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TODAY'S PAPER


Toronto's a dream: 'There's no pretension'

A relaxed and positive Prince, Toronto's rock star in residence, gives an audience to BRAD WHEELER about what the royal life is like

By BRAD WHEELER
Thursday, July 29, 2004 - Page R3


Prince is nothing if not presentable, but he is rather less flamboyant or remarkably dressed than one might expect. In his dressing room at the Air Canada Centre Tuesday before the first of two sold-out concerts, the performer, attired casually in running shoes, off-white slacks and a tan turtleneck sweater, dismisses the suggestion that he is an "always on" prima donna type. "When they describe me as outlandish, they mean Negro," he laughs. "It sounds the same to me and it's restrictive, the words they use. We like nice clothes; we can afford nice clothes . . . do you feel me?"

Well yes, I'm sure that I do, in a matter of speaking. And as for the duds, undoubtedly Prince can afford most anything these days. Concerts are selling out and copies of his latest CD, Musicology, are moving briskly. The two successes are not unrelated. Sitting on the receiving dock of the ACC as he spoke were 45,000 copies of Musicology, stripped-down versions of the CD that contained all the songs of the Columbia-distributed discs found in record stores, but with no liner notes. Each concertgoer to a Prince show is handed a disc upon admittance.

The price of the CD is added onto the concert ticket -- with each ticket sold, an album is recorded as sold as well, thus boosting Musicology to platinum status in the United States, with sales of more than one-million copies.

His dressing room is candle-lit, with a plush couch and chair. Music plays softly in the background, and an acoustic guitar sits next to a formidable collection of cosmetics, arrayed in front of a mirror.

"The record companies are only a delivery service," Prince explains, when asked about his new relationship with Sony-owned Columbia. "Anything more than that, when they want to produce or tell us what singles to release, we're just puppets. As for record-company ownership of the music, "that's like Federal Express keeping what they deliver, and giving you a copy."

Musicology, an impressive album of straight-up soul and insistent funk numbers, was recorded in Toronto, where the 46-year-old musician maintains a residence in the Bridal Path area with his wife, twentysomething Manuela Testolini.

Although it was Testolini, a Torontonian once employed at Prince's Paisley Park studios in Minneapolis, who drew him here, the performer took an instant liking to the city. "It's a dream to me," he says, "there's no pretension. I run out of adjectives . . . there are so many different people, so many nationalities."

Though he is believed to reside near the home of Gordon Lightfoot, the two musician have yet to meet. "I don't know his music that well, but I love his voice." Prince is not reclusive -- he attends Toronto Raptors games, showed up at a concert by Norah Jones at the Palais Royale on Lake Shore Boulevard a couple of summers ago and, on at least one occasion, stopped in at Blues on Bellair, a Yorkville blues club that has since shut down.

"I like the blues, I can play the blues," he says. Later he offers, as evidence, a pair of bluesy acoustic bits during the evening's performance.

As for comparisons to his hometown, Prince offers a surprising assessment of this city's, shall we say, cultural dynamics. "In Minneapolis, you have to put your own funk in; with Toronto, it's already here."

Now, certainly, more than ever.

Portrayed in the past as mysterious, angry or aloof, he seems none of those things. Rather he is talkative, engaged and positive. "How could I not be upbeat," he asks. "I'm a fan of the people I play with. Maceo Parker? -- please, I'm blessed."

Later, solidly into his first concert at the ACC, his admiration for Parker, a former saxophonist with James Brown, comes into play when Prince, with fake indignation, plopped himself into a chair at the stage's edge.

A solo turn by Parker had failed to receive the due measure of applause, and Prince ground things to a halt. "It's a matter of respect," he scolded, before flipping open a copy of a recent Rolling Stone magazine, one, just by the way, with his picture on the cover.

He flipped to page 56, and the crowd may have been able to make out, from one of four screens hovering above the centre-ice stage, the blazing headline: "Burning down the house -- 20 years after Purple Rain, Prince has reclaimed his crown with a funk-filled new album and the year's most exhilarating tour."

And no one in the audience begged to disagree.

They had come to adore him; he gave them no reason not to. The show was billed as "in the round," but attention was square on Prince. In shameless fashion and with the modesty of Mussolini, the showman used as a concert opener a video of young pop star Alicia Keys introducing him earlier this year at the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame. "I want to pay homage to the one and only Prince," she gushed, over-seriously.

By the time the man had risen in a cloud of smoke from beneath the octagonal stage, a fever pitch was reached. A dazzling, furiously paced run-through of songs followed. All came with barely a break between songs, all performed soulful, funky and expertly by his New Power Generation group, accompanists drilled to an extreme level of precision by an artist who prefers to play all the parts himself in the studio. An acoustic set recalled Presley's 1968 Las Vegas comeback special.

This tour is special, yes, but no comeback, according to Prince. "We play arenas when we want to, and we sell them out when we want to," he insisted calmly, his big brown eyes unblinking. "It's not the money. The audience knows it's not a game. It's real, and it's my life."

Fun read!

Thanks for posting!

[b]Well i must say this,i am very happy that Prince has come out to play so to speak,i have secretly always wanted him to be more for the people.It seems my wish came true,he used to seem to want to hide from people,and that mademeafter so many years think he was not very people oriented at all.Now he seems so the opposite of what i was so used to all those years,i used to tell my friends when i lived in mpls,that i thought Prince should try to be a little more relaxed around his fans,after all we put him where he is,if he would just come down to earth a little,itwould be good.I had some opportunity to walk up to him and talk to him,a couple of times in the past,but did not because of his bad attitude.He has grown so much,i am proud of him.

yeah, well, let's bring race into it...

once again, the agenda's showing

Is it just me or is this article full of weird digs at Prince..."The show was billed as "in the round," but attention was square on Prince." Does the writer know what "in the round" means??

Snap said:

yeah. i really don't get why he made that connection

Prince is nothing if not presentable, but he is rather less flamboyant or remarkably dressed than one might expect. In his dressing room at the Air Canada Centre Tuesday before the first of two sold-out concerts, the performer, attired casually in running shoes, off-white slacks and a tan turtleneck sweater, dismisses the suggestion that he is an "always on" prima donna type. "When they describe me as outlandish, they mean Negro," he laughs. "It sounds the same to me and it's restrictive, the words they use. We like nice clothes; we can afford nice clothes . . . do you feel me?"

i mean, we all know the man don't dress normally. .. .. why is that about race? seems to me he IS outlandish, the makeup, hair, clothes, heels? and hasn't he deliberately cultivated that image? c'mon p

XxAxX said:

I think he is referring to they way he dresses and they way he does his hair and of course the heels he wears..you know being "pretty" (all you old heads know what i'm talkin about) He still does the old school player thing but he put his own spin on it! Not to mention the way he carries himself at times. LOL
[This message was edited Thu Jul 29 16:23:06 2004 by nammie]

Well... all I can say is that Toronto really comes close to the Uptown ideal regarding harmony between races and communities. There are plenty of neighborhoods that are "predominantly" b lack, chinese, etc., etc., but you see great diversity everywhere you go, even in those places that are more dominated by one race or nationality. And it's all pretty much effortless and matter of fact. That's not to say there isn't any racism or tension. It's just that well over half of the population was not born here. They came as "outsiders" and in the end NOT being originally from Toronto or even Canada is one of the main characteristics of being a Torontonian.

A little side note : there's a gay mag here called Fab that runs a little column involving numbers. It says, right over a picture of the Musicology cover, "7 : Number of times Prince has visited the C Lounge." I've never been to the C Lounge but there's a picture of this place on another page of the same mag, with lots of gay guys and some girls. It looks like, at the very least, a very gay friendly establishment and I think I can be forgiven for concluding that Fab is implying a little sumethin here...
[This message was edited Thu Jul 29 16:35:07 2004 by Aerogram]

i've heard good things about toronto, aero. i think it's a given that port cities are always gonna have a greater [cooler] variance in different races and cultures than landlocked cities in the continental midwest, like say minneapolis.

EROTICCITYNPG said:

Why do I find it amusing to picture Prince wearing running shoes? Probably because usually when I see him in concert, on TV, or in magazines, he's always got those pumps on to match his beautiful outfit.

XxAxX said:

Me neither, I never thought that this kind of statement would come from Prince, who in the song "Race", wrote, "Cut me, cut U, and both the blood is red." I never pictured Prince to be someone to take a racial view of things.

psychodelicide said:

[quote] Yes Prince wrote RACE, because he want's people to realize we are ALL people who want the same great things out of life and that we shouldn't judge anyone based on what they LOOK LIKE. That's a wonderful "IDEAL" but it's not a reality.

Prince was making the observation that although he is who he is, there will always be people, mostly in the great U.S.A. who think of him as the "N" word or just "less than" just because of his race. If you do have wealth and nice things there are some people who hate you for that. You're either not suppose to have them or you got it through ill-gotten gains. Which is a stereotype. Oprah and Bill Cosby still get racist hate-mail. That's just a fact of life for most African Americans, especially men. Money and fame don't mean shit. Sorry if that makes you uncomfortable, but why should it? Don't be mad at Prince, be mad at the jerks who still stereotype. If you're not like that then don't worry about it!!! You can make people stop saying certain words or stop them from doing certain evil acts, but you can't change there hearts and minds. He's not a racist for making an observation about HIS life. If you don't live it, you wouldn't know what he is talking about. If you don't live it and you "do" get his comment then you are light years ahead of a lot of people in this country, even the well-intensioned. I'd live in Canada too, you get treated like a WHOLE person there.

True there are people who unecessarily scream racism when things don't go there way or to use as an excuse for their own personal failings, "Like MJ". But all Prince is doing is making his music, so what's the excuse for all the negativity???? Prince doesn't make statements unless there is something behind it.

"There's no pretension". Ahhh. sweet irony.

steelyd said:[quote]

psychodelicide said:

Your comments are very well made, and I respect what you're saying. I'm not uncomfortable with the statement that Prince made, I was just making a comment.

steelyd said:[quote]

psychodelicide said:

- In Miles Davis autobiography, he mentioned that the white americans simply hated to see a black guy like Miles wearing fancy clothes, driving a Ferrari and getting beautiful women. He could feel the ´funny vibe´. I doubt that they would be so angry at Sinatra or Mick Jagger.
Some things seem to never change...

steelyd said:[quote]

psychodelicide said:

I agree completely with that!
[This message was edited Sat Jul 31 0:45:41 2004 by untiltheendoftime]

Seems like almost every reporter thats writing about Prince is either a fan or born again fan... who knew.

Well, I think Prince Could Have Moved to New York City Years ago..There's NO PRETENSIOn there either and well ALL THE CRITICS LOVE HIM IN NY! Why we never got him..Hell if I Know..But well Prince is Candid and more Relaxed and at Ease. I'm Loving the Vibe and the Concert is his Best in Years. It works cause he's having Fun and the Fans feel it...A Great Experience to be held by all.

XxAxX said:

It's a black thing...you wouldn't understand...

Shyra said:

Shyra said:

prince said: When they describe me as outlandish, they mean Negro," he laughs. "It sounds the same to me and it's restrictive, the words they use. We like nice clothes; we can afford nice clothes . . . do you feel me?"

i see. i'd thought that a person might describe him as "outlandish" because he wears patently flamboyant garb. but from now on i will assume that all black people dress exactly like prince does. in flashy, one tailed suits, down to the navel shirts, high heels, etc.
[This message was edited Mon Aug 2 16:23:56 2004 by XxAxX]

edit
[This message was edited Mon Aug 2 16:22:38 2004 by XxAxX]

steelyd said:[quote]

psychodelicide said:

Exactly..You don't free the world of racism by trying to make it seem like everyone is the same. We are not all the same, so I don't buy into that color-blind bs. Many people, Prince included(well I don't think he is as naive as he used to be), seem to think that by saying, 'we all bleed red blood', we have to negate the very essence of who we are. The point should not be to make it seem like we are all the same, but that no one group is better or superior to the other regardless of the differences. We need to celebrate our differences, because they do exist. We are all more than just a color, but part of who we are is based on our race, ethnicity, etc.
[This message was edited Mon Aug 2 16:47:33 2004 by PurpleCharm]

XxAxX said:

Exactly. Prince is trying so hard to be "in-touch", he doesn't even realize what a fool he sounds like. OK Prince, the "Man" is just trying to keep you down...

squirrelgrease said:

i hear you. and, i don't know if it's just me - i mean, if i've simply been unaware of the man's true personality over the years and since this is the first time since whenever that he's actually had the chance to spout off on various topics, then this is the first time i'm really hearing what a conceited little prick he is? or if he's always been this way?

i could have sworn that 'back in the day' he actually meant what he said about race. because what he was saying back then was not nearly as offensive as what he's going on about these days, imo. i mean, he never seems to lose a chance to make a dig at whitey now. if he'd get his history right that would be one thing but he's intent on playing the blame game ad nauseum no matter what the facts. he just seems full of hatred for the last few years. anger and hatred

and the way he's taken to criticizing other musicians with this 'musicology i'm cool and you're not' crap. .. .

meanwhile the camera incident which shows he's NOT righteous on the inside.

i dunno. to me it's freaky/creepy hearing what's on his mind nowadays. i'm avoiding his stuff and plan on continuing to avoid it because i feel he's toxic

has he changed lately? or has my image of him always been wrong?

When I listen to PRINCE, I used to listen for the guitar and his clever phrases, but now, it does seem as though he's trying so hard to say, "Look at me, I'm a black man." I know you're black. I know you're Italian. But he is really trying so hard to be [almost pro-black] now.

But I was saying to my sister the other day, "Since when did PRINCE become so exclusively R&B?" I remember reading an article where he talked about starting out and he told the producers "[Look] don't make me black ... My idols are all over the place." The Prince I love did songs like Little Red Corvette, Kiss, Bambi, I Could Never Take the Place of Your Man, but now he seems to be going for the more R&B sound.

At first, when I heard Rainbow Children, I was thinking, "Dang, all this race talk ... is he mad that Mayte left him for a white man?" That was my first thought, really.

And then on Musicology, that song "Pimp..." well, that line where he sings something about if only she was tan instead of so lily white, well, I wince when I hear it (and I'm not a white person), but I wince when I hear it because what if Prince was lily white and said, "If only her skin was fair & white instead of sooooo dark as night..." that would be called racist.


I didn't understand the quote about being outlandish and relating that to being "Negro"
I was thinking, "Huh?" The black people I know don't dress like that.

I love PRINCE to death, but if he credits Manuela for this change (so religious, so boring, so not multicultural anymore) then I wish one of his old flames were back in the picture. He doesn't have to do "nasty" songs, but he can still "rock" like he used to do.

lillybleu said:

when u are comfortable w/ oneself, u will engage w/people. age, wisdom, knowledge and knowing where u fit in this world changes everything. U are no longer afraid that what has been given to u will be taken away. u no longer look outside to fill the inside, u no longer take it for granted. U know that w/ these gifts that have been bestowed upon u there is a responsiblity but u never let it burden u, instead u pass it along. It is not for u alone this "information"but for u to share, even if [b]U think it undeserving, u see it's never for u to decide, u're just there for the ride and for the first time i think, "he's got it!" . If ever the case was made, for me the fate was cast in Detroit, friday night. U may think I'm But Prince tells u everything u could ever want to know just by looking at his hands, I did all Friday and the it was revealed!

i Just want to make a couple comments if i may:

1# i totally understand this statement and anyone who truly knows understands where he is coming from.

2#I could have told him about Toronto 12yrs ago! I have been going there for my twice yearly vacations. I is a dream that i will realize next yr on a more permanent basis since i will be moving there in the very near future. I go to all my favorite places, Chinatown, Lil Korea, the home of Big Ed's... the signage inside will split your sides they're that funny. Greektown, great alfresco dining, and Collage Park, the TREES!!!!! The Antique district always gets some of my money, so does Bloor and Adelaide Sts and the Neighborhoods north on Yonge street are really cool. This is how cool Toronto is..... one hot summer night i was sitting in my window ledge looking @ the moon and the tree tops, with a slight breeze swaying the mapletrees, in the allyway below a man started to wisper to a window across the alley which is private residence. When she comes to the window, he tells her that he is madly in love and that his heart will be broken if he can't see her. She tells him w/ a giggle that she loves him but he must go or he will wake the neighbors. He tells her he doesn't care and that if that is his fate than so be it. If that isn't crazy enough, THE MAN STARTS TO SERENADE HER IN FRENCH! I couldn't help but giggle and then started to drift off in my own world, listening to him tell her how much he lived for her. I realized that noone told him to stop and i also realized that i would have never heard that in Cleveland, "shut up u dumb jerk"or "i'm callin' the cops" most likely. He professed his love till she said yes, to which i couldn't resist saying"bravo, and started clapping" He said"thank U!!" and w/ her giggle he went inside.
I went back to my bed but couldn't sleep so instead i watched the sun come up over this magical city. At that very moment my life was never the same and i will forever grateful to toronto.U R MY PARIS