I know that Prince used specific terms and expressions on stage which were meant to instruct or remind the band of their next move, like the famous "on the one" meant that the musician had to stop playing at the next start of a measure.

If anyone knows of any others, could you please post them below, with their meaning?

Thank you

"take me home" - to cue the final section of the song

"hit me in the back" - horn/synth stabs

Sure there are lots more - they were all over the Parade/ SOTT gigs

Confusion!

Vegas!

"LEAD LINE!" -main melody

Nah, y'all ain't ready for that

Turnaround

Chop! (signals shots)

"On the one" also cues the band to start/transition sections on the one beat (see "Loose"). Maybe you're already aware most funk music accents the one, I'm pretty sure James Brown used "on the one" but no examples are coming to mind.

Kickdrum!

''Squirrel Meat'', used in ''Girls & Boys'' live 1987.

Thanks for your answers!

Don't forget to add what he meant by these expressions (if you know).

mtlfan said:

GeurtWalraven said:

''Squirrel Meat'', used in ''Girls & Boys'' live 1987.

Does anyone know what he meant by that?

"Good Gawhd!!" - bring the band back on the "4" beat

"One The 1" - term a lot of funk musicians use to let band know to start back up on the "1' beat of the song.

CherryMoon57 said:

GeurtWalraven said:

''Squirrel Meat'', used in ''Girls & Boys'' live 1987.

Does anyone know what he meant by that?

Originally used in ''Superfunkycalifragisexy''. (Black Album) No idea the meaning of it.

mtlfan said:

Nah, y'all ain't ready for that

Turnaround

Chop! (signals shots)

"On the one" also cues the band to start/transition sections on the one beat (see "Loose"). Maybe you're already aware most funk music accents the one, I'm pretty sure James Brown used "on the one" but no examples are coming to mind.

Was that really a cue? I though it was just a tease. What is the meaning behind it?

Vegas....in E .... !

Rumblin'! > just drums and bass

Chicken grease! > sustain a funky chord for a while

Good gawd! > I'ma gonna go off and shake my ass for a lil' bit

NorthC said:

Turn my guitar up! Can I play my guitar?! Turn the house lights on! I always loved that last one because then the whole hall was bathing in light and you could see everybody throughout the building waving and clapping and just being happy.

I loved this too, made you feel like part of one big epic family

DIRTY UP! WHERE YOU AT DOUG?!?!?!?

"Y'all remember that ending?"

By the way, "Squirrel Meat" was probably just a phrase that stuck with him. It doesn't have some big meaning. He could have said "Coffee pot!" and it meant the same thing for the band. He used the phrase a lot in 1987/88. It was from a Black Album song, as noted, and it was just funny.

"Y'all ain't ready for that" and "Can I play my guitar" were more of a phrase to get the audience involved. It wasn't a band queue. The same goes for "Turn the house lights up" or "Turn the lights off". I mean, sure, it queued the Roy Bennett (or whoever) to change something, but it wasn't a queue for the band.

If you really wanna see jargon without words, watch him on the 1986 Hit N' Run tour (like the Detroit Cobo Hall concert). He had started using a lot of hand gestures for a different accents and band fills. This goes beyond him holding up 2 fingers for "hit me 2 times" sorta thing. You can see a lot of them when they'd start "Controversy". Sometimes he'd do it during "Head".

leadline is my fav for obvious reasons

gollygirl said:

NorthC said:

Turn my guitar up! Can I play my guitar?! Turn the house lights on! I always loved that last one because then the whole hall was bathing in light and you could see everybody throughout the building waving and clapping and just being happy.

I loved this too, made you feel like part of one big epic family

When the guy controlling the lights was actually listening...

I love how Prince always called to his sound guy during performances, ya know, mic up, guitar down, and other more technical sound aspects.

There was one concert that I saw on youtube at the very beginning, I think it was North Sea night 1, where Prince was calling out to John the sound guy for at least the first 2-3 songs, this was a bad day to be john the sound guy, Prince was not happy. I think half the lyrics for these songs were instructions to the sound guy. Prince apologized the 2nd night to the audience about the sound.

leadline said:

I love how Prince always called to his sound guy during performances, ya know, mic up, guitar down, and other more technical sound aspects.

There was one concert that I saw on youtube at the very beginning, I think it was North Sea night 1, where Prince was calling out to John the sound guy for at least the first 2-3 songs, this was a bad day to be john the sound guy, Prince was not happy. I think half the lyrics for these songs were instructions to the sound guy. Prince apologized the 2nd night to the audience about the sound.

Somewhere on here in recent days, I mentioned that concert. I happened across it on YouTube. They opened with "Controversy" (after some girl sang a song - I skipped past it), and for 10 or 15 minutes, they jammed, and Prince was like "more guitar...more voice on stage" He was NOT happy. Someone else responded that a lot of tickets were refunded. But the next night, he was on point.

TrivialPursuit said:

leadline said:

I love how Prince always called to his sound guy during performances, ya know, mic up, guitar down, and other more technical sound aspects.

There was one concert that I saw on youtube at the very beginning, I think it was North Sea night 1, where Prince was calling out to John the sound guy for at least the first 2-3 songs, this was a bad day to be john the sound guy, Prince was not happy. I think half the lyrics for these songs were instructions to the sound guy. Prince apologized the 2nd night to the audience about the sound.

Somewhere on here in recent days, I mentioned that concert. I happened across it on YouTube. They opened with "Controversy" (after some girl sang a song - I skipped past it), and for 10 or 15 minutes, they jammed, and Prince was like "more guitar...more voice on stage" He was NOT happy. Someone else responded that a lot of tickets were refunded. But the next night, he was on point.

Yeah, show #2 from that series was absolutely amazing, defintely my favorite of the three. All three are still available for those interested.

Rebeljuice said:

leadline said:

KoolEaze said:

mtlfan said:

Nah, y'all ain't ready for that

Turnaround

Chop! (signals shots)

"On the one" also cues the band to start/transition sections on the one beat (see "Loose"). Maybe you're already aware most funk music accents the one, I'm pretty sure James Brown used "on the one" but no examples are coming to mind.

Was that really a cue? I though it was just a tease. What is the meaning behind it?

My face is red... I stand corrected.

kapo74 said:

Gimme 1, uhh! Gimme 25! Awesome...

Yes, yes it was.