novabrkr said:

Synth parts are trickier to learn than guitar and bass parts due to the spefic patches needed for them. You're also often going to need a specific synth to perform them on. Fink was already familiar with the parts and the gear.

In the 80s synths changed a lot. They could do completely different things from each other, but typically, they didn't cover that much common sonic ground. You had to have a pile of synths on stage to be able to do different songs from different eras.

People are still scratching their heads on synth forums on how to replicate the sounds Prince used back in the day.

i never understood the fuss of the sounds that prince used, but i've never gone that deep into crafting sounds. I'm a player, i just use whatever sound, doesn't matter to me generally.

musicians are all limited, i can't improvise one bit and i've been playing for 30 years. I don't work on it though.

Dez Dickerson supposedly left the Revolution for religious reasons, but I have also heard that Prince wanted him to sign a 3 year contract, and Dez refused. So...did Prince have it planned all along to do away with the Revolution after 3 years? I dont think so, seeing as they had The Dream Factory in the works, but still...I always wondered if Prince planned the entire thing...

joyinrepetition said:

I remember reading back in the day Fink was upset that he wasn't in Grafitti Bridge-the movie. Prince had Fink programming the keyboards for the upcoming Nude Tour at the time of filming.

I bet he cheered up when he saw the movie.

UncleJam said:

Dez Dickerson supposedly left the Revolution for religious reasons, but I have also heard that Prince wanted him to sign a 3 year contract, and Dez refused. So...did Prince have it planned all along to do away with the Revolution after 3 years? I dont think so, seeing as they had The Dream Factory in the works, but still...I always wondered if Prince planned the entire thing...

yup that's what i read in poplife, it also said that his wife at the time was planting stuff in his ear, which spouses are known to do and it causes a lot of unnecessary problems in certain settings. I remember in the fight world, the gym would have women around because their money is green but they'd get involved with some of the fighters, next thing you know they are putting in their ears that they aren't getting treated right, it's unprofessional and unnecessary. then, the fighter is all alone without any of those people when it's all over, its' fucked.

i don't know

novabrkr said:

Synth parts are trickier to learn than guitar and bass parts due to the spefic patches needed for them. You're also often going to need a specific synth to perform them on. Fink was already familiar with the parts and the gear.

In the 80s synths changed a lot. They could do completely different things from each other, but typically, they didn't cover that much common sonic ground. You had to have a pile of synths on stage to be able to do different songs from different eras.

People are still scratching their heads on synth forums on how to replicate the sounds Prince used back in the day.

Synth forums?! Tell me more, please!

Moonbeam said:

novabrkr said:

Synth parts are trickier to learn than guitar and bass parts due to the spefic patches needed for them. You're also often going to need a specific synth to perform them on. Fink was already familiar with the parts and the gear.

In the 80s synths changed a lot. They could do completely different things from each other, but typically, they didn't cover that much common sonic ground. You had to have a pile of synths on stage to be able to do different songs from different eras.

People are still scratching their heads on synth forums on how to replicate the sounds Prince used back in the day.

Synth forums?! Tell me more, please!

For example:
http://forum.vintagesynth...mp;t=29806
http://www.futureproducer...er-290612/

I suppose the discussion on such topics has migrated largely to sites like Facebook and Reddit by this point though.

I assume Matt was kept in the band for so long because he was talented, and a long term friend.

I suspect he was only replaced when Prince wanted to change the look/image of his band.

TrivialPursuit said:

motherfunka said:

Probably the same reason why he kept Morris Hayes for so long.

Morris is such a stellar player, although he did leave the band for a while. Fink said Morris told him he left "because of the religion thing" aka Prince's Jehovah's Witness dogma and requiring all of his band to be converted as well (or damn near to it). If that's true, then Prince obviously relaxes his New World Translation thumpin' a bit to get Morris back into the band. I never dug Renato's vibe w/ Prince's music, and that pseudo jazzy shit he injected into stuff like "Baby I'm A Star" or whatever. Morris was a more desirable bandmate, for me.

But all of P's band mates were not JWs and Morris left in 2012 and Prince started up his rock project shortly after that. I think the JW thing is being blown out of propotion as ususal.

UncleJam said:

Dez Dickerson supposedly left the Revolution for religious reasons, but I have also heard that Prince wanted him to sign a 3 year contract, and Dez refused. So...did Prince have it planned all along to do away with the Revolution after 3 years? I dont think so, seeing as they had The Dream Factory in the works, but still...I always wondered if Prince planned the entire thing...

I probaly planned it and remember music was going in a more Hip-hop and RnB direction. Music videos had taken over and looks became very important.

SoulAlive said:

I recall hearing back then,that Prince angrily fired Jerome after he saw him in Janet Jackson's "Control" video.In those days,Prince didn't like his artists working outside the camp

OldFriends4Sale said:

Prince fired Jerome Benton as well.

Probably cause He was STILL PISSED @ Jam & Lewis, Brother or No Brother (Terry Lewis is Jerome's Half-Brother)!!!

UncleJam said:

Dez Dickerson supposedly left the Revolution for religious reasons, but I have also heard that Prince wanted him to sign a 3 year contract, and Dez refused. So...did Prince have it planned all along to do away with the Revolution after 3 years? I dont think so, seeing as they had The Dream Factory in the works, but still...I always wondered if Prince planned the entire thing...

I thought that 3 yr contract had to do with Prince and his WB contract

laurarichardson said:

UncleJam said:

Dez Dickerson supposedly left the Revolution for religious reasons, but I have also heard that Prince wanted him to sign a 3 year contract, and Dez refused. So...did Prince have it planned all along to do away with the Revolution after 3 years? I dont think so, seeing as they had The Dream Factory in the works, but still...I always wondered if Prince planned the entire thing...

I probaly planned it and remember music was going in a more Hip-hop and RnB direction. Music videos had taken over and looks became very important.

I doubt it was planned.

Hip Hop in 1982/83 wasn't on the radar yet when Dez was in the band.

Hip Hop made a HUGE leap in 86 with Run DMC. And their drive was Rock n Roll mixed with Rap.

james said:

I assume Matt was kept in the band for so long because he was talented, and a long term friend.

I suspect he was only replaced when Prince wanted to change the look/image of his band.

Dr Fink got married, that is what happened 4 the change

TheFman said:

PeteSilas said:

i'm a keyboardist so i loved renato, i was always surprised how people talked about him here, but that's just Prince's fans, see my sig...

It was unlistenable; i literally stopped listening to any live music where Neto would butcher the next Prince song. Like what he did with Pop Life, omg.

Neto + Prince music didn't do well my taste buds

laytonian said:

Fink wasn't competition; wendy and Lisa became competitive, up-front, recognizable stars. Also, P had broken up with Susanna which made things awkward. I think P wanted to go back to his one-man band persona. .

But he didn't.

He kept pushing the band image, especially when adding Prince & the NPG

not to mention pretending Madhouse was not him, but Eric Leeds etc

If he would have done UTCM right, ie leave the director in place, used the alternate ending and hand band scenes the movie would have been on a whole different level. And the Parade era would have been so much more successful. Prince was in a sour mood as a result of the reviews and failure and directed his blame on the band/music. Which in the short and long run, the music from that album traversed the times and is his #1 timeless album.

PeteSilas said:

joyinrepetition said:

I remember reading back in the day Fink was upset that he wasn't in Grafitti Bridge-the movie. Prince had Fink programming the keyboards for the upcoming Nude Tour at the time of filming. And as someone mentioned above, when Fink got married, Prince brought in Tommy Barbarella and told Fink his services weren't needed anymore. I also read that Fink was pretty upset about that too.

fuck, he should have been thankful. I read that around that time prince made some remark about how fink should be locked in closet or something because he was getting chunky and old looking.

Yeah he said the thing about being locked in a closet in front of Finks family.

Dr Fink looked pretty much in good shape. He looked pretty good.

Yet he has Michael Bland on drums who is + sized.
I read that he would mess with Boni Boyer about her size too.

Fink by the way looks so much like Prince's nephew Omar

I liked that he kept Dr. Fink on as long as he did. It's one thing to be extreme and acquire entirely-new bands here and there. Sometimes though, it's good to hang on to some cats not only because they're great but for the sake of some continuity.

TheFman said:

PeteSilas said:

i'm a keyboardist so i loved renato, i was always surprised how people talked about him here, but that's just Prince's fans, see my sig...

It was unlistenable; i literally stopped listening to any live music where Neto would butcher the next Prince song. Like what he did with Pop Life, omg.

So? What did he do with Pop Life, then? Do you actually think that Prince would have allowed anyone to "butcher" his music? One more time: Prince not just liked but loved Renato's playing. I, for one, do know why...

spookyelectric23 said:

I liked that he kept Dr. Fink on as long as he did. It's one thing to be extreme and acquire entirely-new bands here and there. Sometimes though, it's good to hang on to some cats not only because they're great but for the sake of some continuity.

funny thing about bands, they never really seem to last, outside of the rolling stones. They usually end up hating each others guts, even with the prizes and the benefits into the millions that working together brings. I don't completely understand it because lots of people have to work with vile coworkers who bring nothing but misery to their lives and they make do.

TrivialPursuit said:

Boni for 2 years, she was hired more because of her voice. Her keyboard playing was rudimentary only in comparison to someone like Fink or Lisa. Not to say she couldn't play, but she was in the band for her voice, not being a virtuoso on 88-keys.

Boni had an amazing voice, but how do you know she wasn't a virtuoso on keys? She played keys for Sheila before she joined P.

GaryMF said:

TrivialPursuit said:

Boni for 2 years, she was hired more because of her voice. Her keyboard playing was rudimentary only in comparison to someone like Fink or Lisa. Not to say she couldn't play, but she was in the band for her voice, not being a virtuoso on 88-keys.

Boni had an amazing voice, but how do you know she wasn't a virtuoso on keys? She played keys for Sheila before she joined P.

i thought i saw her do some ok churchy type of stuff. Talented lady, i guess she was offered some kind of contract and left prince, hence his question to rosie "you're not going to leave me like boni are you?" then boni died of a brain hemmorhage, i've read online that she used to give prince hell right back and say things like "his momma needs to beat his ass" and that she was very funny. Prince once said it was easier to work with women but I'm sure he knew that they would talk shit back to you a lot quicker than the men. Wendy and Lisa used to give it to him good from what we hear.

i also wonder if her singing had anything to do with her brain hemmorhage, or if that's even possible, i know she used to sing her heart out.

PeteSilas said:

I have wondered that, it's possibly because he was so good that Prince felt he needed him. I've read that once fink started losing his looks that Prince finally started thinking of replacing him.

Hold up: when did Fink lose his looks? I thought he's looked great in every decade, although I absolutely hated his hair in the "Raspberry Beret" video. Regardless, I would hate to think that Prince was that petty. I remember reading or hearing that Matt wanted to do production work on someone else's album at the same time Prince needed him for a gig. Prince got a replacement (Tommy?) and never called Matt back in to play, which probably wasn't exactly the way Matt wanted it to go down but it would seem once he got married and the boys were born, he didn't really want to be on the road as much anyway.

GeminiDME said:

PeteSilas said:

I have wondered that, it's possibly because he was so good that Prince felt he needed him. I've read that once fink started losing his looks that Prince finally started thinking of replacing him.

Hold up: when did Fink lose his looks? I thought he's looked great in every decade, although I absolutely hated his hair in the "Raspberry Beret" video. Regardless, I would hate to think that Prince was that petty. I remember reading or hearing that Matt wanted to do production work on someone else's album at the same time Prince needed him for a gig. Prince got a replacement (Tommy?) and never called Matt back in to play, which probably wasn't exactly the way Matt wanted it to go down but it would seem once he got married and the boys were born, he didn't really want to be on the road as much anyway.

not my words, i think that was what was said in alex hahn's book possessed. I imagine he was just supposing why prince was saying what he said.

PeteSilas said:

not my words, i think that was what was said in alex hahn's book possessed. I imagine he was just supposing why prince was saying what he said.

No worries, Pete - just goes back to me hoping Prince wasn't that petty and that he wouldn't have really said that. Then again, wouldn't be the first time Prince has said something that made me do the head tilt thing.

67Cadillac said:

PeteSilas said:

It has nothing to do with being petty. It is pop music looks are important and the musical landscape was all about that going into the 90s. Fink was getting chubby and just looked old.

I do not think he had the look Prince was going for to compete with the New Jack Swing/Hip hop stuff that was going on in music.

It is not unreasonable to be asked to stay in shape when you are in a band.