WEBVTT - Raphael Saadiq Part 1 0:00:00.040 --> 0:00:03.040 Of Course Love Supreme is a production of I Heart Radio. 0:00:09.000 --> 0:00:13.920 Ladies and gentlemen. Welcome to another episode of Course Love Supreme. Yo, 0:00:14.000 --> 0:00:20.120 man dog, I ain't got time to waste, Steve, I'm 0:00:20.200 --> 0:00:28.960 forgetting many questions to even start with the seven minute tribute. 0:00:29.080 --> 0:00:33.000 You already know you're the man, Robaila. Okay, I'll start 0:00:33.040 --> 0:00:36.720 with Okay, of course, I believe I knew that you 0:00:36.720 --> 0:00:39.320 were born in Oakland. I don't know, but tell me 0:00:39.400 --> 0:00:44.360 where were you born? I was actually born in Oakland, California. Um, yeah, 0:00:44.880 --> 0:00:49.560 right in East Suckland Hating Hospital. I'm born and raised. 0:00:49.920 --> 0:00:52.920 The rest of my family is from Louisiana, from Louisiana, 0:00:53.440 --> 0:00:57.280 Sweet Port, Louisiana. And I'm the only out of fourteen, 0:00:57.360 --> 0:01:00.400 I'm the only city slicker that was born in the city. Wait, 0:01:00.480 --> 0:01:05.440 you have thirteen other siblings? Yeah? Are you the year 0:01:05.480 --> 0:01:09.480 of the baby? A baby boy? But I have a 0:01:09.560 --> 0:01:12.760 sister that's younger than me. What is it that like 0:01:12.840 --> 0:01:16.240 in the household? Well, everybody wasn't the household. It was 0:01:16.440 --> 0:01:20.240 it was a little bit of your dad. It's a 0:01:20.319 --> 0:01:22.960 little bit of that. But we were like, uh, my 0:01:23.160 --> 0:01:25.920 father has some kids before he married my mom, before 0:01:25.920 --> 0:01:28.640 he's my mom and then you know my brother Duayne, 0:01:28.680 --> 0:01:30.600 he had a different mother, So me and Dwayne have 0:01:30.720 --> 0:01:37.320 different mothers. Okay, got you bind the family? Yeah? Is 0:01:37.360 --> 0:01:42.360 the entire family musically inclined or just you and Duayne? No, uh, 0:01:42.440 --> 0:01:45.200 it's a few of us. My brother Randy, as you 0:01:45.240 --> 0:01:47.240 probably heard him seeing on a record called Holy Smokes 0:01:47.240 --> 0:01:51.560 and Gee whiz Y. That's that's the real talent in 0:01:51.560 --> 0:01:53.560 the in the family. We were all like an afterthought 0:01:53.560 --> 0:01:56.080 when he came to music. We just kind of snuck 0:01:56.120 --> 0:01:59.200 in there a little bit. Where does Randy fall into 0:01:59.600 --> 0:02:06.400 the bruce? He's like the He's like the fourth from 0:02:06.440 --> 0:02:09.680 the oldest. He's like another brother named Alvey Wiggins. Who's 0:02:09.840 --> 0:02:12.880 uh he's saying country music. Charlie Pry was his favorite 0:02:12.960 --> 0:02:16.400 uh uh singer. So he was a country singer, but 0:02:16.400 --> 0:02:18.800 he was he was a street thug though he he 0:02:18.960 --> 0:02:22.320 was a real hardcore He was not no thunk. He 0:02:22.440 --> 0:02:24.480 was a classy like gangster, you know what I mean. 0:02:24.520 --> 0:02:31.480 But he was he's saying country music. Yeah, this explains 0:02:31.520 --> 0:02:34.280 a lot of your wait, where does where does that? 0:02:35.160 --> 0:02:38.640 Where does Dwayne fall in line with you? Wayne's Dwayne 0:02:38.760 --> 0:02:41.280 is we had another brother in between me and Duanne 0:02:41.320 --> 0:02:44.440 named Desmond. Desmond was the drummer in the family, and 0:02:44.600 --> 0:02:48.680 Desmond passed away when I was seventeen years old. And 0:02:48.880 --> 0:02:51.720 the Wayne is the older than him, one a couple 0:02:51.720 --> 0:02:56.400 of years older than Desmond, So Dwayne would be Dwayne 0:02:56.440 --> 0:03:02.520 would be like the six youngest boy. Okay, that's confused, 0:03:02.520 --> 0:03:04.600 And actually I started thinking about it like that. I'm 0:03:04.639 --> 0:03:09.240 like totally confused. Okay, So I know Thanksgiving and Christmas 0:03:09.320 --> 0:03:11.799 has been hell of crazy. Yeah, it was actually good 0:03:11.800 --> 0:03:13.240 because you know, it's just a lot of music in 0:03:13.280 --> 0:03:15.600 the house and a lot of Teddy. You know, my 0:03:15.639 --> 0:03:19.400 step mom loved Teddy Pendergrass and Osley Brothers. So that's 0:03:19.440 --> 0:03:22.799 where we that's where our guitar stuff comes from because 0:03:23.520 --> 0:03:25.880 we get to stay outside as long as we could. 0:03:25.919 --> 0:03:27.440 If you know, if they if they was having a 0:03:27.480 --> 0:03:30.040 little party, but in the house, it will be Teddy 0:03:30.040 --> 0:03:34.120 Pendergrass and it'd be uh Osly brother So this is 0:03:34.120 --> 0:03:36.520 the first time I got a chance to say ship 0:03:36.640 --> 0:03:43.440 was on Fight to Power Fun Parents. What what is 0:03:43.480 --> 0:03:48.280 your actual first musical memory that you I think for me, 0:03:48.400 --> 0:03:50.760 I was like a kid who like who had you know, 0:03:51.000 --> 0:03:53.240 you know, you have to be outside playing with individuals 0:03:53.240 --> 0:03:56.160 and your friends and I'm not really great friends and um, 0:03:56.240 --> 0:03:58.240 but I think mine was when I first got my 0:03:58.440 --> 0:04:03.960 first UM based amplifier. I had this uh unifox and 0:04:04.000 --> 0:04:08.120 I had a copy fended jazz called the Orlando, and 0:04:08.200 --> 0:04:09.920 I opened up the case and I thought it was 0:04:10.000 --> 0:04:12.960 real fur. I thought I was rich because I had 0:04:12.960 --> 0:04:15.640 this basic guitarist fur. It was this fur inside of it. 0:04:15.720 --> 0:04:20.200 That was my first musical experiment experience really, And then 0:04:20.440 --> 0:04:23.200 I played trump. I played first trumbone and jazz man too, 0:04:24.000 --> 0:04:27.440 So I wanted to play saxophone, but they I wanted 0:04:27.440 --> 0:04:30.600 to play saxophone but didn't have anymore. What ages this again? 0:04:31.160 --> 0:04:33.360 This isn't just in grade school? Well, grade school I 0:04:33.440 --> 0:04:35.320 was just starting to play. But by the time I 0:04:35.320 --> 0:04:37.799 got to high school, I sat in the first chair 0:04:38.120 --> 0:04:43.880 playing trumbone. Okay, So I mean, what what is it 0:04:44.040 --> 0:04:52.039 like to grow up in Oakland? Um? Kind of watching? 0:04:53.800 --> 0:04:55.760 You know, at least from my point of view. You know, 0:04:55.800 --> 0:04:58.719 the legend of Oakland is it's slid on the family 0:04:58.760 --> 0:05:01.600 Stone and Graham Central Station and Taro Power and all 0:05:02.320 --> 0:05:05.919 all these like powerful musicians that are making like you know, 0:05:05.920 --> 0:05:08.640 they're international stars. Like what kind of impression is that 0:05:08.720 --> 0:05:13.560 leaving on you? For me, it was it was everything 0:05:13.600 --> 0:05:16.760 because we're basically a Larry Graham was more of the 0:05:16.800 --> 0:05:19.000 idol for for me because I'm a bass player, right 0:05:19.000 --> 0:05:22.960 but right, so, you know, like one block you would have, 0:05:23.720 --> 0:05:25.719 you know, a band plan and it was a band 0:05:25.760 --> 0:05:27.799 in every garage everywhere we looked. It was like Natty 0:05:28.000 --> 0:05:30.640 Natalie Cole had a band that was played in Oakland. 0:05:30.680 --> 0:05:33.800 So when they were off and not touring, they would 0:05:33.839 --> 0:05:36.360 be playing in the garage. So Willie Wild who played 0:05:36.960 --> 0:05:40.560 with Graham, Central Station, and we would see like you know, 0:05:41.000 --> 0:05:43.839 Larry Graham and Um, you know, riding through the neighborhood 0:05:43.880 --> 0:05:46.839 on the Harley Davidson and then slide. That was their thing, 0:05:46.960 --> 0:05:49.960 rides like Harley's, like the Choppers, the Short Choppers, and 0:05:50.240 --> 0:05:54.320 so they were like our comic books characters for us 0:05:54.480 --> 0:05:55.919 because I saw all we knew was like it was 0:05:55.920 --> 0:05:58.479 almost like a like MCS, like Rappers. It was like 0:05:58.520 --> 0:06:02.760 Battle the Bands. It was Battle Battle Rappers, Battle Battle 0:06:02.760 --> 0:06:05.880 of the Band's Battle Base players. If you couldn't play 0:06:05.960 --> 0:06:10.040 like um the jam or the Son called pile on 0:06:10.080 --> 0:06:16.520 the base, how I got you that's a head country 0:06:16.520 --> 0:06:20.560 and going to rock. I got that you will get 0:06:20.560 --> 0:06:26.440 yours wrong. I mean everybody in our neighborhood. Everybody in 0:06:26.480 --> 0:06:30.440 our neighborhood to play base, our our guitar or drums. 0:06:30.520 --> 0:06:34.400 So I was about ten or eleven. You were walking 0:06:34.400 --> 0:06:36.920 into a garage and the band was playing. Somebody would say, hey, 0:06:36.960 --> 0:06:40.080 my little brother could play bass. So you you couldn't 0:06:40.080 --> 0:06:41.840 really get on the base unless you knew how to 0:06:41.839 --> 0:06:45.360 play pile, because somebody was gonna test you out. They 0:06:45.400 --> 0:06:49.159 were gonna that was gonna say, and you play pile 0:06:49.480 --> 0:06:51.680 and then you have to do like this, like yeah, 0:06:51.800 --> 0:06:53.839 as soon as you say yes, they only give you 0:06:53.880 --> 0:06:57.040 two seconds before the drummer just kick it off. Wait 0:06:57.080 --> 0:07:01.920 a minute. This is how I knew you're a special individual. 0:07:02.680 --> 0:07:06.920 Literally last week. Last week the roots like did our 0:07:07.920 --> 0:07:10.280 like our first run in in like eighteen months. And 0:07:10.320 --> 0:07:14.160 so I don't know how, but I think, uh, one 0:07:14.160 --> 0:07:16.640 of the one of these songs from star Walk came on. 0:07:18.080 --> 0:07:21.320 I think it was Sneaky Freak, and my band was 0:07:21.360 --> 0:07:24.440 asking me about it, and the way I was putting 0:07:24.480 --> 0:07:28.160 it to them was I was like, I don't know 0:07:28.200 --> 0:07:34.240 how to accurately judge Larry Graham's cannon because I know, 0:07:34.560 --> 0:07:38.520 like hit wise, you know, the first three gram Central 0:07:38.520 --> 0:07:42.119 Station albums were like national hits like up until Ain't 0:07:42.120 --> 0:07:45.680 no about to doubt it, but somehow it got a 0:07:45.680 --> 0:07:48.400 little weird around not or Mirror was like a hit. 0:07:48.440 --> 0:07:50.040 I remember that being a hit when I was a kid. 0:07:50.080 --> 0:07:54.200 But it's something about now do you want to dance? 0:07:54.640 --> 0:07:57.800 And my radio sounds good to me? And the star 0:07:57.880 --> 0:08:01.360 Walk album albums that didn't have hits on them, but 0:08:01.720 --> 0:08:06.240 every from Prince to every musician I know, they swear 0:08:06.320 --> 0:08:10.160 by those three records. And we were watching Graham Central 0:08:10.160 --> 0:08:13.080 Station do pow last week and we were kind of 0:08:13.120 --> 0:08:14.840 I was I was laughing because I was like, I 0:08:14.920 --> 0:08:17.520 know this is good, but it wasn't a hit. So 0:08:17.520 --> 0:08:20.080 I'm trying to figure out, like, am I the only 0:08:20.080 --> 0:08:22.880 one that got this song? And you mentioned so you're 0:08:22.920 --> 0:08:26.840 saying to me in Oakland that song is a writer 0:08:26.880 --> 0:08:31.520 of passage to everybody. I mean, I mean you could 0:08:31.560 --> 0:08:34.840 walk up to a guy in Oakland and I have 0:08:34.880 --> 0:08:36.719 a friend named Lord Nell and I didn't know this, 0:08:37.040 --> 0:08:40.640 and um and um, he's just one day he asked 0:08:40.640 --> 0:08:42.679 me what I know about Larry Graham and I'm like 0:08:43.080 --> 0:08:45.760 looking at him like what this dude. All this dude say, 0:08:45.840 --> 0:08:48.520 he's a security guy stand quin in prison. That's all 0:08:48.559 --> 0:08:52.199 I know about him. He just goes but they'll smoke 0:08:52.280 --> 0:08:59.680 a mama, And I'm like so and Oakland and and 0:08:59.760 --> 0:09:06.600 oh Glinn, Larry is bigger than then this slid. Larry 0:09:06.760 --> 0:09:11.360 is like Larry is like um. When I was a kid, 0:09:11.400 --> 0:09:12.959 I went I was going on the snow trip and 0:09:13.000 --> 0:09:15.920 Tahoe and I went to buy some mittens like ten 0:09:16.000 --> 0:09:19.840 or eleven. And I was walking the store called Lungs Drugs. 0:09:19.880 --> 0:09:24.199 It's in Saliandro and I walk in the store. I 0:09:24.320 --> 0:09:28.320 walk in the grocery store in Larry Graham and Chockolate 0:09:28.920 --> 0:09:32.960 is getting out of a black Thunderberg suicide doors with 0:09:33.120 --> 0:09:35.600 the wig on, with the album released. How they looked 0:09:35.640 --> 0:09:37.920 and release yourself when they're in the air jumping up 0:09:38.040 --> 0:09:42.360 to sitting there is that Larry Graham. Wo So I 0:09:42.440 --> 0:09:46.400 started following him around the grocery store, looking through boxes 0:09:46.559 --> 0:09:49.840 and and everything. So before he walks out, I run 0:09:49.880 --> 0:09:51.920 out and said at the bus stop right in front 0:09:51.960 --> 0:09:54.520 of the store. But I'm not looking back at him. 0:09:54.679 --> 0:09:58.600 I'm just looking at the street. So Larry and Chocolate 0:09:58.760 --> 0:10:00.560 walk up to me in front of bus stop and 0:10:00.600 --> 0:10:02.760 look dead at me and go how are you doing? 0:10:03.040 --> 0:10:05.280 And I'm like freaking out, Like it's like a Star 0:10:05.320 --> 0:10:08.040 Wars moment for me. I should not go like and 0:10:08.720 --> 0:10:11.320 I go, are you Larry Graham? He was like, yeah, 0:10:11.320 --> 0:10:13.880 I'm Larry Graham. It's a chocolate And I was like 0:10:14.120 --> 0:10:17.760 freaking out. Bro. So yeah, he was like a superhero 0:10:17.840 --> 0:10:19.840 to us. But Pop, you have to answer your question. 0:10:20.240 --> 0:10:29.080 How the jam David dynamite? But what about earthquake? Earthquake? Um? 0:10:29.320 --> 0:10:32.280 They were trying to destroy their base with the towel 0:10:32.400 --> 0:10:35.600 and all that stuff that year. And if you listen 0:10:35.640 --> 0:10:41.079 to sit today the song today, right, So we used 0:10:41.080 --> 0:10:43.800 to sit in the room as kids and just sit 0:10:43.920 --> 0:10:46.680 by the turntable and wait for that bill to go off. 0:10:48.080 --> 0:10:50.679 Every time we let somebody hear that song, we would 0:10:50.679 --> 0:10:53.600 never let them leave for the first time into the 0:10:53.640 --> 0:10:58.040 bell rings all the way out. When I let D'Angelo 0:10:58.160 --> 0:11:01.240 here today for the first time, I made D'Angelo listened 0:11:01.240 --> 0:11:03.080 to it, to the bill win all the way off, 0:11:04.679 --> 0:11:06.720 because that's how we kind of grew up. Everybody had 0:11:06.720 --> 0:11:11.000 to listen to the bill the first time. Dog, what's 0:11:11.120 --> 0:11:13.880 rain for? Like? What three minutes. That's what I was 0:11:15.040 --> 0:11:16.840 For those who don't know about the song, he's saying 0:11:18.440 --> 0:11:21.679 for three minutes. You know, I'm also hating that I'm 0:11:21.720 --> 0:11:25.080 having this conversation because I think I was ready to 0:11:25.160 --> 0:11:28.600 just dismiss it because one of the one of the 0:11:28.760 --> 0:11:33.000 one of the playlists that I have or my Spotify 0:11:33.240 --> 0:11:36.400 is called Songs and and E Minor and Songs and 0:11:36.559 --> 0:11:40.600 the Minor that I hate. I know for bass players 0:11:41.360 --> 0:11:47.480 like E Minor is like a rite of passage key, 0:11:47.520 --> 0:11:51.640 but for me, it's like unless you're trying to top 0:11:52.800 --> 0:11:56.120 the Jam or shigning Star or thank you for let 0:11:56.120 --> 0:11:59.160 Me be Myself like or or a song like Glide, 0:12:00.080 --> 0:12:03.559 like I almost feel like that's such a taboo key 0:12:03.600 --> 0:12:07.400 for bass players. But yet like the amount of songs 0:12:07.400 --> 0:12:10.680 that I hear people trying to attempt to to hop 0:12:10.720 --> 0:12:14.480 that Jump, that Cliff that film and Louise Cliff and 0:12:14.520 --> 0:12:18.960 they never make it. Now now you got me, Like, 0:12:19.240 --> 0:12:21.520 now I gotta go back and reconsider that just because 0:12:21.720 --> 0:12:24.480 it's it means something in Oakland. That's that's very true. 0:12:24.520 --> 0:12:27.520 I mean, I mean I can't I've never I don't 0:12:27.520 --> 0:12:29.760 think I've ever wrote a song that was worth anything 0:12:29.800 --> 0:12:36.440 any Minor. I care from Oakland. I don't think you 0:12:36.559 --> 0:12:39.840 is that even on purpose, Like I just don't think. 0:12:40.200 --> 0:12:42.520 I just don't every time I don't. I heard, I 0:12:42.559 --> 0:12:44.959 mean I heard through the grapevine that you know, um 0:12:44.960 --> 0:12:48.400 through one of my friends. Um she does does she 0:12:48.440 --> 0:12:52.320 does that. She has a podcast What what What? Most Steps? Mom? 0:12:52.600 --> 0:12:56.160 Um and UM erica' connor and and she talked to 0:12:56.160 --> 0:12:58.680 you spoke to your mom, I think, and they said 0:12:58.760 --> 0:13:00.880 you had perfect your mom's that you have perfect pitch 0:13:00.920 --> 0:13:04.960 as a kid. Yeah, so I only have perfect pitch 0:13:05.040 --> 0:13:11.040 for a natural because of Larry Graham. Wow. Anything past that, 0:13:11.640 --> 0:13:14.800 I'm done. You tell me because I played every every 0:13:14.840 --> 0:13:20.640 Graham song and I could just now I know where 0:13:20.640 --> 0:13:23.480 I'm Yeah, I mean I based all my things on 0:13:24.000 --> 0:13:27.160 whatever the song is. You know, like if you say 0:13:27.240 --> 0:13:30.240 b Minor, I just instantly think, don't stop the year enough. 0:13:30.280 --> 0:13:33.600 If you say it's also based on the print of 0:13:33.640 --> 0:13:35.880 Michael Jackson's on g I'm like, oh, that's shake your 0:13:35.920 --> 0:13:39.880 body down to the ground, So it's not. And even 0:13:41.000 --> 0:13:43.600 I spoke to Billy Graham one time I was hanging 0:13:43.640 --> 0:13:49.040 outside of Oakland collis in. I think you meant Reverend 0:13:49.040 --> 0:13:53.319 Billy Graham. I'm like, well, no, Bill Graham, the proter, 0:13:53.960 --> 0:13:57.560 the promoter. He saw me trying to sneak in this concert. 0:13:58.679 --> 0:14:01.920 He left me in the concert and he's said, are 0:14:01.920 --> 0:14:04.600 you musician? I said yes, And he says, what do you? 0:14:04.640 --> 0:14:06.800 What do you play outside of play bass? Who's your 0:14:06.840 --> 0:14:10.360 favorite musician? I said Larry Graham. He said Larry would 0:14:10.360 --> 0:14:14.240 be much better if you stopped making battle records and 0:14:14.280 --> 0:14:18.000 so and by him saying that, who know I was 0:14:18.040 --> 0:14:20.600 gonna be ever making records? I didn't know. I never 0:14:21.000 --> 0:14:22.760 tried to be a singer or anything. I just want 0:14:22.800 --> 0:14:24.160 to play in the band. I never wanted to be 0:14:24.760 --> 0:14:28.040 a singer. I never wanted to be a lead singer. 0:14:28.080 --> 0:14:30.520 I just wanted to play for a band and work 0:14:30.520 --> 0:14:33.960 at a record store. That was probably it. And um, 0:14:33.960 --> 0:14:36.880 but once he said that I started making music, it 0:14:36.880 --> 0:14:39.440 always stayed in my head. Never tried to be a 0:14:39.480 --> 0:14:43.840 battle band trying to make records. That makes sense because 0:14:44.160 --> 0:14:46.800 even his songs were about how good of a band 0:14:46.840 --> 0:14:49.200 we are and you'll never get to this level of 0:14:49.280 --> 0:14:52.440 perfection that I'm iNTS to battist group from East to West. 0:14:55.000 --> 0:14:56.480 What was it like the first time you got Larry 0:14:56.480 --> 0:15:00.160 Graham's ere for real. When when I first got his yere, 0:15:00.160 --> 0:15:02.640 I was I was at Eddie Murphy's house and he 0:15:02.680 --> 0:15:04.480 was hanging out with Eddie Murphy and I'm like wow. 0:15:04.840 --> 0:15:08.880 So he was just yeah, he was hanging out in 0:15:08.920 --> 0:15:11.080 the garage. It was just me and him in the garage, 0:15:11.600 --> 0:15:13.040 and I was like, Okay, when am I going to 0:15:13.080 --> 0:15:16.040 break this to this dude? Did I've been like the 0:15:17.360 --> 0:15:20.960 stalking my whole life and I'm because we're talking on 0:15:21.000 --> 0:15:22.760 some creeens, just real cool, and I was just like, 0:15:22.800 --> 0:15:24.880 forget it. Here we go. We're sitting in the garage 0:15:24.880 --> 0:15:27.480 next to some jet skis. I said, hey, man, I 0:15:27.480 --> 0:15:29.840 grew up in Oakland. I was in a band with 0:15:29.880 --> 0:15:34.440 your son, Derek Graham and um in my high school band. 0:15:34.480 --> 0:15:36.920 He was like really, I said, yeah, man, I played bass, 0:15:36.960 --> 0:15:39.320 so I didn't have a bass on me. I had 0:15:39.360 --> 0:15:43.400 an acoustic. So I tried to play something on acoustic 0:15:43.480 --> 0:15:48.600 that was his and it just didn't work. Tony didn't 0:15:48.600 --> 0:15:51.600 mean anything to him at that time. He I think 0:15:51.640 --> 0:15:53.640 he knew about the Tonys, but he didn't know when 0:15:53.680 --> 0:15:59.800 I played bass. Remember, nobody thought I was like everybody dance, 0:16:00.840 --> 0:16:04.000 you know, Nobody knew that I was only made to 0:16:04.080 --> 0:16:07.080 play Base because when we first came out, there were 0:16:07.080 --> 0:16:09.800 no bands out and and everybody wanted us to be like, 0:16:09.880 --> 0:16:14.160 you know, we had to compete with Guy and everybody 0:16:14.280 --> 0:16:15.800 was out. So I had to put the base down 0:16:16.360 --> 0:16:18.960 and had to become this other thing. So nobody really 0:16:19.040 --> 0:16:21.560 knew me for playing bass, which I felt like Lioness 0:16:21.600 --> 0:16:24.080 and Charlie Brown like, I put down my security blanket, 0:16:24.720 --> 0:16:26.920 which was what's what's my base? That made me feel 0:16:27.040 --> 0:16:29.240 very manly and tough and made me feel all these 0:16:29.240 --> 0:16:31.760 different things. So when I put it down and became 0:16:31.840 --> 0:16:34.200 and had to sing, I wasn't really confident about singing, 0:16:34.240 --> 0:16:36.520 so he would have no way of knowing that I 0:16:36.560 --> 0:16:38.560 was a bass player even though I played. I played 0:16:38.560 --> 0:16:40.840 all the records on the base on based on the 0:16:40.880 --> 0:16:48.120 Tony's album Wow. Got Graham in my studio and Blastlee 0:16:49.200 --> 0:16:51.360 and he came over and I got on the base, 0:16:51.480 --> 0:16:54.720 and I completely cannot play base in front of Ground. 0:16:58.560 --> 0:17:00.800 It hasn't worked yet. Everything on I tried to play, 0:17:00.840 --> 0:17:03.440 I was like bro for some reason, it just stopped 0:17:03.440 --> 0:17:08.399 working right now, so I just left it alone. But 0:17:08.480 --> 0:17:13.120 when he leaves, I'm like killing it. You got mine 0:17:13.160 --> 0:17:18.040 control over Larry Graham. Yeah, stop talking, Yeah we we. 0:17:19.240 --> 0:17:21.320 He played on my album, like two albums ago. We 0:17:21.359 --> 0:17:24.960 did a slung together it's a hiding track and I 0:17:25.040 --> 0:17:27.760 played guitar and Rob Bacon play guitar and he played 0:17:27.800 --> 0:17:30.879 bass and he played right in front of me, and 0:17:30.920 --> 0:17:32.639 I was just sitting there. I was playing guitar, like 0:17:33.600 --> 0:17:36.879 this is crazy. And still you ain't playing bass in 0:17:36.960 --> 0:17:40.280 front of him. Damn wow. I think I sat in 0:17:40.320 --> 0:17:44.879 front of Slide and um Slide and and and George 0:17:44.880 --> 0:17:47.840 Clinton maybe two times, and this is weird. Every time 0:17:47.840 --> 0:17:51.560 I get around Slide it's weird too. I kind of 0:17:51.600 --> 0:17:55.160 just staring Slide and I have to leave because I'm 0:17:55.200 --> 0:17:59.280 like this dude is like right. I just kind of 0:18:00.080 --> 0:18:03.840 walked out and George says, George told Slide he said, uh, 0:18:04.480 --> 0:18:06.760 he said, yeah, boy did. He said, that's the answer 0:18:06.840 --> 0:18:08.600 to you right here in Oakland. It's me. He said, 0:18:08.640 --> 0:18:10.119 that's about me. And I was sitting there looking at 0:18:10.160 --> 0:18:12.639 them because I'm friends with his daughter, and I was like, 0:18:12.720 --> 0:18:16.200 all this greatness in the room, George and the Slot. 0:18:16.240 --> 0:18:18.320 It was actually sitting in the mobile home in front 0:18:18.359 --> 0:18:23.960 of Eddie Murphy's house for two hours, and so Eddie goes, 0:18:24.760 --> 0:18:26.879 who is that in that in that mobile home? And 0:18:27.119 --> 0:18:32.320 I goes and you' nobody was uh uh slide slide, 0:18:32.320 --> 0:18:34.919 And George and Eddie started laughing. But I knew it 0:18:34.960 --> 0:18:37.439 was them. They just sat in the in the in 0:18:37.480 --> 0:18:39.399 the in the mobile home for two hours before they 0:18:39.440 --> 0:18:50.080 walked in. What was they doing? You know? This was 0:18:50.280 --> 0:18:52.359 this is no longer getting this is maybe four or 0:18:52.400 --> 0:19:03.680 five years ago. Okay, gee yeah, yeah, he together, man, 0:19:03.760 --> 0:19:05.600 I can see all this for hours. We gotta push 0:19:05.640 --> 0:19:08.879 a little bit. Um. Before you started the group, I 0:19:08.880 --> 0:19:12.119 know that you you you cut your teeth, uh playing 0:19:12.119 --> 0:19:16.000 with bands, and I know that why I knew of 0:19:16.040 --> 0:19:19.960 you because of your association with Sheila. But what acts 0:19:20.000 --> 0:19:22.400 were you playing with? Was she like like the first 0:19:22.480 --> 0:19:25.359 national act that you got to and how that situation happened? 0:19:25.720 --> 0:19:29.119 Was there anyone before that? No? Really before that, I 0:19:29.200 --> 0:19:32.600 was I was playing locally. Um that really started to Tony's. 0:19:32.640 --> 0:19:36.000 I played a lot of local bands and I played 0:19:36.720 --> 0:19:44.000 I played for the Hawkins family a bit. Yeah. Joel 0:19:44.040 --> 0:19:46.919 Smith was sort of my um my idol bass player. 0:19:46.960 --> 0:19:49.439 He passed away one of the best bass players in 0:19:49.440 --> 0:19:52.920 the world and drummers and Um, besides you. You you're 0:19:52.920 --> 0:19:56.280 probably my one of my best favorite basing drummers. I 0:19:56.359 --> 0:19:59.720 tell everybody said one thing about Quest. No bass player 0:19:59.720 --> 0:20:01.840 can hey on Quest. If you play bass, you should 0:20:01.880 --> 0:20:05.280 just murder him. Because the kids una understand that I 0:20:05.359 --> 0:20:08.439 had is It's like what I used to look for 0:20:08.480 --> 0:20:09.959 as a kid. I would knock on if I hear 0:20:10.000 --> 0:20:12.480 a drummer in the house, I would knock on the 0:20:12.480 --> 0:20:14.000 door and say, hey man, I'll play bass. That's how 0:20:14.000 --> 0:20:17.439 I grew up. So I started playing with the Hawkins family. 0:20:17.480 --> 0:20:19.840 I played with the Nette Hawkins. I played with Shirley Miller, 0:20:20.200 --> 0:20:24.000 I played with Vanessa Bill Armstrong, and then I started 0:20:24.000 --> 0:20:29.240 playing with Sheila and eight six audition. Levi caesar Um 0:20:29.400 --> 0:20:32.119 got me the gig. He called me and said, you 0:20:32.119 --> 0:20:34.680 know you want auditioned for Sheiley and Eddie six audition 0:20:34.800 --> 0:20:38.280 And we went on on the Cherry Moon tour in Japan, 0:20:39.280 --> 0:20:44.359 and when Lisa was still playing with where in Japan? 0:20:44.520 --> 0:20:48.120 Well the way that he fired the revolution After Purple Rain, 0:20:48.840 --> 0:20:51.760 it finally made the Internet. It's it's the Clippers on 0:20:51.760 --> 0:20:54.359 the Internet. But there's a moment where Wendy and Lisa 0:20:54.560 --> 0:20:56.760 say they knew that they knew the band was over. 0:20:57.400 --> 0:21:02.359 He took the cloud guitar and and destroyed it on stage, 0:21:03.240 --> 0:21:06.320 walked off stage, came back, did another solo, and then 0:21:06.359 --> 0:21:09.720 destroyed that Cloud guitar. And then when they and Lisa 0:21:09.760 --> 0:21:11.760 and Bobby looked at each other and it's like, yeah 0:21:11.800 --> 0:21:16.480 it's over, it was over. So yeah, it was pretty 0:21:16.520 --> 0:21:18.479 It was pretty much over on that tour. But you know, 0:21:18.520 --> 0:21:21.239 like I said, I was like eighteen years old, so 0:21:21.359 --> 0:21:23.119 I just had a good time hanging out with Like 0:21:23.520 --> 0:21:27.720 Cobby was a sound guy, um round Mark. I used 0:21:27.720 --> 0:21:30.159 to get play out of his rig and and because 0:21:30.240 --> 0:21:32.520 the band was breaking up, Prince would use us to 0:21:32.560 --> 0:21:35.320 play all the after gigs. So I would play like 0:21:35.400 --> 0:21:38.800 You Need Another Lover or the whole album. Um every 0:21:38.800 --> 0:21:41.640 club Prince would call us to play instead of them. 0:21:41.840 --> 0:21:43.720 Is that why one of our listeners asked me to 0:21:43.760 --> 0:21:46.280 ask you about the opportunity to be in Princess band. 0:21:46.400 --> 0:21:49.280 Was it from them? Well, I was. I was gonna 0:21:49.280 --> 0:21:51.920 be an original band from Madhouse, the group called Madhouse 0:21:53.400 --> 0:21:57.200 joint right. It wanted to be in being a band 0:21:57.240 --> 0:21:59.879 called Madhouse. But when we heard the band was going 0:22:00.080 --> 0:22:02.760 be wearing like mask over their face, which would have 0:22:02.840 --> 0:22:06.280 could have been dope. We had already sort of formed 0:22:06.520 --> 0:22:08.879 because at the time it was me and Tim to him. 0:22:08.880 --> 0:22:10.879 Tim Riley who played with the Tony's, he was a 0:22:10.920 --> 0:22:14.320 drummer and Um, I got the gig first, and then 0:22:14.359 --> 0:22:16.800 Sheila was like, don't bring back a drummer. I brought 0:22:16.800 --> 0:22:21.399 to him back anyway, he auditioned and and my friend 0:22:21.400 --> 0:22:24.600 Carl Wheeler, he played keyboards, and all three of us went. 0:22:24.640 --> 0:22:27.520 We rehearsed for like two months, fifteen hours a day. 0:22:27.600 --> 0:22:29.560 Prince hired us to play for it because he was 0:22:29.840 --> 0:22:33.800 paying the bills basically, and I was seeing his parts 0:22:33.800 --> 0:22:37.000 in Erotic City. He would say stuff to me. But 0:22:37.040 --> 0:22:38.800 the first time he walked up to us, he he 0:22:38.880 --> 0:22:40.520 walked up to us with a yellow suit on, and 0:22:40.560 --> 0:22:43.400 they came and he walks out and he goes, um, 0:22:43.520 --> 0:22:45.919 what's your name? And you know, everybody said he name, 0:22:46.000 --> 0:22:50.280 and then he goes, Hi, Prince. We're looking like, oh ship, 0:22:50.880 --> 0:22:53.680 I mean we're in the middle of this, We're in 0:22:53.720 --> 0:22:56.600 the middle of the stadium, like all this sound. I've 0:22:56.640 --> 0:23:00.160 never heard this much power before. Because when we came out, 0:23:00.200 --> 0:23:01.639 it was like when he came out, he would come 0:23:01.640 --> 0:23:05.560 out around the world in the day and the curtains 0:23:05.640 --> 0:23:09.639 would just be that the Yeah, And so I was 0:23:09.720 --> 0:23:13.159 sitting I was sitting in a baseball dugout, which is 0:23:13.200 --> 0:23:16.760 a folded like makes a folded cat movie, so you 0:23:16.760 --> 0:23:19.800 can hear all the base and I'll just say the 0:23:19.840 --> 0:23:23.080 Revolution was the best band he ever had, except you know, 0:23:23.200 --> 0:23:28.400