{{{Prince is back with an old name and a new mouth http://seattlepi.nwsource...ce26.shtml

Friday, April 26, 2002
By Ellen A. Kim
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTER

His name is Prince. Yes, just Prince.

The last time he came to Seattle, in 1997, he was just The Artist, better known as that unpronounceable symbol. But when Prince takes the stage at the Paramount on Monday night, there will be no more Artist Formerly Known As references. There is also no more swearing (a vow he made last year) and no fancy-schmancy stage props.

Welcome to the latest incarnation of Prince, a man who dons as many quirky changes as Madonna, yet looks pretty much the same. It also marks the newest shift in his music, which has ebbed and flowed throughout his 24-year career. Prince has never stopped being interesting, even when he's stopped being mainstream.}}}

His newest tour, "One Nite Alone With Prince: A Man and His Music," is promoted as a no-frills, bare-bones performance playing only to opera houses and jazz halls. With no set list and hundreds of tunes to sift through (although most picks will be from his 2001 release "The Rainbow Children"), audiences should expect nothing short of spontaneity, especially from an artist who added Seattle to his tour just one week before the show.

Named after his father's jazz band, Prince Rogers Nelson began tinkering on the piano at age 7 and had mastered some 20 instruments by his teens. Signed with Warner Bros. as a 19-year-old prodigy, he became the youngest producer in Warner history.

With 1983's "1999" album, Prince found the breakout hits "Little Red Corvette" and of course, "1999," which he must have realized he'd one day be asked to perform at all pre-Y2K celebrations.

His acting debut came with "Purple Rain" in 1984, a semi-autobiographical tale that won Prince superstardom and an Academy Award for best original score. The soundtrack, featuring "Let's Go Crazy," "I Would Die 4 U," the title song and "When Doves Cry," is still his biggest album to date -- more than 13 million sold. The influence of "Purple Rain" also extended to fashion, as Prince's Edwardian ruffles and coats began a new trend.

But the petite singer wasn't satisfied. He became more reclusive, rarely granting interviews and seeking more diverse, daring fare.

"When a person does get a hit, they try to do it again the same way. I don't think I've ever done that," Prince told Rolling Stone in 1985. "I write all the time and cut all the time. ... I have the follow-up album to '1999.' I could put it all together and play it for you. ... And I could put it out, and it would probably sell what '1999' did. But I always try to do something different and conquer new ground."

The albums that followed -- "Around the World in a Day," "Parade" and "Sign O' the Times," all with his band The Revolution -- each released at least one hit. He also began collaborations with artists such as Sheena Easton, Chaka Khan and Sinead O'Connor.

Although the hits continued churning out, it was in 1993 that Prince made his biggest headlines to date: announcing that he was retiring from studio recording as Prince, and that he would henceforth be known as a symbol that combined the symbols for male and female.

"It's all about thinking in new ways, tuning in 2 a new free-quency," he explained in a press statement. (Prince's curious ways also extended to his orthography; hit song titles include "Nothing Compares 2 U"

Since there was no way to pronounce it, he became monikered The Artist Formerly Known as Prince, or "TAFKAP" on printed tickets. He said he would never play his old songs, since they belonged to Prince and not The Artist, as he later allowed himself to be called.

The change was a retaliation against Warner Bros., with whom he was signed to a highly lucrative but unsatisfying contract. Warner didn't want to oversaturate the market by releasing all of Prince's works at the pace The Artist wanted (he was writing upwards of three to four albums' worth a year).

Feeling stifled, he scribed the word "slave" on his cheek when he performed in public. He released some new music independently, including the hit single "The Most Beautiful Girl in the World."

The year 1996 brought a major personal shift. Once the romancer of Kim Basinger, Vanity and Carmen Electra, The Artist married dancer Mayte Garcia and looked forward to fatherhood, even using his child's ultrasound heartbeat as a rhythm sample for the song "Sex in the Summer."

When their son died a week after his birth, reportedly born with a rare skull deformity, the Artist turned back to work, releasing material at his own, preferred rapid-fire pace, starting with the three-CD set "Emancipation" and the four-CD set "Crystal Ball" on his own NPG records. In another curious turn, The Artist and Garcia annulled their marriage in 1998, in rebellion against the establishment and emotional bondage of marriage. They insisted they were still happily together, and recommitted their love on Valentine's Day 1999 but broke up in 2000 (Garcia has since hooked up with drummer Tommy Lee).

The name Prince returned as he continued to release albums independently and through the Internet. He announced in May 2000: "On Dec. 31, 1999, my publishing contract with Warner-Chappell expired, thus emancipating the name I was given before birth -- Prince -- from all long-term restrictive documents."

Since then, the news has been peppered by curious bullets about Prince. By many reports, he became a Jehovah's Witness. He swore off cursing in his music. He secretly married a former Paisley Park employee, Manuela Testolini, 25, on New Year's Eve in a Jehovah's Witness ceremony in Hawaii. Prince's publicist would only say that they "do not comment on Prince's personal life as he doesn't share that information with us."

Any clues to the truth of Prince's new chapter could be derived from "The Rainbow Children," a spiritual, funk-influenced concept album that's cryptic ("the opposite of NATO is OTAN" is a line from "Muse 2 The Pharaoh") but hailed by some critics as top of his game, his best since "Sign O' the Times."

Prince will be backed by a three-piece band and special guests Maceo Parker and Candy Dulfer on saxophone, and drummer John Blackwell. Tour promoters are emphasizing that it's not a greatest-hits concert, but depending on how the man feels, a little "Purple Rain" has been known to sneak into a show or two.

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UNBELIEVABLE! I was ON Ticketmaster's site at 10:00 exactly, clicked refresh--Tickets on sale! So I put in 3 tickets, best seats...not available. Then I put 3 tickets, ANY seat...not available. So I tried 2 tickets, any seat...not available. I finally only got 1 ticket! I can't believe it was totally unavailable not even 5 minutes into sale time! I just didn't know folks in Seattle cared so much...

So I get to go all by my lonesomes, but at least I got main floor. Any one wanna invite me to the afterparties??

OK, I want to sell my ticket--some friends got 4 and I want to go with them. Face value only, just want to unload & not be in debt. Main Floor, Row "U"....contact me: kzamm@ix.netcom.com.

Hope this is allowed, if not, forgive me eternally, please!

Woohoo! I was on top of it, even signed up for a stupid ticketmaster site account so I could get my transaction processed a shred faster - and managed to score a pair of tickets main floor center! And that was the best available AT the instant the site began accepting public sales! The seats are good enough for me and I have a very good feeling about the show -- will report back...
[This message was edited Sat Apr 27 12:13:30 PDT 2002 by Mac]

nice written rehash of the man's story. mostly positive vibes in there. un4tunately most of these reports tend 2 mock him or ridicule him. but this 1 some ok 2 me.

but this 1 SEEMS 2 b ok 2 me. sorry.