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Thread started 05/30/16 1:56pm

KoolEaze

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Prince´s drum programmer from the Gold Experience era on working for Prince

I´ve just finished reading this nice little article. Brings back some great memories of the Gold Experience/Ultimate Live Experience tour in 1995 and the aftershows at the Paradiso in Amsterdam.

The author, a drum programmer named Fafu, worked for Prince in the mid 90s and got to work at Paisley through Michael Bland.

Since I am not a musician I have actually no idea what exactly Fafu´s job was so I´d appreciate if some of the musicians here on the org could explain that to me because I don´t understand what he would program and why Michael Bland didn´t just do that part.

-

I like the part about Prince owning a tennis court, never practicing tennis, and then beating anybody who´d challenge him. lol How did he do that without any training?

.

Anyway, I think this is a very enjoyable read, and the end is very touching.

Enjoy!

http://uk.complex.com/mus...er-mid-90s

"He’s so confident on stage, but it’s basically the opposite when you talk to him. He mumbles, he’d stutter a little bit, he’d look down. But when it came to doing the work, he always knew what he wanted. He was so confident in his abilities—even beyond music. He had a tennis court on his property but he never played tennis. Then somebody would say, “Oh, I want to play you.” So Prince would send for his tennis gloves, was completely insane on the court and would beat whoever he was playing. I never saw Prince make a mistake—in anything."

" 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 #1 posted 05/30/16 2:01pm

keenly

KoolEaze said:

I´ve just finished reading this nice little article. Brings back some great memories of the Gold Experience/Ultimate Live Experience tour in 1995 and the aftershows at the Paradiso in Amsterdam.

The author, a drum programmer named Fafu, worked for Prince in the mid 90s and got to work at Paisley through Michael Bland.

Since I am not a musician I have actually no idea what exactly Fafu´s job was so I´d appreciate if some of the musicians here on the org could explain that to me because I don´t understand what he would program and why Michael Bland didn´t just do that part.

-

I like the part about Prince owning a tennis court, never practicing tennis, and then beating anybody who´d challenge him. lol How did he do that without any training?

.

Anyway, I think this is a very enjoyable read, and the end is very touching.

Enjoy!

http://uk.complex.com/mus...er-mid-90s

"He’s so confident on stage, but it’s basically the opposite when you talk to him. He mumbles, he’d stutter a little bit, he’d look down. But when it came to doing the work, he always knew what he wanted. He was so confident in his abilities—even beyond music. He had a tennis court on his property but he never played tennis. Then somebody would say, “Oh, I want to play you.” So Prince would send for his tennis gloves, was completely insane on the court and would beat whoever he was playing. I never saw Prince make a mistake—in anything."

Prince was a vile tyrant in the 90's. Most people who worked with him hate it. He was a bully and paid poorly. Real shame.

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Reply #2 posted 05/30/16 2:08pm

KoolEaze

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keenly said:

KoolEaze said:

I´ve just finished reading this nice little article. Brings back some great memories of the Gold Experience/Ultimate Live Experience tour in 1995 and the aftershows at the Paradiso in Amsterdam.

The author, a drum programmer named Fafu, worked for Prince in the mid 90s and got to work at Paisley through Michael Bland.

Since I am not a musician I have actually no idea what exactly Fafu´s job was so I´d appreciate if some of the musicians here on the org could explain that to me because I don´t understand what he would program and why Michael Bland didn´t just do that part.

-

I like the part about Prince owning a tennis court, never practicing tennis, and then beating anybody who´d challenge him. lol How did he do that without any training?

.

Anyway, I think this is a very enjoyable read, and the end is very touching.

Enjoy!

http://uk.complex.com/mus...er-mid-90s

"He’s so confident on stage, but it’s basically the opposite when you talk to him. He mumbles, he’d stutter a little bit, he’d look down. But when it came to doing the work, he always knew what he wanted. He was so confident in his abilities—even beyond music. He had a tennis court on his property but he never played tennis. Then somebody would say, “Oh, I want to play you.” So Prince would send for his tennis gloves, was completely insane on the court and would beat whoever he was playing. I never saw Prince make a mistake—in anything."

Prince was a vile tyrant in the 90's. Most people who worked with him hate it. He was a bully and paid poorly. Real shame.

I think that´s pretty obvious in this interview. The guy hints at it and it reads like he´s holding back and doesn´t want to say anything disrespectful.

But...how would you know? Do you know people who were around him in the mid 90s?

" 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 #3 posted 05/30/16 3:36pm

SPYZFAN1

"Hootie, you're fired!"...LOL!

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Reply #4 posted 05/30/16 3:49pm

laurarichardso
n

keenly said:



KoolEaze said:


I´ve just finished reading this nice little article. Brings back some great memories of the Gold Experience/Ultimate Live Experience tour in 1995 and the aftershows at the Paradiso in Amsterdam.


The author, a drum programmer named Fafu, worked for Prince in the mid 90s and got to work at Paisley through Michael Bland.


Since I am not a musician I have actually no idea what exactly Fafu´s job was so I´d appreciate if some of the musicians here on the org could explain that to me because I don´t understand what he would program and why Michael Bland didn´t just do that part.


-


I like the part about Prince owning a tennis court, never practicing tennis, and then beating anybody who´d challenge him. lol How did he do that without any training?


.


Anyway, I think this is a very enjoyable read, and the end is very touching.


Enjoy!


http://uk.complex.com/mus...er-mid-90s



"He’s so confident on stage, but it’s basically the opposite when you talk to him. He mumbles, he’d stutter a little bit, he’d look down. But when it came to doing the work, he always knew what he wanted. He was so confident in his abilities—even beyond music. He had a tennis court on his property but he never played tennis. Then somebody would say, “Oh, I want to play you.” So Prince would send for his tennis gloves, was completely insane on the court and would beat whoever he was playing. I never saw Prince make a mistake—in anything."



Prince was a vile tyrant in the 90's. Most people who worked with him hate it. He was a bully and paid poorly. Real shame.


-- He was getting his ass whipped on the charts by shitty ass Hip-Hop and fighting with Warner Brothers which would explain the low pay. He was going thru bad times and I am pretty sure he did not hold gun to anyone's head and making them stay around.
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Reply #5 posted 05/30/16 3:54pm

babynoz

KoolEaze said:

keenly said:

Prince was a vile tyrant in the 90's. Most people who worked with him hate it. He was a bully and paid poorly. Real shame.

I think that´s pretty obvious in this interview. The guy hints at it and it reads like he´s holding back and doesn´t want to say anything disrespectful.

But...how would you know? Do you know people who were around him in the mid 90s?



Pay no mind. He's been trolling since Prince passed, banned twice and working on number 3.


Thanks for the article. cool

Prince, in you I found a kindred spirit...Rest In Paradise.
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Reply #6 posted 05/30/16 3:57pm

Noodled24

Very cool article.

There are countless examples of him being hard on techs. The bit about Prince not liking the mix being tweaked while the band was playing was interesting.

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Reply #7 posted 05/30/16 4:03pm

SPYZFAN1

I remember Micheal Bland saying that P was pissed off that his guitar solo in "Bambi" (Rock In Rio) was buried so low in the mix. He said after that incident, P would keep his own mixing board (behind a curtain) onstage. That way he wouldn't have to worry about a sound guy.

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Reply #8 posted 05/31/16 1:56am

KoolEaze

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SPYZFAN1 said:

I remember Micheal Bland saying that P was pissed off that his guitar solo in "Bambi" (Rock In Rio) was buried so low in the mix. He said after that incident, P would keep his own mixing board (behind a curtain) onstage. That way he wouldn't have to worry about a sound guy.

That´s what Prince also did during the Gold Experience tour (Ultimate Live Experience tour) in Europe in 1995. He would go back and forth into the Endorphinmachine on a conveyor belt while playing guitar, mixing his own sound inside the Endorphinmachine.

It didn´t always work out well, but the balls it takes to do that, the idea itself and how it looked , as a part of his live show, was supercool.

I can still see him going in and out of the Endorphinmachine during those shows while playing his gold symbol guitar.

Good times, great shows, best live performer ever.

He´ll be missed forever.

" 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 #9 posted 05/31/16 3:05am

NorthC

Yeah, I was there too, one one of the shows in Den Bosch, he even stayed inside that "thing" while playing Get Wild shouting things like, I ain't comin' out until the whole damn house is partying!
And he used a LOT of samples in his live show back then. Which explains the use of a drum programmer.
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Reply #10 posted 05/31/16 5:26am

keenly

babynoz said:

KoolEaze said:

I think that´s pretty obvious in this interview. The guy hints at it and it reads like he´s holding back and doesn´t want to say anything disrespectful.

But...how would you know? Do you know people who were around him in the mid 90s?



Pay no mind. He's been trolling since Prince passed, banned twice and working on number 3.


Thanks for the article. cool

Not trolling. The truth is the truth.

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Reply #11 posted 05/31/16 5:48am

jasopig

keenly said:

babynoz said:



Pay no mind. He's been trolling since Prince passed, banned twice and working on number 3.


Thanks for the article. cool

Not trolling. The truth is the truth.

If you had a single source, it would be the elephant in the room. This room has no elephants.

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Reply #12 posted 05/31/16 8:17am

keenly

jasopig said:

keenly said:

Not trolling. The truth is the truth.

If you had a single source, it would be the elephant in the room. This room has no elephants.

The NPG hated Prince. He abused them horribly.

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Reply #13 posted 05/31/16 10:01am

McD

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laurarichardson said:

He was getting his ass whipped on the charts by shitty ass Hip-Hop and fighting with Warner Brothers which would explain the low pay. He was going thru bad times and I am pretty sure he did not hold gun to anyone's head and making them stay around.


Real bad choice of words there.

Read that Rolling Stone article about Prince's treatment of the NPG in the early 90's again.
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Reply #14 posted 05/31/16 10:30am

laurarichardso
n

McD said:

laurarichardson said:

He was getting his ass whipped on the charts by shitty ass Hip-Hop and fighting with Warner Brothers which would explain the low pay. He was going thru bad times and I am pretty sure he did not hold gun to anyone's head and making them stay around.


Real bad choice of words there.

Read that Rolling Stone article about Prince's treatment of the NPG in the early 90's again.

--- I read it and what I typed still stands he was going thru crap with label and wasn't the most pleasant person to be around but know one was forcing anyone to stay around in fact they stayed around and waited to get fired which is ridiculous.
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Reply #15 posted 05/31/16 1:05pm

BanishedBrian

keenly said:

jasopig said:

If you had a single source, it would be the elephant in the room. This room has no elephants.

The NPG hated Prince. He abused them horribly.

Most of the NPG members only worked with Prince for a short time before he died in 1993 - was that really long enough for form a strong opinion?

No Candy 4 Me
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Reply #16 posted 05/31/16 1:15pm

jjam

If the NPG hated him so much, how come many of them worked for him for a long time?

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Reply #17 posted 05/31/16 3:24pm

NorthC

Because they didn't. Keenly is just an ass.
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Reply #18 posted 05/31/16 6:51pm

drumm23

That's a really touching and heartfelt article.

..

Thanks for posting.

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Reply #19 posted 06/01/16 2:57am

keenly

NorthC said:

Because they didn't. Keenly is just an ass.

Tommy B says different.

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Reply #20 posted 06/01/16 3:30am

jjam

If you are Tommy B, say so. If you're not, do you think he'd think it's cool that you're shooting your mouth off about something he's said, presumably in private?

I think you're Michael Jackson's ghost and you're still pissed off with Prince.

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Reply #21 posted 06/01/16 6:31am

DarkKnight1

avatar

keenly said:

KoolEaze said:

I´ve just finished reading this nice little article. Brings back some great memories of the Gold Experience/Ultimate Live Experience tour in 1995 and the aftershows at the Paradiso in Amsterdam.

The author, a drum programmer named Fafu, worked for Prince in the mid 90s and got to work at Paisley through Michael Bland.

Since I am not a musician I have actually no idea what exactly Fafu´s job was so I´d appreciate if some of the musicians here on the org could explain that to me because I don´t understand what he would program and why Michael Bland didn´t just do that part.

-

I like the part about Prince owning a tennis court, never practicing tennis, and then beating anybody who´d challenge him. lol How did he do that without any training?

.

Anyway, I think this is a very enjoyable read, and the end is very touching.

Enjoy!

http://uk.complex.com/mus...er-mid-90s

"He’s so confident on stage, but it’s basically the opposite when you talk to him. He mumbles, he’d stutter a little bit, he’d look down. But when it came to doing the work, he always knew what he wanted. He was so confident in his abilities—even beyond music. He had a tennis court on his property but he never played tennis. Then somebody would say, “Oh, I want to play you.” So Prince would send for his tennis gloves, was completely insane on the court and would beat whoever he was playing. I never saw Prince make a mistake—in anything."

Prince was a vile tyrant in the 90's. Most people who worked with him hate it. He was a bully and paid poorly. Real shame.

You must have something better to do than douche out all over a Prince board. Wait, probably not. Douche away!

(Insert something clever here)
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Reply #22 posted 06/01/16 7:32am

smoothcriminal
12

McD said:

laurarichardson said:
He was getting his ass whipped on the charts by shitty ass Hip-Hop and fighting with Warner Brothers which would explain the low pay. He was going thru bad times and I am pretty sure he did not hold gun to anyone's head and making them stay around.
Real bad choice of words there. Read that Rolling Stone article about Prince's treatment of the NPG in the early 90's again.

Do you happen to have a link to that article?

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Reply #23 posted 06/01/16 7:53am

RaspBerryGirlF
riend

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smoothcriminal12 said:

McD said:

laurarichardson said: Real bad choice of words there. Read that Rolling Stone article about Prince's treatment of the NPG in the early 90's again.

Do you happen to have a link to that article?

Here it is: http://www.rollingstone.c...y-20160505

Heavenly wine and roses seems to whisper to me when you smile...
Always cry for love, never cry for pain...
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Reply #24 posted 06/01/16 9:43am

keenly

DarkKnight1 said:

keenly said:

Prince was a vile tyrant in the 90's. Most people who worked with him hate it. He was a bully and paid poorly. Real shame.

You must have something better to do than douche out all over a Prince board. Wait, probably not. Douche away!

You condone abuse. You are the one with the problem.

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Reply #25 posted 06/01/16 10:58am

laurarichardso
n

keenly said:



DarkKnight1 said:




keenly said:



Prince was a vile tyrant in the 90's. Most people who worked with him hate it. He was a bully and paid poorly. Real shame.



You must have something better to do than douche out all over a Prince board. Wait, probably not. Douche away!



You condone abuse. You are the one with the problem.


---/ These are grown ass men no one beating them or smacking them or forcing them to hang around. Dude had his ups and downs just like anyone else. I am glad that he had a few people who have let the world know about a lot of the good things he did.
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Reply #26 posted 06/01/16 11:23am

rightbluecheek

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KoolEaze said:

I´ve just finished reading this nice little article. Brings back some great memories of the Gold Experience/Ultimate Live Experience tour in 1995 and the aftershows at the Paradiso in Amsterdam.


The author, a drum programmer named Fafu, worked for Prince in the mid 90s and got to work at Paisley through Michael Bland.


Since I am not a musician I have actually no idea what exactly Fafu´s job was so I´d appreciate if some of the musicians here on the org could explain that to me because I don´t understand what he would program and why Michael Bland didn´t just do that part.


-




I like the part about Prince owning a tennis court, never practicing tennis, and then beating anybody who´d challenge him. lol How did he do that without any training?


.


Anyway, I think this is a very enjoyable read, and the end is very touching.


Enjoy!


http://uk.complex.com/mus...er-mid-90s



"He’s so confident on stage, but it’s basically the opposite when you talk to him. He mumbles, he’d stutter a little bit, he’d look down. But when it came to doing the work, he always knew what he wanted. He was so confident in his abilities—even beyond music. He had a tennis court on his property but he never played tennis. Then somebody would say, “Oh, I want to play you.” So Prince would send for his tennis gloves, was completely insane on the court and would beat whoever he was playing. I never saw Prince make a mistake—in anything."



It doesn't seem anyone answered to this, so I'll try: one drummer, even the best one, just has two legs and two arms, so if you have complicated drum patterns you can't relay on one drummer only. Someone chooses to have two drummers for this reason, but if you want to mix sampled sounds (kick drums and others) you need to rely on a drummer that plays in time with programmed samples. I am not sure I succeeded in my explanation, but I surely tried smile
I love you dear Prince but in the nineties I just couldn't stand you smile
[Edited 6/1/16 11:26am]
"No one plays the clarinet the way U play my heart"
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