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Interview with Prince's Guitar Tech, Rene Martinez Hey all check out this interview with Rene Martinez, he was the guitar tech who worked with Stevie Ray Vaughan, John Mayer, Carlos Santana and Prince for a bit of time.
Here's an exceprt:
"They said, “Don’t look at him,” so I didn’t look at him. They said, “I will speak for him,” I said, “Fine.” Prince and his guy would come up to me and Prince would be standing right there next to me and he’d say to his guy, “This is what I want to do with this guitar,” and I’d hear him and I just kept looking at this guy and he says, “Prince wants you to…” and he’d reiterate it again, and I’d say okay, and I would go an I would do it."
You can read the whole thing here:
http://iconicaxes.blogspot.com/2012/09/interview-with-guitar-tech.html | |
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Danke schoen. Pills and thrills and daffodils will kill... If you don't believe me or don't get it, I don't have time to try to convince you, sorry. | |
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Prince being a dick - Part Million+
. [Edited 9/25/12 13:50pm] |
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Do you think Prince does this just to maintain that 'Prince Reputation" and mystique? I remember talking with Takumi years ago (his longtime guitar tech) money can only go so far...music can only carry you so far before you just have to say enough. Great gig working with the man but it takes it's toll. U gotta leave him before he leaves you, sould be the only way to maintain your sanity. | |
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Here's the excerpt:
After Stevie Ray Vaughan passed you ended up working with a number of great artists one of which was Prince. How did that come about and what was that experience like for you?
RM: It was an interesting experience. It came about at the end of a tour with Clint Black and I had gotten this phone call. Prince was doing some kind of recording and playing for like TV shows; about a week’s worth of work and that’s what they told me.
They said they were going through a lot of guitar techs and they had heard about me, and I guess they had been going through so many they decided to get anybody, and at the time I was pretty much an anybody [laughs]. I guess because I had worked with Stevie Ray Vaughan that had given me some kind of credential to them. Anyway, it happened to be right after a tour, I was on tour for six weeks and then I flew up to Minnesota.
When I walked in they weren’t rehearsing or anything. A crew member came in to show me his gear, what it looked like, and how it was set up and what was going on. I met the monitor engineer and he said to me, “Well, what have you been doing?” and I told him.
So he says, “Well, you’ll be going home real soon. He’s going through guitar techs left and right around here. You’ll probably maybe last a day.” I sort of chuckled and said, “Okay.” You know they promised me that I would get paid for a week regardless and they never did say why. I just decided to do it.
Well I wound up lasting the entire week to make a story short. It was interesting because all the stories you hear about him I guess were true but I never took it as a negatory thing or a weird thing. Like I said, with Stevie when he wanted something or asked for something, I would just go ahead and do it and I did the same thing with Prince; I treated him the same way. They said, “Don’t look at him,” so I didn’t look at him.
They said, “I will speak for him,” I said, “Fine.” Prince and his guy would come up to me and Prince would be standing right there next to me and he’d say to his guy, “This is what I want to do with this guitar,” and I’d hear him and I just kept looking at this guy and he says, “Prince wants you to…” and he’d reiterate it again, and I’d say okay, and I would go an I would do it.
Then one day, in this one-week period, he did talk to me, directly; asked for this, asked for that. So I did it, I just did what he wanted. So it was over, the week was over I got home and I was just glad to be home. It was a long two months ya know? [Edited 9/25/12 13:25pm] | |
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My best friend looks at me while she speaks to other people. She's very shy too. Hello! | |
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Yes you can't assume Prince is being a d*ck and we know that he can be very shy on occasion. Seeing him on The View just reminded me of this. He may just not be comfortable talking to someone new and telling them what he wants right off the bat. I know it sounds weird but one thing that makes him a great artist is being emotionally vulnerable and such.
I'm not saying he's not a jerk a whole lot of the time, but this just doesn't sound like an example. | |
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The Creative Process is not Pretty..
And we are talking about one of the most Creative People out there..
If he was "just a guitarist" , I could see this being a bad attitude"
But this Dude has Everybody's part swimming in his head, as well as the mix, the effects and the Visuals..I just see it as the the most important thing is to get it out ..
I can't say I understand fully, but when I am putting something together, I want the least interuptions as possible so I can stay true to the art... I just imagine Prince is like that, but to the upteenth Power...due to his gifts
He says it's a Gift and a Curse..
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I tell you what - Clint Black can play the hell out of a guitar, too. I'd like to hear some Clint Black stories from this guy. | |
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