Hi Michael. Thanks for sharing with the fans. What are your thoughts on Prince's new album?

natful said:

i honestly haven't heard it in it's entirety, and don't really plan on it..
i try to stay as uninformed as possible, so as not to seem negative or critical, when asked.. which is also why i didn't see the musicology tour, and tend to not buy new prince albums..

natful said:

i honestly haven't heard it in it's entirety, and don't really plan on it..
i try to stay as uninformed as possible, so as not to seem negative or critical, when asked.. which is also why i didn't see the musicology tour, and tend to not buy new prince albums..


michael b.

ebonyrhythmbuddha said:

Why?

It's funny that all former Prince band members say the same thing.

Is there anyway you could get Sonny to come on here?

workingupahiyellasweat said:

yup. that's true. we all say the same thing, because the fans, in general, have alot of utopian ideas about where we come from, and how we should feel about what's transpired since we left there. and i think we all feel that if we disagreed with any direction prince has taken artistically, post our involvement, that the fans would interpret that as us being vindictive or callous or just plain haters.. which is why i just avoid the whole thing.

sonny? nope.. probably not..
sonny isn't anti-social, but this sort of thing doesn't pique his interest..

michael b.

workingupahiyellasweat said:

yup. that's true. we all say the same thing, because the fans, in general, have alot of utopian ideas about where we come from, and how we should feel about what's transpired since we left there. and i think we all feel that if we disagreed with any direction prince has taken artistically, post our involvement, that the fans would interpret that as us being vindictive or callous or just plain haters.. which is why i just avoid the whole thing.

sonny? nope.. probably not..
sonny isn't anti-social, but this sort of thing doesn't pique his interest..

michael b.

Now that we are only a few weeks away from Soul Asylum shows my question is.... Who is the bass player going to be? Tommy was so good with you guys and I know he had Karls blessing. It is hard to imagine who else could step in. What are the plans? Thanks!

What is the toughest/most difficult gig you ever had? What was the easiest? What was the most enjoyable?

Michael,


Have you even been on stage, had a brain-fart and forget where you were at on a song or what song was next and if so, how did you handle it?

Hi Mike

Prince always had his own sense of style. Which of Prince's outfit will you always remember because

A. It was so cool.

B. You thought the dude lost his mind.

littlemissG said:

green outfit with navy pinstripes, everywhere.. including the boots..

michael b.
[Edited 6/12/06 3:25am]

Sowhat said:

once, at wembley, we came out for an encore, and prince started talking like he wanted us to go into "call the law". BUT, my setlist said that"1999" was next.
so, i had the dilemma of deciding to go with what appeared to be happening, versus what was supposed to happen.. i decided to ignore prince's verbal set up, and start "america".. he was visibly pissed off..LOL
BUT.. he didn't come over and start screaming. he just asked me, later at the afterparty,
"the next time you hear me say the words 'call the law' onstage, what'cha gonna do, michael b.?" and i said, "start 'call the law'..."
he said, "cool..." and that was it..
the rest of the band was stunned that i didn't get cussed out.. LOL

michael b.

Sowhat said:

tough, in terms of endurance and proficiency? prince.
tough, in terms of making music from a subjective standpoint, and having to be inventive, constantly? michel portal

easiest? maxwell.. we did what was asked of us.. the show never really changed from night to night.. i still had a good time, but it was the first time i realized that i had been conditioned by my experience with prince, to want more happening all the time.. that wasn't what that gig was about.

most enjoyable? anytime i get to play with jef lee johnson..

michael b.

Michael,

another one for you.

Since you have been in contact with the french culture during your career (many french gigs with NPG, france gall's tour, collaboration with Michel Portal), I was wondering if you speak some french, or if you are interested by french philosophers?

Thanks.

Hi Michael,

Prince takes the "job" very seriously, certainly when you guys played live. You already told us he was no prankster. Can you then explain why he shaved Morris Hayes during "days of wild" as seen in the beautiful experience film?
Was Morris aware this was going to happen? How did the rest of the band reacted?

And I surely want to know how Barbarella felt... He had long hair at the time, did he go into the "Sh*t, I'll be the next one to get shaved" nightmare?

Thanks for clarifying this event.

ebonyrhythmbuddha said:

Does that fall in catergory A or B?

Hi Michael

What do you think of Prince's use of drum machines? Do you think they suit the songs, or do you think he might be better served with real drums all the time?

NDRU said:

I'd like to add to this question, if I may. Prince has always used the latest in musical gear, across the board, and seems to freely mix between live drummers and programmed drums. In a relatively short period of time, Prince went from having your virtuosic pounding to having Kirk Johnson's (very cool but still) programmed rhythms.

I guess my only question here is whether or not you can shed any light on the choices Prince was making. I mean, it seems clear to me that a live drummer of your calibre would be the preferable way to go; do you think Prince was going for a different vibe with the programmed drums, or what? And do you have any feelings on the issue that you'd care to share?

Again, thanks so much for your time and for participating in this forum!
-G

griffinw said:

from what i've witnessed, there's no exact science, and sometimes, no rhyme or super significant reason for why prince chooses what he chooses.. he doesn't have any hard fast rules about music. it comes down to what's available to him, or how long he'll have to wait, or just getting the idea down. prince works impulsively. he has an idea, and needs for it to come to it's fruition asap, usually. which means sometimes he doesn't wanna wait for an engineer to get good drum sounds.. especially if the linn machine is just sitting there, and the sounds are fat, coming directly out of it.
also, some things are meant to sound organic, and others are not. real drums invoke a different feeling than programmed ones. it depends on the subject matter, what the other instruments are intended to do, but mostly just what sounds good. sometimes prince reworks a track from electronic to organic, sometimes vice-versa. we recorded a version of 319 that was pretty rocking, but prince didn't like it. so, another version was constructed from that one, which had no bass, and the drums were programmed. in my opinion, it was more effective this way..
there's also the harmonic angle.. i remember when we were working on material for rosie's solo album. i overheard prince telling her that she had the kind of voice that belonged in a more organic environment, musically. he didn't like the way she sounded, as much, when she was singing with machines. she has a classic sound, vocally.. which is why most of her stuff was recorded with a rhythm section, and not pieced together with loops, and keyboards with sequencers, and drum machines..

michael b.
[Edited 6/13/06 1:59am]

griffinw said:

from what i've witnessed, there's no exact science, and sometimes, no rhyme or super significant reason for why prince chooses what he chooses.. he doesn't have any hard fast rules about music. it comes down to what's available to him, or how long he'll have to wait, or just getting the idea down. prince works impulsively. he has an idea, and needs for it to come to it's fruition asap, usually. which means sometimes he doesn't wanna wait for an engineer to get good drum sounds.. especially if the linn machine is just sitting there, and the sounds are fat, coming directly out of it.
also, some things are meant to sound organic, and others are not. real drums invoke a different feeling than programmed ones. it depends on the subject matter, what the other instruments are intended to do, but mostly just what sounds good. sometimes prince reworks a track from electronic to organic, sometimes vice-versa. we recorded a version of 319 that was pretty rocking, but prince didn't like it. so, another version was constructed from that one, which had no bass, and the drums were programmed. in my opinion, it was more effective this way..
there's also the harmonic angle.. i remember when we were working on material for rosie's solo album. i overheard prince telling her that she had the kind of voice that belonged in a more organic environment, musically. he didn't like the way she sounded, as much, when she was singing with machines. she has a classic sound, vocally.. which is why most of her stuff was recorded with a rhythm section, and not pieced together with loops, and keyboards with sequencers, and drum machines..

michael b.
[Edited 6/13/06 1:59am]

Michael, as I remember, the '92-'93 live NPG used few loops and samples, and relied heavily on organic horns. The '94-'95 live NPG (my favorite era, in case I haven't said so before) used significantly more loops and samples, often to great effect (especially on, say, Race, Now, and Days Of Wild). At the same time, though, Prince and the NPG were saying in interviews that music should be played live, and get rid of all the sequencers etc. - "who's gonna play music when the bomb drops and all the electronic equipment stops working?" [paraphrase] (I remember something about that in the Sunday Show interview where the man wore the Tora Tora outfit and gave all his answers through Mayte).

Did these two aspects seem at odds to you at the time, or looking back now?