André Cymone interview from KPFA Radio October 31, 1998 San Francisco/Oakland Bay Area

1. 94 East (1977)

Prince Troy Sylvester Pepe Willie I Feel 4 U Just Another Sucker Music Farm Studios NYC Alpha Studios CA Hollywood Sound Recorders LA Sound 80 MN

2. the Basement (1977)

3. For You (1978)

4. Prince (1979)

5. Dirty Mind (1980)

6. the Time (1981)

7. Vanity 6 (1981/82)

8. Dance Electric (1985)

1. 94 East

G: But tell me about these early days, in 1977, because I understand
there's a recording right now that's called "94 East Minneapolis
Genius." It features you and Pepe Willie and who is that exactly?


AC: You know, it's an interesting little story and I'll tell it to you
and your listeners 'cause it's funny. Back then they wanted us to
record for Little Anthony and the Imperials. They wanted Prince and
myself to do some tracks for them so they flew us out, I think a guy
named Troy Sylvester was the producer, flew us out to New York and put
us up in a really nice hotel. And we were out there and we came up
with some songs. We came up with a bunch of songs, actually, some
things that wound up coming out on a lot of stuff. I know there was
one that came out on Chaka Khan's that's (singing) "Chaka Khan, Chaka
Khan", I think it's called "I Feel For You". That was originally done
for that project. I think there was a song called "With You" that was
done in New York. It wasn't really for that project, it was done at
the same time "Do Me Baby" was done. There were a lot of songs that
were done at that time period but we got stranded in New York, 'cause
obviously the producer didn't pay the hotel bill so Prince and myself
kind of got booted out of the hotel. So we were wandering around New
York cold, cause it was cold out. So we ran across a friend of mine,
one of my high school buddies and luckily I was able to get some cash
from him and we got a hotel and we were cool for the rest of the stay.


G: Tell me about this song "Just Another Sucker". You've on bass. I
mean those were early sessions for you right?


AC: Yeah, those were really early. We were, what was happening was
Pepe was trying to get a solo deal himself. He had himself and two
girls and they were doing a group thing and so they just had us sit in
and just do session stuff. We were just trying to make some money,
never knew that they were gonna wind up coming out on any kind of
bootleg thing, but my thing is, anyway a brother can make some money,
you know, he's got my blessing, 'cause I know how rough it can be
sometimes trying to make some money, so...


G: We're you surprised when this came out, I mean all of sudden it
came out of nowhere and you said "Wow, I didn't know this was ever
going to be released?"


AC: Yeah, I had no idea this was gonna be released. You know I was
playing at the time so anytime I strap my bass on or started playing,
I'm hoping people are gonna hear it. So I'm trying to play my best and
I'm not embarrassed about anything that I ever do. I mean if it comes
out 20 years from now, 50 years from now, I'm still going to be proud
of it, 'cause I know I was playing from the heart. That's what it's
all about.

Baby, baby, when I look at you
I get a warm feeling inside
There's something about the things you do
That keeps me satisfied
I wouldn't lie to you, baby
It's mainly a physical thing
This feeling that I got for you, baby
It makes me wanna sing
I feel for you - I think I love you
I feel for you - I think I love you

I Feel For You is the eighth track on Prince's second album Prince. Prince did not release it as a single at the time, but four years later it became a worldwide hit when performed by soul singer Chaka Khan

An early version of the song was recorded on 17 February 1979 at Music Farm Studios in New York, NY, USA, during a day of sessions led by Pepé Willie intended for Tony Silvester,

While specific recording dates for the album version are not known, the album sessions took place from late April to 13 June 1979 at Alpha Studios, Burbank, CA, USA. Overdubs and mixing took place at Hollywood Sound Recorders, Los Angeles

Prince - lead vocals, guitar, synthesizer and keyboards (assumed) André Cymone - bass guitar (assumed) Pepé Willie - synthesizer, percussion (assumed)

Just Another Sucker

U take me out dancing

U Fly me all around the World

U're words were so sweet in my ear

Eye guess eye'm just another happy girl

U want my love but

U're not there

No eye'm not planning 2 forget about get about get about

Just Another

Just Another Sucker

Just Another

Just Another Sucker

Just Another

Just Another Sucker

U tell me that U

Just Another Sucker is the first track on 94 East's first collection of studio recordings Minneapolis Genius, and, around the time of the album's release, Just Another Sucker was released as the album's first single.

The track is the only one on the collection to feature writing input by Prince (co-written by Pepé Willie), and features Prince on guitar, synthesizer, keyboards and drums. The track has featured on every collection of 94 East's early recordings.

A preliminary version of the song was recorded in Summer 1978 at Sound 80, Minneapolis, MN, USA (during the same set of sessions as Dance To The Music Of The World and Lovin' Cup). As with the other tracks included on Minneapolis Genius, additional recording was done by Pepé Willie, for which details are not known.

Kristie Lazenberry - vocals Marcy Ingvoldstad - vocals Prince - guitar, synthesizer, keyboards and drums André Cymone - bass guitar Alvin Moody - guitar

-PrinceVault

2. the Basement (1977)

G: Moms, yeah! They say at those moments in time that you and Prince
were like kind of learning the instruments down in the basement.


AC: Yeah, pretty much, 'cause see I kind of learned a little bit
beforeÉwe both knew how to play a lot of things before we actually met
each other for the second time, 'cause we had met each other when we
were really young but we met again when we moved up. We used to live
in the projects, moved up from the projects into kind of an upper
class Black neighborhood and I met him and some other friends of mine
up there. So we rehearsed in my mom's basement and we got a chance to
develop and learn through that whole situation.


G: Man, there's rumorsÉ you know those were the days that you were
getting women in the basement. I mean do you wanna even talk about
that or does it speak for itself?


AC: You know (laughs) when you're young you do what you gotta do.
'Cause it's about having some fun, it's a growing thing.


G: You guys were youngsters.


AC: Oh yeah, we were having fun. But the thing is, I wouldn't really
want to promote any kind of negative things in terms of sexuality to
kids 'cause there's a price to pay for that wild freedom that you
have. And the thing about my situation is that my mother was going
through an interesting period in her time herself, so she gave us a
lot of freedom. Not only was Prince there at my house but Morris and a
lot of other people, some other friends came and you know how in the
neighborhood there's always one house that everybody kind of comes to
and hangs out at? That was my crib.


G: Kind of like the clubhouse.


AC: Yeah, everybody came to my crib 'cause we could rehearse there and
my mom was totally cool. She wasn't trying to sweat us about making
the noise, she wasn't sweating us about having girlfriends, you
know,even when we were 14, 15 years old. So she was cool, so we had
fun.

Possessed: the Rise & Fall of Prince

Chapter 1 HOME

p 10-11

Prince's friend and surrogate brother, Andre Anderson, was also musically inclined, and the 2 began to jam together regularly in his mother's basement.

Upstairs, Prince shared a bedroom with Anderson. Despite being good friends, they were poor roommates; Anderson's side of the room was cluttered and disorganized, while Prince's was as meticulously ordered as a Marine barrack. Although he no longer lived with his father, Nelson's disciplined approach to life remained a significant influence on Prince, who sought greater order and privacy by moving into the basement...

Downstairs, he had much easier access to his instruments; already, Prince had started blending the distinction between home and musical workplace. Moreover, the basement became something of a private universe - a small slice of the world where he was in total control. A dark space with little natural light, it was nonetheless where he felt most comfortable, and it provided a prototype for the cloistered recording studios where he would spend the majority of his waking hours over the next thirty-plus years.

...

The Anderson basement - Prince's bedroom and rehearsal space - also represented his first attempt to create an alternative community based around music and, perhaps, sex. Years later in interviews, Prince would recall it as a hedonistic wonderland where he and Anderson engaged in carnal acts with a variety of girlfriends.

...

"My impression is that there were a lot of girls in that basement," said Howard Bloom, Prince's press agent during the 1980s. "He had grown up in the 1960's and the message was make love, not war. In the basement, he was going for liberation and entitlement to any sort of sexuality, pleasure, and enjoyment."