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Thread started 05/17/16 1:29pm

nursev

MN orgers

I would love to hear stories from you guys about living there with Prince. Any of u guys ever just see him randomly at places? eek razz

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Reply #1 posted 05/17/16 5:44pm

PeteSilas

I went to mn craigslist to see what rants and raves would have to say, most of the locals didn't really seem to really care for him. that's par for the course of a local hero though. Add on to that to my understanding, mn is pretty white, Prince loved the place but I don't think it was really reciprocated in a broad manner, post -death, it's always different though. I'm sure he'll have things named after him and museums etc..,

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Reply #2 posted 05/17/16 5:52pm

nursev

PeteSilas said:

I went to mn craigslist to see what rants and raves would have to say, most of the locals didn't really seem to really care for him. that's par for the course of a local hero though. Add on to that to my understanding, mn is pretty white, Prince loved the place but I don't think it was really reciprocated in a broad manner, post -death, it's always different though. I'm sure he'll have things named after him and museums etc..,

Yeah I noticed that his suburb was mostly caucasian but its cool lol Craigslist folks are a mess....I think they truly loved him though. They never bothered him at least.

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Reply #3 posted 05/17/16 5:58pm

PeteSilas

nursev said:

PeteSilas said:

I went to mn craigslist to see what rants and raves would have to say, most of the locals didn't really seem to really care for him. that's par for the course of a local hero though. Add on to that to my understanding, mn is pretty white, Prince loved the place but I don't think it was really reciprocated in a broad manner, post -death, it's always different though. I'm sure he'll have things named after him and museums etc..,

Yeah I noticed that his suburb was mostly caucasian but its cool lol Craigslist folks are a mess....I think they truly loved him though. They never bothered him at least.

ya, they are a mess, i was just trying to get a feel for how the average Minnepolitan feels, it's typical for hometown heroes not to be appreciated, that's why I looked. And, as mentioned, Prince was pretty unique for the area so I'd assume that plenty of people were either indifferent to him or just thought he was wierd. I once read that Minneapolis was like 5 percent black or something, might have even been less.

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Reply #4 posted 05/17/16 5:59pm

nursev

PeteSilas said:

nursev said:

Yeah I noticed that his suburb was mostly caucasian but its cool lol Craigslist folks are a mess....I think they truly loved him though. They never bothered him at least.

ya, they are a mess, i was just trying to get a feel for how the average Minnepolitan feels, it's typical for hometown heroes not to be appreciated, that's why I looked. And, as mentioned, Prince was pretty unique for the area so I'd assume that plenty of people were either indifferent to him or just thought he was wierd. I once read that Minneapolis was like 5 percent black or something, might have even been less.

Probably less lol He was the best thing that ever came out of Minnesota lol

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Reply #5 posted 05/17/16 6:06pm

sonshine

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Minnesota loved Prince! Idk about Craigslist rants and raves - aren't those all just weirdos on there? Anyway, people here say he was a wonderful neighbor and community member. Lots of folks bumped into him outside the local Caribou or would see him riding his bike around the area. He didn't like to be approached so folks respected his space. He also was known to ask people not to snap pics of him when he was out trying to be a normal guy. My sister-in-law lives only a couple miles down the road and she saw him just the week before he passed away bicycling on a path that runs parallel between his property and the roadway. After an event at PP last fall we were walking to our vehicle and in the distance we saw someone bicycling around in the dark on the grounds and I later read a post online from someone at the same event that it was Prince and he stopped to chat with them for a moment as they were leaving PP and he was pedaling around. I was at the same electric fetus record store he shopped at and they said he was just in recently with a friend to buy some new music, very low profile and no one bothered him. But I just wanted to clear us any misconceptions that he was not thought of fondly by his fellow minnesotans of all ages. Some lady even told a story about Prince showing up at her door with the JW to preach a bit and said he was very kind and polite.
It's a hurtful place, the world, in and of itself. We don't need to add to it. We all need one another. ~ PRN
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Reply #6 posted 05/17/16 6:08pm

nursev

sonshine said:

Minnesota loved Prince! Idk about Craigslist rants and raves - aren't those all just weirdos on there? Anyway, people here say he was a wonderful neighbor and community member. Lots of folks bumped into him outside the local Caribou or would see him riding his bike around the area. He didn't like to be approached so folks respected his space. He also was known to ask people not to snap pics of him when he was out trying to be a normal guy. My sister-in-law lives only a couple miles down the road and she saw him just the week before he passed away bicycling on a path that runs parallel between his property and the roadway. After an event at PP last fall we were walking to our vehicle and in the distance we saw someone bicycling around in the dark on the grounds and I later read a post online from someone at the same event that it was Prince and he stopped to chat with them for a moment as they were leaving PP and he was pedaling around. I was at the same electric fetus record store he shopped at and they said he was just in recently with a friend to buy some new music, very low profile and no one bothered him. But I just wanted to clear us any misconceptions that he was not thought of fondly by his fellow minnesotans of all ages. Some lady even told a story about Prince showing up at her door with the JW to preach a bit and said he was very kind and polite.

eek nice to hear that they respected his privacy....seems like he was nice to his neighbors. very sweet.

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Reply #7 posted 05/17/16 6:18pm

sonshine

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The suburb he lives in is predominantly Caucasian, but he was adored by all here. Mpls is more than 5% black but i couldn't say for sure what the numbers are. The north side of mpls where Prince went to school is undergoing some bad times right now with a lot of gang related violence sadly. But there is no doubt there was deep devotion to Prince here and most people are very proud of him and his accomplishments πŸ’œ
It's a hurtful place, the world, in and of itself. We don't need to add to it. We all need one another. ~ PRN
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Reply #8 posted 05/17/16 6:21pm

nursev

sonshine said:

The suburb he lives in is predominantly Caucasian, but he was adored by all here. Mpls is more than 5% black but i couldn't say for sure what the numbers are. The north side of mpls where Prince went to school is undergoing some bad times right now with a lot of gang related violence sadly. But there is no doubt there was deep devotion to Prince here and most people are very proud of him and his accomplishments πŸ’œ

sad to hear his old neighborhood is having it hard, but it really is nice to hear that he was so respected and loved there. Makes it more understandable why he never left wink

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Reply #9 posted 05/17/16 6:36pm

XxAxX

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well, if you want stories there was that time he borrowed my leiderhosen. fifty below it was, a freezing january morning, not long after prince had closed the house down at paisley park with a rousing chorus of weddingfeast at one of his famous late-night parties. as i was idling my mnote carlo, waiting for the light to change, someone tapped on my passenger side window and when i glanced over there stood prince, shivering in the cold winter breeze. i opened the door immediately and, noticing that he seemed to be turning blue i turned the heat up to eleven. his teeth were chattering pretty badly as he described how his tour bus had broken down on the road a way back and as he spoke i rummaged around in the back for some warm clothes to give him, something - anything but that pale, blue silk nightie he was wearing. he gratefully accepted my offer of pink moon boots, leiderhosen, a sweater hand knitted from the wool of virgin llamas, and a flask of chocolate milk and tabasco. i told him to keep the clothes, which i think he did and i like to think that my moon boots started that fad he enjoyed back then.

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Reply #10 posted 05/17/16 6:37pm

PeteSilas

i'm glad to hear it, and hope it's true and that my presumption is wrong. I was on a chatline about two months ago and some lady was from minneapolis, i asked her if she saw prince, all she said back was that she'd "wring his little neck" if she saw him.

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Reply #11 posted 05/17/16 7:18pm

slakk

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XxAxX said:

well, if you want stories there was that time he borrowed my leiderhosen. fifty below it was, a freezing january morning, not long after prince had closed the house down at paisley park with a rousing chorus of weddingfeast at one of his famous late-night parties. as i was idling my mnote carlo, waiting for the light to change, someone tapped on my passenger side window and when i glanced over there stood prince, shivering in the cold winter breeze. i opened the door immediately and, noticing that he seemed to be turning blue i turned the heat up to eleven. his teeth were chattering pretty badly as he described how his tour bus had broken down on the road a way back and as he spoke i rummaged around in the back for some warm clothes to give him, something - anything but that pale, blue silk nightie he was wearing. he gratefully accepted my offer of pink moon boots, leiderhosen, a sweater hand knitted from the wool of virgin llamas, and a flask of chocolate milk and tabasco. i told him to keep the clothes, which i think he did and i like to think that my moon boots started that fad he enjoyed back then.

This is where the song Starfish and Coffee got its inspiraton

The color of the Pharaoh's hand is purple
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Reply #12 posted 05/17/16 7:23pm

ChanGirl

My mom is 85 and was born and raised in Chan, and she was upset when she heard about him. They loved him.

Everything you think is true
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Reply #13 posted 05/17/16 7:39pm

simm0061

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PeteSilas said:

nursev said:

Yeah I noticed that his suburb was mostly caucasian but its cool lol Craigslist folks are a mess....I think they truly loved him though. They never bothered him at least.

ya, they are a mess, i was just trying to get a feel for how the average Minnepolitan feels, it's typical for hometown heroes not to be appreciated, that's why I looked. And, as mentioned, Prince was pretty unique for the area so I'd assume that plenty of people were either indifferent to him or just thought he was wierd. I once read that Minneapolis was like 5 percent black or something, might have even been less.

MPLS as a whole is around 15% black (my neighborhood in So Mpls is around 30%), Chanhassen is probably around 5% as it's a wealthier far out suburb.

Everyone here that I know repected his talent and took pride in his staying in MN, even if they weren't a fan. He was one of us and we let him do his own thing...but often to the point of taking for granted how lucky we were to have him...until we lost him. sad The whole state mourned when he died. Even the local senate held a moment of silence on the morning that the news broke.

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Reply #14 posted 05/17/16 7:59pm

nursev

ChanGirl said:

My mom is 85 and was born and raised in Chan, and she was upset when she heard about him. They loved him.

So sweet....glad he was loved there.

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Reply #15 posted 05/17/16 8:01pm

nursev

simm0061 said:

PeteSilas said:

ya, they are a mess, i was just trying to get a feel for how the average Minnepolitan feels, it's typical for hometown heroes not to be appreciated, that's why I looked. And, as mentioned, Prince was pretty unique for the area so I'd assume that plenty of people were either indifferent to him or just thought he was wierd. I once read that Minneapolis was like 5 percent black or something, might have even been less.

MPLS as a whole is around 15% black (my neighborhood in So Mpls is around 30%), Chanhassen is probably around 5% as it's a wealthier far out suburb.

Everyone here that I know repected his talent and took pride in his staying in MN, even if they weren't a fan. He was one of us and we let him do his own thing...but often to the point of taking for granted how lucky we were to have him...until we lost him. sad The whole state mourned when he died. Even the local senate held a moment of silence on the morning that the news broke.

Aww so wonderful wink Thank u for giving some insight on the area.

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Reply #16 posted 05/17/16 8:25pm

bigtimefan

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Minnesota and Mpls. is a great area. I lived there my whole life until 5 years ago. Most people have great values and are honest and hard working.

Mpls., St. Paul and Uptown has a great "creative, art" vibe and is pretty culturally diverse.

He was definatly loved and respected.

I know many people in the club/bar business and whey always said when he would come in (sometimes unannounced) he would sit in a more private area (the Dakota had it's own upper room for him) and the locals just knew to leave him alone.

My best friend lived about 2 miles from P.P. I was so used to driving by P.P. I would forget to even look to see if he was outside or on his bike. I guess I just thought he'd always be there and took it for granted....


Eventually every cloud runs out of rain.
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Reply #17 posted 05/17/16 8:26pm

RiotPaisley

MINNESOTA DOESN'T LOVE PRINCE CAUSE THEY ARE MOSTLY WHITE THERE!? spit

Wow. Sorry for the caps but .... ??? White people LOVE Prince.

Minnesota loves Prince. Everyone I know who comes from there has a Prince story and they are so mundane, they're totally believable.

One friend of mine said he was so comfortable there, he could take the public bus. She said he got on her route once with Diamond and Pearl and just asked someone if they knew who Diamond and Pearl were and the lady was like yeah and he was basically like, "cool" and got off a few stops later. She said he was just like a regular person there. Nobody bothered him, everyone just had mad RESPECT for him. He was LOYAL to MN his whole life.

People on Craigslist? Seriously? That's funny. Who still uses Craigslist for anything but soliciting?
[Edited 5/17/16 20:34pm]
Surprise, surprise.
Another treat. Another trick.
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Reply #18 posted 05/17/16 8:44pm

DysregulatedTo
xicity

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Minneapolis is definitely more than 5% black. Seriously...in general the "metro" area (Mpls-St. Paul) is super diverse. Minneapolis specially has people from all over the world. Minnesota loved Prince but they did leave him alone. Prince was respected and he also respected his neighbors.

There were tons of Prince related art and such all around Mpls. He was part of the community, but again, people didn't stalk him like they do in cities like Los Angeles or New York. Maybe the difference was that he was born in Minnesota and never left so we always knew he was here.

He will be greatly missed neutral

β€œThe right to be heard does not automatically include the right to be taken seriously.”
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Reply #19 posted 05/17/16 9:06pm

MNredandblue

The twin cities metro is a lot more diverse than what might be the perception.

And I don't know where the rants are coming from, because I have never gotten that vibe around here at all. He was ADORED here....it is hard to even describe how much people loved him and respected him. At least that is what I have seen/read/heard my entire life. Really, he is/was HUGE here. And that adoration was consistent from his early years until now -- not just at the peak of his fame. Losing him has hit the state very hard! I will never forget the thousands and thousands of people that gathered at first ave the night of the 21st. I was singing with and hugging and crying with random strangers.....there was so much love and so much sadness.

Even locals who weren't fans of his music and/or persona seemed to truly admire him and respect him. Fan or not, I think most (if not all) Minnesotans feel/felt proud of their hometown boy.

I wish I had a more exciting random encounter to report, but I did see Prince at the grocery store once. It was totally surreal. And the funny thing was, everyone left him alone even though ALL of us (other shoppers) knew he was there....we were all shooting "OH MY GOD, THAT IS PRINCE!!" looks at each other, but everyone kind of pretended we didn't see him and went about our business (while still stalking his every move with the side eye, haha). A significant number of people knew he was there, but nobody wanted to approach him or bother him or cause a scene.

I have relatives in Chanhassen; they live a few houses down from his "purple house" (from my understanding, his father eventually lived there, and then it was torn down.....although the front gate still stands). Anyway, I am told he was a great neighbor. He was often seen going for walks; the neighborhood respected his privacy. The kids (including my cousins) in the neighborhood loved setting up lemonade stands on the corner. If they got lucky and he happened to drive by, he would stop and give each kid a smile and a $20, which was big money for a young kid growing up in the 80s and 90s. wink
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Reply #20 posted 05/17/16 9:12pm

MNredandblue

These may have been shared weeks ago, but I still think they are beautiful.

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Reply #21 posted 05/17/16 9:13pm

MNredandblue

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Reply #22 posted 05/17/16 9:13pm

MNredandblue

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Reply #23 posted 05/17/16 10:34pm

PeteSilas

i just wikied the percentage and it said over 17 percent in 2006-2008. I'm trying to remember where i heard that statistic, I think it was in Poplife, the excellent bio on Prince and I'm sure that the percentage was different when P was a kid. Funny thing, i always thought Prince sounded a tad bit like the black kids I knew who grew up around white people. I'd see some adoptee of a white family who'd come to the hood every so often and he'd speak like a straight up white kid. prince, in the 80's sounded somewhat like that. What to make of his ever getting closer to typical black vernacular (and music) I'm not sure what that implied. But many people have said they cringed when Prince said 'motherfucker" in Purple Rain, part of the reason being because he sounds like a white kid trying to sound street.

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Reply #24 posted 05/17/16 10:37pm

PeteSilas

and just to be clear, i assumed that his own home may have been indifferent to him, not because of him but because that's the way things usually work. It works that way in families, in friendships and close relations, people just often don't appreciate what's right under their noses. Elvis did one of his best songs with a bitter rendition of "Stranger In My Own Hometown", yes, even Elvis wasn't really accepted in Memphis before his death, that's the story anyway.

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Reply #25 posted 05/17/16 10:58pm

morningsong

Spike Lee said that Minneapolis had the highest per capita mixed race couples in the nation. I have no idea if that's true, but if it is then it explains a temperment that generally isn't experienced in a lot of places in the US, a temperment that Prince grew up around in the 60s and 70s.
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Reply #26 posted 05/17/16 11:50pm

Eileen

Agree with those above that MN overall has an abundance of pride, respect, affection for Prince. HOWEVER in my opinion it's also fair to note that MN houses a decent share of folks who have been on the receiving end of his penchant for reneging on agreements and not paying his bills.

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Reply #27 posted 05/18/16 12:03am

XNY

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Speaking from my unique perspective - I was born in Mpls, raised on the East coast and moved back here in the early 90's (and so blessed to be able to see him many many times over the yrs)

Minnesotans have HAD a love/indifferent relationship with Prince over the past 25 years IMO. Depending on where you lived or what music you were into - generally determined how you felt about him. Most of my friends in Mpls - where I lived for 20 or so years - liked hearing about him, listening to his music, and especially going to his concerts. Granted, I tend to gravitate toward Prince fans - most of my siblings and my mom love his music too - but that was the general feeling I got.

In the outer suburbs of Mpls - Eden Prairie and Chanhassen especially - they seemed to tolerate his presence - clearly unaware or underwhelmed that one of the most amazing performers to EVER walk the Earth, lived and sometimes shopped amongst them.

(Rural Minnesotans -much like rural America - generally thought he was bizarre. They probably still do, their loss).

In any case, I've always been perplexed by greater-Minnesota's(outside of Mpls) general ambiguity toward him. Was he too controversial? Sometimes. Was he too flamboyant ? Probably. But...did he keep his roots here, his bands, recordings, homes, PP studio ? Damn straight he did.

Either way, he put Minneapolis AND Minnesota on the map all by himself. Not Bob Dylan, not Garrison Keillor, nor the Vikings or Twins. We will forever owe him a huge debt of gratitude for that.

All said, as a Prince fan, the outpouring of respect and love toward him in the last several weeks has astounded me in SOOO many ways. Thank you Minnesota for going out of your way to show him all the love and admiration he so dearly deserved yes That, too, will never be forgotten. - Xtian

"Great dancers are not great because of their technique, they are great because of their passion" -- Martha Graham
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Reply #28 posted 05/18/16 2:55am

WordOnTheStree
t

I've come across him here and there, usually in Minneapolis, but there was a time I remember that he came to St. Paul. It was in the early to mid nineties I think. But there was a lake by my house and people used to sit in the parking lots and chill and people would drive through the parking lots, it was kind of a hang out spot back then.
One random afternoon, I got a few phone calls that Prince had come and driven through. I was pretty excited that Prince was in my neighborhood! I was just a teenager back then so I didn't have a car to go check it out myself, but I knew there was only 1 way back to the freeway and that was a street 2 blocks from home. So I decided to take a walk and sure enough, he drove right by me. I don't remember too much about it, but I remember seeing him in the drivers seat and a woman in the passenger seat. Being that you never really heard about him being in St. Paul, it was so cool to me that Prince was 2 blocks from my house! And that he was just cruising around.
I also used to work about a block from the Xcel Center and I always went for walks on my lunch break. I ran into him a couple times there, just walking around.
The Minneapolis stories I have are pretty much seeing him in clubs and stuff. Sometimes he'd be up dancing and having fun, sometimes he'd just sit there and watch everyone else.
Then of course, there's the nights out at Paisley Park. Way too many to even count. Of course they weren't exactly random, but sometimes it felt like it was! There were some nights when there was no announcement, so you'd take your chances and head out there just to see what was happening. It was like showing up uninvited to someone's house but the gates always seemed to be open and you could walk up to the side door to wait. Sometimes he'd come outside and check things out. I used to think that some nights, he had nothing planned at PP, but he'd open it up just because there were people outside waiting. Those were some of the best nights because you never knew what was going to happen, but more often than not, he would open the door to you.
It really was a blessing to live here and be a Prince fan!
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Reply #29 posted 05/18/16 6:45am

simm0061

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morningsong said:

Spike Lee said that Minneapolis had the highest per capita mixed race couples in the nation. I have no idea if that's true, but if it is then it explains a temperment that generally isn't experienced in a lot of places in the US, a temperment that Prince grew up around in the 60s and 70s.

Yeah, it does. It's kind of the norm - or maybe that's just the circles I travel in. It's also the highest per capita in "same sex households" but that may have changed since the equal marriage act.

The 5% quote that keeps floating around is a stat for the whole state from like 1990.

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