St. Paul Pioneer Press music critic Jim Walsh was on KFAN radio in
Minneapolis today (August 15, between 5:30pm and 6:00pm) and the subject
of his meeting with Prince back in June was one of the topics of
discussion.



Reference site: http://www.kfan.com

Jim Walsh's Article: http://www.pioneerplanet....035603.htm



I took a brief look at KFAN's web site and it doesn't appear that they
archive their broadcasts, so here's a brief summary of what was said off
the top of my head:



* Mr. Walsh's June 2nd article critical of Prince's current artistic
direction was written from the heart. Jim says he has followed Prince's
career for 23 years, has been inspired by him, and thinks of him as one of
the musical giants.



* Jim said that the column had been brewing for awhile because he didn't
feel Prince was saying anything the last few years.



* Jim received 350 email messages in response to his article -- all but 2
were supportive.



* He says that he's still glad he wrote the article but that there is a
part of him that regrets it, primarily because he feels it is somewhat
presumptuous making specific demands of an artist. Every artist is
different and has a different career arc. True artists are coming from a
very personal place and it isn't completely fair to dismiss what they are
going through in their life and demand that they focus their attention
elsewhere.



* Jim received a phone call from one of Prince's people after the article
hit the newsstands and was asked if he'd come to Paisley Park to talk
about the article. He said he would.



* When Jim arrived at Paisly Park the band was rehearsing "When You Were
Mine" and when Prince saw him he indicated that they were almost finished
and that he'd be with him shortly. Prince then asked Jim if he was "cool
with that?"



* Prince took Jim into his office and pulled up Mr. Walsh's article on his
computer and starting reading to him, pausing periodically to ask
questions about each part.



* Prince asked Jim, "Do you consider yourself my brother?" Jim replied,
"Yes, I guess so." Prince then said, "Well, is that how you talk to your
brother?" And Jim replied, "Yeah, pretty much. I argue with my brothers
all the time and we tell each other when we are not doing the right
thing."



* Jim characterized the 2-hour meeting with Prince as having "a lot of
laughs," being "very spirited," and as "a good chance to reiterate his
position."



* The meeting also moved toward Prince explaining where he was currently
at in his life and of course the discussion turned to the music industry
and artist rights.



* Prince ended up refusing press credentials to Jim for the Northrop
Concert, which Jim says he pretty much was expecting so he had already
purchased a ticket. He also mentioned how Prince made a couple of
disparaging remarks that were more than likely aimed at him during the
concert when Prince spotted him in the balcony writing.



* Jim summed up by saying that the article came from loving place and that
he remains interested in Prince. He also pointed out that he has no idea
what Prince will do next and that that's part of the mystery that
surrounds him.



---end---



Related prince.org article:

http://www.prince.org/new....html?5122