{{{http://www.canoe.ca/JamMu...2-sun.html Make space for His Purpleness
By MIKE ROSS -- Edmonton Sun
EDMONTON -- Rockin' Rick at Axe Music took the call a few days ago:

"Do you have a rehearsal space available?"
"For who?" asks Rick.
"Prince," came the reply.
"Prince who? From which country?"
"Nope, just Prince."
"Um ... I think we can throw something together."

And so it came to pass that Prince spent nine hours at an Edmonton music store rehearsing with his band on the day before his show last night - right under our noses. His Purple Highness was every bit as secretive as we expected him to be. And more. }}}

His minions "swept" the PA room for recording devices - duh, it's a music store; the place is filled with recording devices - and covered up the security cameras, reports store manager Rick Shermack. When all was secure, Prince was brought inside, surrounded by five bodyguards.

"They ducked him down like it was Elvis coming into the room," Shermack says. "He's very paranoid."

It was made clear that if His Royal Purpleness felt uncomfortable at any time, he would leave immediately. Staff and customers managed to keep a lid on it, the PA room was closed to the public and Prince and his band practised unbothered until about 12:30 a.m., only taking a dinner break for some King and I.

"There sure was some smokin' music coming out of there," says Shermack, who only exchanged a few words with the enigmatic superstar. "He comes walking past me and proceeds to the women's washroom, in his full white suit, smiles, says, 'Thanks very much,' and then heads back into the room. That was it."

Needless to say, Prince refused to sign guitars Axe had intended to auction off for charity.

"They told me that Prince has not signed anything other than their cheques for years. And I said, that's OK, because we no longer take cheques."

Prince's money was no good at Axe anyway. He got the rehearsal space for free.

Prince's supposed paranoia sure doesn't show when he's with his fans.
Makes me wonder how true this story, and others like it, are.
I mean, this doesn't sound like the Prince who sat and talked for hours with fans at a club recently.
It seems like the mainstream media is still trying to make Prince stranger than he really is.
This is the second time I've read that Prince used a women's bathroom. I'm not saying I don't believe it, but nowadays I tend to view press accounts of Prince and his behavior with a lot more skepticism. The fans version of Prince show a man who is much more human, and I think that is the truer version of Prince, not the reclusive, paranoid, mad man that the mainstream press makes him out to be.

I WANT THE "STAY THE HELL AWAY FROM ME" PRINCE TO COME BACK !!!in the 1981-1994 period when he didnt speak very often i seemed to enjoy it a bit more than these days where we have heard him do so much talking about NON MUSICAL things.

Good Article, however I don't believe it is entirely true. How long was the Record Store open, if Prince and band rehearshed for 9 hours, and they has a dinner break, how long was the store open? Prince didn't talk to a man who opened his store for prince and let him stay there for 9 hours, keep people away and was not paid a dime for it. (now that is unbelievable, especially when told that prince wanted to play there, the man (rick) said prince who? He didn'tt know who prince was and he is the manager of a Record Store, I live in Hawaii and the majority of my Co-workers are Japanese, (older men). And when ever I say I am listening to, or I like Prince they response is normally (he has a lot of energy, or The girls really like him, or he's good, or things of this nation, never Prince who? so I don't believe that at all. Someone is up to there old tricks again.

prettymansson said:

=== R u crazy mark??? WHY? i like him like he is now. plus, i too, tend to dismiss the media's reports now, as prince said they always misrepresented him & misconstrued things about him & that we should "get it from the horses mouth!" its great seeing him interactive with "us." he enjoys it too, u can see that! this is the new prince! he says he likes the soundchecks better than the concerts. to "chill" with the people that stood by him all these yrs when his life was hell! dont say these things. u KNOW he reads here, & i'm sure u dont want to hurt his feelings, as u yourself said once & i know your a big admirerer of the man...what made u say this? most of us love the way he is now , & most importantly, so does he! ENJOY!

5 bodyguards?? Don't think so.

Rehearse 4 9 hours? As tight as
THIS band is?

Reeks of fakeness...

FunkyMan said:

LOL... Oh man... Prince is one of a kind.

Revolution said:

Bet you $20 that he is rehearsing them for the Celebration. Their last tourdate is the 18th so that only gives them 3 days to get into Celebration mode. It would make sense that he has them learning new material on the road. In fact, that article about the soundcheck in Edmonton said he did "Whole Lotta Love" by Led Zepplin. Sounds like the Celebration is going to have some musical surprises.

I thin the reason Prince acts more friendly with fans is because they are his Fans! I mean do you feel more comfortable with strangers, or your friends? People who have learned to be creeped out by you, or people who actually understand you? It makes sense really...

He got better with the fan/fam interaction as the tour went on. He wasn't all that chummy and personable when I saw him.

Plus, the Canadian soundchecks have been drawing 30-50 NPG club members and guests. The American soundchecks had 200-400 people. It's easier to be friendly and acknowledge 30-50 people than it is to do that with 200-400 people.

shygirl said:

If you have read about Prince using women's restrooms from different sources, why would you think that these different and seperate sources are being untruthful? I have heard for a while that Prince uses women's restrooms.

In addition, the accounts of Prince's behavior can vary. Sometimes he's in a friendly mood and sometimes he's not. It's not that anybody is lying about his behavior. It's just that some people encounter a friendly Prince, and others encounter the aloof, dismissive Prince.

NikkiDarling said:

That could be a new Prince related thread.
Do you think Prince uses the womens restroom? And if so, why?
Is it because:
1) Prince pees seated on the toilet bowl. Because the bowls in the mens room are usually dirty he doesn't like to pee there.
2) he feels more at ease correcting his make up when he is among women, the men tend to laugh at him.
3) It turns him on to be with women in the restroom, we all know how sexy he is with the ladies.

The only reason I'm skeptical of the "bathroom" stories is that they are from the mainstream press, and there is no way to verify them.
When the fans report about the soundchecks, there are plenty of witnesses to verify or deny what is being reported. In other words, a fan can't say "Prince slapped me" if it didn't happen cause too many other fans would know the truth and report what REALLY happened.
Stories like this one, well, you just don't know. That's why I don't say it's a lie, I'm just a lot more suspicious about mainstream press stories about Prince.
I believe Prince has his quirks, but I don't think they're as over the top as the media makes them out to be.
And I like the Prince of today much better than the Purple Rain Prince. Not only is he happier and friendlier, he looks hella better now than the cartoonish looking Prince of the Purple Rain era.

I'd also like to say that my skepticism of the press is not just concerning Prince. Whether it's the war on terror or the Enron scandal, I tend not to believe something as rock solid fact just because it's printed in a newpaper or because Peter Jennings is reporting it with a serious look on his face.
I don't buy into conspiracy theories, but there's nothing wrong with some healthy skepticism.
I'm also glad I live in a country (USA) where I can express my doubts without worrying about being dragged from my home never to be seen or heard from again.

shygirl said:

Very well said!

shygirl said:

I do think that it is very likely that those Enron executives had a conspiracy going on.
They all sold their shares before the company went down.
If that isn't a conspiracy then what is?

Abrazo said:

I think No. 2 is the answer. Prince can go into the ladies room, fuss with his hair, apply some lip gloss, and touch up his eye liner and the ladies will be cool with it.

Also, Prince won't go to the men's room because there's urinals in there, and you know he ain't dealing with that. He'd get "stage fright" and think other dudes were peeking at his dick.

OK, this may sound 'sacriligious' & I may get flamed for days, but... why in the world does Prince think he is so God-Almighty important that he's more paranoid than Howard Hughes these days?!!! C'mon Princey-poo, you're just not that special. At this rate, your paranoia will be the death of you, just like Howard Hughes. Jimminy Crickits!!!

five...

four...

three...

two...

one! let the flaming begin

A co-worker of mine, who's a guy told me that he saw Prince leaving the Men's room at LAX so I doubt that he uses that Women's room every so often but I think he may still use the Men's room too. But in the end does it really matter? If he peed in the street it wouldn't phase me, he's Prince. Period.

purplecam said:

I meant to say that I don't doubt that Prince goes to the ladies room. Whoops.

Abrazo said:

Yes, I agree that this could be a topic in the General Discussion section. Not too man people come to the news section anymore.

NikkiDarling said:

you know... on the old org people would try to use the news reports to start a thread about whatever, not necessarily prince related. That was kinda funny, because you could never know what was going to happen. Now in the gd forum it is different, but you could still try to make a thread from a news report.
people just have to come in and talk to eachother on these threads.

... i don' want to start ' again' about 'the old', but i don't like ti when Prince has 'tight' bands playing for him..
The Revolution, and all the previous configurations weren't that tight, but they all had 'spirit', the same with the Lovesexy Band.. They weren't that tight either.. I liked the wrong moves, some out of tune playing and especially the spirit of all the bands then.. it's like he is now only accompanied with people who would like to do anything to play with Prince.. which i understand perfectly, who wouldn't.. but still, sheila, Bobby Z, Dr Fink, Wendy & Lisa, Boni Boyer, Levi, Miko Weaver, Andre Cymone, Dezz Dickerson, Susanah Melvoin, Jill Jones, Atlanta Bliss, Eric Leeds, Eddy M, ... Chancelor, Jerome Benton, Wally Safford, Cat, the members of The Time, etc.. they all were something on the stage, more or less i guess..
I just think that those people in the days brought colors and more.. Nowadays it's a few damn good drummers who steal the show next to prince, musically, but for the rest, u don't hear too much of 'm.. Isn't Prince allowing them to co-write stuff with him anymore, unasked? .; sometimes there was someone who worked with him, or just showed him something, like W&L did, or like The Time did..
i know there's going to be a lot of pro and contras to this, but i'm just wondering how much those players of the last 5 to 10 years are more then just damn good stuido and live musicians.. and i'm not talking about any solo projects or anything, just people who dare to stand on the same level as prince, and show some more personality..
or am i wrong?