I don't know why anyone would believe the spiel on these tours anyway, as well as getting to touch a guitar that Prince played...total BS.

jjam said:

I don't know why anyone would believe the spiel on these tours anyway, as well as getting to touch a guitar that Prince played...total BS.

The guitar we (2017 Cele VIPs) got to check out sure looked to me like the one used at the Superbowl halftime... But I've been wrong before.

I'm confident the piano I was photographed with (sitting at!) in Oct. 2016, was the real stage-used one.

PeteSilas said:

anangellooksdown said:

Yes I’ve heard some stories too. I was thinking of the radio interview with Damaris where he said encouragingly, “No...you don’t drink coffee.” Coffee is a drug and I think he saw it as something that gets in the way. But maybe he drank it sometimes. He also said once, “It’s easy to drink a lot of coffee and then say you feel good.” VERY wise man. Coffee alters moods and blocks us from being clear. PeteSilas said:

he would still be alive if coffee was his only drug. I've never heard of anyone od'ng from it and i know it's not good for us but I won't be stopping anytime soon.

I remember a story about a teen who drank a bunch of energy drinks and died from basically a caffine overdose. Now that's not likely to happen with just drinking coffee, but you technically can OD from caffine.

manabean84 said:

PeteSilas said:

he would still be alive if coffee was his only drug. I've never heard of anyone od'ng from it and i know it's not good for us but I won't be stopping anytime soon.

I remember a story about a teen who drank a bunch of energy drinks and died from basically a caffine overdose. Now that's not likely to happen with just drinking coffee, but you technically can OD from caffine.

is that right? never heard of that, i guess it's possible, i've never heard of it. It's not good for your overall health though, strains your kidneys, taxes adrenal glands.

CandaceS said:

jjam said:

I don't know why anyone would believe the spiel on these tours anyway, as well as getting to touch a guitar that Prince played...total BS.

The guitar we (2017 Cele VIPs) got to check out sure looked to me like the one used at the Superbowl halftime... But I've been wrong before.

I'm confident the piano I was photographed with (sitting at!) in Oct. 2016, was the real stage-used one.

I'm sure it looks just like it - it just won't be the actual one.

jjam said:

CandaceS said:

The guitar we (2017 Cele VIPs) got to check out sure looked to me like the one used at the Superbowl halftime... But I've been wrong before.

I'm confident the piano I was photographed with (sitting at!) in Oct. 2016, was the real stage-used one.

I'm sure it looks just like it - it just won't be the actual one.

If you're referring to the piano... Were there multiple purple Yamaha piano bodies with electronic keyboards, that had the same lettering painted on the top above the keyboard, just like the one seen/photographed at concerts for years? Maybe but it seems unlikely to me.

As for the "Superbowl guitar" (the pale blue one), interestingly I don't recall seeing one like it in any of the police pics.

BTW, in the 4/21 instrument room pics, there were four Fender/Hohner Telecaster-type guitars of similar (but not identical) design. But, it seems well-known there were multiple Tele's with subtle differences.

anangellooksdown said:

Yes I’ve heard some stories too. I was thinking of the radio interview with Damaris where he said encouragingly, “No...you don’t drink coffee.” Coffee is a drug and I think he saw it as something that gets in the way. But maybe he drank it sometimes. He also said once, “It’s easy to drink a lot of coffee and then say you feel good.” VERY wise man. Coffee alters moods and blocks us from being clear. PeteSilas said:

I've thought he wouldn't have drank coffee either but i've heard a few stories of him going to the local coffee shops. Susan Rogers I think said that he didn't drink coffee when she worked with him because he didn't like the jitters.

.

Coffee actually has a lot of health benefits and studies have shown that it helps productivity.

.

Prince was drinking those 5-Hour Energy drinks -- the Extra Strength ones -- and that stuff is very bad for your health -- worse than coffee. Prince wasn't always straight-foward about those things.

.

No wonder he had the jitters!

He drank coffee. One of the stories was that since he didn't have pockets, he never collected his change when he visited Caribou coffee, so whoever took his order got a sizeable tip.

bfunk said:

He drank coffee. One of the stories was that since he didn't have pockets, he never collected his change when he visited Caribou coffee, so whoever took his order got a sizeable tip.

.

Yes, he was a coffee drinker, indeed.

.

$20 for a cup of java -- keep the change! LOL

anangellooksdown said:

The highest amount per serving was 242 milligrams of caffeine in 5-Hour Energy Extra Strength.

.

Regular Coffee: One cup of brewed coffee (8 oz) contains about 70–140 mg of caffeine, or about 95 mg on average (1, 2).

manabean84 said:

PeteSilas said:

he would still be alive if coffee was his only drug. I've never heard of anyone od'ng from it and i know it's not good for us but I won't be stopping anytime soon.

I remember a story about a teen who drank a bunch of energy drinks and died from basically a caffine overdose. Now that's not likely to happen with just drinking coffee, but you technically can OD from caffine.

Is this the story? I remember this last year. So very sad.

https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/south-carolina-teen-died-caffeine-overdose-coroner-rules-n759716

PeteSilas said:

anangellooksdown said:

Yes I’ve heard some stories too. I was thinking of the radio interview with Damaris where he said encouragingly, “No...you don’t drink coffee.” Coffee is a drug and I think he saw it as something that gets in the way. But maybe he drank it sometimes. He also said once, “It’s easy to drink a lot of coffee and then say you feel good.” VERY wise man. Coffee alters moods and blocks us from being clear. PeteSilas said:

he would still be alive if coffee was his only drug. I've never heard of anyone od'ng from it and i know it's not good for us but I won't be stopping anytime soon.

According to Judith Hill, and also the waste left around PP, he was really in to those 5 hour energy drinks. They containe caffeine too and with the amount he was drinkint, he probably was consuming 6 cups of coffee (the equivalent) daily. Coffee is fine for us in reasonable doses. And I agree with your comment.

My dad was a coroner before his retirement.

He once had a case where a young boy died of a caffeine overdose after eating a packet of mints which had caffeine in them. Energy mints, I guess. But although each one didn't have huge amounts of caffeine, eating the entire pack I guess was equivalent to drinking several energy drinks.

Caffeine OD is no joke.

I just came back from a weekend VP Tour of PP with three friends. "Tomi" was our tour guide. He claimed to know Prince personally from coming to PP over the years for shows. He was a nice guy. The lower level "Prince office" was not presented as his actual office space(room) but rather the things taken from his office which was upstairs. He also said Prince liked Caribou coffee. He explained that some of the furniture was taken out/moved due to fire marshall's rules for turning PP into an exhibition space. So, I didn't have the expectations that I was seeing it just as Prince had left it. There are obvious display set ups throughout that he wouldn't have had and rooms were re-purposed for showing them.

The biggest thing I would change is how they display Prince's urn. Its suspended in the main room above the entry to the "diner" in a faded looking, half-assed put together, plexiglass half-circular shaped enclosure. The view you get is the underside of the Urn which is modeled after PP, as many here know. THEY REALLY NEED TO DO A BETTER JOB, HERE. The elevator entry room, which is sealed off, is still detectable from the cut line that outlines the entrance to it in the main room. (the other entry to this room along the stairs is sealed and covered with records and awards. I would suggest actually reopening the elevator hall but sealing THAT off on both sides and placing the Urn there. Effectively, placing Prince exactly where he fell.

The outside of PP is suffering from lack of maintenance. Concrete sidewalk caulking, pot-holed parking lot etc. I am not criticizing this- - just pointing it out that the place will need continuous upkeep and actual money NOW to just bring it up to a standard.

We got to chat with a guy who claimed to be a Prince body guard who was working there at the exit. It wasn't Kirk, but probably a secondary guard. It was a nice touch to see someone who knew Prince.

We got to play ping-pong on Prince's private table, using his paddles. A nice touch.

Overall, the VP was more than I expected and I was glad to have the opportunity to finally see PP after knowing about its existence and seeing glimpses of it over the decades, in music videos, Oprah's interview, etc.

I wouldn't be surprised if they eventually open the second floor up and maybe the vault area; it would bring people back for a re-visit. There may not be much to see in these areas but it would bring in money.

The VP Extended tour was $160 as of this past weekend when I was there and I highly recommend it.

psshhh...you wanna see paisley park exactly as prince left it? then get to the sidewalk, cuz he left that shit LOCKED.

i, for one, felt incredibly priveleged to have the (non-vip) access that i was granted...i even washed my car before going, so as to not disrespect his driveway.

peedub said:

psshhh...you wanna see paisley park exactly as prince left it? then get to the sidewalk, cuz he left that shit LOCKED.

i, for one, felt incredibly priveleged to have the (non-vip) access that i was granted...i even washed my car before going, so as to not disrespect his driveway.

Someone gets it.

CandaceS said:

thedoorkeeper said:

Prince wore underwear?

I confess, when I saw the pic I thought the same thing! Contrary to rumor, apparently he did (at least sometimes).

Ain't nuthin' like a fresh pair o' baggies!

oh man - cool it people! Love the man for his creative genious and gorgeousness. He had a complicated life - no doubt - but look at us now without him. We are awed and inspired - just as he would have wanted it...

Todd968 said:

I just came back from a weekend VP Tour of PP with three friends. "Tomi" was our tour guide. He claimed to know Prince personally from coming to PP over the years for shows. He was a nice guy. The lower level "Prince office" was not presented as his actual office space(room) but rather the things taken from his office which was upstairs. He also said Prince liked Caribou coffee. He explained that some of the furniture was taken out/moved due to fire marshall's rules for turning PP into an exhibition space. So, I didn't have the expectations that I was seeing it just as Prince had left it. There are obvious display set ups throughout that he wouldn't have had and rooms were re-purposed for showing them.

The biggest thing I would change is how they display Prince's urn. Its suspended in the main room above the entry to the "diner" in a faded looking, half-assed put together, plexiglass half-circular shaped enclosure. The view you get is the underside of the Urn which is modeled after PP, as many here know. THEY REALLY NEED TO DO A BETTER JOB, HERE. The elevator entry room, which is sealed off, is still detectable from the cut line that outlines the entrance to it in the main room. (the other entry to this room along the stairs is sealed and covered with records and awards. I would suggest actually reopening the elevator hall but sealing THAT off on both sides and placing the Urn there. Effectively, placing Prince exactly where he fell.

The outside of PP is suffering from lack of maintenance. Concrete sidewalk caulking, pot-holed parking lot etc. I am not criticizing this- - just pointing it out that the place will need continuous upkeep and actual money NOW to just bring it up to a standard.

We got to chat with a guy who claimed to be a Prince body guard who was working there at the exit. It wasn't Kirk, but probably a secondary guard. It was a nice touch to see someone who knew Prince.

We got to play ping-pong on Prince's private table, using his paddles. A nice touch.

Overall, the VP was more than I expected and I was glad to have the opportunity to finally see PP after knowing about its existence and seeing glimpses of it over the decades, in music videos, Oprah's interview, etc.

I wouldn't be surprised if they eventually open the second floor up and maybe the vault area; it would bring people back for a re-visit. There may not be much to see in these areas but it would bring in money.

The VP Extended tour was $160 as of this past weekend when I was there and I highly recommend it.

You may already know this, but when it first opened as a museum, the urn was placed in the center of the atrium in a glass case on a pedestal. A lot of people had issue with that, so they moved it to where it is today. I feel like they should have just left the elevator area untouched. I guess they wanted to hide the spot, since most people didn't even know where it was, but it is what it is. There are several security people and staff that are working there now, who worked there when Prince was alive.

I did hear that the Urn used to be in the atrium and that it shocked unsuspecting visitors early on...maybe not the best place. But, I think the current location/presentation is horrible and borderline disrespectful. I'd vote for opening up the elevation room (immediately leading to the elevator) where he fell and placing it there. They sealed off the opening along the entrance and covered it with records but around the corner from there in the main room with skylight, there is a cutout in the drywall of the entry where it sort of "plugs" the entrance. At first I thought it was strange, like a jigsaw cut tracing the opening. But, I suspect this plug can be pulled out for full access to the elevator. I'd reopen this , place the Urn in there and either rope or plexiglass the entrance.

Sure, it may be a "focus point" on the tour where people may linger a little longer but there are many focus points. There were places I wanted to spend more time at but I also wanted to keep moving to see what was next.