Funny how time flies...

I was working at an education center in L.A. when a student came through who worked for Prince. We exchanged information and spoke to each other a few times in the following months. About five months later, as the 2001 Hit n'Run tour was coming to a close, I got a call from "Paisley Park", "We're looking for a video editor for the Celebration and your name showed up on my desk. Can you be here tomorrow?" She said she knew I was a fan, and asked that I keep it "low key." My biggest concern was keeping the "1999" tattoo on my arm covered. Oh, and I also dyed my then purple hair to black.

Well no, I couldn't be there the next day, but I could be there the day after. And I was. That was the start of my 2-week odyssey with Prince.

The first time we spoke was on the phone. I was in the edit bay, and had been waiting a few hours for him to finish a meeting. When the phone rang, I expected it to be the staff person I'd been talking to all day. It wasn't.

"Hello?"
"Is this Chris?"
"Yes."
"Hi Chris, this is Prince."
Oh. Ma. God. I'm sitting in Paisley Park, talking on the phone to Prince!!! How insane is that? So he gave me some instructions and I went to work.

A couple hours later I cross the hallway to the drinking fountain. As I head back to the bay, he is coming down the hallway, dressed in his usual Prince splendor. I take a seat back at the bay, and a few minutes later, he enters. He comes in with his hand extended and thanks me for coming. He was followed by the business associate he was meeting at the time. Prince's grip was firm, and he was very professional.

I cued up what he asked for and played it. "More volume," he said. I turned it up. Not enough. "Crank it," he said. I turned it all the way up. He chatted for a few minutes over the blaring video and then left.

After a dinner break, I returned to PP to await further instructions. At about 10 p.m., Prince peeked around the corner, apologized for having me wait, and told me to come back the next day at four p.m. to get started.

I didn't have a car, so Prince asked Femi to give me a ride back to AmericInn. That was Day One. I met Prince, kept my cool, did the job, and lived through it!

The following day, I showed up as directed. After about ten minutes, I was told that Prince's schedule had changed, and was asked if I could come back the following week. So they shipped me back to L.A. with a return skedded for the following week.

On my return I did a few tasks. One night I went into the studio to tell Prince I was done with what he asked for. He was mixing a tune that I would come to recognize as "Last December" several months later. I also got to hear a lot of band rehearsal. Ultimately, not much video editing took place. As he was finishing The Rainbow Children, rehearsing the band, and doing photo shoots, his involvement with editing took a bottom priority.

So my work ended before the Celebration began. Obviously I had dreams of it lasting much longer, but what a fucking awesome experience -- my first professional editing gig, and it was with the man I idolized for nearly 20 years. The staff was all great -- very friendly and welcoming people. At the end of the experience, I was most thrilled that I could see Prince as a man with a musical gift, and not the God I had created in my mind. THAT'S the stuff that dreams are made of.

Wow. That's fucking awesome. You'll treasure that experience for the rest of your life. Glad it was so positive.

I enjoyed reading your story. It's good you didn't fold and kept your cool. I put myself in your shoes as I read it and thought you handled yourself well!

wild story.

now down 2 what we really wanna know...
whats the video like?
i hope we get2 c it.

This could be the Org story of the year! Wow.

I met Prince in 1997, and yes, his grip is firm and he's really polite. And it does change the perception a bit about him, meaning, you know him now as a person rather than a picture or video or from even afar on a stage.

But YOU! You got to WORK with him!

Thank you for sharing your experience with us! This is what the Org is about - Prince experiences!

Oh and what video were you editing?




.oOo.
[This message was edited Wed May 14 11:48:22 PDT 2003 by FlyingCloudPassenger]

Wow, that gave me chills!!!

Great story!

Fascinating.
Out of interest, what software were you editing with?
AVID? Media 100?

I hoped Prince would sign my check, but he didn't! Of couse then I would have had the dilemma of whether or not to cash it... okay, no dilemma, I would cash it -- not that crazy.

I didn't work on any new material. He had several European TV appearances that needed to be converted from PAL -- "Baby Knows" and if I remember correctly both "TGRES" and "Pretty Man," as well as "Endorphinmachine." I think there were plans for graphics and montages for use at the Celebration, but it didn't come about, at least not while I was there.

Freaker said:

Avid.

So nice!
The real Prince...the person.

truly wonderful. thanks for sharing.

most interesting thing we've seen on the org in a looong time - thanks for sharing! cool!!

Agree all the way with Rudy.

thanks for sharing.


nickfunk

Not too many words about that...wonderful. You kept your cool, did your job, and experienced a chance to meet the man. Kudos!! Thank you for sharing...

you rock!! Thank you for sharing I love stories like this!