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Thread started 05/27/16 4:34am

CherryMoon57

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Prince's live jargon


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 cool

Life Matters
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Reply #1 posted 05/27/16 4:40am

Robbajobba

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"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

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Reply #2 posted 05/27/16 4:57am

Rebeljuice

Confusion!

Vegas!

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Reply #3 posted 05/27/16 5:09am

rlittler81

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"LEAD LINE!" -main melody

3121... Don't U Wanna Come?
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Reply #4 posted 05/27/16 5:15am

mtlfan

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.

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Reply #5 posted 05/27/16 5:18am

suomynona

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Kickdrum!

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Reply #6 posted 05/27/16 5:26am

GeurtWalraven

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

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Reply #7 posted 05/27/16 5:36am

CherryMoon57

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Thanks for your answers! smile

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

Life Matters
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Reply #8 posted 05/27/16 5:40am

NorthC

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. cool
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Reply #9 posted 05/27/16 5:44am

NorthC

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.


And when he was with the NPG, an "on the one" was always followed by a "Micheal B!" which was the cue for the band to start playing again.
And James never used "on the one" like Prince did.
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Reply #10 posted 05/27/16 5:50am

CherryMoon57

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GeurtWalraven said:

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

Does anyone know what he meant by that?

Life Matters
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Reply #11 posted 05/27/16 5:56am

lostangel078

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"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.

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Reply #12 posted 05/27/16 6:03am

GeurtWalraven

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.

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Reply #13 posted 05/27/16 6:26am

KoolEaze

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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?

" I´d rather be a stank ass hoe because I´m not stupid. Oh my goodness! I got more drugs! I´m always funny dude...I´m hilarious! Are we gonna smoke?"
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Reply #14 posted 05/27/16 6:27am

KoolEaze

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

wink

" I´d rather be a stank ass hoe because I´m not stupid. Oh my goodness! I got more drugs! I´m always funny dude...I´m hilarious! Are we gonna smoke?"
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Reply #15 posted 05/27/16 6:32am

bigbrother

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

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Reply #16 posted 05/27/16 6:33am

gollygirl

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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. cool

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

Thank you Prince for every note you left behind 💜
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Reply #17 posted 05/27/16 6:38am

suomynona

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

lol

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Reply #18 posted 05/27/16 7:19am

TrivialPursuit

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"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".

"eye don’t really care so much what people say about me because it is a reflection of who they r."
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Reply #19 posted 05/27/16 7:23am

leadline

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leadline is my fav for obvious reasons

"You always get the dream that you deserve, from what you value the most" -Prince 2013
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Reply #20 posted 05/27/16 7:27am

Rebeljuice

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. cool

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

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

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Reply #21 posted 05/27/16 7:39am

leadline

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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.

"You always get the dream that you deserve, from what you value the most" -Prince 2013
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Reply #22 posted 05/27/16 7:53am

TrivialPursuit

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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.

"eye don’t really care so much what people say about me because it is a reflection of who they r."
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Reply #23 posted 05/27/16 8:02am

leadline

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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.

"You always get the dream that you deserve, from what you value the most" -Prince 2013
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Reply #24 posted 05/27/16 8:11am

NorthC

Rebeljuice said:



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. cool

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



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


Yeah, that wasn't always the case. On the first night of the North Sea Jazz Festival, every time Prince yelled, "Turn the lights up!", it went dark. confused
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Reply #25 posted 05/27/16 8:15am

NorthC

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.


Yeah, that concert was one big soundcheck. Even on the third night, Prince was still talking about it. "His name is John, I won't tell you his last name in case you wanna look him up." Something tells me John was jobhunting again not long after that...
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Reply #26 posted 05/27/16 8:29am

kapo74

Gimme 1, uhh!
Gimme 25!

Awesome...
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Reply #27 posted 05/27/16 8:46am

purplepolitici
an

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My favorite! Good god! N 2 more ppl uh uh! nuts lick
For all time I am with you, you are with me.
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Reply #28 posted 05/27/16 11:36am

mtlfan

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.

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Reply #29 posted 05/27/16 11:39am

mtlfan

kapo74 said:

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

Yes, yes it was.

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