regular basis because I am such a fan and much of the respect he derserves as the best Prince guitarist gets wrongly attributed to Wendy and no one speaks up.
[This message was edited Tue Feb 17 11:08:48 2004 by NPGLOVER]

Dez was my favorite band member. I saw him and his band back in the 80s. The most memorable part of that performance (aside from his singing Modernnaire) was that he slipped and fell on stage. Oh, he also tossed out guitar pics with "Dez" engraved on them. I caught one (maybe two) and punch a hole in it and wore it as an earring. Wish I still had it.

UptownDeb said:

He fell?

NPGLOVER said:

Yeah! He had been drinking water on stage and I guess a little spilled. He slipped while playing his guitar.

ONE MAN!

NPGLOVER said:

do you really expect people to share your same opinion?

aight...this is how this place works...you share your opinions, your experiences and ideals.....others share theirs.....no need to validate anything cause its all just an opinion....so you dont like wendy, cool for you...so you prefer dez...great!! be happy 'bout *that*...

expectations are so 1986..

sosgemini said:

Whether you like it or not, I have a right to say what I want to say on this matter. That is all I did. YOU said something about making people share my opinion. I dont give a damn if no one shares it. I dont need you or anyone else dictating to me how anything works

NPGLOVER said:

just trying to help... its all good

what is up with the defensive statements though? there is no right or wrong..yet from the few posts ive seen from you its like u gotta chip on your shoulder....

your right, you have the right to do what you want.....

just going through the various posts and I think it's that you keep bringing up your opinion over and over...re: dissing Wendy and giving Dez props. You have like 3 or more posts on this subject. On one, you ponder why no one has responded...how many times does someone need to respond to Dez is great etc?

say what you like...I actually think you bring up questions/points that are valid. And respectively, many out here DO like W&L and when you keep up with the "they are not as good as you seem to think" and calling them names (in several postings), it's going to upset some people. It did me.

As a band, currently, I think he has the best back up he has ever had. They stop on that dime and are very tight. I have heard some live stuff from back in the day and certainly his band is better now-a-days. I also think that his firing of the band (of the girls in particular...we knew their names...important to note) hit hard for fans esp when he invited them all back at one point or another except for W&L (not sure about Dez...I am not an expert).

They also were the only ones to have a "semi-successful" career with the 3 discs they put out. I think that it is evident on the musicianship on those three that makes many of us fans wonder why they were fired if their music sounded good (I think it was ahead of it's time...not the greatest...just a bit ahead of it's time...think Cheryl Crow et al). Also they were back up singers during a time most of us cherish...you can HEAR them. I think many of us cherish the Revoultion period and the sound that Prince was producing at during that period..and a bit beyond then. Many of us have heard the material that wasn't released during this time and THOSE are precious to us as well. Lisa is quoted as saying that for a time period (like throughout a year) they had recorded over 100 songs. That's a lot. They were part of it. That's important to many fans. And many of these songs are considered to be his most creative (Put Computer Blue, All My Dreams and Crystal Ball back to back to back and you can hear what I mean)

I trhink many of us feel that W&L are talented...I think what we are doing is trying to give them the credit Prince never did. I think that while they may not have been the greatest guitarist or keyboard player, they were instrumental to his creativity. IMO I think they were fired because they didn't do just as Prince said. He was very controlling (still is IMO) and needs things to sound just so...just like he would have done it. Maybe they were too creative and that creativity got in the way of the musicianship? Who knows? Maybe it was many things.

All have moved on and have done great things. EVERYTHING happens for a reason. W&L have done very well with scoring and have grown as musicians and I think their albums influenced a lot of what we hear in "girl rock" today...either directly or indirectly.


that what i got to say

peas and b wild

superspaceboy said:

I dont diss Wnedy's musicianship. Read the posts. I say she is grossly overrated. Her influence on Prince is simply not what some Wendy and Lisa fans make it out to be. Dez, on the other, is grossly underrated. At least in regards to what he brought to Prince's music. Read the posts before pontification.

I will tell you like I told the last hater - I can boost Dez all I want. No one else is. There are thousands of Wendy posts and no one complains about those.

And who the hell are you anyway?
[This message was edited Tue Feb 24 19:24:30 2004 by NPGLOVER]

What's with the attitude? Dez is a talented man. I actually bought his solo disc. Really great guitar playing.

There's nothing preventing you (aside from moderation) from posting as many threads about Dez as you desire. But, I think SSB raises a valid point about overkill. If no one seems to be feelin' your thread, that's life. (I know this from personal experience. )

Sometimes, there isn't joy in repetition.

Ease up, amigo.

ThreadBare said:

Why is it overkill? I posted one thread! Get off my back. I havent complained because no one "feels" my thread. I stated that I dont care who doesnt like it. Its for those that do.
[This message was edited Wed Feb 25 5:51:48 2004 by NPGLOVER]

The "best" in a situation like this is very subjective. Probably "favorite" is more appropriate. It is all a matter of personal opinion. There is no way to measure "best" in a situation like this. I like both Dez and Wendy. However my "favorite" Prince guitarist was Mico. Just my personal opinion.

None of us here actually truly know who had what influence on Prince's music. It is all speculation. Only Prince could realistically answer that question.

And based on some of your past posts that I have read, I have to wonder how much race plays in your opinions on this matter?????

superspaceboy said:[quote]just going through the various posts and I think it's that you keep bringing up your opinion over and over...re: dissing Wendy and giving Dez props. You have like 3 or more posts on this subject. On one, you ponder why no one has responded...how many times does someone need to respond to Dez is great etc?



really though..... come on already.

Sowhat said:

Keep wondering because you have nothing that I worte that shows a racial bias in regards to music

pimpdoutt said:[quote]

superspaceboy said:

Dont dig the thread, bounce to another. Is it bothering anyone? Why even respond if you dont care? Its called a life - get one.

Dez....Great live and let's hear it for his one solo that he contributed to Prince's music catalogue Oh and let's not forget his backing vocals on 1999. Wow, it IS amazing we don't hear more from him.

Dez was ok, but I can't imagine Prince calling him up and saying, hey... "let's perform an acoustic set on Tavis Smiley."

LovesexyIsTheOne said:

NPGLOVER said:[quote]

pimpdoutt said:

um... it's called pathetic actually....

LovesexyIsTheOne said:

Well Dez does know how to play an acoustic guitar and that is all Wendy did. He did not sing to her

NPGLOVER said:

Kind of missed the point I'm thinking

EverlastingNow said:

ok, that works when there is no smart ass answer

EverlastingNow said:

Way over his head.

LovesexyIsTheOne said:

DEZ ROCKS!

NPGLOVER said:

You do know that Dez dosen't really know how to play guitar right?

All those years Dez was with Prince, his guitar was never plugged in. Wendy was offstage watching the performance and actually playing all of Dez's parts.

And "One Man" was actually written, composed and performed by Wendy!

Dez is wonderful. After reading his book, I was glad to see that there were no hard feelings between him and they rest of the group. It looks like he's accepting those times for what they were and he's moving on with his life. I'd pat him on the back for coming out of his experiences without getting burned like so many countless others. Kudos to Dez, but I think He and Wendy are apples n' oranges. She came in for certain qualities and he came in for certain qualities. The common denominator is the guitar. They both play well, but much differently. I refuse to choose, although I'm not dreamin' of either on a dark n' stormy night...

i am a big fan of dez and his work with prince.
in the early 90's i was living in brentwood, tn and it so happended that dez and family had moved there from minn. and either he or his wife were working at sparrow music (christian label). i was working at the music/video store where he and his family did their shopping and had several occassions to speak with dez. he's a wonderful man and has a nice wife and (at the time) 2 beautiful little boys. i found him very gracious and patient about the whole prince thing, has anyone else met him? i never saw him while he was working with prince since i was just a wee one but i do fell that he was prince's strongest guitarist-he just rocks your ass! and that is far more interesting and edgy than anything the others have done with prince.