Prince said a lot of things
IN 2002 on LA show he said that he will
never ever play Little red Corvette
in 1985 Prince said his best friend is Bobby Z
IN 1999 he said his favorite band is TLC haha
don't belive everything P says and he is pretty
wealthy man ,able to make all his dreams
come true
he only name checked Wendy because a lot
of fans dig her because of the movie.

Many probably think Wendy and Lisa wrote
Purple Rain while in reality their input
to his music was minimal.
but don't make this another Wand L thread
lets talk about what Wendy added to the songs live in concerts.

When Brown Mark made mistake on bass Prince cut his paycheck,so why was Wendy better then Mark?
And if he was so pleased with Wendy he wouldn't fire her after only 3 years with the band

I understand all what you're saying banished but (and this is coming from someone who always champions Dez) I highly doubt that Prince was unhappy, overall, with Wendy's playing while she was in The Revolution. I myself have stated several times in this forum over the years that everytime I saw Wendy live on the PR tiur, I could see her tense up when it was time for her to take the solo to When Doves Cry. When she would get to a certain point of the solo, everytime, she would blow it. Same spot. To her credit though, she always recovered well and florished on the repetitive riff of the solo and then she would nail the last run of notes that ended the solo. Did she nail the solo on Little Red Corvette on the PR tour? It was o.k. But hell, the two shows I saw on the 1999 tour, Dez also kinda fucked up on the same solo. And it was Dez's solo to begin with. I've heard Dez, also on one of the 1999 shows, during the song Automatic, totally blow it during the solo. Almost like he was playing to an entirely different song. There was no telling what the hell was going on in Prince's mind. The next show I saw, I sure in the hell keyed in on that song when they played it again. Dez's solo was on point and was great. I mention all of this to say that even though Dez was a very good guitarist live, he has had his off nights. It happens to everyone. I've seen Van Halen in concert twice and on certain solos, Eddie has played bum notes, bends that were flat or out of key, etc. But does that mean that Eddie isn't a killer guitarist? Hell nah. In Wendy's case, especially on the PR tour, the girl was scared probably throughout the whole tour. That show played to at least 40,000 a night of screaming beserk ass fans. That's A LOT for someone to be thrown into that type of a situation who had NEVER had any touring experience. She was no where near as seasoned as the rest of the band. This was Mark's third full scale tour so he was damn near a veteran on the PR tour. For her to be upfront, right next to Prince, filling in for a MUCH beloved band member such as Dez, I thought she did well. Her rhythm playing was killin' on the PR tour and she sounded good on Darling Nikki, which is hella riffish. To compare her to Dez, I don't think is realistic. Dez was a seasoned guitarist waaay before he even knew Prince existed. So he brought all of that experience to P's band. I think P expected Wendy to fuck up a little here and there, especially playing in front of packed arenas. But honestly, on the PR tour, and again, this is coming from a cat that hated that Dez was no longer in the band, overall, I thought Wendy played well.
[Edited 8/23/09 0:59am]

Smittyrock70 said:

Thanx.. I started to mention Hendrix but I didn't want people on here to flip out. I started to mention Prince hitting a few bum notes on his Let's Go Crazy solo..On the middle solo and at the one at the end of the song but again, I didn't want people to flip out. So I didn't.

BlackguitaristZ thanks for a great replay.
I'm not saying she is bad,she just never was the player
up to Prince's standards and i think if Dez stayed he would brought us better
performances on Purple Rain songs.

I don't agree
Mike Scott was better guitar player then Prince (Simple because Prince didn't practice guitar during that period)during rave era and he kept him.
John Blackwell plays the drums so good
that you just have to watch what he's doing
even if you don't play drums.
Wendy could never still the spotlight simple
because she is just a musician without entertaining
element if you know what i mean to say.

BlackguitaristZ thanks for a great replay.
I'm not saying she is bad,she just never was the player
up to Prince's standards and i think if Dez stayed he would brought us better
performances on Purple Rain songs.

blackguitaristz said:

U should write a book u have great insight

When Brown Mark made mistake on bass Prince cut his paycheck,so why was Wendy better then Mark?
And if he was so pleased with Wendy he wouldn't fire her after only 3 years with the band

thebanishedone said:

but remember Prince is not going to keep around someone who
has the slightest chance of steeling the spotlight from him,,,,

I don't agree
Mike Scott was better guitar player then Prince (Simple because Prince didn't practice guitar during that period)during rave era and he kept him.
John Blackwell plays the drums so good
that you just have to watch what he's doing
even if you don't play drums.
Wendy could never still the spotlight simple
because she is just a musician without entertaining
element if you know what i mean to say.

blackguitaristz said:

Good thoughts there

I remember stories of the show when Prince opened for "the Stones?" that was I the earlies shows he performed with Prince and the first night, was when they got fruit and vegs thrown at them(heard in the middle of Pop Life) And Prince had to reign Mark in because it really shook him up (did I get 2 shows mixed up?)

Brown & Wendy were both around 19/20 when they started performing

OldFriends4Sale said:

Thanx...Yeah, check out at the bottom of all of my posts, you'll see 2 links. Click on the bottom one and you'll see I wrote this article about P opening for The Stones in 81. I go into detail about both shows, what was thrown at them, their set lists, what happened, etc. Yeah, they did get all kinds of shit thrown at them. Shoes, Jack Daniels bottles that nearly missed P's head, chicken parts, the whole 9. Mark was 18 when he joined and that was his first two official shows with P's band. But nah man, they didn't play Pop Life on those two shows! U know P didn't have that out in 81! But yeah, Mark was shook. So was Prince!

blackguitaristz said:

lol no I mean in the song Pop Life in the middle of it where it breaks off Prince uses the sounds from that 81 night, you hear "Throw them out and cheering when Prince and the band leaves" the then the song Pop Life resumes

thebanishedone said:

Actually I don't know, Just watching Purple Rain shows she had entertaining elements, watching the Kiss video and Girls & Boys shows she has entertaining elements, When Doves Cry & Mountains as well as Raspberry Beret & the America live video

OldFriends4Sale said:

I agree with this. I stated also on the other Dez vs Wendy thread that on the PR tour, I thought Wendy was cute when she got into the stomping with one foot thing she would do when the band was jamming. And she had that little sexy walk too. I thought she was kinda cute with the big hair and the funk face she would make or the little grin she would have. And she looked the cutest actually in the outfits that they all wore on the PR tour. She seemed comfortable enough in the Kiss video. She certainly UNDERSTOOD Prince personally and knew what worked with P and was happy to fulfill that. Just like Dez before. Dez CERTAINLY understood P as well. It was obviously a different vibe and two entirely different phases P was in with both guitarists. Mentioning the Kiss video...it has always reminded me somewhat of the Controversy video where the camera catches Dez and P together. P featured Dez visually simply because Dez looked HELLA cool on stage and he gave Prince an added edge. So there are a few different shots in that video where P walks over to Dez while their singing the pre-chorus to Controversy where P and Dez both shine visually. The contrast between them visually, worked exceptionally well. And P KNEW that. There are many pics, especially during the Controversy period, where P took posed off stage pics with only Dez was in the pictures. So again, there is no doubt that P liked how he and Dez looked together. Same thing with he and Wendy. Where P was going and wanting to get too, Wendy visually, was needed. She brought Prince fans that I don't think P may have had otherwise. That's proven on this very site all the time. P knew that and he worked that angle. Where before Dez gave P a certain edge and a cool black rock and roll credibility, Wendy gave P more access into the mainstream of middle America. P visiually capitalized on that with having Wendy in the band. It was NO accident or coincidence that Wendy showed up when she did in the biggest career move in P's life. Which was Purple Rain.

yeah your right-nobody said hate-but calling her sloppy's not exactly the most respectful thing to say-about a musician i personally admire-for her abilities NOT cuz shes a girl that plays.....

I guess I get used to the usual we hate W+L shit on here so i get a little over defensive

and i mentioned playing from the heart as it overides the odd missed note/phrase kinda cancelling the tag out-but I actually don't think her playing is anything like sloppy anyway

In the old stuff-Atlanta, Syracruse for example-I know these shows very well-and can't honestly find a section I'd call Wendy sloppy in at all

The Avenue when she debutted-yeah there were parts-but on her very first gig-at such a young age-man give her a break-she must've been shitting herself

anyone can see she aint the most comfortable girl in front of a camera or a crowd even still today

the most recent time I can think of is Reflection -where her playing was faultless and made P's performance shine a little more than it would have if he'd have been alone

GirlBrother said:

lol right, and you loose the song at times, who wants to hear drum solos on Lady Cab Driver, just give me that simple beat with some Linn backing it up

Something Prince said about Wendy in a 1985 interview
Bobby Z was the first one to join. He's my best friend. Though he's not such a spectacular drummer, he watches me like no other drummer would. Sometimes, a real great drummer, like Morris, will be more concerned with the lick he is doing as opposed to how I am going to break it down.
Mark Brown's just the best bass player I know, period. I wouldn't have anybody else. If he didn't play with me, I,d eliminate bass from my music. Same goes for Matt [Fink, the keyboard player]. He's more or less a technician. He can read and write like a whiz, and is one of the fastest in the world. And Wendy makes me seem all right in the eyes of people Watching.

How so?

She keeps a smile on her face. When I sneer, she smiles. It's not premeditated, she just does it. It's a good contrast. Lisa is like my sister. She'll play what the average person won't. She'll press two notes with one finger so the chord is a lot larger, things like that. She's more abstract. She's into Joni Mitchell, too.

OldFriends4Sale said:

i would love 2 c the prince of today meet up with the prince of 85 and hear him say these things ...i would imagine it would b a huge BITCHSLAP 2 the prince of 85

michael b and john blackwell run circles around bobby z ..and sonny t and rhonda play more skillfull than brown mark

L4OATheOriginal said:

your comparing someone people at different stages in their playing career

Your not comparing Bobby Z or Brown Mark as of 2009
your comparing them as of 1986

OldFriends4Sale said:

again i'm just replying 2 what prince THOUGHT back in 1985 ..and fyi i have heard bobby z of 2009 and still the same drummer back then as he is now

lol @ L4OA.

Miko....Miko who.....

the thread is about Wendy-no mention of Mico-and if he's sooooo great

where are his albums.....where is his 'output' since Prince-I mean does he even write his own stuff....?

Whereas Wendy-well most big names still wanna work with her and Lisa

Miko.lol-great -just make sure you SHOW HIM WHAT TO DO NOW

LOL-all i remember him for was the worst looking dude on a stage ever-man Prince must've laughed his ass off designing Miko's Lovesexy costumes
[Edited 8/25/09 12:18pm]

K.....

think I'll leave it there-as arguing with a ten year old aint my thing

PS-name 5 Miko songs we all know then.hell name just one-i sure as hell can't

or a soundtrack HE scored.....

AND-so how much influence on Prince's sound did Miko have then-compared to Wendy.....

being a session player is slightly diffrent to writing-and producing and being in demmand from other names that wanna work with you still today

he may be a good player-great-so long as the talent writes the stuff for him

he's had about as much influence on Prince as you have-ie NONE

there-thats your bedtime story-now grab Tinky Winky and fuck off to bed