1 00:00:03,800 --> 00:00:06,640 Speaker 1: Of course, Love Supreme is a production of My Heart Radio. 2 00:00:07,120 --> 00:00:10,480 Speaker 1: This classic episode was produced by the team at Pandora. 3 00:00:14,560 --> 00:00:18,560 Speaker 1: The following program contains language that some listeners may find offensive. 4 00:00:19,079 --> 00:00:23,639 Speaker 1: Listener discretion is advised. Ladies and gentlemen. Welcome to the 5 00:00:23,880 --> 00:00:27,760 Speaker 1: Quest Love Supreme Archives. This is the Allen Leeds episode. 6 00:00:27,960 --> 00:00:31,000 Speaker 1: I believe that Alan was definitely uh. In one of 7 00:00:31,040 --> 00:00:34,879 Speaker 1: our first ten episodes, UH, the team Supreme made a 8 00:00:34,920 --> 00:00:39,440 Speaker 1: pilgrimage to Minnesota to talk to the revolution and UH. 9 00:00:39,640 --> 00:00:41,880 Speaker 1: We figured since Alan Leeds was there, we knock off 10 00:00:41,920 --> 00:00:45,080 Speaker 1: two for one, and of course it was an education. 11 00:00:45,479 --> 00:00:49,240 Speaker 1: We did UH sort of a sequel to that episode. 12 00:00:49,600 --> 00:00:52,920 Speaker 1: We did it in two locations at Electric Lady Studios 13 00:00:53,040 --> 00:00:58,240 Speaker 1: in New York, with a special appearance by one Michael 14 00:00:58,440 --> 00:01:03,920 Speaker 1: Eugene D'Angelo Archer, who infamously gave us uh the shortest 15 00:01:03,920 --> 00:01:07,840 Speaker 1: response ever. It's more R and B Anyway. This is 16 00:01:07,920 --> 00:01:13,480 Speaker 1: the very classic edgeumicational Allen Leeds given you before one 17 00:01:13,520 --> 00:01:16,360 Speaker 1: one the signs of his life as a tour manager 18 00:01:16,640 --> 00:01:29,440 Speaker 1: on whatets Love Supreme Archives. Roll Call, Roll Call Suprema 19 00:01:31,560 --> 00:01:39,880 Speaker 1: Role Role, It's love and Uptown. Yeah, that's where I live. Yeah, 20 00:01:40,040 --> 00:01:47,680 Speaker 1: hang with Allen Leeds. Yeah, five minutes Kid Bollamo, role 21 00:01:47,840 --> 00:01:55,880 Speaker 1: called Supremo role. My name is Fonte. Yeah, I'm in Minnesota. Yeah. 22 00:01:56,000 --> 00:02:04,000 Speaker 1: Quests Love Supreme. Yeah, we're taken over. So prema roll call, 23 00:02:04,440 --> 00:02:09,919 Speaker 1: so prema road call. My name is Steve, Yeah, and 24 00:02:10,120 --> 00:02:14,160 Speaker 1: we in Many Yeah. I got the sugars. Yeah, even 25 00:02:14,160 --> 00:02:25,560 Speaker 1: though I'm skinny. Roll call so roll. I'm unpaid bill, Yeah, 26 00:02:25,840 --> 00:02:30,480 Speaker 1: I can't complain. Yeah, the weather's right. Yeah for purple 27 00:02:30,600 --> 00:02:40,320 Speaker 1: rain Roma. Roll call Suprima Prima, roll call boss bills 28 00:02:40,320 --> 00:02:43,520 Speaker 1: the name. Yeah, I need to stay in my lane. Yeah, 29 00:02:43,600 --> 00:02:50,720 Speaker 1: because I can't write rhymes. And that's a real damn change. 30 00:02:51,040 --> 00:02:57,720 Speaker 1: Roll call Soma, roll call my names like yeah, so 31 00:02:57,800 --> 00:03:02,000 Speaker 1: happy to see you. Yeah, don't have a leads sometimes, 32 00:03:02,000 --> 00:03:31,720 Speaker 1: I believe sometimes. Ye, Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to another 33 00:03:32,040 --> 00:03:35,600 Speaker 1: episode of Quest Love Supreme. How y'all doing good man? 34 00:03:35,760 --> 00:03:42,960 Speaker 1: Road trip? Yeah, road trip. It's amazing trip. Ladies and gentlemen, 35 00:03:43,000 --> 00:03:46,800 Speaker 1: we are still on our road trip thing. Uh up 36 00:03:46,800 --> 00:03:54,560 Speaker 1: here in Uptown many Wood, Minnesota. UM. We are very extremely, 37 00:03:54,800 --> 00:04:00,520 Speaker 1: extremely honored to have um a guest that I know 38 00:04:00,600 --> 00:04:06,520 Speaker 1: it's personally tired of me bragging about his life and 39 00:04:06,560 --> 00:04:12,720 Speaker 1: his achievements. Um, but you know his real life. Yeah, 40 00:04:12,720 --> 00:04:15,960 Speaker 1: it is is serious life goals. I mean I'll say 41 00:04:16,000 --> 00:04:22,400 Speaker 1: that it's it's he's tired of No, well, it's just 42 00:04:22,600 --> 00:04:25,920 Speaker 1: to me the most interesting part of the car. I mean, 43 00:04:26,000 --> 00:04:28,120 Speaker 1: people might see the car and see the flash, but 44 00:04:28,960 --> 00:04:32,600 Speaker 1: I love engines, I love yes, I love to see 45 00:04:32,600 --> 00:04:37,440 Speaker 1: how it works. And this this, I mean name it. 46 00:04:38,160 --> 00:04:42,320 Speaker 1: Alan Leeds has been there for Peak, James Brown, not 47 00:04:42,400 --> 00:04:46,200 Speaker 1: just like oh remember James Brown, the Blues Brothers or that, 48 00:04:47,400 --> 00:04:50,560 Speaker 1: like yeah, like even before must at like this is 49 00:04:51,120 --> 00:04:54,000 Speaker 1: you know, he handed him the poster that has the 50 00:04:54,000 --> 00:04:58,920 Speaker 1: sex Machine lyrics on it. For James Brown, for Peak, Prime, prints, 51 00:04:59,520 --> 00:05:05,320 Speaker 1: for this, for Maxwell, for D'Angelo, for Chris Rock, for 52 00:05:05,440 --> 00:05:10,040 Speaker 1: Rathael Sadeck, for me, for you ladies and gentlemen, please 53 00:05:10,080 --> 00:05:19,400 Speaker 1: give it up. For Alan Leads And I'm still waiting 54 00:05:19,440 --> 00:05:26,800 Speaker 1: for my first record to come out. Um, Alan, like 55 00:05:26,920 --> 00:05:31,080 Speaker 1: you do you know, I know it makes people cringe 56 00:05:31,120 --> 00:05:34,240 Speaker 1: whenever I try to like overdo it with the with them. 57 00:05:34,400 --> 00:05:37,120 Speaker 1: She accolades. Um, so I'll try and do less of that. 58 00:05:37,360 --> 00:05:41,600 Speaker 1: But um, and I know you hate that more than anything, 59 00:05:41,720 --> 00:05:46,680 Speaker 1: but only publicly you at home, I played the tapes 60 00:05:46,720 --> 00:05:53,400 Speaker 1: over and over see this is me. Well you know, well, 61 00:05:53,600 --> 00:05:56,480 Speaker 1: I guess if if we are cut from the same 62 00:05:56,520 --> 00:06:00,640 Speaker 1: cloth as the fact that you know the value in 63 00:06:02,160 --> 00:06:06,120 Speaker 1: uh what history will bring or you you least have 64 00:06:06,279 --> 00:06:10,320 Speaker 1: the knack to know that this might be uh in 65 00:06:10,320 --> 00:06:13,240 Speaker 1: a historical moment. So I'm one of those sentimental pack 66 00:06:13,400 --> 00:06:19,119 Speaker 1: rats that never throws anything away just in case it'll 67 00:06:19,160 --> 00:06:21,479 Speaker 1: have historical value at the end. And I will say, 68 00:06:21,520 --> 00:06:24,839 Speaker 1: like being at your house, there's so many artifacts and 69 00:06:25,000 --> 00:06:27,360 Speaker 1: so so much history in it, but I kind of 70 00:06:27,400 --> 00:06:29,760 Speaker 1: want to go back to the beginning. Uh, you were 71 00:06:29,800 --> 00:06:33,839 Speaker 1: born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Correct, New York. You were born 72 00:06:33,839 --> 00:06:37,159 Speaker 1: in New York. Wow, all these New York surprises. Where 73 00:06:37,160 --> 00:06:41,719 Speaker 1: were you born in New York, Jackson Queens? Wow? I 74 00:06:41,720 --> 00:06:44,599 Speaker 1: did not. I thought I knew everything about your life. Wow, 75 00:06:44,760 --> 00:06:48,760 Speaker 1: I didn't know. So what was your what was your 76 00:06:48,800 --> 00:06:52,440 Speaker 1: childhood like? Because the journey, what what makes Alan leads 77 00:06:52,560 --> 00:06:57,360 Speaker 1: very distinctive amongst uh any human being that I've known, 78 00:06:57,640 --> 00:07:04,599 Speaker 1: is that your role in Black Entertainment's journey and the 79 00:07:04,760 --> 00:07:08,320 Speaker 1: fact that you, I mean, a person is lucky to 80 00:07:08,360 --> 00:07:12,680 Speaker 1: catch one Maverick in their life. You've caught six of 81 00:07:12,720 --> 00:07:16,760 Speaker 1: them and peak moments, not just like at the at 82 00:07:16,800 --> 00:07:19,960 Speaker 1: the like you from the beginning of an experiment to 83 00:07:20,720 --> 00:07:24,680 Speaker 1: seeing it at its climax. And in his historical note, 84 00:07:25,000 --> 00:07:29,560 Speaker 1: so what was your entry into music period, like, did 85 00:07:29,560 --> 00:07:31,960 Speaker 1: you come from a musical family where I came from 86 00:07:32,000 --> 00:07:36,160 Speaker 1: a music business family kind of indirectly ahead an uncle 87 00:07:36,200 --> 00:07:41,720 Speaker 1: who played saxophone in the orchestra that backed Prairie Como Okay, TV, 88 00:07:42,080 --> 00:07:46,240 Speaker 1: had another uncle who was programmed director of Tinton Wins 89 00:07:46,280 --> 00:07:48,760 Speaker 1: in New York when they were the rock and roll station, 90 00:07:48,960 --> 00:07:53,200 Speaker 1: Tinton Wins. He pretty much invented the top forty four men, 91 00:07:53,600 --> 00:07:57,080 Speaker 1: and he and Alan Fried Murray the k all these 92 00:07:57,160 --> 00:08:00,400 Speaker 1: legendary disc jockeys on his station. And I would go 93 00:08:00,440 --> 00:08:02,520 Speaker 1: out there and I met these guys and get tons 94 00:08:02,520 --> 00:08:07,240 Speaker 1: of free records. So as a kid, my childhood was 95 00:08:07,280 --> 00:08:10,280 Speaker 1: really about baseball and records because and I also had 96 00:08:10,280 --> 00:08:13,560 Speaker 1: an aunt who work for a publishing company, Monster Clients, 97 00:08:13,680 --> 00:08:17,440 Speaker 1: was a young Quincy Jones Okay, So you know, I 98 00:08:17,480 --> 00:08:20,440 Speaker 1: had these people in the extended family that were very 99 00:08:20,480 --> 00:08:22,760 Speaker 1: much in the business. My mom and dad were not, 100 00:08:23,000 --> 00:08:27,480 Speaker 1: but but they were music fans. Um. So free records 101 00:08:27,560 --> 00:08:30,160 Speaker 1: was just the records was the thing that was at 102 00:08:30,440 --> 00:08:32,800 Speaker 1: I was a very popular kid once we hit teenage, 103 00:08:32,880 --> 00:08:36,200 Speaker 1: and everybody wanted records because I had them, just like 104 00:08:36,600 --> 00:08:41,320 Speaker 1: you need no No. I wasn't then interested in sharing 105 00:08:41,400 --> 00:08:44,000 Speaker 1: him because usually I didn't like the records they liked. 106 00:08:45,440 --> 00:08:48,199 Speaker 1: So what were your contemporaries listening to that They weren't 107 00:08:48,200 --> 00:08:51,679 Speaker 1: listening to Elvis and Ricky Nelson and whatever was on 108 00:08:51,760 --> 00:08:54,880 Speaker 1: top forty radio. And what were you into? He was 109 00:08:54,920 --> 00:08:59,479 Speaker 1: Smith and Clowns and the coasters and Jack Barry and Richard. 110 00:09:00,200 --> 00:09:03,320 Speaker 1: You were the the the hip guy, the hip white 111 00:09:03,360 --> 00:09:06,080 Speaker 1: guy that knew what was going on in duke joints. 112 00:09:06,080 --> 00:09:08,840 Speaker 1: And yeah, well, I mean I don't know a juke 113 00:09:08,920 --> 00:09:11,319 Speaker 1: joint yet. I just knew that in these boxes and 114 00:09:11,440 --> 00:09:14,600 Speaker 1: records that my uncle would send me, there were always these, 115 00:09:15,280 --> 00:09:17,280 Speaker 1: you know, there were all the pop records that were 116 00:09:17,320 --> 00:09:20,160 Speaker 1: boring looking labels like calling me in our Cia and 117 00:09:20,280 --> 00:09:23,839 Speaker 1: Capital and Decca, and they just looked like, you know, 118 00:09:23,880 --> 00:09:27,440 Speaker 1: I already had an anti establishment attitude about age five. 119 00:09:27,640 --> 00:09:30,920 Speaker 1: I don't know where, but it was like, these are 120 00:09:30,920 --> 00:09:35,319 Speaker 1: some boring labels, um, but didn't there's this label that's 121 00:09:35,360 --> 00:09:40,080 Speaker 1: got yellow and black stripes and it's called Specialty Records, 122 00:09:40,920 --> 00:09:44,840 Speaker 1: and that was Little Richard and Tutti Fruity did not 123 00:09:45,000 --> 00:09:48,920 Speaker 1: sound like any of that other stuff. Um, the first 124 00:09:48,960 --> 00:09:52,120 Speaker 1: Little Richard recordized. That's actually a funny story. The first 125 00:09:52,160 --> 00:09:55,240 Speaker 1: Little Richard record I heard was Long Tall Sally, which 126 00:09:55,360 --> 00:09:59,280 Speaker 1: was his second hit single, and I heard it on 127 00:09:59,400 --> 00:10:02,520 Speaker 1: Alan Freed radio show, and I looked ballistic, like, what 128 00:10:02,600 --> 00:10:04,640 Speaker 1: the hell is this? I got to have this record? 129 00:10:05,480 --> 00:10:08,360 Speaker 1: And I remember telling my mother that I had to 130 00:10:08,440 --> 00:10:10,600 Speaker 1: had to had to have an advance on my allotment 131 00:10:10,679 --> 00:10:12,400 Speaker 1: so I could go to the store and buy this 132 00:10:12,400 --> 00:10:14,840 Speaker 1: this forty five that ED heard on the radio. And 133 00:10:14,880 --> 00:10:20,199 Speaker 1: she's like, what is it? Is it new knacking Cole record? 134 00:10:21,520 --> 00:10:24,200 Speaker 1: Right now? Mind you are, let's see fifty six. I'm 135 00:10:24,280 --> 00:10:27,480 Speaker 1: nine years old. So she took me to the record 136 00:10:27,480 --> 00:10:29,360 Speaker 1: store and she says, I, I've never seen you so 137 00:10:29,480 --> 00:10:32,360 Speaker 1: enthusiastic about something. So she's dying to see what this is, 138 00:10:32,800 --> 00:10:34,560 Speaker 1: so would bring the record home. I put it on 139 00:10:34,640 --> 00:10:37,280 Speaker 1: and play it and she just has a steer in 140 00:10:37,320 --> 00:10:41,920 Speaker 1: the headlights. Look. That wasn't negative or positive, it was 141 00:10:42,040 --> 00:10:45,920 Speaker 1: just what the hell is this? And I remember saying 142 00:10:45,960 --> 00:10:48,160 Speaker 1: to her, becasey never let me forget it my isn't 143 00:10:48,200 --> 00:10:53,559 Speaker 1: it pretty? Wow? Now? You know, I've heard that record 144 00:10:53,559 --> 00:10:56,439 Speaker 1: a million times since, and I'm not sure. The only 145 00:10:56,480 --> 00:10:58,880 Speaker 1: thing that, as an adult I can think that I 146 00:10:58,960 --> 00:11:01,920 Speaker 1: would have thought was pretty was the melisma in this 147 00:11:02,080 --> 00:11:05,120 Speaker 1: singing style. Because it's a it's a screamer. I mean, 148 00:11:05,160 --> 00:11:08,440 Speaker 1: it's it's not like it's a ballad. So to use 149 00:11:08,480 --> 00:11:11,480 Speaker 1: the word pretty to describe long til sadly but a 150 00:11:11,559 --> 00:11:15,120 Speaker 1: little Richard is pretty much a stretch. But there was 151 00:11:15,160 --> 00:11:17,599 Speaker 1: something about it that struck me. What's yeah, I was 152 00:11:17,720 --> 00:11:21,000 Speaker 1: gonna say, what spoke to you that the Battle Davy 153 00:11:21,040 --> 00:11:24,600 Speaker 1: Crockett or you know well, I mean I've watched that 154 00:11:25,640 --> 00:11:29,720 Speaker 1: corny and you knew even me, it's almost understand me. 155 00:11:29,840 --> 00:11:34,080 Speaker 1: I like that concole I also had and you know, 156 00:11:34,120 --> 00:11:36,040 Speaker 1: I get me very careful about this because it's not 157 00:11:36,400 --> 00:11:40,720 Speaker 1: politically correct, but I had an obsession with black culture 158 00:11:40,880 --> 00:11:45,600 Speaker 1: and I have no idea where that came from. You know, 159 00:11:45,800 --> 00:11:48,120 Speaker 1: I would watch it and watch the same TV that 160 00:11:48,200 --> 00:11:51,560 Speaker 1: everybody else watched, which was very limited in you know, 161 00:11:51,640 --> 00:11:55,160 Speaker 1: you once, once Dick Clark had American Band staying at 162 00:11:55,200 --> 00:11:57,840 Speaker 1: least there was something different. But you know then that 163 00:11:57,920 --> 00:12:01,400 Speaker 1: it was. It was variety shows would very little are 164 00:12:01,480 --> 00:12:05,520 Speaker 1: and be a rock and roll and I enjoyed nacking, 165 00:12:05,600 --> 00:12:08,120 Speaker 1: but I always went to the black artists. I love 166 00:12:08,240 --> 00:12:11,480 Speaker 1: Louis Armstrong, I love Count Basie, I love Nat King 167 00:12:11,520 --> 00:12:16,760 Speaker 1: Cole something Natra, I ignored. My father likes Sinatra. It 168 00:12:16,880 --> 00:12:19,000 Speaker 1: was played in the house. It was like, yeah, that's okay, 169 00:12:19,040 --> 00:12:21,080 Speaker 1: But I was I didn't pay any attention at all. 170 00:12:21,640 --> 00:12:23,559 Speaker 1: Did you read it as more authentic to you or 171 00:12:23,679 --> 00:12:29,640 Speaker 1: just eventually not yet because I hadn't been exposed to it. 172 00:12:30,559 --> 00:12:34,079 Speaker 1: But once I, once I started actually taking books out 173 00:12:34,080 --> 00:12:36,120 Speaker 1: of the library to read about the history of black 174 00:12:36,200 --> 00:12:40,120 Speaker 1: music and heard about people like Lightning Hopkins and Howlett 175 00:12:40,160 --> 00:12:42,319 Speaker 1: Wolf and I of course I had to go check 176 00:12:42,360 --> 00:12:45,200 Speaker 1: those out. But that that came later. That came in 177 00:12:45,280 --> 00:12:48,440 Speaker 1: my teens, where I was beginning to actually understand that 178 00:12:48,520 --> 00:12:51,920 Speaker 1: there's genres, and there's tastes, and there's the music comes 179 00:12:51,960 --> 00:12:54,880 Speaker 1: from somewhere and represents something. But as a little kid 180 00:12:54,960 --> 00:12:57,400 Speaker 1: listening nine years old, you don't know all that. It's 181 00:12:57,520 --> 00:13:02,000 Speaker 1: it's no, there's no cultural aspect to it. You just 182 00:13:02,040 --> 00:13:04,560 Speaker 1: heard something and you don't liked it, or you did 183 00:13:04,559 --> 00:13:08,040 Speaker 1: it so no, I mean I like white rock and 184 00:13:08,160 --> 00:13:12,040 Speaker 1: roll too, like Bill Haley and the comments, but basically 185 00:13:12,080 --> 00:13:15,800 Speaker 1: because I hadn't heard Joe Turner's original of those songs. Okay, 186 00:13:16,640 --> 00:13:20,480 Speaker 1: that's what was on radio. So did Can I assume 187 00:13:20,520 --> 00:13:25,720 Speaker 1: that the trickle down effect also affected your little brother Eric? 188 00:13:26,440 --> 00:13:31,400 Speaker 1: We should know Eric is uh a saxophone uh god 189 00:13:31,480 --> 00:13:34,400 Speaker 1: in his own right, uh play with James Brown Prince 190 00:13:34,440 --> 00:13:39,600 Speaker 1: of course his own projects. So it is are your 191 00:13:39,880 --> 00:13:42,920 Speaker 1: music taste now affecting him as well? Or yeah? I 192 00:13:42,960 --> 00:13:46,480 Speaker 1: think inevitably. Um, not so much because it was about 193 00:13:46,559 --> 00:13:48,880 Speaker 1: me and my taste, but just because when you have 194 00:13:49,040 --> 00:13:51,840 Speaker 1: two brothers in the house and once five years younger 195 00:13:53,280 --> 00:13:56,360 Speaker 1: older brother who's opening a lot of doors and whatever doors, 196 00:13:56,400 --> 00:13:58,480 Speaker 1: will you know if I'd have been into country music, 197 00:13:58,520 --> 00:14:01,640 Speaker 1: he might have been attracted to at I think it 198 00:14:01,720 --> 00:14:04,320 Speaker 1: was just circumstantial at first because this is when he 199 00:14:04,320 --> 00:14:07,360 Speaker 1: heard me playing, and it's older brother. And when you're 200 00:14:07,400 --> 00:14:09,360 Speaker 1: five and your brother's ten, you look up to your 201 00:14:09,400 --> 00:14:14,920 Speaker 1: older brother. So when you changes later now in your 202 00:14:14,960 --> 00:14:18,280 Speaker 1: teen years, because I know that you you did stints 203 00:14:18,400 --> 00:14:21,680 Speaker 1: on on radio and whatnot, like what was your entry 204 00:14:21,720 --> 00:14:26,400 Speaker 1: into this is the business? That's there's really two answers 205 00:14:26,640 --> 00:14:30,280 Speaker 1: that the the first time I knew I wanted to 206 00:14:30,320 --> 00:14:32,200 Speaker 1: be in the I mean I did use the DJ 207 00:14:32,360 --> 00:14:37,360 Speaker 1: at home. I had a turntable and a really really 208 00:14:37,840 --> 00:14:41,440 Speaker 1: primitive walkie talkie system and ran the court across the 209 00:14:41,480 --> 00:14:44,800 Speaker 1: hall to my brother's bedroom and I would DJ for 210 00:14:44,920 --> 00:14:49,000 Speaker 1: him and you know, actually touched it and had my 211 00:14:49,080 --> 00:14:52,160 Speaker 1: own top forty lists that I typed up every Friday 212 00:14:52,400 --> 00:14:55,880 Speaker 1: from my imagineering radio station that nobody heard but my brother. 213 00:14:57,560 --> 00:15:00,760 Speaker 1: So that was practice. But that was just was all 214 00:15:00,800 --> 00:15:02,360 Speaker 1: I wanted to do when I got home from school, 215 00:15:02,400 --> 00:15:06,080 Speaker 1: was played these records. Somebody had to hear it because 216 00:15:06,080 --> 00:15:09,000 Speaker 1: it was pretty stupid talking to myself. So he became 217 00:15:09,040 --> 00:15:11,400 Speaker 1: the sucker. That was, he was the guinea pig audience 218 00:15:11,640 --> 00:15:14,600 Speaker 1: because you had to have when he felt dumb. So 219 00:15:15,480 --> 00:15:19,200 Speaker 1: but I went to the first the first R and 220 00:15:19,280 --> 00:15:24,440 Speaker 1: B he showed that I saw. It was in nineteen 221 00:15:24,600 --> 00:15:27,920 Speaker 1: sixty two, so I would have been fifteen years old, 222 00:15:29,680 --> 00:15:35,120 Speaker 1: and it was Fats Domino. It was the Impressions Curtis 223 00:15:35,120 --> 00:15:38,720 Speaker 1: made Field when we were still the Impressions, the original 224 00:15:38,800 --> 00:15:41,200 Speaker 1: Gypsy Woman that just come out, So it was very 225 00:15:41,280 --> 00:15:45,720 Speaker 1: very early in the Impressions. Um I don't honestly remember 226 00:15:45,760 --> 00:15:47,560 Speaker 1: who else was on the show. I could look it up, 227 00:15:47,560 --> 00:15:50,640 Speaker 1: it doesn't matter, But I'll tell you what was on 228 00:15:50,680 --> 00:15:57,160 Speaker 1: the show was five dancers called the Twisting Parquettes. And 229 00:15:57,320 --> 00:15:59,760 Speaker 1: I later learned that there was a choreographer in New 230 00:15:59,840 --> 00:16:02,480 Speaker 1: York or Glue Parks, a woman who was became quite 231 00:16:02,520 --> 00:16:07,800 Speaker 1: famous for choreographing um popular dance in black music circles, 232 00:16:07,840 --> 00:16:10,560 Speaker 1: and these were some of her proteges. So they were 233 00:16:10,560 --> 00:16:12,600 Speaker 1: the Twisting Parquettes. And this is back in the ear 234 00:16:12,720 --> 00:16:15,160 Speaker 1: when the twist was a big deal. But as a 235 00:16:15,240 --> 00:16:17,720 Speaker 1: fifteen year old looking at these five sisters and they 236 00:16:17,760 --> 00:16:20,400 Speaker 1: had short, little skirts and there was nothing nasty about 237 00:16:20,400 --> 00:16:23,440 Speaker 1: it at all compared to today, they were conservative. But 238 00:16:23,560 --> 00:16:31,360 Speaker 1: at the time, that ship was hot and I sat there. 239 00:16:32,080 --> 00:16:34,600 Speaker 1: I don't remember anything about Fats Domhindo said, because I 240 00:16:34,640 --> 00:16:36,840 Speaker 1: was sitting there day dreaming, how do you get on 241 00:16:36,880 --> 00:16:41,000 Speaker 1: the bus. These girls ride a bus every night, and 242 00:16:41,120 --> 00:16:42,880 Speaker 1: how do you get on that bus so you can 243 00:16:42,960 --> 00:16:49,680 Speaker 1: hang with them? Bus driver, I thought, I thought a 244 00:16:49,720 --> 00:16:54,800 Speaker 1: little bigger than that, but you know, but you know, 245 00:16:54,880 --> 00:16:56,880 Speaker 1: there was an m C and I said, maybe that's 246 00:16:56,920 --> 00:16:59,240 Speaker 1: the ticket, because you know, I don't think I don't play. 247 00:17:00,000 --> 00:17:01,920 Speaker 1: Probably should have been a musician, but I never had 248 00:17:02,000 --> 00:17:04,560 Speaker 1: the patience to learn instrument I took drums for two 249 00:17:04,560 --> 00:17:08,160 Speaker 1: weeks and the teacher got mad at me for tapping 250 00:17:08,200 --> 00:17:12,840 Speaker 1: my foot to keep time. If he would have explained easier, 251 00:17:14,600 --> 00:17:17,280 Speaker 1: but I mean, you know, if if he had, if 252 00:17:17,320 --> 00:17:20,200 Speaker 1: he had explained that you need independence to play high 253 00:17:20,280 --> 00:17:24,160 Speaker 1: hats and bass drums, and you shouldn't. You don't want 254 00:17:24,160 --> 00:17:27,240 Speaker 1: to have the habit of patting your foot, I wouldn't. 255 00:17:27,880 --> 00:17:30,400 Speaker 1: I think I would have understood that. But he didn't 256 00:17:30,440 --> 00:17:32,600 Speaker 1: say a word except just slap my knee and tell 257 00:17:32,680 --> 00:17:35,840 Speaker 1: me to stop. So the anti authority in me lashed 258 00:17:35,880 --> 00:17:37,880 Speaker 1: out and said, the hell, we're too Plus we were 259 00:17:37,880 --> 00:17:43,080 Speaker 1: on practice pats was the second week, Yeah, trust me, 260 00:17:43,080 --> 00:17:45,439 Speaker 1: I didn't test the drums still, like three years into it, 261 00:17:45,680 --> 00:17:49,359 Speaker 1: yeah yeah, And that was no fun. So so my 262 00:17:49,520 --> 00:17:52,679 Speaker 1: drumming career consisted of turning over the waste baskets at 263 00:17:52,720 --> 00:17:56,040 Speaker 1: home and creating a set and playing loaned records, and 264 00:17:56,080 --> 00:17:59,080 Speaker 1: I had good time. I was about to say, I 265 00:17:59,160 --> 00:18:01,840 Speaker 1: never asked you, like, why didn't you actually choose music? 266 00:18:01,880 --> 00:18:05,760 Speaker 1: Because as virtuoso as your brother is, I would imagine 267 00:18:05,800 --> 00:18:12,400 Speaker 1: that you could have also been a virtuoso musician. I'm 268 00:18:12,480 --> 00:18:16,080 Speaker 1: usually pretty humble, but I probably would have been. I 269 00:18:16,160 --> 00:18:22,159 Speaker 1: probably could have played It's stuck to something wow. But 270 00:18:22,560 --> 00:18:25,520 Speaker 1: I never settled. I never fell in love with an instrument. 271 00:18:25,800 --> 00:18:29,960 Speaker 1: Drums were easy because it was physical, it wasn't melodic, 272 00:18:30,200 --> 00:18:35,000 Speaker 1: didn't have to learn music, you know, chords, and so 273 00:18:35,320 --> 00:18:39,200 Speaker 1: I was lazy. Really, I just didn't have the commitment 274 00:18:39,240 --> 00:18:43,320 Speaker 1: of the self discipline to put into learning how to 275 00:18:43,359 --> 00:18:46,600 Speaker 1: play an instrument properly. And honestly, I think that's it's 276 00:18:46,760 --> 00:18:49,640 Speaker 1: it's just just lazy and like self discipline. That's weird 277 00:18:49,640 --> 00:18:58,040 Speaker 1: because you're the most organized person I know. We are 278 00:18:58,320 --> 00:19:03,399 Speaker 1: here with the great Alan Leeds um here on Quest 279 00:19:03,400 --> 00:19:08,240 Speaker 1: Love Supreme. I guess you're you're you're foray into uh 280 00:19:08,560 --> 00:19:11,600 Speaker 1: what I knew you for, which is tour managing? Um? 281 00:19:11,880 --> 00:19:15,359 Speaker 1: Can I safely assume that starts with James Brown? Or 282 00:19:15,520 --> 00:19:17,720 Speaker 1: you know? Did you or is it that you jump 283 00:19:17,760 --> 00:19:22,360 Speaker 1: from DJing too promoting your own shows? And well I did. 284 00:19:22,440 --> 00:19:25,240 Speaker 1: I did a little promoting because myself and another couple 285 00:19:25,280 --> 00:19:28,280 Speaker 1: of younger DJs at the station, I mean the station 286 00:19:28,320 --> 00:19:31,639 Speaker 1: basically advertise to and or promoted all the urn V 287 00:19:31,760 --> 00:19:34,640 Speaker 1: shows they came through Richmond, which were a lot at 288 00:19:34,640 --> 00:19:36,600 Speaker 1: that time. They were three or four clubs that had 289 00:19:36,600 --> 00:19:40,520 Speaker 1: shows every weekend. There were concert halls that had concerts 290 00:19:40,640 --> 00:19:43,399 Speaker 1: on that rege once or twice a month, so it 291 00:19:43,520 --> 00:19:46,199 Speaker 1: was a really busy scene. Anybody who played Washington and 292 00:19:46,320 --> 00:19:49,760 Speaker 1: was headed south came through Richmond. So you know, the 293 00:19:49,800 --> 00:19:53,480 Speaker 1: Otis Ridings, the same cooks to Jackie Wilson's, the Drifters. 294 00:19:53,520 --> 00:19:56,840 Speaker 1: You know, all the classic soul artists came through town 295 00:19:56,880 --> 00:20:01,080 Speaker 1: at least two, three, and sometimes four times a year. Okay, 296 00:20:01,280 --> 00:20:03,679 Speaker 1: So are you saying that it was just they happened 297 00:20:03,720 --> 00:20:06,840 Speaker 1: to stop through or was it like today things are 298 00:20:06,840 --> 00:20:09,600 Speaker 1: playing like? You know, No, they were both. These were 299 00:20:09,720 --> 00:20:13,600 Speaker 1: legitimate businesses. There were clubs and promoters and concert promoters 300 00:20:13,800 --> 00:20:17,840 Speaker 1: and these were real shows. But but understand something too, 301 00:20:17,880 --> 00:20:21,920 Speaker 1: because artists didn't tour back then. They worked, and they 302 00:20:21,920 --> 00:20:24,480 Speaker 1: worked as many weeks out of the year as their 303 00:20:25,400 --> 00:20:28,879 Speaker 1: success on records allowed them to work. Because it wasn't 304 00:20:28,920 --> 00:20:31,960 Speaker 1: like it wasn't huge money and they weren't playing arenas, 305 00:20:32,040 --> 00:20:35,160 Speaker 1: they were playing dance halls. Um, I mean, we did 306 00:20:35,160 --> 00:20:39,600 Speaker 1: a James Brown showing alluminum barn at the fair Grounds 307 00:20:39,640 --> 00:20:41,800 Speaker 1: in the wintertime with no heat. The band played the 308 00:20:41,840 --> 00:20:45,639 Speaker 1: warm upset with their coats on and still had like 309 00:20:45,760 --> 00:20:48,360 Speaker 1: three thousand people there. Go figure, And when you say work, 310 00:20:48,400 --> 00:20:50,479 Speaker 1: do you mean like they worked just like regular jobs 311 00:20:50,520 --> 00:20:53,360 Speaker 1: like they had you know, you say they didn't tour. 312 00:20:53,440 --> 00:20:57,840 Speaker 1: They worked, but no, I'm I'm using work as you know, metaphorically. 313 00:20:57,920 --> 00:21:00,760 Speaker 1: But they didn't think if it is too like even 314 00:21:00,760 --> 00:21:04,440 Speaker 1: when I joined James in in sixty nine, we didn't say, 315 00:21:04,480 --> 00:21:06,359 Speaker 1: oh hey, it's time to go on tour. It's like 316 00:21:06,440 --> 00:21:08,600 Speaker 1: the show was on the road fifty one weeks out 317 00:21:08,600 --> 00:21:11,560 Speaker 1: of the year, because tour insinuates that you're gonna stop 318 00:21:11,600 --> 00:21:15,639 Speaker 1: exactly exactly and like it's it's it's it's you know, 319 00:21:15,720 --> 00:21:17,560 Speaker 1: you got a new album, sing you tour. Well, it 320 00:21:17,600 --> 00:21:21,199 Speaker 1: wasn't about albums. It was about singles, and there was 321 00:21:21,240 --> 00:21:24,879 Speaker 1: a new single every three months or so, and that 322 00:21:25,119 --> 00:21:27,280 Speaker 1: the idea was this is what you did for a living. 323 00:21:27,520 --> 00:21:29,600 Speaker 1: You got your station where and there were a bus 324 00:21:29,640 --> 00:21:33,240 Speaker 1: and depending on the level of success you had, um 325 00:21:33,400 --> 00:21:36,439 Speaker 1: you went all over the country. Whoever would hire you 326 00:21:36,480 --> 00:21:38,760 Speaker 1: and pay you to play, you showed up and played 327 00:21:38,880 --> 00:21:42,400 Speaker 1: and hopefully you worked fifty two weeks out of the year, 328 00:21:42,400 --> 00:21:47,320 Speaker 1: because that's how you supported yourself. So since James Brown 329 00:21:47,440 --> 00:21:51,840 Speaker 1: situation wasn't the average situation in R and B, right, 330 00:21:51,960 --> 00:21:54,919 Speaker 1: I mean, I know that everyone has a level of 331 00:21:54,960 --> 00:21:57,680 Speaker 1: the what they call the Chipland circuit. Well, I guess 332 00:21:57,720 --> 00:22:02,520 Speaker 1: back then the the main houses where what the regal 333 00:22:03,200 --> 00:22:05,920 Speaker 1: in Chicago, Uh, well, there was there was the theater 334 00:22:06,119 --> 00:22:08,600 Speaker 1: circuit in the major cities. That was a Howard and 335 00:22:08,640 --> 00:22:12,359 Speaker 1: Washington regal in Chicago, was abtained in Philly, Royal in 336 00:22:12,440 --> 00:22:15,760 Speaker 1: Baltimoreton of course, the Apollo in New York. And there 337 00:22:15,760 --> 00:22:17,800 Speaker 1: were a couple of theaters in Detroit that did show 338 00:22:17,880 --> 00:22:20,320 Speaker 1: several times a year, like the state theater was that 339 00:22:20,560 --> 00:22:23,280 Speaker 1: still the State in Philly, you know, the state theater 340 00:22:23,359 --> 00:22:27,160 Speaker 1: in Detroit was that it was usually the Fox okay 341 00:22:27,240 --> 00:22:31,680 Speaker 1: okay okay um so and then in between then you 342 00:22:31,680 --> 00:22:33,880 Speaker 1: would go to the smaller markets and it was sort 343 00:22:33,880 --> 00:22:37,159 Speaker 1: of like up in the air, whoever would or the 344 00:22:37,280 --> 00:22:40,879 Speaker 1: Leminum Barn exactly. Okay, I mean you might play a 345 00:22:40,960 --> 00:22:45,080 Speaker 1: tobacco warehouse, you might play fair grounds arena of some 346 00:22:45,200 --> 00:22:49,200 Speaker 1: kind of basketball or you know, now small theater, big club, 347 00:22:49,400 --> 00:22:54,879 Speaker 1: dance Halls. Well, okay, since James Brown situation, uh, it 348 00:22:54,960 --> 00:22:58,880 Speaker 1: is quite different. Um, I would like you too, could 349 00:22:58,920 --> 00:23:03,879 Speaker 1: you explain to us what the average conditions of a 350 00:23:04,040 --> 00:23:10,560 Speaker 1: Chittling circuit date would consist of. I mean just in 351 00:23:10,680 --> 00:23:15,280 Speaker 1: terms of well I asked that because like, okay, so 352 00:23:16,280 --> 00:23:18,840 Speaker 1: you know, when we first started, there was such a 353 00:23:18,880 --> 00:23:22,520 Speaker 1: thing as a writer like put I could put Captain 354 00:23:22,600 --> 00:23:26,880 Speaker 1: kruntziiro and have it every night. I could have Bonner's Peppermint, 355 00:23:26,920 --> 00:23:31,720 Speaker 1: so like you know, but obviously the glamour rider thing 356 00:23:31,800 --> 00:23:34,040 Speaker 1: was obviously the thing that was started in the seventies 357 00:23:34,040 --> 00:23:37,880 Speaker 1: and the eighties. But in the sixties. If you are 358 00:23:39,080 --> 00:23:43,199 Speaker 1: let's say you're Johnny Taylor and you have kind of 359 00:23:43,440 --> 00:23:47,000 Speaker 1: a hot record, that's that's that's cooking a little bit. 360 00:23:47,600 --> 00:23:51,160 Speaker 1: I mean, what is the average scenario for you? Are 361 00:23:51,200 --> 00:23:53,159 Speaker 1: you traveling by yourself? Do you have an entourage? Do 362 00:23:53,200 --> 00:23:56,639 Speaker 1: you have your musicians with you? Or it depends entirely 363 00:23:57,040 --> 00:23:59,800 Speaker 1: on me. There's no set rule. The idea was you 364 00:23:59,800 --> 00:24:04,000 Speaker 1: get hit record to get you out there. Your first 365 00:24:04,080 --> 00:24:07,280 Speaker 1: hit actually gets you out there because everybody wants to 366 00:24:07,320 --> 00:24:10,199 Speaker 1: see who has a new hit on radio, And the 367 00:24:10,240 --> 00:24:12,880 Speaker 1: first time out you're probably making five hundred bucks at night. 368 00:24:13,320 --> 00:24:19,399 Speaker 1: This is like sixties. No, it couldn't be good, but 369 00:24:19,400 --> 00:24:21,359 Speaker 1: but you know, you know, I don't know for the 370 00:24:21,400 --> 00:24:25,600 Speaker 1: sixties level like was that. Okay, you might make less. Actually, 371 00:24:25,640 --> 00:24:28,000 Speaker 1: if you're a support act, you might make three a night. 372 00:24:28,720 --> 00:24:30,359 Speaker 1: And when you figured that, you've got to pay for 373 00:24:30,440 --> 00:24:34,560 Speaker 1: hotels and gas at the station wagon and whoever you've 374 00:24:34,600 --> 00:24:37,440 Speaker 1: got on the road, you gotta pay them. Um No, 375 00:24:37,680 --> 00:24:39,760 Speaker 1: even at ten bucks at night in the hotels, it 376 00:24:39,880 --> 00:24:45,359 Speaker 1: still adds up. I mean, everything's relatives, it's but the 377 00:24:45,400 --> 00:24:48,320 Speaker 1: point being, once you had two or three hits, then 378 00:24:48,359 --> 00:24:50,920 Speaker 1: the goal was the first goal was to have the 379 00:24:51,080 --> 00:24:54,840 Speaker 1: rhythm section of your own. So some of these artists 380 00:24:54,840 --> 00:24:57,800 Speaker 1: would have to go to town. But let's let's take 381 00:24:57,920 --> 00:25:00,760 Speaker 1: let's let's take an example. Let's say the Pressions Curtis 382 00:25:00,800 --> 00:25:03,280 Speaker 1: made it feels the Impressions. Okay, they had to hit 383 00:25:03,320 --> 00:25:06,679 Speaker 1: Gypsy Woman, and they toured behind that. Curtis played guitar, 384 00:25:06,800 --> 00:25:09,560 Speaker 1: so they didn't need a guitarist, and they used whatever 385 00:25:09,600 --> 00:25:11,679 Speaker 1: band was up in the show. If it was a 386 00:25:11,760 --> 00:25:14,879 Speaker 1: theater like the Apollo, that'd be a house band, okay. 387 00:25:15,320 --> 00:25:17,720 Speaker 1: If it was a club, it would be like if 388 00:25:17,720 --> 00:25:21,359 Speaker 1: they were in Richmond, in my town, Um, there'd be 389 00:25:21,400 --> 00:25:23,879 Speaker 1: a local band that would be told to learn the 390 00:25:23,920 --> 00:25:27,080 Speaker 1: Impression songs. They'd come in in the afternoon, they do 391 00:25:27,160 --> 00:25:29,080 Speaker 1: a quick what you would call a sound check. They 392 00:25:29,160 --> 00:25:34,000 Speaker 1: do a rehearsal and hope for the best. Now a 393 00:25:34,080 --> 00:25:39,120 Speaker 1: side note, you actually knew the Winston's correct? Uh? The 394 00:25:39,280 --> 00:25:43,680 Speaker 1: all right, the Winston's brother they did the infamous straight 395 00:25:43,680 --> 00:25:47,399 Speaker 1: out of Compton break? Uh? But were they like the 396 00:25:47,480 --> 00:25:51,320 Speaker 1: local band that would be there when well, here's here's 397 00:25:51,400 --> 00:25:54,600 Speaker 1: here's the story there. The Winston's themselves were not um 398 00:25:54,640 --> 00:25:58,040 Speaker 1: but J. C. Coleman, Gregory Coleman, who was the drummer 399 00:25:58,040 --> 00:26:01,880 Speaker 1: in the Winston's in the famous break. Um. He had 400 00:26:01,880 --> 00:26:04,200 Speaker 1: a local band in Richmond, And that's how I knew 401 00:26:04,240 --> 00:26:07,280 Speaker 1: him because we did gigs together all the time. And 402 00:26:07,480 --> 00:26:10,280 Speaker 1: his his first wife was the female singer. And it 403 00:26:10,440 --> 00:26:12,560 Speaker 1: was like a seven eight piece band with a horn section. 404 00:26:13,200 --> 00:26:15,960 Speaker 1: And they would back o their artists like back to 405 00:26:16,040 --> 00:26:18,919 Speaker 1: the Impressions, for example, who come through town, and they 406 00:26:18,960 --> 00:26:21,080 Speaker 1: would back them and they do a set of their own. 407 00:26:21,200 --> 00:26:24,440 Speaker 1: They might play school dances. They might you know them too. 408 00:26:24,440 --> 00:26:27,000 Speaker 1: They would do any gig that came their way, but 409 00:26:27,119 --> 00:26:29,960 Speaker 1: they were basically a local band. Now in J. C. 410 00:26:30,119 --> 00:26:33,520 Speaker 1: Coleman's case, Um, he was a go enough drummer that 411 00:26:33,600 --> 00:26:36,040 Speaker 1: he got recognized and somehow he ended up on the 412 00:26:36,119 --> 00:26:38,200 Speaker 1: road with the marvel Letts as part of the Motown 413 00:26:38,720 --> 00:26:42,879 Speaker 1: Motortown Review shows, and he was the Martin Valette's personal drummer. 414 00:26:43,600 --> 00:26:47,719 Speaker 1: He went from the Otis Reading and he and several 415 00:26:47,760 --> 00:26:50,240 Speaker 1: of the members of the Otis Redding Band were laid 416 00:26:50,240 --> 00:26:53,240 Speaker 1: off what notice decided to tour with the Barquees. This 417 00:26:53,359 --> 00:26:58,000 Speaker 1: was shortly before he died. And Um, at that point 418 00:26:58,080 --> 00:27:00,720 Speaker 1: those guys who came out of Otis As Band formed 419 00:27:00,720 --> 00:27:03,800 Speaker 1: the Winston's and they became a club band that was 420 00:27:03,920 --> 00:27:07,960 Speaker 1: actually based in d C and the regular gig Wood 421 00:27:07,960 --> 00:27:10,359 Speaker 1: says a house band of the Discotheque in DC called 422 00:27:10,440 --> 00:27:14,760 Speaker 1: Ram's R A N. D. S and UM. And then 423 00:27:14,760 --> 00:27:16,720 Speaker 1: they got a deal and they cut color and father 424 00:27:16,960 --> 00:27:20,159 Speaker 1: the amen break was the flip side, which was that 425 00:27:21,160 --> 00:27:24,440 Speaker 1: was a B side. They actually they actually I loved 426 00:27:24,480 --> 00:27:27,040 Speaker 1: something out. They had actually toured strangely enough, with the 427 00:27:27,080 --> 00:27:30,600 Speaker 1: Impressions for several months as their band. Now this is 428 00:27:30,640 --> 00:27:34,040 Speaker 1: once the Impressions reached a certain point where they had 429 00:27:34,080 --> 00:27:36,720 Speaker 1: more hits and the money got bigger than they put 430 00:27:36,760 --> 00:27:40,280 Speaker 1: together their own band because they everybody hated playing with 431 00:27:40,320 --> 00:27:43,440 Speaker 1: these local bands because it was always raggedy. I mean, 432 00:27:44,240 --> 00:27:47,360 Speaker 1: like were they all of them? Was it just like 433 00:27:47,480 --> 00:27:49,760 Speaker 1: someone comes with core charts and says, here, read this 434 00:27:49,920 --> 00:27:53,280 Speaker 1: or you just his guys didn't even read music. Most 435 00:27:53,280 --> 00:27:55,160 Speaker 1: of these local bands, at least in the South didn't 436 00:27:55,160 --> 00:27:57,360 Speaker 1: even read music. Now, the house bands in the theaters 437 00:27:57,440 --> 00:28:01,760 Speaker 1: up north did and they wanted, like you played the Apollo. 438 00:28:02,000 --> 00:28:04,240 Speaker 1: If you didn't bring charge, get your feeling, it's hurt. 439 00:28:05,040 --> 00:28:09,040 Speaker 1: But down south, in the in the clubs, nobody read music. 440 00:28:09,119 --> 00:28:11,440 Speaker 1: So it was like learning the records. The band were 441 00:28:11,520 --> 00:28:14,560 Speaker 1: just learned the records before the group came to down 442 00:28:15,000 --> 00:28:17,480 Speaker 1: So the impressions come to town, they do a little 443 00:28:17,560 --> 00:28:21,440 Speaker 1: run through before the club opens, and and then they 444 00:28:21,520 --> 00:28:23,760 Speaker 1: just wing it. And I mean, I'm Steve. I used 445 00:28:23,760 --> 00:28:26,280 Speaker 1: to MC shows in these clubs, and I remember the 446 00:28:26,320 --> 00:28:29,200 Speaker 1: drifters who traveled with only a guitar player. They never 447 00:28:29,240 --> 00:28:31,960 Speaker 1: had a band, and they had huge hits, but they 448 00:28:32,160 --> 00:28:34,600 Speaker 1: never had a band. It was just the vocalists and 449 00:28:34,640 --> 00:28:38,280 Speaker 1: the guitar player, and the guitar player would just be 450 00:28:38,400 --> 00:28:41,160 Speaker 1: literally calling out changes to the band as that in 451 00:28:41,200 --> 00:28:44,280 Speaker 1: the middle of the gig, it was it was crazy wow. 452 00:28:44,640 --> 00:28:46,880 Speaker 1: Now keep keep in mind that this was the peak 453 00:28:46,880 --> 00:28:51,680 Speaker 1: of soul music, which was the singers the genre so 454 00:28:51,880 --> 00:28:56,600 Speaker 1: and and those guys really needed to sing because crowds 455 00:28:56,600 --> 00:29:00,560 Speaker 1: wouldn't you know if if if you really couldn't sing, um, 456 00:29:00,640 --> 00:29:02,760 Speaker 1: you weren't gonna last out there very long. You get 457 00:29:02,800 --> 00:29:07,280 Speaker 1: your feelings are real quick. So most of the one 458 00:29:07,400 --> 00:29:10,000 Speaker 1: of those clubs, if as long as the vocals were 459 00:29:10,040 --> 00:29:13,880 Speaker 1: clear and you could really feel the vocals and and 460 00:29:14,920 --> 00:29:19,560 Speaker 1: the rhythm section kept time, the audiences were usually happy. 461 00:29:20,000 --> 00:29:23,680 Speaker 1: But she's saying that they had apoler mentality in other 462 00:29:23,720 --> 00:29:28,360 Speaker 1: places then, other than the Apollo, as far as if 463 00:29:28,520 --> 00:29:33,520 Speaker 1: your show wasn't tight or yeah, you know you better 464 00:29:33,560 --> 00:29:41,520 Speaker 1: come correct. But the point was correct if you suck 465 00:29:41,560 --> 00:29:45,640 Speaker 1: your suck. But you know that didn't just just happen 466 00:29:45,720 --> 00:29:48,960 Speaker 1: in recent years, and they were a couple of acts 467 00:29:49,040 --> 00:29:51,160 Speaker 1: you had tape records that would come through town and 468 00:29:51,320 --> 00:29:53,960 Speaker 1: really lay an egg because they just didn't have it. 469 00:29:55,120 --> 00:29:58,160 Speaker 1: I wonder what a black route is harder on people, 470 00:30:00,000 --> 00:30:03,760 Speaker 1: probably because the martyrn money to see a show. I 471 00:30:04,160 --> 00:30:07,280 Speaker 1: think that but also because black music in the sixties 472 00:30:07,400 --> 00:30:12,520 Speaker 1: was really a singer's art, whereas particularly after the British invasion, 473 00:30:12,560 --> 00:30:15,040 Speaker 1: it was about the band and it was about the 474 00:30:15,080 --> 00:30:17,760 Speaker 1: hairstyles and the British clothes. They got sore and the 475 00:30:17,800 --> 00:30:19,960 Speaker 1: girls would screaming didn't even hear what they were playing. 476 00:30:27,680 --> 00:30:30,800 Speaker 1: So eventually, I guess, I mean, what was your first 477 00:30:30,920 --> 00:30:36,120 Speaker 1: James Brown experience and what about that really called out 478 00:30:36,160 --> 00:30:39,440 Speaker 1: to you as far as I mean did you Was 479 00:30:39,480 --> 00:30:41,400 Speaker 1: it a moment where it's like, oh, this is my 480 00:30:41,480 --> 00:30:44,520 Speaker 1: destiny or is it just like I had fallen in 481 00:30:44,560 --> 00:30:46,600 Speaker 1: love like everybody else with the first live at the 482 00:30:46,640 --> 00:30:51,160 Speaker 1: Apollo Am because it was just so totally apart from 483 00:30:51,200 --> 00:30:54,000 Speaker 1: everything else. I mean, it was just so obvious. Like 484 00:30:54,040 --> 00:30:56,840 Speaker 1: soul music and sould music, they were great, a ton 485 00:30:56,880 --> 00:30:59,640 Speaker 1: of great artists. But once you heard that, rook, could 486 00:30:59,640 --> 00:31:01,800 Speaker 1: you like, Okay, this this is some other stuff, this 487 00:31:01,880 --> 00:31:04,960 Speaker 1: is this is really the gold standard here, So okay 488 00:31:04,960 --> 00:31:09,480 Speaker 1: to explain to our listeners. So um, James Brown came 489 00:31:09,520 --> 00:31:14,520 Speaker 1: out the box uh with Please Please Please, which was 490 00:31:14,800 --> 00:31:18,200 Speaker 1: an instant hit, and then I guess he struggled for 491 00:31:18,240 --> 00:31:21,400 Speaker 1: two years to come up with a follow up hit 492 00:31:21,520 --> 00:31:23,920 Speaker 1: and how many singles do you reckon? Like at least 493 00:31:23,920 --> 00:31:27,200 Speaker 1: fifteen or sixteen before try Me? Maybe not fifteen, but 494 00:31:27,320 --> 00:31:32,080 Speaker 1: probably nine your ten. Okay, so a bunch an amazing 495 00:31:32,120 --> 00:31:35,840 Speaker 1: amount of missus which you know nowadays. I mean he 496 00:31:35,840 --> 00:31:39,360 Speaker 1: actually got dropped and Trying Me got a miss deal back. 497 00:31:39,880 --> 00:31:43,920 Speaker 1: Really he cut a demo up Trying Me that he 498 00:31:43,960 --> 00:31:47,160 Speaker 1: played pursued Nathan and King Records, who who had dropped him, 499 00:31:47,200 --> 00:31:49,840 Speaker 1: and he said, you know, please Mr Nathan, listen to 500 00:31:49,840 --> 00:31:56,600 Speaker 1: this literally try me, please please please try me. Um. 501 00:31:57,000 --> 00:32:02,680 Speaker 1: And so once uh I get us, uh, maybe three 502 00:32:02,760 --> 00:32:06,840 Speaker 1: or four years and two his career, James Brown decides 503 00:32:06,920 --> 00:32:13,760 Speaker 1: that his his audience needs to uh it needs to 504 00:32:13,840 --> 00:32:16,480 Speaker 1: feel what his live show or at least the energy 505 00:32:16,520 --> 00:32:19,440 Speaker 1: of what his live shows about, and then they'd be 506 00:32:19,520 --> 00:32:23,400 Speaker 1: more open to him. So enter James Brown Live at 507 00:32:23,400 --> 00:32:28,640 Speaker 1: the Apollo Volume one, which came out sixty two, was 508 00:32:28,760 --> 00:32:32,160 Speaker 1: recorded till root sixty two. It came out early sixty three. 509 00:32:32,960 --> 00:32:36,040 Speaker 1: So what was you know? I mean, I have my 510 00:32:36,080 --> 00:32:41,000 Speaker 1: favorites and obviously because I'm more closer to break beats 511 00:32:41,000 --> 00:32:44,240 Speaker 1: and you know, like what my standards for James Brown 512 00:32:44,360 --> 00:32:47,440 Speaker 1: a certain type of funk of course, I don't have 513 00:32:47,760 --> 00:32:51,120 Speaker 1: a a sentimental attachment to Volume one. I mean, I 514 00:32:51,200 --> 00:32:55,200 Speaker 1: understand why it's effective, but you know, my favorite is 515 00:32:55,240 --> 00:33:01,400 Speaker 1: personally Volume three. Uh. But what was it about that 516 00:33:01,440 --> 00:33:04,960 Speaker 1: record that spoke to you and spoke to America because 517 00:33:05,040 --> 00:33:08,480 Speaker 1: DJs would play this from beginning to end like, yeah, 518 00:33:08,520 --> 00:33:12,280 Speaker 1: they played it a song, Yeah they really did. Um. 519 00:33:12,320 --> 00:33:16,239 Speaker 1: I mean, first of all, it was it was the 520 00:33:16,240 --> 00:33:22,360 Speaker 1: the dynamic was so apparent because he really if you're 521 00:33:22,360 --> 00:33:26,480 Speaker 1: listening to the album, you realize it's one long medley, okay. Um. 522 00:33:26,520 --> 00:33:30,719 Speaker 1: He had segues in between the songs. Oh, never stopping, 523 00:33:30,800 --> 00:33:34,840 Speaker 1: never never stopped, never never stopped, which was totally different 524 00:33:34,840 --> 00:33:37,440 Speaker 1: because every other act in those days they play a song, 525 00:33:37,800 --> 00:33:40,080 Speaker 1: it would end with a big chord, they take a bottle, 526 00:33:40,800 --> 00:33:44,200 Speaker 1: you know, that introduced the next song. But with James 527 00:33:44,400 --> 00:33:47,400 Speaker 1: was just non stop action and you could just, not 528 00:33:47,520 --> 00:33:50,040 Speaker 1: having seen him perform yet, you would just sit there 529 00:33:50,040 --> 00:33:53,200 Speaker 1: and fantasize about what this must be like because it's 530 00:33:53,280 --> 00:33:57,560 Speaker 1: just it's crazy and I lost someone. Understand something too. 531 00:33:57,600 --> 00:34:01,400 Speaker 1: For James Barron, people of your generation, Um, when he 532 00:34:01,440 --> 00:34:03,560 Speaker 1: cut that record into sixty two, he was already the 533 00:34:03,640 --> 00:34:06,360 Speaker 1: king of that circuit. He was already setting house records 534 00:34:06,360 --> 00:34:09,200 Speaker 1: at the Apollo with the Outward Theater in places like that, 535 00:34:10,120 --> 00:34:13,840 Speaker 1: and but he hadn't crossed over yet, and most of 536 00:34:13,880 --> 00:34:18,080 Speaker 1: White America had no clue who he was. But the 537 00:34:18,120 --> 00:34:21,080 Speaker 1: majority of his said records at that point were slow songs. 538 00:34:21,520 --> 00:34:25,560 Speaker 1: They were what we call gospel blues, R and B soul, 539 00:34:26,239 --> 00:34:28,520 Speaker 1: whatever tag you want to call it, but you know, 540 00:34:28,719 --> 00:34:34,359 Speaker 1: very church influenced style of singing and really straight out 541 00:34:34,360 --> 00:34:39,640 Speaker 1: of the gospel courtest and but the the energy and 542 00:34:39,760 --> 00:34:43,080 Speaker 1: the passion is just unlike anything else that was on 543 00:34:43,239 --> 00:34:45,680 Speaker 1: record at that point because nobody, first of all, nobody 544 00:34:45,719 --> 00:34:50,200 Speaker 1: even Ray Charles, had made a live record, so you really, 545 00:34:50,400 --> 00:34:52,759 Speaker 1: unless you went to the shows, you really had no 546 00:34:52,840 --> 00:34:57,719 Speaker 1: concept of what those little forty fives turned into with 547 00:34:58,400 --> 00:35:03,000 Speaker 1: a full band arrangement. And it was obvious that James, 548 00:35:03,080 --> 00:35:06,040 Speaker 1: first of all, he had a killer band that was 549 00:35:07,120 --> 00:35:12,000 Speaker 1: ridiculously well rehearsed, and that alone set him apart from 550 00:35:12,000 --> 00:35:14,000 Speaker 1: everybody else, because there was nobody else in har and 551 00:35:14,000 --> 00:35:18,520 Speaker 1: B except maybe Ray Charles, who could afford that, because 552 00:35:18,600 --> 00:35:22,840 Speaker 1: the economics of that circuit were such that even somebody 553 00:35:22,880 --> 00:35:27,680 Speaker 1: like Jackie Wilson or Jerry Butler Otis reading at the 554 00:35:27,800 --> 00:35:30,560 Speaker 1: at the beginnings of their careers. Well, Jackie Wilson never 555 00:35:30,600 --> 00:35:33,920 Speaker 1: had a band of his own. Otis Otis did, but 556 00:35:33,960 --> 00:35:37,680 Speaker 1: it was never a good band. Um well, you know 557 00:35:37,760 --> 00:35:42,160 Speaker 1: so so so James thing really was was very unique 558 00:35:42,200 --> 00:35:44,920 Speaker 1: on that circuit. I mean he came to do business. 559 00:35:45,880 --> 00:35:52,000 Speaker 1: So when he came to Virginia, Uh, I mean, how 560 00:35:52,000 --> 00:35:55,400 Speaker 1: did you to first meet? Like what was the Well, 561 00:35:55,800 --> 00:35:57,520 Speaker 1: I went to a show and this was long before 562 00:35:57,560 --> 00:35:59,239 Speaker 1: I was I shouldn't say a longe, a couple of 563 00:35:59,280 --> 00:36:01,319 Speaker 1: years before, and it up on the radio station. I 564 00:36:01,360 --> 00:36:03,880 Speaker 1: went to one of his shows about and this was 565 00:36:03,920 --> 00:36:07,160 Speaker 1: also in sixty three, and it was it was a 566 00:36:07,200 --> 00:36:09,920 Speaker 1: concert in the theater. It wasn't a club show, and 567 00:36:09,960 --> 00:36:12,440 Speaker 1: there was like a smattering of white kids, you know 568 00:36:12,480 --> 00:36:16,560 Speaker 1: that had discovered James Braham And I'd say, it's you know, 569 00:36:16,600 --> 00:36:18,880 Speaker 1: it's what we call the Landmark Theater now then it 570 00:36:18,960 --> 00:36:20,960 Speaker 1: was called the Mosque. I'm sure you've played. You played 571 00:36:20,960 --> 00:36:25,279 Speaker 1: there with um holds three thousand people, maybe there were 572 00:36:25,320 --> 00:36:29,160 Speaker 1: a hundred white people there. So it was at least 573 00:36:29,719 --> 00:36:34,320 Speaker 1: that the live album had begun to attract some white fans, 574 00:36:35,080 --> 00:36:37,520 Speaker 1: but he still wasn't on pop radio. So yeah, rich 575 00:36:37,520 --> 00:36:39,560 Speaker 1: white kid didn't it still didn't really have ac clue 576 00:36:39,560 --> 00:36:42,759 Speaker 1: who he was. Um, but I mean the show was 577 00:36:42,800 --> 00:36:44,600 Speaker 1: everything I dreamt it would be, and I was just 578 00:36:44,719 --> 00:36:47,239 Speaker 1: you know, blown to like everybody else was. But a 579 00:36:47,320 --> 00:36:49,480 Speaker 1: couple of years later, fast forward, I'm working for the 580 00:36:49,600 --> 00:36:52,920 Speaker 1: radio station James Brown's coming to town. The station is 581 00:36:52,960 --> 00:36:55,880 Speaker 1: promoting the show, and I just begged the program director 582 00:36:55,920 --> 00:36:58,160 Speaker 1: to let me go interviewing mits hotel to hype this 583 00:36:58,200 --> 00:37:01,080 Speaker 1: show because it was kind of true sational that if 584 00:37:01,120 --> 00:37:03,640 Speaker 1: an act came to town early enough in the day, 585 00:37:04,160 --> 00:37:06,840 Speaker 1: they would either come down to the radio station to 586 00:37:06,920 --> 00:37:09,480 Speaker 1: do an interview. And the whole idea was not it 587 00:37:09,560 --> 00:37:11,520 Speaker 1: was it was twofold. It was to plug the current 588 00:37:11,600 --> 00:37:15,880 Speaker 1: single and encouraged the DJs to continue playing their records. 589 00:37:15,880 --> 00:37:18,399 Speaker 1: And it was two hype ticket sales for the show 590 00:37:18,440 --> 00:37:22,920 Speaker 1: that night. UM. A lot of the ticket sales for 591 00:37:23,000 --> 00:37:26,000 Speaker 1: those shows were walk up, unlike today where shows are 592 00:37:26,000 --> 00:37:29,960 Speaker 1: pretty much sold out in advance. Um, in those days, 593 00:37:31,000 --> 00:37:35,960 Speaker 1: sales are still not like that, because you know, our 594 00:37:35,960 --> 00:37:38,439 Speaker 1: advancing show will be like, yeah, man, you only sold 595 00:37:38,440 --> 00:37:41,120 Speaker 1: twelve tickets, we might canceled, IM Like No Man's Black 596 00:37:41,160 --> 00:37:44,359 Speaker 1: People and then like it sold down that night, you know, 597 00:37:44,520 --> 00:37:47,520 Speaker 1: but that that's that's still a dynamic. But I mean 598 00:37:47,560 --> 00:37:50,200 Speaker 1: back then, it was just rule of thumb. It wasn't 599 00:37:50,200 --> 00:37:55,000 Speaker 1: the exception. It was the rule. Um. So at any rate, um. 600 00:37:55,040 --> 00:37:57,239 Speaker 1: But James was big enough that he wasn't going to 601 00:37:57,400 --> 00:37:59,799 Speaker 1: come to the station. He might send Bobby Bird down 602 00:37:59,840 --> 00:38:02,000 Speaker 1: to do an interview, or you know, one of the 603 00:38:02,080 --> 00:38:06,000 Speaker 1: supporter acts Macio or somebody, but so he rarely came 604 00:38:06,040 --> 00:38:09,120 Speaker 1: to the station. Just he used to. But by the 605 00:38:09,120 --> 00:38:11,200 Speaker 1: time I went to work at the station, he had 606 00:38:11,239 --> 00:38:14,680 Speaker 1: kind of graduated past that. So the idea was, this 607 00:38:14,760 --> 00:38:18,920 Speaker 1: is sixty five, so I'm like, let me take a 608 00:38:19,000 --> 00:38:24,480 Speaker 1: day recorded to his hotel. And that's what happened. And 609 00:38:24,680 --> 00:38:27,040 Speaker 1: you know, I met him and we talked for about 610 00:38:27,040 --> 00:38:31,040 Speaker 1: a half hour before we went went on tape, and 611 00:38:31,200 --> 00:38:33,400 Speaker 1: for whatever reason, he took a liking to me. And 612 00:38:33,440 --> 00:38:36,320 Speaker 1: I've always wondered why. I don't mean that from a 613 00:38:36,400 --> 00:38:43,000 Speaker 1: humble sense, um, but we stayed in touch and every 614 00:38:43,040 --> 00:38:45,160 Speaker 1: time after that he would come through town, I would 615 00:38:45,200 --> 00:38:48,399 Speaker 1: go backstage, hang out the dressing room and we would 616 00:38:48,400 --> 00:38:51,480 Speaker 1: talk music. And you know, I was I was the 617 00:38:51,560 --> 00:38:55,080 Speaker 1: typical little kid who had all kinds of questions, what's 618 00:38:55,080 --> 00:38:57,399 Speaker 1: your next thing? Well, where did you record it? Um, 619 00:38:57,560 --> 00:38:59,960 Speaker 1: did you use the road band? Who's in the band now, 620 00:39:00,120 --> 00:39:03,120 Speaker 1: who's the lead who's the new lead trumpet? You know, 621 00:39:06,280 --> 00:39:11,640 Speaker 1: exactly exactly, And he would engage you totally. But after 622 00:39:11,680 --> 00:39:13,399 Speaker 1: I went to work for him, I discovered you did 623 00:39:13,400 --> 00:39:16,520 Speaker 1: that with any disc jockey who had primed time, because 624 00:39:16,560 --> 00:39:19,080 Speaker 1: it was like, so, you know, I mean, he made 625 00:39:19,120 --> 00:39:20,640 Speaker 1: me feel like I was the only guy in the 626 00:39:20,640 --> 00:39:22,799 Speaker 1: world he's talking to like this, right, I mean, we're 627 00:39:22,800 --> 00:39:26,839 Speaker 1: talking business. I actually turned the tape recorder on when 628 00:39:26,920 --> 00:39:30,799 Speaker 1: we were just kicking it without him knowing it, and 629 00:39:30,880 --> 00:39:33,640 Speaker 1: you hear us in the background conversing and we're talking 630 00:39:33,680 --> 00:39:37,240 Speaker 1: about things like the Motown review and what promoters Berry 631 00:39:37,280 --> 00:39:39,560 Speaker 1: Gordon used and he should have used a black promoter, 632 00:39:39,760 --> 00:39:42,279 Speaker 1: and James is just going off about you know, we're 633 00:39:42,280 --> 00:39:45,680 Speaker 1: talking business and I'm a little pimpley faced high school kid. 634 00:39:45,920 --> 00:39:49,319 Speaker 1: It's like I was just blown away. It's like I 635 00:39:49,360 --> 00:39:52,400 Speaker 1: love this guy that he engaged you. Yeah, exactly, And 636 00:39:52,640 --> 00:39:55,360 Speaker 1: I think I'm gonna be the next Dick Clark. It's like, 637 00:39:55,400 --> 00:39:57,560 Speaker 1: so you're gonna be big. You got the prime time 638 00:39:58,960 --> 00:40:01,719 Speaker 1: you know his yeah, his rule of thumb. I guess 639 00:40:01,880 --> 00:40:04,000 Speaker 1: one of his books he said that, you know he 640 00:40:04,120 --> 00:40:07,840 Speaker 1: always made the well the intern or the or the 641 00:40:08,239 --> 00:40:11,080 Speaker 1: person who not Lewis on the totem pole. But pretty 642 00:40:11,160 --> 00:40:15,239 Speaker 1: much he'd make them feel important because he figured that 643 00:40:15,320 --> 00:40:19,759 Speaker 1: and about five to six to seven years that they 644 00:40:19,800 --> 00:40:22,520 Speaker 1: will soon be the station manager exactly. Yeah, they'll be 645 00:40:22,560 --> 00:40:25,840 Speaker 1: the music director picking the records. That he started that 646 00:40:25,920 --> 00:40:31,080 Speaker 1: concept because all of us just took down. That's real, right, No, yeah, 647 00:40:31,200 --> 00:40:33,279 Speaker 1: like I was taught that was the first thing. I 648 00:40:33,320 --> 00:40:36,520 Speaker 1: was taught to do. Every college interview, every and now 649 00:40:37,680 --> 00:40:41,319 Speaker 1: every every RinkyDink college interview ever done now ends with 650 00:40:41,440 --> 00:40:45,879 Speaker 1: ten years later like some CEO of some corporation that's like, 651 00:40:46,400 --> 00:40:49,400 Speaker 1: you don't remember this is but in Brown University you 652 00:40:49,480 --> 00:40:52,880 Speaker 1: played at home my first interview, and like, you know, 653 00:40:53,000 --> 00:40:56,680 Speaker 1: that's now I'm doing something else for them that's you know, 654 00:40:56,800 --> 00:41:00,879 Speaker 1: way big. So it's it's I see how that's plays. 655 00:41:00,920 --> 00:41:03,799 Speaker 1: So at what point did he take you serious enough 656 00:41:03,840 --> 00:41:08,279 Speaker 1: to take over or at least start working for Did 657 00:41:08,280 --> 00:41:11,600 Speaker 1: you start off as tour manager or no, actually started 658 00:41:11,600 --> 00:41:14,960 Speaker 1: doing publicity. What happened is that I used to chase 659 00:41:15,040 --> 00:41:17,680 Speaker 1: the show around. I mean any time it was anywhere 660 00:41:17,719 --> 00:41:20,239 Speaker 1: near where I was a hundred miles two hundred miles. 661 00:41:20,280 --> 00:41:22,839 Speaker 1: I'd go to d C at the Howard Theater. I'd 662 00:41:22,880 --> 00:41:26,160 Speaker 1: go to Norfolk, Virginia, and I'd go to West Virginia. 663 00:41:26,840 --> 00:41:29,359 Speaker 1: And you know, just any time the James Round Show 664 00:41:29,520 --> 00:41:33,200 Speaker 1: was within radius, I was there and really just totally 665 00:41:33,200 --> 00:41:34,799 Speaker 1: make it a pest to myself. But I got to 666 00:41:34,840 --> 00:41:37,600 Speaker 1: know his manager. I got to know his his road manager, 667 00:41:38,320 --> 00:41:42,080 Speaker 1: and not to mention, made friends with Bobby Burden, some 668 00:41:42,200 --> 00:41:45,400 Speaker 1: of the guys in the band, and um, you know, 669 00:41:45,440 --> 00:41:49,360 Speaker 1: for whatever reason, they let me hang. So fast forward 670 00:41:49,440 --> 00:41:54,560 Speaker 1: to nineteen sixty nine and I'm in college in Pittsburgh. Um, 671 00:41:54,600 --> 00:41:56,520 Speaker 1: the little radio phase it and it thanks to the 672 00:41:56,600 --> 00:41:59,640 Speaker 1: Vietnam War trying to draft everybody. It wasn't in college, 673 00:41:59,680 --> 00:42:01,400 Speaker 1: so I'd aside a bit of getting college where I 674 00:42:01,480 --> 00:42:05,839 Speaker 1: was going to Vietnam. So so your career was abruptly 675 00:42:06,440 --> 00:42:09,880 Speaker 1: halted in favor of a college career that lasted for 676 00:42:09,920 --> 00:42:12,960 Speaker 1: about two years until he hired me. But what happened 677 00:42:13,040 --> 00:42:17,440 Speaker 1: is when you actually his manager called and said he's 678 00:42:17,480 --> 00:42:21,440 Speaker 1: coming to Pittsburgh and he's got issues with the program director. 679 00:42:21,480 --> 00:42:23,840 Speaker 1: Of the black station there. So he needs a local 680 00:42:23,880 --> 00:42:26,719 Speaker 1: watchdog for the promotion of the concert. Would you be 681 00:42:26,800 --> 00:42:29,600 Speaker 1: willing to do it? And what would that entail? That 682 00:42:29,880 --> 00:42:36,279 Speaker 1: entailed buying the advertisement, newspaper ads, radio ads, um, monitoring 683 00:42:36,320 --> 00:42:39,920 Speaker 1: it to make sure the ads are played right, Um, 684 00:42:40,120 --> 00:42:43,480 Speaker 1: you've been your own customer adds Yes, yeah, yeah, that 685 00:42:43,680 --> 00:42:46,120 Speaker 1: that was That's the way I knew they'd be, the 686 00:42:46,160 --> 00:42:48,400 Speaker 1: way I wanted to be, and didn't really trust anybody 687 00:42:48,440 --> 00:42:50,879 Speaker 1: to do them. And it was part of the fun 688 00:42:50,920 --> 00:42:54,000 Speaker 1: because I enjoyed doing it. Um, and you know, putting 689 00:42:54,080 --> 00:42:57,279 Speaker 1: up posters, I mean literally driving around and with a 690 00:42:57,360 --> 00:43:01,080 Speaker 1: trunk full of big window card post justs and with 691 00:43:01,200 --> 00:43:03,480 Speaker 1: a staple gun, put them up on telephone poles all 692 00:43:03,520 --> 00:43:09,239 Speaker 1: over town, put him in barbershop windows, and exactly it was. 693 00:43:09,360 --> 00:43:12,320 Speaker 1: It was the old school version of the Street Team. 694 00:43:12,400 --> 00:43:15,960 Speaker 1: And suffice it to say, the show sold out. But 695 00:43:16,280 --> 00:43:19,120 Speaker 1: what really got him was I showed him a bunch 696 00:43:19,120 --> 00:43:23,560 Speaker 1: of newspaper stories that the local paper had done. Um, 697 00:43:23,719 --> 00:43:27,200 Speaker 1: the local daily paper. And at that point, daily papers 698 00:43:27,239 --> 00:43:30,520 Speaker 1: didn't pay a lot of intention to black shows, seldom 699 00:43:30,520 --> 00:43:34,520 Speaker 1: and reviewed them and very seldom wrote them up in advance. 700 00:43:35,520 --> 00:43:38,600 Speaker 1: But what I didn't tell James was that the entertainment 701 00:43:38,680 --> 00:43:40,440 Speaker 1: editor of the paper happened to be a friend of 702 00:43:40,480 --> 00:43:45,399 Speaker 1: my dad's. Okay, so I had the white privilege paid 703 00:43:45,440 --> 00:43:48,440 Speaker 1: off and I got I got, you know, so I 704 00:43:48,480 --> 00:43:50,840 Speaker 1: got a bunch of stories in the paper and he 705 00:43:50,960 --> 00:43:55,720 Speaker 1: was like blown out and he's like, got this, yeah, exactly. 706 00:43:55,719 --> 00:43:57,200 Speaker 1: So I showed it to him in the dressing room 707 00:43:57,239 --> 00:43:59,600 Speaker 1: after the show and he's all geek because the shows 708 00:43:59,640 --> 00:44:01,799 Speaker 1: sold out and we were in the Civic Arena. It's 709 00:44:01,840 --> 00:44:03,920 Speaker 1: like thirteen thousand people, so it was, you know, it 710 00:44:04,000 --> 00:44:08,400 Speaker 1: was a real deal. And he was like, Alan, you 711 00:44:08,440 --> 00:44:10,880 Speaker 1: did this here? Can you do this everywhere? And of 712 00:44:10,920 --> 00:44:13,960 Speaker 1: course I said yes, and I had you know, my 713 00:44:14,040 --> 00:44:16,520 Speaker 1: dad doesn't know anybody else in any of the city 714 00:44:17,080 --> 00:44:19,880 Speaker 1: knock the South in that, you know. So that was 715 00:44:19,920 --> 00:44:22,440 Speaker 1: the gig. I was hired to come to Cincinnati where 716 00:44:22,560 --> 00:44:26,680 Speaker 1: King Records was in James's office space was within King Records, 717 00:44:27,400 --> 00:44:29,920 Speaker 1: and at quit school, drove to Cincinnati and started my 718 00:44:30,000 --> 00:44:33,560 Speaker 1: job as publicity director. So was it a learning curve 719 00:44:33,640 --> 00:44:38,439 Speaker 1: for you? Totally? Totally. I was just a kid right 720 00:44:38,960 --> 00:44:42,399 Speaker 1: without the aid of I mean, of course, technology makes 721 00:44:42,480 --> 00:44:46,359 Speaker 1: us alwasier could make us all publicists in this room 722 00:44:46,440 --> 00:44:49,320 Speaker 1: right now, with our with our phones and our computers. 723 00:44:49,360 --> 00:44:54,440 Speaker 1: But I mean, what resources did you have to even know? Uh, 724 00:44:54,480 --> 00:44:59,759 Speaker 1: you know to get coverage in the Times? Or there 725 00:44:59,800 --> 00:45:04,600 Speaker 1: was a marketing book that listed all the country's newspapers. Okay, 726 00:45:05,160 --> 00:45:08,920 Speaker 1: I got hold of that, and once I got to Cincinnati, 727 00:45:08,960 --> 00:45:11,440 Speaker 1: they just threw an itinerary in my in my lap 728 00:45:11,480 --> 00:45:13,279 Speaker 1: and said this is where the show is going. Do 729 00:45:13,400 --> 00:45:16,160 Speaker 1: you think you got it? And there was really nobody 730 00:45:16,200 --> 00:45:18,399 Speaker 1: to supervise, so it was kind of like I can 731 00:45:18,400 --> 00:45:22,600 Speaker 1: invent this and you know, do whatever, because nobody had 732 00:45:22,600 --> 00:45:25,920 Speaker 1: done it for him before in the house, and so 733 00:45:26,040 --> 00:45:28,719 Speaker 1: you were his first publicists pretty much. I mean, he 734 00:45:28,800 --> 00:45:31,520 Speaker 1: had a few independent people that would plant stuff in 735 00:45:31,600 --> 00:45:35,360 Speaker 1: the Washington Afro American, in the Amsterdam News and stuff 736 00:45:35,400 --> 00:45:38,360 Speaker 1: like that, but in terms of like calling the dailies 737 00:45:38,920 --> 00:45:42,520 Speaker 1: in major cities, no, um. And that's what I did. 738 00:45:42,560 --> 00:45:45,040 Speaker 1: I just cold called the newspapers and every town where 739 00:45:45,040 --> 00:45:47,600 Speaker 1: the show was going and would ask for the entertainment 740 00:45:47,800 --> 00:45:50,719 Speaker 1: editor of the paper. And they were used to get 741 00:45:50,760 --> 00:45:53,120 Speaker 1: in calls like this because nobody did it. Now I 742 00:45:53,160 --> 00:45:56,400 Speaker 1: didn't know that. I'm thinking everybody must do this, but 743 00:45:56,960 --> 00:46:01,280 Speaker 1: really they didn't. So at what point do you stop 744 00:46:01,320 --> 00:46:04,000 Speaker 1: doing or did you stop doing publicity? Or were you doing? 745 00:46:04,360 --> 00:46:07,240 Speaker 1: Because I know the James Brown organization people do double duties. 746 00:46:07,320 --> 00:46:12,880 Speaker 1: After about a month when I didn't get paid, this 747 00:46:13,200 --> 00:46:15,880 Speaker 1: see to what I also didn't understand that the James 748 00:46:15,960 --> 00:46:19,240 Speaker 1: Brown organization. First of all, I always called him James 749 00:46:19,280 --> 00:46:21,200 Speaker 1: until I went to work for him, and it was 750 00:46:21,239 --> 00:46:24,799 Speaker 1: made very clear, now it's Mr. Brown. When you were 751 00:46:24,800 --> 00:46:26,719 Speaker 1: friends with him, you were allowed to call him James. Yeah. 752 00:46:26,719 --> 00:46:28,440 Speaker 1: I was a kid. I didn't even know any better, 753 00:46:30,000 --> 00:46:31,880 Speaker 1: and I was also just jockey, so I could have 754 00:46:31,880 --> 00:46:33,799 Speaker 1: called him anything. He was gonna be cool with it 755 00:46:33,800 --> 00:46:37,000 Speaker 1: because he wanted his records played. But now I'm working 756 00:46:37,040 --> 00:46:40,400 Speaker 1: for him now it was a reciprocal I mean he 757 00:46:40,480 --> 00:46:43,680 Speaker 1: called me Mr. Leeds. Everybody in the organization was Mr 758 00:46:43,800 --> 00:46:48,040 Speaker 1: or Mrs or miss whatever the case. Maybe. But what 759 00:46:48,080 --> 00:46:50,880 Speaker 1: I didn't know was that he had gone to the 760 00:46:50,920 --> 00:46:54,760 Speaker 1: president of King Records and told him that he should 761 00:46:54,760 --> 00:46:58,640 Speaker 1: pay me. I brought this kid in. He's a great publicist, 762 00:46:58,680 --> 00:47:01,759 Speaker 1: you pay him. He went off on the road. Well, 763 00:47:01,800 --> 00:47:04,680 Speaker 1: the guy, how nearly it was the president King Records. 764 00:47:04,800 --> 00:47:07,319 Speaker 1: He didn't know who I was. He never met me, 765 00:47:07,400 --> 00:47:10,000 Speaker 1: nor could he care less. So long and short of 766 00:47:10,080 --> 00:47:11,960 Speaker 1: it is, I didn't get paid. So after about the 767 00:47:12,000 --> 00:47:14,560 Speaker 1: third week, I'm like, well, you know the first week 768 00:47:14,600 --> 00:47:17,480 Speaker 1: the office managers telling me, well, it's it's just the 769 00:47:17,520 --> 00:47:19,799 Speaker 1: payroll has got to catch up. Because the pay would 770 00:47:19,840 --> 00:47:23,120 Speaker 1: come from the road Every Sunday, the road manager would 771 00:47:23,160 --> 00:47:25,920 Speaker 1: wire money to the office to pay the office staff. 772 00:47:26,880 --> 00:47:29,400 Speaker 1: And they were like, you know, a couple of clerical people, 773 00:47:29,640 --> 00:47:34,240 Speaker 1: and the receptionists and staff and s and the guys 774 00:47:34,280 --> 00:47:38,920 Speaker 1: who booked the shows. Who literally because because James um 775 00:47:39,000 --> 00:47:41,560 Speaker 1: he booked his own shows, he had guys on his 776 00:47:41,600 --> 00:47:45,160 Speaker 1: payroll who would call the buildings and call promoters and 777 00:47:45,320 --> 00:47:48,640 Speaker 1: booked the shows instead of using an agent. It was 778 00:47:48,680 --> 00:47:52,200 Speaker 1: all in house. So I'm watching these guys do this 779 00:47:52,239 --> 00:47:54,280 Speaker 1: because I'm sitting at a desk in the same office, 780 00:47:54,280 --> 00:47:57,279 Speaker 1: and I'm just paying attention to what they're doing. One 781 00:47:57,320 --> 00:48:01,120 Speaker 1: of them got fired, and I mean I left out 782 00:48:01,160 --> 00:48:03,640 Speaker 1: the point where after after I didn't get paid, I 783 00:48:03,680 --> 00:48:07,320 Speaker 1: actually left for about a month and a half. Brown 784 00:48:07,480 --> 00:48:09,640 Speaker 1: was on tour in California. I couldn't get him on 785 00:48:09,680 --> 00:48:13,120 Speaker 1: the phone, and the guy King Records said, hey, sorry kid, 786 00:48:13,160 --> 00:48:15,160 Speaker 1: but just didn't work out, you know, kind of a thing. 787 00:48:15,239 --> 00:48:19,200 Speaker 1: So I was mad, and you know, my friends at 788 00:48:19,239 --> 00:48:22,000 Speaker 1: school in Pittsburgh had thrown me going away party, you know, 789 00:48:22,480 --> 00:48:28,360 Speaker 1: big shot lead. I could not go home, are you 790 00:48:29,440 --> 00:48:35,160 Speaker 1: I wouldn't go home? Yeah, that's that's tragic, And I wasn't. 791 00:48:35,280 --> 00:48:37,280 Speaker 1: I've never been a person who wants to be tragic. 792 00:48:37,360 --> 00:48:39,520 Speaker 1: So I drove to New York and I knew a 793 00:48:39,560 --> 00:48:44,600 Speaker 1: guy who was cooling the games road manager okay, and 794 00:48:44,800 --> 00:48:46,959 Speaker 1: he hooked me up with Jane Red Junior, I admit 795 00:48:47,040 --> 00:48:49,359 Speaker 1: his dad. And he hooked me up with Jeane Red 796 00:48:49,400 --> 00:48:51,960 Speaker 1: Junior cooling the game. We're just breaking. Their first single 797 00:48:52,120 --> 00:48:54,680 Speaker 1: was just hitting, so I actually got a get with 798 00:48:54,760 --> 00:48:58,600 Speaker 1: them for about a month. Um. But that was also 799 00:48:58,680 --> 00:49:01,800 Speaker 1: no salary. That was like you get a piece of 800 00:49:01,840 --> 00:49:07,000 Speaker 1: the gigs you book commission, um. And most of the 801 00:49:07,000 --> 00:49:09,439 Speaker 1: gigs I was booking were DJ gigs up and down 802 00:49:09,480 --> 00:49:13,600 Speaker 1: the East Coast and djsd' I was gonna say. What 803 00:49:13,600 --> 00:49:16,520 Speaker 1: I learned, uh, was that it was a whole house. 804 00:49:16,680 --> 00:49:19,359 Speaker 1: The black acts were kind of at the mercy of 805 00:49:19,440 --> 00:49:23,440 Speaker 1: the radio stations totally that would throw these shows, so 806 00:49:23,560 --> 00:49:27,080 Speaker 1: no one could actually make a living. It was tough, 807 00:49:27,560 --> 00:49:30,600 Speaker 1: you know, as a musician until so you had several 808 00:49:30,680 --> 00:49:34,440 Speaker 1: hits and could really sell tickets on your own. So 809 00:49:34,560 --> 00:49:37,879 Speaker 1: afterwards you you just you just gave up and came 810 00:49:37,920 --> 00:49:40,480 Speaker 1: back to James. Well, what happened is one of the 811 00:49:40,480 --> 00:49:43,680 Speaker 1: guys who was booking the tour got fired and the 812 00:49:43,719 --> 00:49:47,439 Speaker 1: guy that was still there, Um had stayed in touch 813 00:49:47,520 --> 00:49:52,839 Speaker 1: with me, and he convinced me that James would rehire me. 814 00:49:52,920 --> 00:49:56,120 Speaker 1: And I'm like, rehire me. I never got paid, right, 815 00:49:57,200 --> 00:50:00,000 Speaker 1: I might have worked, but I wasn't. James rounds concerned 816 00:50:00,000 --> 00:50:05,000 Speaker 1: and you're still there doing something and he didn't know 817 00:50:05,040 --> 00:50:06,719 Speaker 1: that you were going. Oh no, he knew I was going. 818 00:50:07,160 --> 00:50:09,560 Speaker 1: He just knew I was going, Just like, yeah, a 819 00:50:09,640 --> 00:50:13,480 Speaker 1: nice kid. But didn't work out, you know. But the 820 00:50:13,560 --> 00:50:16,320 Speaker 1: longest short of is James told as fellow's name was 821 00:50:16,360 --> 00:50:19,080 Speaker 1: Buddy Nolan and Buddy Cauldon. He said, Mr Brown said 822 00:50:19,120 --> 00:50:21,520 Speaker 1: that if you could be in Rochester, New York tonight, 823 00:50:22,440 --> 00:50:25,520 Speaker 1: you got a job and he'll break you in ast 824 00:50:26,560 --> 00:50:29,080 Speaker 1: to our director, assistant to our director and so on, 825 00:50:29,280 --> 00:50:32,200 Speaker 1: and you'll help book the dates and promote the dates. 826 00:50:32,200 --> 00:50:35,160 Speaker 1: So it's no more publicity. Now, it's like we're you know, 827 00:50:35,280 --> 00:50:39,000 Speaker 1: promoting the shows. Um, and I was in New York 828 00:50:39,080 --> 00:50:42,520 Speaker 1: with very little money in my pocket, scraped enough together, 829 00:50:42,600 --> 00:50:44,759 Speaker 1: bought a bus ticket, went to Port authority, caught a 830 00:50:44,840 --> 00:50:47,880 Speaker 1: bus to Rochester, showed up at the gig right as 831 00:50:47,920 --> 00:50:52,520 Speaker 1: he was coming off stage, got backstage, shook hands, said 832 00:50:52,520 --> 00:50:59,719 Speaker 1: welcome back. Son said something patronizing, and an hour later 833 00:50:59,760 --> 00:51:01,279 Speaker 1: I was with him when his lear jet flying the 834 00:51:01,360 --> 00:51:05,120 Speaker 1: Cincinnati So you know what from a greyhound at the 835 00:51:05,160 --> 00:51:07,560 Speaker 1: port authority would know, money in my pocket to a 836 00:51:07,680 --> 00:51:10,560 Speaker 1: job that actually paid me in and a seat on 837 00:51:10,640 --> 00:51:13,680 Speaker 1: the lear jedge. So not bad. It was a good day. 838 00:51:13,960 --> 00:51:17,080 Speaker 1: That is Yeah, that that isn't bad at all. Can 839 00:51:17,160 --> 00:51:21,000 Speaker 1: you can you tell the story of Okay, I wanted 840 00:51:21,040 --> 00:51:23,200 Speaker 1: to give her an example of the time when you 841 00:51:23,239 --> 00:51:26,600 Speaker 1: assumed that James Brown was going to be sick and 842 00:51:26,640 --> 00:51:29,600 Speaker 1: canceled a show that was not one of my bit 843 00:51:29,640 --> 00:51:37,160 Speaker 1: of days musty years and must day years. Yeah he was, Um, 844 00:51:37,200 --> 00:51:39,400 Speaker 1: we had he was. He was what he would do 845 00:51:39,440 --> 00:51:41,440 Speaker 1: because he had a lear jet, he could fly in 846 00:51:41,480 --> 00:51:44,440 Speaker 1: and out of one night ER's in b markets, so 847 00:51:44,520 --> 00:51:47,440 Speaker 1: he might base himself in New York for example, if 848 00:51:47,480 --> 00:51:50,880 Speaker 1: he had gigs. Let's say Fridays in Boston, on Saturdays 849 00:51:50,920 --> 00:51:54,840 Speaker 1: in Providence, and Sundays in Hartford. He would base himself 850 00:51:54,840 --> 00:51:57,360 Speaker 1: out of a favorite hotel in New York and just 851 00:51:57,440 --> 00:51:59,719 Speaker 1: flying in and out of these places and you know, 852 00:51:59,800 --> 00:52:02,600 Speaker 1: be back in his hotel in New York by one 853 00:52:02,640 --> 00:52:05,759 Speaker 1: in the morning. Right. So, he was staying at the 854 00:52:05,760 --> 00:52:08,560 Speaker 1: Americana now the Sheritton on the Seventh Avenue. I was 855 00:52:08,640 --> 00:52:11,680 Speaker 1: home in Cincinnati, and we had a gig in Providence, 856 00:52:12,640 --> 00:52:15,799 Speaker 1: and Bobby Bird, who traveled with him was you know, 857 00:52:15,920 --> 00:52:19,520 Speaker 1: quasi leader of the band at the time and traveled 858 00:52:19,600 --> 00:52:21,560 Speaker 1: with James, was in New York with him, and he 859 00:52:21,600 --> 00:52:23,319 Speaker 1: called me in the morning. I forget if it was 860 00:52:23,320 --> 00:52:25,759 Speaker 1: he or Danny. One of them called me and said, 861 00:52:25,840 --> 00:52:29,280 Speaker 1: Mr Brown is really sick. The doctor's here. Mr Brown's 862 00:52:29,320 --> 00:52:31,560 Speaker 1: got the flu. He's got a fever on it four. 863 00:52:32,040 --> 00:52:34,680 Speaker 1: He can't hold any food down, he can't drink water, 864 00:52:34,800 --> 00:52:37,359 Speaker 1: he's sweating up a storm. He tried to get up 865 00:52:37,360 --> 00:52:39,800 Speaker 1: and go to bathroom and he felt faint and couldn't 866 00:52:39,840 --> 00:52:42,239 Speaker 1: even make it. And he's said, and I'm like, well, 867 00:52:42,320 --> 00:52:44,040 Speaker 1: so are you telling me to cancel the show? Did 868 00:52:44,040 --> 00:52:47,320 Speaker 1: he say, canceled the show? Well, he didn't say anything, 869 00:52:47,440 --> 00:52:50,520 Speaker 1: Mr Leeds, he's out cold, but you know he's just 870 00:52:50,560 --> 00:52:53,880 Speaker 1: telling you the man's very sick. So I'm in this 871 00:52:54,040 --> 00:52:59,479 Speaker 1: situation of like, Okay, what do I do. UM. On 872 00:52:59,480 --> 00:53:02,440 Speaker 1: one hand, it kicks in right away that the sooner 873 00:53:02,480 --> 00:53:05,120 Speaker 1: you cancel the show, you cut your losses, because the 874 00:53:05,200 --> 00:53:07,680 Speaker 1: longer you wait, the more expensive the cancelation is going 875 00:53:07,719 --> 00:53:09,719 Speaker 1: to be. Because you've got all the labor costs in 876 00:53:09,760 --> 00:53:12,719 Speaker 1: the building. You can stop at two o'clock in the afternoon. 877 00:53:12,760 --> 00:53:14,319 Speaker 1: You don't have to pay the ushers, you know, have 878 00:53:14,360 --> 00:53:16,000 Speaker 1: to pay the police, you know, to pay it's a 879 00:53:16,040 --> 00:53:18,920 Speaker 1: lot of people you don't have to pay um that 880 00:53:19,000 --> 00:53:21,319 Speaker 1: you would have to pay if you canceled at seven 881 00:53:21,320 --> 00:53:23,520 Speaker 1: o'clock at night, after they've all showed up for work. 882 00:53:24,000 --> 00:53:27,320 Speaker 1: So that's on my mind. Um. But by the same token, 883 00:53:27,560 --> 00:53:33,080 Speaker 1: I know James Brown is not very seldom cancels the show. 884 00:53:34,960 --> 00:53:38,120 Speaker 1: And it was the kind of guy who just kind 885 00:53:38,120 --> 00:53:41,240 Speaker 1: of didn't believe in sick He thought sickness was weakness. 886 00:53:41,680 --> 00:53:43,840 Speaker 1: I mean, I actually got laid off for three weeks 887 00:53:43,880 --> 00:53:45,839 Speaker 1: once because I got sick and couldn't come to work 888 00:53:45,880 --> 00:53:50,319 Speaker 1: for a few days. Miss Leads is too sick to 889 00:53:50,360 --> 00:53:53,120 Speaker 1: come to work. I'm too sick to pay him. You know, 890 00:53:53,239 --> 00:53:56,719 Speaker 1: It's like that, it's it's it's like he just thinks 891 00:53:56,719 --> 00:53:59,120 Speaker 1: she's supposed to willach. So I was very reluctant to 892 00:53:59,160 --> 00:54:02,080 Speaker 1: cancel the show. But you know, they're telling me the 893 00:54:02,120 --> 00:54:06,480 Speaker 1: guys on his deathbed. So you know, so three or 894 00:54:06,480 --> 00:54:08,680 Speaker 1: four calls back and forth every hour, I'm calling, how 895 00:54:08,800 --> 00:54:11,040 Speaker 1: is he? How is he? Oh, he's he's he's he's 896 00:54:11,080 --> 00:54:15,719 Speaker 1: going nowhere, miss leads, he's really sick. I'm like, okay, 897 00:54:15,880 --> 00:54:18,880 Speaker 1: So now, mind you. This is before his cell phones 898 00:54:19,040 --> 00:54:22,000 Speaker 1: and pagers and all of this, and it's a Sunday. 899 00:54:22,120 --> 00:54:24,680 Speaker 1: So now I have to call the radio station that's 900 00:54:24,719 --> 00:54:27,240 Speaker 1: promoting the show. I have to find the road manager 901 00:54:27,280 --> 00:54:30,400 Speaker 1: of the band. I have to talk to the venue director. 902 00:54:30,480 --> 00:54:34,600 Speaker 1: And most of these are switchboards that are closed on weekends. Um, 903 00:54:34,640 --> 00:54:37,839 Speaker 1: so it wasn't easy getting hold of people. But after 904 00:54:37,880 --> 00:54:40,600 Speaker 1: a couple of hours of going round about, and managed 905 00:54:40,600 --> 00:54:43,560 Speaker 1: to get hold of everybody and officially canceled the show. 906 00:54:44,440 --> 00:54:48,120 Speaker 1: So after all that was done, I called the Hotel 907 00:54:48,120 --> 00:54:49,799 Speaker 1: of New York back to see how he was doing 908 00:54:49,840 --> 00:54:52,960 Speaker 1: because we had to show the next day somewhere and 909 00:54:53,120 --> 00:54:56,840 Speaker 1: his wife did answered the phone in his sweep, and 910 00:54:56,880 --> 00:54:58,640 Speaker 1: I said, oh, Mr d I'm so glad you're there 911 00:54:58,680 --> 00:55:00,839 Speaker 1: with him. Is he is he feeling the better? What's up? 912 00:55:00,880 --> 00:55:02,840 Speaker 1: What's up? What's up? She said? I wish I knew. 913 00:55:03,400 --> 00:55:08,960 Speaker 1: And I'm like, huh, what do you mean? Because she 914 00:55:09,040 --> 00:55:10,920 Speaker 1: had just gotten there, if she had flown up from 915 00:55:10,920 --> 00:55:15,040 Speaker 1: Georgia because her husband sick, right, And she said, by 916 00:55:15,040 --> 00:55:16,680 Speaker 1: the time I got you, he'd already left for the 917 00:55:16,680 --> 00:55:25,279 Speaker 1: gig in Providence. Yes, okay, So now I got to that. 918 00:55:26,520 --> 00:55:29,600 Speaker 1: You want to talk about feeling like a fool, Call 919 00:55:29,680 --> 00:55:31,799 Speaker 1: all these people back and say, oh, by the way, 920 00:55:31,840 --> 00:55:34,879 Speaker 1: they show I canceled two hours ago. It's back on. 921 00:55:37,200 --> 00:55:39,400 Speaker 1: Go back on the radio, and tell all those people 922 00:55:39,440 --> 00:55:43,040 Speaker 1: you told to give refunds tomorrow that, oh, by the way, 923 00:55:43,200 --> 00:55:45,400 Speaker 1: forget what I told you to. You know, I've blown 924 00:55:45,480 --> 00:55:49,520 Speaker 1: the credit of all the radio stations, you know, And 925 00:55:49,520 --> 00:55:52,719 Speaker 1: and I'm sure I blow my job. I'm just I know. 926 00:55:52,800 --> 00:55:58,240 Speaker 1: It's it's history, right. So he obviously he gets there, 927 00:55:58,600 --> 00:56:01,640 Speaker 1: and um, I'm sure we took a hit. I can't 928 00:56:01,680 --> 00:56:04,959 Speaker 1: remember the exact not half him, like a half a house, right, 929 00:56:05,920 --> 00:56:07,840 Speaker 1: So of course I get that I get told my 930 00:56:07,880 --> 00:56:11,360 Speaker 1: girlfriend this. He told yet what happened? I'm sure somebody 931 00:56:11,400 --> 00:56:14,680 Speaker 1: told him he had you know, of course. I mean 932 00:56:14,719 --> 00:56:18,279 Speaker 1: the the band hadn't gotten off the bus, you know, 933 00:56:18,719 --> 00:56:22,000 Speaker 1: they hadn't even expected to set up. They were getting 934 00:56:22,000 --> 00:56:23,720 Speaker 1: ready to turn around and go to the next town. 935 00:56:25,120 --> 00:56:28,880 Speaker 1: So I told my girlfriend, I said, about ten thirty tonight, 936 00:56:29,080 --> 00:56:32,080 Speaker 1: this phone's going to ring and it's gonna be real ugly. 937 00:56:34,719 --> 00:56:37,160 Speaker 1: And it was suffice as to say it really was 938 00:56:37,239 --> 00:56:42,680 Speaker 1: Misleeds Quarter Leaven. But soon as he got off stage, 939 00:56:42,719 --> 00:56:47,880 Speaker 1: he found a phone and called me, son, I know 940 00:56:47,920 --> 00:56:50,480 Speaker 1: you're worried about me. I love you for that. And 941 00:56:50,520 --> 00:56:54,480 Speaker 1: then his voice just cut higher and faster and higher 942 00:56:54,560 --> 00:56:58,799 Speaker 1: and faster until he was shrieking. And the thing it 943 00:56:58,920 --> 00:57:01,160 Speaker 1: was Bobby Burr that had a little hit record that 944 00:57:01,320 --> 00:57:04,840 Speaker 1: called I need help. And he said, why in the 945 00:57:04,880 --> 00:57:07,520 Speaker 1: world you gonna take Bobby Bird's word? You know he 946 00:57:07,600 --> 00:57:15,440 Speaker 1: needs help? Don't you never cancel the show unless I 947 00:57:15,560 --> 00:57:18,320 Speaker 1: tell you. And he's like, I gotta be up here 948 00:57:18,400 --> 00:57:24,600 Speaker 1: sick and worked to have a house. So yeah, things happen. Um, 949 00:57:24,760 --> 00:57:27,680 Speaker 1: you know, it's not one of my better days. But 950 00:57:27,680 --> 00:57:32,120 Speaker 1: but you still can't be cool. Um, no, no, did 951 00:57:32,120 --> 00:57:36,200 Speaker 1: he fire? No, actually he didn't. I was a standard, 952 00:57:36,280 --> 00:57:39,200 Speaker 1: he didn't. I mean, how many times you reckon you've gotten? 953 00:57:40,040 --> 00:57:42,760 Speaker 1: Was getting fired and laid off? Always like a thing 954 00:57:42,760 --> 00:57:45,960 Speaker 1: with him, like was it a running not a running joke? 955 00:57:46,080 --> 00:57:49,680 Speaker 1: But I got fired twice, which was not a lie 956 00:57:50,400 --> 00:57:52,240 Speaker 1: in that camp. I mean there were some guys. I 957 00:57:52,240 --> 00:57:55,360 Speaker 1: mean he's like anybody didn't any kind of self made 958 00:57:55,360 --> 00:57:58,320 Speaker 1: man who runs his own business. He has a very 959 00:57:58,440 --> 00:58:02,120 Speaker 1: very keen knack of re eating people and knowing how 960 00:58:02,160 --> 00:58:05,280 Speaker 1: far to go. Was that mean he knows who will 961 00:58:05,400 --> 00:58:09,640 Speaker 1: take certain things and who won't. And you know the 962 00:58:09,640 --> 00:58:11,919 Speaker 1: guys that are vulnerable, they get fired once a week, 963 00:58:12,800 --> 00:58:15,440 Speaker 1: and it was usually right before pay day. You know, 964 00:58:18,520 --> 00:58:23,120 Speaker 1: So when when did you leave the organization? What you uh, 965 00:58:23,800 --> 00:58:27,160 Speaker 1: finally seventy four and you're there for the mustache period, 966 00:58:28,080 --> 00:58:34,919 Speaker 1: the big yeah yeah, yeah. Context. But I don't think 967 00:58:36,240 --> 00:58:38,880 Speaker 1: this is a generational thing because it's it's like I 968 00:58:39,160 --> 00:58:41,240 Speaker 1: I didn't realize until I went to work for Prince 969 00:58:41,800 --> 00:58:44,880 Speaker 1: how because James had lasted so long, had gone through 970 00:58:44,920 --> 00:58:49,480 Speaker 1: so many metamorphoses artistically, that every generation has their own 971 00:58:49,560 --> 00:58:52,960 Speaker 1: James Brown. And you know, like you said, your favorite 972 00:58:52,960 --> 00:58:57,160 Speaker 1: Apollo album is three and mine is probably two. But 973 00:58:57,320 --> 00:58:59,720 Speaker 1: you know, it depends how old you are and what 974 00:59:00,040 --> 00:59:02,560 Speaker 1: your personal taste and so. But but you know, very 975 00:59:02,600 --> 00:59:07,920 Speaker 1: few artists have that many phases that are so distinctly different. Um, 976 00:59:07,960 --> 00:59:10,720 Speaker 1: but when you're that close, you don't think of it. 977 00:59:10,760 --> 00:59:12,600 Speaker 1: And I think of it in terms of the records. 978 00:59:13,360 --> 00:59:15,680 Speaker 1: But you know when you say the month when when 979 00:59:15,720 --> 00:59:18,480 Speaker 1: you guys first started talking to me about the mustache period, 980 00:59:18,520 --> 00:59:20,240 Speaker 1: I was like, huh, I had to go back and 981 00:59:20,280 --> 00:59:23,160 Speaker 1: look at pictures to see when more because I'm not 982 00:59:23,280 --> 00:59:29,360 Speaker 1: like clocking this mustache? Right? Did the music change when? Right? Well? 983 00:59:29,440 --> 00:59:32,400 Speaker 1: I would call that the payback era because that was 984 00:59:32,480 --> 00:59:36,080 Speaker 1: like the big comeback record and arguably his last great record. 985 00:59:36,680 --> 00:59:40,680 Speaker 1: So were you did you go to the Zaire? Were 986 00:59:40,680 --> 00:59:44,040 Speaker 1: you there for the Muhammad Ali? No? No, unfortunately you 987 00:59:44,280 --> 00:59:48,320 Speaker 1: left by that point. I don't remember if I had left, 988 00:59:48,440 --> 00:59:51,000 Speaker 1: but he wouldn't have took me anyway, because so you 989 00:59:51,160 --> 00:59:54,280 Speaker 1: when you tour manage, you were always in the home base. 990 00:59:54,360 --> 00:59:56,400 Speaker 1: And since that, you know, it was back and forth. 991 00:59:56,480 --> 00:59:59,280 Speaker 1: What would happen is we'd work in the office month 992 00:59:59,560 --> 01:00:03,080 Speaker 1: through third is d and on Friday one if not 993 01:00:03,240 --> 01:00:05,480 Speaker 1: both of us, meaning the guys who were booking the 994 01:00:05,520 --> 01:00:09,520 Speaker 1: shows would fly out and join the tour for the weekend, 995 01:00:10,440 --> 01:00:12,720 Speaker 1: and usually it was just one of us. We take turns. 996 01:00:12,760 --> 01:00:15,440 Speaker 1: That's why I was home when he was in Providence, 997 01:00:15,640 --> 01:00:18,120 Speaker 1: in sick in New York. It was my weekend to 998 01:00:18,120 --> 01:00:22,080 Speaker 1: be home. But um, but I wasn't a road manager 999 01:00:22,280 --> 01:00:26,520 Speaker 1: in the sense that I was on the bus constantly, Okay, 1000 01:00:26,680 --> 01:00:28,280 Speaker 1: So it was very much back and forth. I mean 1001 01:00:28,320 --> 01:00:30,960 Speaker 1: it was. It would never never two weeks went by 1002 01:00:31,000 --> 01:00:35,160 Speaker 1: where I didn't see the show somewhere. So what happens 1003 01:00:35,240 --> 01:00:38,600 Speaker 1: after seventy four? Now I know that your period of 1004 01:00:38,720 --> 01:00:43,840 Speaker 1: Prince was he started uh eighty two, well the last 1005 01:00:43,840 --> 01:00:45,600 Speaker 1: stages of the nineteen so he came in eighty three, 1006 01:00:46,200 --> 01:00:49,960 Speaker 1: eight three. So what were those ten years? What did 1007 01:00:50,040 --> 01:00:52,000 Speaker 1: you do in the in between those ten years? Like 1008 01:00:52,080 --> 01:00:55,560 Speaker 1: what other acts are? Well, actually got married and had 1009 01:00:55,600 --> 01:00:57,600 Speaker 1: a kid, which kept me at home for a while, 1010 01:00:57,960 --> 01:01:01,160 Speaker 1: and then I was I was actually promoting shows, um, 1011 01:01:01,200 --> 01:01:03,320 Speaker 1: putting little R and b at, a at, a backer 1012 01:01:03,400 --> 01:01:06,000 Speaker 1: and a partner, and we were putting little packages together 1013 01:01:06,160 --> 01:01:09,680 Speaker 1: and taking a tour like the Shylights and the Stylistas 1014 01:01:09,680 --> 01:01:11,920 Speaker 1: and the Detroit damnerals, take three or four bands, put 1015 01:01:12,000 --> 01:01:15,160 Speaker 1: them together and and book a four day runting down 1016 01:01:15,240 --> 01:01:19,240 Speaker 1: South somewhere. Maybe play Charlotte, Raleigh, Richmond, you know that 1017 01:01:19,320 --> 01:01:22,520 Speaker 1: kind of a thing. Now, had touring conditions changed by 1018 01:01:22,640 --> 01:01:27,600 Speaker 1: the mid seventies than it was in the in the sixties, 1019 01:01:27,880 --> 01:01:33,800 Speaker 1: they were starting to they were starting to. Um, it 1020 01:01:33,920 --> 01:01:36,560 Speaker 1: had dramatically changed in the pop world. It was a 1021 01:01:36,560 --> 01:01:39,800 Speaker 1: little bit ahead of the R and B world. But um, 1022 01:01:42,640 --> 01:01:44,800 Speaker 1: it wasn't so much that the business changed as much 1023 01:01:44,880 --> 01:01:47,480 Speaker 1: as the culture changed. I mean just the face of 1024 01:01:47,480 --> 01:01:53,040 Speaker 1: America was changing. The lifestyles, the living conditions, everything was changing. Um, 1025 01:01:53,360 --> 01:01:57,960 Speaker 1: at least on the surface it things weren't as as 1026 01:01:58,000 --> 01:02:04,800 Speaker 1: overtly segregated, meaning that here's an example. Back in the sixties, 1027 01:02:05,640 --> 01:02:07,240 Speaker 1: if you're gonna play in New York, you played the 1028 01:02:07,240 --> 01:02:09,360 Speaker 1: Apollo Theater. I mean you could count on one hand 1029 01:02:09,400 --> 01:02:11,680 Speaker 1: the black artist who could who could do enough business 1030 01:02:11,720 --> 01:02:16,160 Speaker 1: to play the Garden, But you would play the Apollo 1031 01:02:16,320 --> 01:02:19,400 Speaker 1: and do four four shows a day, five on weekends. 1032 01:02:20,840 --> 01:02:22,720 Speaker 1: So if you played the Apollo for a week, and 1033 01:02:22,760 --> 01:02:25,880 Speaker 1: the typical booking was you opened the show opened on Friday, 1034 01:02:26,040 --> 01:02:28,000 Speaker 1: one o'clock in the afternoon the first show on the 1035 01:02:28,080 --> 01:02:33,960 Speaker 1: first and then second show is like four seven and ten, 1036 01:02:35,040 --> 01:02:36,880 Speaker 1: and how long are the shows? How long is the show? 1037 01:02:37,000 --> 01:02:43,320 Speaker 1: Two hours? But inside these shows were comedians. Yeah, yeah, 1038 01:02:43,360 --> 01:02:45,439 Speaker 1: it was. It was. It was not as you sang, 1039 01:02:45,440 --> 01:02:47,680 Speaker 1: it's for two hours straight. It was kind of no, 1040 01:02:47,840 --> 01:02:50,560 Speaker 1: because there would be support acts and the star might 1041 01:02:50,600 --> 01:02:55,880 Speaker 1: do fifty minutes our dependent on the audience feel satisfied 1042 01:02:55,960 --> 01:02:58,640 Speaker 1: that totally. That's what they were used to. They didn't know. 1043 01:02:58,800 --> 01:03:02,680 Speaker 1: I'm just used to, you know, the lead person doing 1044 01:03:02,800 --> 01:03:05,240 Speaker 1: a two hour show. Yeah, but nobody did that then, 1045 01:03:06,400 --> 01:03:09,280 Speaker 1: Oh okay, nobody did that. Very few people doing that, 1046 01:03:09,160 --> 01:03:15,080 Speaker 1: and nobody's given to our shows. Now that's very rare, no, 1047 01:03:15,200 --> 01:03:17,200 Speaker 1: I mean you we we would. We would tour and 1048 01:03:17,320 --> 01:03:20,480 Speaker 1: have say the Stylistics as a support act. After they 1049 01:03:21,040 --> 01:03:23,560 Speaker 1: were talking about Stylistics when they were on maybe their 1050 01:03:23,560 --> 01:03:27,320 Speaker 1: third or fourth hit single like rock rock and roll baby, Yeah, 1051 01:03:28,840 --> 01:03:32,880 Speaker 1: the hits um, but the first hits well, I mean 1052 01:03:32,960 --> 01:03:36,360 Speaker 1: like the round two albums and you may yeah exactly, 1053 01:03:36,680 --> 01:03:40,680 Speaker 1: and they'd get twenty minutes, twenty minutes. Yeah, they ain't 1054 01:03:40,720 --> 01:03:43,880 Speaker 1: got the three jams. What they gonna do? Well, I 1055 01:03:43,880 --> 01:03:48,640 Speaker 1: don't know. My research. They would use some songs and yeah, 1056 01:03:48,680 --> 01:03:51,640 Speaker 1: that's what they did after they ran out of their hits. 1057 01:03:51,680 --> 01:03:57,240 Speaker 1: Everybody did Alfhie. You know, you're right, did Alfie? Everyone 1058 01:03:57,320 --> 01:04:00,800 Speaker 1: did Alfie? Yeah, yeah they do. I mean that's a 1059 01:04:00,880 --> 01:04:04,160 Speaker 1: very seventies thing. But but it's you know, nobody expected 1060 01:04:04,200 --> 01:04:07,880 Speaker 1: them to do more. So let's kiss your first foray 1061 01:04:07,920 --> 01:04:13,280 Speaker 1: into the rock world. Yeah really, the only one. Now, 1062 01:04:13,360 --> 01:04:17,560 Speaker 1: why why did they seek you out? They didn't? Oh you, 1063 01:04:18,640 --> 01:04:23,120 Speaker 1: I just believe it or not. This is the only 1064 01:04:23,200 --> 01:04:28,160 Speaker 1: act I ever chased was James Brown. Every everything else 1065 01:04:28,400 --> 01:04:30,600 Speaker 1: came just by being in the right place at the 1066 01:04:30,680 --> 01:04:33,200 Speaker 1: right time. It's just God looks out for fools or something. 1067 01:04:35,480 --> 01:04:38,680 Speaker 1: The only show I really chased was James Brown. But 1068 01:04:38,920 --> 01:04:41,840 Speaker 1: I had been off the road for several years, okay, 1069 01:04:42,480 --> 01:04:44,640 Speaker 1: and was looking to get back in it and paranoid 1070 01:04:44,720 --> 01:04:49,200 Speaker 1: because the business had changed. This is now one. So 1071 01:04:49,280 --> 01:04:52,320 Speaker 1: after they took the makeup off, No they was. It 1072 01:04:52,400 --> 01:04:54,960 Speaker 1: was actually the Creatures of the Night was the album 1073 01:04:55,320 --> 01:04:57,680 Speaker 1: which didn't sell and it was their last tour. Would 1074 01:04:57,720 --> 01:05:01,080 Speaker 1: make up before it came off? Or they still playing stadiums, 1075 01:05:01,480 --> 01:05:04,840 Speaker 1: or they down they were playing arenas but see markets 1076 01:05:05,520 --> 01:05:10,240 Speaker 1: and half filling them. It was really a low exactly. Yeah, 1077 01:05:10,600 --> 01:05:15,480 Speaker 1: I played pretty much pretty much, but they always had 1078 01:05:15,560 --> 01:05:19,240 Speaker 1: big production still like it was a big show. Okay, Yeah, 1079 01:05:19,320 --> 01:05:21,760 Speaker 1: they had to satisfy their fans and they hoped to 1080 01:05:22,600 --> 01:05:29,280 Speaker 1: what was that experience like loud? Really yeah? I mean, 1081 01:05:29,320 --> 01:05:31,760 Speaker 1: I can honestly say, and it should be a shame 1082 01:05:31,880 --> 01:05:34,160 Speaker 1: to say this, but I can honestly say I did 1083 01:05:34,160 --> 01:05:38,000 Speaker 1: not know one of the songs you weren't doing like 1084 01:05:38,040 --> 01:05:45,720 Speaker 1: I was reading for Loving You Christian, no clue I 1085 01:05:45,760 --> 01:05:49,680 Speaker 1: love kiss man. No j Brown had gotten in my head. Man, 1086 01:05:49,760 --> 01:05:52,959 Speaker 1: if it wasn't funky, or if it wasn't jazz, I 1087 01:05:53,000 --> 01:05:55,640 Speaker 1: was not me. But the Dynasty album they're trying to 1088 01:05:55,640 --> 01:06:02,320 Speaker 1: get a little fucking joint word is trying, you know. 1089 01:06:02,600 --> 01:06:04,760 Speaker 1: I mean, you know, I was impressible seven year old 1090 01:06:04,800 --> 01:06:06,560 Speaker 1: kid at the time, So you know, I get if 1091 01:06:06,600 --> 01:06:08,520 Speaker 1: I was seven out of probably get impressed too. I 1092 01:06:08,560 --> 01:06:13,920 Speaker 1: don't know, impressed enough to buy the book. I'm just 1093 01:06:14,000 --> 01:06:20,200 Speaker 1: saying that I'm not. I wasn't a kiss fanatic, But 1094 01:06:20,680 --> 01:06:22,880 Speaker 1: I mean I grew up in the household in which 1095 01:06:23,880 --> 01:06:26,680 Speaker 1: you know what, you you developed your musical taste in 1096 01:06:26,720 --> 01:06:30,080 Speaker 1: your formative years from the other adults in the house. 1097 01:06:30,760 --> 01:06:37,240 Speaker 1: You're your parents, I'm she was in the kiss. Well, no, 1098 01:06:37,680 --> 01:06:42,200 Speaker 1: I'm just doing the particular high school. So you're saying 1099 01:06:42,280 --> 01:06:45,080 Speaker 1: my mother turned me on too, James brand Oh man, 1100 01:06:45,240 --> 01:06:51,920 Speaker 1: I'm just saying everyone has a cool older figure. I'm 1101 01:06:51,960 --> 01:06:59,840 Speaker 1: just saying that I I don't know me man like you. 1102 01:07:00,120 --> 01:07:02,000 Speaker 1: I mean, look, it's all good. I just for me. 1103 01:07:02,120 --> 01:07:04,360 Speaker 1: I mean I was in the South. They had makeup 1104 01:07:04,440 --> 01:07:06,760 Speaker 1: on that was like, you know, it was some devil ship. 1105 01:07:09,360 --> 01:07:11,520 Speaker 1: I'm gonna tell you though, that's pretty much I'm kissing 1106 01:07:11,560 --> 01:07:14,640 Speaker 1: twisted sister, all that ship all but not see. But 1107 01:07:14,720 --> 01:07:16,520 Speaker 1: you're missing in the seventies and ages. I know you're 1108 01:07:16,520 --> 01:07:20,200 Speaker 1: born a little bit after me, but feeling the same 1109 01:07:20,280 --> 01:07:24,000 Speaker 1: character like white men with paint on now reminded me 1110 01:07:24,680 --> 01:07:29,560 Speaker 1: Stephen King. I just know I'm good with all that ship. No, 1111 01:07:30,160 --> 01:07:33,600 Speaker 1: I'm just like when yeah, you sound like pretty good. 1112 01:07:33,880 --> 01:07:38,040 Speaker 1: Already established the reason I have the shows because my 1113 01:07:38,440 --> 01:07:43,760 Speaker 1: sponge memory for stupid details, like even Allen asking Alan 1114 01:07:43,880 --> 01:07:46,680 Speaker 1: questions I don't want to know about, like does he 1115 01:07:46,760 --> 01:07:48,840 Speaker 1: show the poster with the sex machine lyrics on it? 1116 01:07:49,680 --> 01:07:52,040 Speaker 1: I want to know what James Brown's writer was in 1117 01:07:52,200 --> 01:07:59,480 Speaker 1: ninety three yo I've heard crazy writers stories from various groups. 1118 01:07:59,640 --> 01:08:02,960 Speaker 1: I think, uh, let's see that. We didn't have riders, 1119 01:08:04,520 --> 01:08:06,760 Speaker 1: know what? Any right? Did you know? The contracts that 1120 01:08:06,880 --> 01:08:12,680 Speaker 1: we have were like one page. That's literally it was 1121 01:08:12,760 --> 01:08:14,960 Speaker 1: just like, yeah, this is this is the date, this 1122 01:08:15,160 --> 01:08:17,560 Speaker 1: is the time of place. So it never occurred to you, 1123 01:08:17,680 --> 01:08:22,360 Speaker 1: guys the number one touring attraction for black music in America, 1124 01:08:22,400 --> 01:08:25,960 Speaker 1: probably second to the Motortown Review, which I guess lost 1125 01:08:26,040 --> 01:08:30,400 Speaker 1: team after six or sixty five sixty six. It never 1126 01:08:30,439 --> 01:08:33,439 Speaker 1: occurred to you guys wants to like, hey, maybe we 1127 01:08:33,560 --> 01:08:38,080 Speaker 1: can have because he brought everything donuts, No, he brought everything. 1128 01:08:38,240 --> 01:08:43,120 Speaker 1: Every anything he wanted he brought with him. Okay, his 1129 01:08:43,240 --> 01:08:47,680 Speaker 1: dressing room was full of stuff, but he would just 1130 01:08:47,800 --> 01:08:50,040 Speaker 1: bring it because there was The promoters didn't do that. 1131 01:08:50,360 --> 01:08:53,320 Speaker 1: I'll give you give you an example. Teddy Powell. I 1132 01:08:53,360 --> 01:08:55,120 Speaker 1: don't know if you know who that was. He was 1133 01:08:55,520 --> 01:08:59,120 Speaker 1: a major, major black music promoter based in New York, 1134 01:08:59,280 --> 01:09:02,439 Speaker 1: but he promoted all over the Northeast and he took 1135 01:09:02,479 --> 01:09:05,800 Speaker 1: tours out. He took single dates, he played gospel shows, 1136 01:09:05,840 --> 01:09:08,479 Speaker 1: he played jazz festivals, he played R and B tours, 1137 01:09:09,240 --> 01:09:12,880 Speaker 1: and whenever we played Newark was played for Teddy. He was, 1138 01:09:13,280 --> 01:09:17,280 Speaker 1: you know, our promoter in Newark, and he would occasionally 1139 01:09:17,360 --> 01:09:20,200 Speaker 1: buy dates and put him in under the City's too um. 1140 01:09:21,160 --> 01:09:23,679 Speaker 1: Teddy had a Marvin Gay two ur shortly after What's 1141 01:09:23,720 --> 01:09:28,479 Speaker 1: Going On broke and Marvin had a rider. And this 1142 01:09:28,680 --> 01:09:33,080 Speaker 1: was when I was in Pittsburgh and I went. I 1143 01:09:33,160 --> 01:09:36,040 Speaker 1: went to the show to basically to see Teddy and 1144 01:09:36,160 --> 01:09:40,160 Speaker 1: hang out and talk shop. And he's like home, He 1145 01:09:40,240 --> 01:09:42,799 Speaker 1: called everybody home. It was just a real old school 1146 01:09:42,960 --> 01:09:46,559 Speaker 1: kind of you know, rough promoter always had a suit 1147 01:09:46,640 --> 01:09:49,200 Speaker 1: and tie on, but it was always wrinkled, you know 1148 01:09:49,640 --> 01:09:52,320 Speaker 1: that guy. And he's like, oh, I gotta take it. 1149 01:09:53,280 --> 01:09:57,000 Speaker 1: Been promoting shows for twenty years now. I'm a rug merchant. 1150 01:09:57,640 --> 01:10:00,040 Speaker 1: You know what scripe Marvin Kay? I mean, I know 1151 01:10:00,120 --> 01:10:02,840 Speaker 1: he's got a big hit, but it says he's wants 1152 01:10:02,960 --> 01:10:07,280 Speaker 1: carpeting and to dressing. We're in the arena. Arenas don't 1153 01:10:07,360 --> 01:10:11,439 Speaker 1: have carpeting and dressing room. But I got him. Wow. 1154 01:10:12,160 --> 01:10:15,400 Speaker 1: He laid out newspaper and taped it to the floor. 1155 01:10:17,920 --> 01:10:20,800 Speaker 1: You can't make this up. I saw it, and that 1156 01:10:21,000 --> 01:10:22,800 Speaker 1: was his way of saying, get the hell out of here. 1157 01:10:22,880 --> 01:10:30,120 Speaker 1: What's your writer? Okay? Yeah, so it took a minute 1158 01:10:30,200 --> 01:10:33,800 Speaker 1: before the artists had the juice to make those kind 1159 01:10:33,880 --> 01:10:36,680 Speaker 1: of demands, and promoters the whole balance of the relationship. 1160 01:10:36,960 --> 01:10:39,880 Speaker 1: Back in those days, the promoter was, God, this is 1161 01:10:39,960 --> 01:10:43,439 Speaker 1: the guy that paid you. You worked for him. I 1162 01:10:43,880 --> 01:10:46,599 Speaker 1: guess you got a start. I got the kiss gig 1163 01:10:46,640 --> 01:10:51,200 Speaker 1: guy got out of a classified ad in variety. They 1164 01:10:51,280 --> 01:10:53,800 Speaker 1: took an ad out. They took an ad. They were 1165 01:10:53,840 --> 01:10:59,799 Speaker 1: being managed by a business manager. Their their their longtime manager. 1166 01:11:00,080 --> 01:11:04,120 Speaker 1: The coined it parted ways. So their managers were a 1167 01:11:04,200 --> 01:11:07,599 Speaker 1: couple of guys who were really accountants clickman and Marx 1168 01:11:07,840 --> 01:11:13,640 Speaker 1: how are it? Clickman? I forget so you know all 1169 01:11:13,680 --> 01:11:18,760 Speaker 1: about it? Um, And they were not really rocket road guys. UM. 1170 01:11:19,040 --> 01:11:21,040 Speaker 1: Longer short of it is Yeah, they put an ad. 1171 01:11:21,240 --> 01:11:25,519 Speaker 1: They needed a road manager because they had a tour manager, 1172 01:11:25,920 --> 01:11:28,160 Speaker 1: but they needed somebody to handle all the travel and 1173 01:11:28,240 --> 01:11:30,840 Speaker 1: the logistics because the tour manager was too good to 1174 01:11:30,880 --> 01:11:32,760 Speaker 1: do that stuff. It was that kind of a thing. 1175 01:11:33,360 --> 01:11:34,960 Speaker 1: And I was looking for a way to get back 1176 01:11:35,040 --> 01:11:38,200 Speaker 1: into business. And as I said, the business had changed 1177 01:11:38,200 --> 01:11:40,160 Speaker 1: a lot. It It was on the verge of turning 1178 01:11:40,240 --> 01:11:42,599 Speaker 1: from a low tech to you know, mom and pop 1179 01:11:43,240 --> 01:11:46,160 Speaker 1: business into something that wasn't quite high tech yet, but 1180 01:11:46,280 --> 01:11:49,080 Speaker 1: it was on the way it was changing. It was 1181 01:11:49,280 --> 01:11:53,360 Speaker 1: definitely corporatized, and particularly with kiss because they were a 1182 01:11:53,400 --> 01:11:57,080 Speaker 1: corporation and ran things that way. But longer short of 1183 01:11:57,160 --> 01:11:58,800 Speaker 1: it is I guess the only way they knew to 1184 01:11:58,840 --> 01:12:01,280 Speaker 1: do it, because what ever think to put an ad 1185 01:12:01,479 --> 01:12:04,360 Speaker 1: in variety for a rock and roll road managers? And 1186 01:12:04,560 --> 01:12:07,400 Speaker 1: it was insane. But it was like they saying it's 1187 01:12:07,400 --> 01:12:09,920 Speaker 1: for kissing. It was just I don't know. In fact, 1188 01:12:10,000 --> 01:12:13,680 Speaker 1: it was it was an employment agency that placed to 1189 01:12:13,760 --> 01:12:16,360 Speaker 1: add on their behalf. I mean a place like I 1190 01:12:16,439 --> 01:12:19,360 Speaker 1: went to apply for this job with no idea of 1191 01:12:19,400 --> 01:12:23,040 Speaker 1: who the group was, and it was the kind of 1192 01:12:23,080 --> 01:12:26,400 Speaker 1: employment agency where there's like twenty people taking typing tests 1193 01:12:26,600 --> 01:12:30,439 Speaker 1: to go to work as clerical people in offices like 1194 01:12:30,600 --> 01:12:40,880 Speaker 1: Manpower exactly. It was like insane, Ah, man Manpower, it's 1195 01:12:40,920 --> 01:12:46,599 Speaker 1: where people we did Moore go to fund It really 1196 01:12:46,720 --> 01:12:48,920 Speaker 1: is that man Power was like if gessfore you went, 1197 01:12:49,080 --> 01:12:52,080 Speaker 1: if you you know, you didn't have like no, no 1198 01:12:52,240 --> 01:12:54,680 Speaker 1: kind of degree and nothing like the job corps. It's 1199 01:12:54,720 --> 01:12:57,439 Speaker 1: not quite it's like Manpower and the job corps like 1200 01:12:57,520 --> 01:13:00,720 Speaker 1: the bottom of the remember feel a job yeah, but 1201 01:13:00,760 --> 01:13:03,519 Speaker 1: at least you're geting the office and manpower. Yet your 1202 01:13:03,600 --> 01:13:07,000 Speaker 1: job called they seen you like third world countries. How 1203 01:13:07,000 --> 01:13:09,519 Speaker 1: do you know that that's peace Corps. Now I think 1204 01:13:09,560 --> 01:13:16,639 Speaker 1: it's dropped. Say whatever, it's not. It's bad peace job 1205 01:13:16,800 --> 01:13:19,920 Speaker 1: Corps on the court. It's like gardens and rhymed about 1206 01:13:20,000 --> 01:13:22,080 Speaker 1: job of corps. So I knew it was bad instantly, 1207 01:13:22,920 --> 01:13:24,479 Speaker 1: but now I knew. But I used to work. I had. 1208 01:13:24,640 --> 01:13:30,160 Speaker 1: I had a temp job before I had a couple 1209 01:13:30,200 --> 01:13:35,320 Speaker 1: of now I had. I worked in a call center. 1210 01:13:35,479 --> 01:13:38,439 Speaker 1: I used to call just call people for the government. 1211 01:13:39,320 --> 01:13:41,559 Speaker 1: Who for the government, Well you wanted they wanted their 1212 01:13:41,600 --> 01:13:43,720 Speaker 1: money back or now it was like some kind of 1213 01:13:43,840 --> 01:13:46,360 Speaker 1: survey that they wanted to do. It was some bullshit. 1214 01:13:46,760 --> 01:13:49,040 Speaker 1: But I would just call and around. That's why I 1215 01:13:49,080 --> 01:13:51,640 Speaker 1: have a good speaking voice on radio. A man. I 1216 01:13:51,720 --> 01:13:53,760 Speaker 1: was started the call center and then after that went 1217 01:13:53,840 --> 01:13:57,600 Speaker 1: to work for Blue Cross, another call center. Things you 1218 01:13:57,720 --> 01:14:07,720 Speaker 1: learn that su never mind and forget it. So what 1219 01:14:08,160 --> 01:14:12,360 Speaker 1: what what was your your experience with kiss Like, what 1220 01:14:13,080 --> 01:14:15,360 Speaker 1: what was the difference between Matt and James Brown. I 1221 01:14:15,479 --> 01:14:17,600 Speaker 1: know that I would assume that you could say that 1222 01:14:17,680 --> 01:14:20,719 Speaker 1: James Brown was high maintenance. So what was the difference. 1223 01:14:20,800 --> 01:14:23,400 Speaker 1: The difference was James Brown, I was raced to see 1224 01:14:23,439 --> 01:14:26,640 Speaker 1: the show. Would kiss the gig was get back to 1225 01:14:26,720 --> 01:14:30,200 Speaker 1: the hotel. I didn't have to see the show. I 1226 01:14:30,240 --> 01:14:32,360 Speaker 1: mean I saw it once. I was impressed. It was cool. 1227 01:14:33,360 --> 01:14:35,400 Speaker 1: But I would think that you would have to always 1228 01:14:35,520 --> 01:14:38,240 Speaker 1: just be there to whole hands because that that they 1229 01:14:38,320 --> 01:14:41,080 Speaker 1: had a tour manager and as long that it was 1230 01:14:41,200 --> 01:14:43,879 Speaker 1: way more important. I mean, they were a well oiled machine. 1231 01:14:44,479 --> 01:14:47,360 Speaker 1: They had the right kind of security, the right kind 1232 01:14:47,400 --> 01:14:50,400 Speaker 1: of tour manager. They just needed to know that there 1233 01:14:50,400 --> 01:14:52,320 Speaker 1: would be the right fruit salad in the room when 1234 01:14:52,360 --> 01:14:54,360 Speaker 1: they get back to the hotel. Do you tell the 1235 01:14:54,400 --> 01:14:58,479 Speaker 1: food salad story real quick? I mean it was like 1236 01:14:59,360 --> 01:15:02,040 Speaker 1: he's literally telling the truth. It's like that that that 1237 01:15:02,240 --> 01:15:04,280 Speaker 1: was the most important thing was they had to be 1238 01:15:04,360 --> 01:15:08,839 Speaker 1: a fruit salad for Gene. They all had an idea 1239 01:15:08,960 --> 01:15:11,320 Speaker 1: menu for what they wanted in their rooms, and I'm 1240 01:15:11,360 --> 01:15:13,439 Speaker 1: talking it should be in the room when they walk in. 1241 01:15:13,960 --> 01:15:17,439 Speaker 1: The makeup is dripping in, the suits are still on 1242 01:15:17,600 --> 01:15:21,679 Speaker 1: its on, but the food has to be there. Proper temperature, etcetera, etcetera, etcetera. 1243 01:15:22,160 --> 01:15:24,360 Speaker 1: Which is find if you're in at risk. Carton but 1244 01:15:24,479 --> 01:15:27,360 Speaker 1: if you're in a holiday inn in Dubuque, Iowa, where 1245 01:15:27,400 --> 01:15:30,760 Speaker 1: the kitchen clothed it, ten forget it. So that's how 1246 01:15:30,800 --> 01:15:32,479 Speaker 1: I got out of having to watch the shows, because 1247 01:15:32,479 --> 01:15:34,559 Speaker 1: I would actually take the limit after I dropped them 1248 01:15:34,560 --> 01:15:36,800 Speaker 1: at the show. Once the show went up, I take 1249 01:15:36,880 --> 01:15:41,040 Speaker 1: one of the cars and goes shopping and actually find 1250 01:15:41,080 --> 01:15:44,479 Speaker 1: a supermarket and make the fruit salad because and the 1251 01:15:44,560 --> 01:15:46,680 Speaker 1: reason was that was like about the third or fourth 1252 01:15:46,760 --> 01:15:51,800 Speaker 1: show out. Um, I get a call from Gene right 1253 01:15:51,840 --> 01:15:54,840 Speaker 1: after they got in their rooms, walked them up, mediment lobby, 1254 01:15:54,920 --> 01:15:57,280 Speaker 1: walked them up to let them to their rooms. Go 1255 01:15:57,400 --> 01:15:59,559 Speaker 1: back to my room. About five minutes later, phone rings, 1256 01:16:00,320 --> 01:16:05,280 Speaker 1: come to my room. Okay, come to this room. This 1257 01:16:05,520 --> 01:16:08,280 Speaker 1: is a fruit salad. And it means all of a sudden, 1258 01:16:08,360 --> 01:16:11,680 Speaker 1: this rock and roll star in makeup still got the 1259 01:16:11,800 --> 01:16:20,200 Speaker 1: uniform on, and he sounds like Jackie Mason. He's like, 1260 01:16:20,720 --> 01:16:24,640 Speaker 1: you called this a fruit salad, like Rodney Dangerfield. And 1261 01:16:26,040 --> 01:16:27,800 Speaker 1: he picks up a piece and I mean it was 1262 01:16:27,880 --> 01:16:31,240 Speaker 1: like about four slices of orange and like two slices 1263 01:16:31,280 --> 01:16:33,519 Speaker 1: of pineapple and something. This is what this holiday is 1264 01:16:33,640 --> 01:16:38,040 Speaker 1: called the fruit salad? Right, this is not a fruit salad. 1265 01:16:38,320 --> 01:16:42,640 Speaker 1: This is ship. This is what I pay you for. 1266 01:16:42,920 --> 01:16:44,960 Speaker 1: So it was like, okay, I got it. I'm gonna 1267 01:16:45,000 --> 01:16:47,200 Speaker 1: make the fruit salad. So for the next, you know, 1268 01:16:47,360 --> 01:16:49,120 Speaker 1: the rest of the tour, I made the fruit salad. 1269 01:16:49,240 --> 01:16:51,080 Speaker 1: So you're trying to tell me that the only one 1270 01:16:51,240 --> 01:16:55,760 Speaker 1: kiss was not It's a totally different man. Halen like, wait, 1271 01:16:55,800 --> 01:16:58,200 Speaker 1: I'm like fruit salad. What about the women and the 1272 01:16:58,439 --> 01:17:02,200 Speaker 1: groupies and the like? Were they beyond that now? And that? 1273 01:17:02,200 --> 01:17:04,320 Speaker 1: I was just like, all right, I'm on stage. Where's 1274 01:17:04,520 --> 01:17:07,160 Speaker 1: no Jean was still seeing both d and Ross and Share, 1275 01:17:07,240 --> 01:17:11,519 Speaker 1: so he was juggling, That's right, he was. He was 1276 01:17:11,760 --> 01:17:16,880 Speaker 1: Diana Ross and Yeah and Um. How long did that 1277 01:17:17,040 --> 01:17:20,800 Speaker 1: last for UM one tour? It was like three months, 1278 01:17:21,000 --> 01:17:23,560 Speaker 1: two months, three months something like that. So when it 1279 01:17:23,680 --> 01:17:25,599 Speaker 1: was over, you thought you were coming home. I thought 1280 01:17:25,640 --> 01:17:29,240 Speaker 1: I was coming home. They shared the production manager with Prince. 1281 01:17:29,360 --> 01:17:34,200 Speaker 1: Prince was out in the tour, and the production manager 1282 01:17:34,320 --> 01:17:37,080 Speaker 1: caught me and Catering at like the second to last 1283 01:17:37,120 --> 01:17:39,960 Speaker 1: gig on the kiss around like a typical conversation, what 1284 01:17:40,000 --> 01:17:41,240 Speaker 1: do you do when you go home? I don't know. 1285 01:17:41,280 --> 01:17:43,920 Speaker 1: I'm going to wait for the phone to ring and 1286 01:17:44,280 --> 01:17:46,439 Speaker 1: um and he says, well, you're interested in the Prince 1287 01:17:46,520 --> 01:17:49,400 Speaker 1: gig because he just let somebody go. And that was 1288 01:17:49,520 --> 01:17:53,080 Speaker 1: like the second or third tour MANAGERIED had on that 1289 01:17:53,200 --> 01:17:56,479 Speaker 1: particular tour, And I was like, of course I'm interested 1290 01:17:56,960 --> 01:17:58,920 Speaker 1: when he pays me to go home, Yes, I'm interested. 1291 01:17:59,040 --> 01:18:01,320 Speaker 1: Now the rere he was, I had already fallen in 1292 01:18:01,479 --> 01:18:04,919 Speaker 1: love with Prince. It was very obvious this guy's going places, 1293 01:18:05,760 --> 01:18:08,040 Speaker 1: and it was a show I'd enjoy seeing every night. 1294 01:18:08,200 --> 01:18:10,240 Speaker 1: Now I had no idea what the gig was gonna be, 1295 01:18:10,360 --> 01:18:13,920 Speaker 1: like I've heard he's difficult, a little crazy, but you know, 1296 01:18:14,040 --> 01:18:16,240 Speaker 1: I didn't really know much. I didn't know anybody in 1297 01:18:16,280 --> 01:18:19,760 Speaker 1: the camp, so I really went in there blind. Did 1298 01:18:19,800 --> 01:18:22,200 Speaker 1: that were you that he already went through two or 1299 01:18:22,280 --> 01:18:25,360 Speaker 1: three during one tour? No? No, there was only a 1300 01:18:25,439 --> 01:18:28,160 Speaker 1: month left on his tour and it was either that 1301 01:18:28,320 --> 01:18:29,880 Speaker 1: or go home, and said, of my butt until the 1302 01:18:29,920 --> 01:18:33,439 Speaker 1: phone rang And I loved his music. Well, so to 1303 01:18:33,520 --> 01:18:35,280 Speaker 1: me it was it was. It was terrific. It was 1304 01:18:35,360 --> 01:18:37,880 Speaker 1: like an opportunity to get into camp that that that 1305 01:18:38,120 --> 01:18:40,800 Speaker 1: had a future. But I'm in worried as in like 1306 01:18:40,960 --> 01:18:44,200 Speaker 1: I would think like when someone changes their cell phone 1307 01:18:44,280 --> 01:18:51,759 Speaker 1: number twice in a year. I'm already thinking, like I questioned, 1308 01:18:51,800 --> 01:18:54,479 Speaker 1: someone that changes their selves like their life and okay, 1309 01:18:54,520 --> 01:18:57,280 Speaker 1: what what life decisions have you made that brought to you? Right, 1310 01:18:57,360 --> 01:18:59,160 Speaker 1: it's like the spinal tap, like the whole joke of 1311 01:18:59,479 --> 01:19:01,559 Speaker 1: you went through eight drummers? Is that night drum Right? 1312 01:19:01,840 --> 01:19:03,600 Speaker 1: So I would figured to go through a couple of 1313 01:19:03,640 --> 01:19:05,760 Speaker 1: tour managers in such a short period of time that 1314 01:19:05,880 --> 01:19:09,040 Speaker 1: this person is difficult. Yeah, that was. But is it 1315 01:19:09,120 --> 01:19:13,120 Speaker 1: that you once you dealt with James Brown kind of 1316 01:19:13,160 --> 01:19:17,320 Speaker 1: handle anything? Maybe that was it? I mean, you know, 1317 01:19:17,560 --> 01:19:19,800 Speaker 1: was that in the back of my mind? Sure it was. 1318 01:19:20,760 --> 01:19:23,360 Speaker 1: And as I began, because I didn't know anybody on 1319 01:19:23,479 --> 01:19:27,120 Speaker 1: the tour except the production manager and um and he 1320 01:19:27,200 --> 01:19:28,880 Speaker 1: had warned me. The first thing he said, and the 1321 01:19:28,960 --> 01:19:31,000 Speaker 1: first thing for a no he said when he hired me, 1322 01:19:31,760 --> 01:19:34,639 Speaker 1: was don't approach Prince until he's comfortable with you. He'll 1323 01:19:34,800 --> 01:19:36,880 Speaker 1: let you know, he'll send you a side and somehow 1324 01:19:37,040 --> 01:19:39,920 Speaker 1: he'll let you know when he's ready to communicate with you. 1325 01:19:40,680 --> 01:19:43,040 Speaker 1: And like that that was normal sounding to you. No, 1326 01:19:43,200 --> 01:19:46,439 Speaker 1: of course not. But I was working for him. It 1327 01:19:46,600 --> 01:19:48,960 Speaker 1: was his house and it's like, so I don't have 1328 01:19:49,080 --> 01:19:51,439 Speaker 1: to put up with the the artist in my ear 1329 01:19:51,520 --> 01:19:55,200 Speaker 1: giving me instructions all the time. Great, I can't mess 1330 01:19:55,320 --> 01:19:58,880 Speaker 1: up something I'm not told to do. But someone has 1331 01:19:58,960 --> 01:20:03,120 Speaker 1: to be your your information person, alright. So so the 1332 01:20:03,200 --> 01:20:05,360 Speaker 1: first week out was out there and and I mean 1333 01:20:05,520 --> 01:20:07,519 Speaker 1: I went up to him, he took my hand the 1334 01:20:07,600 --> 01:20:11,000 Speaker 1: first night, welcome aboard, something like that. That was all 1335 01:20:11,040 --> 01:20:14,400 Speaker 1: we talked about. Um the third or fourth day I 1336 01:20:14,479 --> 01:20:17,720 Speaker 1: needed to talk to him about picking hotels. And traditionally 1337 01:20:17,800 --> 01:20:20,120 Speaker 1: I would go to an artist and say, here's where 1338 01:20:20,160 --> 01:20:23,679 Speaker 1: we're going. Do you have a favorite hotel in these cities, 1339 01:20:24,280 --> 01:20:26,479 Speaker 1: so as to make sure that they were booked where 1340 01:20:26,520 --> 01:20:29,400 Speaker 1: they would want to be, and being new in the camp, 1341 01:20:29,479 --> 01:20:31,720 Speaker 1: it sounded like a logical question. So I came up 1342 01:20:31,720 --> 01:20:34,320 Speaker 1: to the dressing room before show one night and I 1343 01:20:34,439 --> 01:20:38,519 Speaker 1: talked to Big Chick said I need to see Prince. Well, buddy, 1344 01:20:38,600 --> 01:20:40,200 Speaker 1: I don't know if that's a smart thing to do. 1345 01:20:40,680 --> 01:20:44,200 Speaker 1: I'm still new blood. So everybody's like patrinising me. And 1346 01:20:44,280 --> 01:20:46,160 Speaker 1: he says, well, here's the thing, what do you want 1347 01:20:46,200 --> 01:20:49,639 Speaker 1: to talk to him about? Now? Chick called himself looking 1348 01:20:49,640 --> 01:20:53,759 Speaker 1: out for me. I'm thinking he's blocking me, right, because 1349 01:20:53,840 --> 01:20:56,559 Speaker 1: I still don't get the doneamics of the person answering, 1350 01:20:56,560 --> 01:20:59,360 Speaker 1: you know, I'm new in camp and he says well, 1351 01:20:59,560 --> 01:21:01,439 Speaker 1: and I said, well, and you just talked to him 1352 01:21:01,439 --> 01:21:04,960 Speaker 1: about a few hotels for the next next few weeks. Buddy, 1353 01:21:05,040 --> 01:21:08,160 Speaker 1: here's the thing. He hired you because you know what 1354 01:21:08,280 --> 01:21:10,800 Speaker 1: you're doing, and if you ask him about hotels, he's 1355 01:21:10,800 --> 01:21:12,760 Speaker 1: gonna think you don't know what you're doing. Then why 1356 01:21:12,800 --> 01:21:16,360 Speaker 1: did he hire you? So you knew that logic was 1357 01:21:16,439 --> 01:21:19,760 Speaker 1: out the window, and so it was up to you 1358 01:21:19,920 --> 01:21:22,400 Speaker 1: to guess what his preferences. Yes, so I went to 1359 01:21:22,479 --> 01:21:24,559 Speaker 1: Bobby Z and I went to Farnoli and I said, 1360 01:21:24,560 --> 01:21:30,400 Speaker 1: where do you guys stay? It's like, okay, he doesn't 1361 01:21:30,400 --> 01:21:34,360 Speaker 1: want to talk about hotels. So maybe maybe a week 1362 01:21:35,160 --> 01:21:38,679 Speaker 1: into me being there, after four or five, six shows whatever, 1363 01:21:39,160 --> 01:21:41,920 Speaker 1: we're in St. Louis and we're in a hotel. After 1364 01:21:42,040 --> 01:21:45,760 Speaker 1: the show, I'm in the lobby bar with with the 1365 01:21:45,800 --> 01:21:48,240 Speaker 1: whole band I think was there all five of them probably, 1366 01:21:48,520 --> 01:21:52,559 Speaker 1: So they hung out occasionally occasionally, and you know, it's 1367 01:21:52,560 --> 01:21:54,439 Speaker 1: one of those deals where in a boring hotel and 1368 01:21:54,720 --> 01:21:57,439 Speaker 1: after hours and you're leaving first thing in the morning, 1369 01:21:57,520 --> 01:21:59,600 Speaker 1: so you're not gonna go out in the street and 1370 01:22:00,000 --> 01:22:02,080 Speaker 1: everybody just met. I'll meet you in the bar. We'll 1371 01:22:02,120 --> 01:22:05,040 Speaker 1: have a drink right just unwind after a show. So 1372 01:22:05,160 --> 01:22:09,640 Speaker 1: we're sitting in a huge round table and the band is. 1373 01:22:09,920 --> 01:22:11,760 Speaker 1: You know, I've had a couple of drinks, and it's 1374 01:22:11,880 --> 01:22:14,240 Speaker 1: kind of lively conversation and so on and so on, 1375 01:22:15,479 --> 01:22:17,479 Speaker 1: and suddenly we look up and here comes to Print 1376 01:22:17,520 --> 01:22:22,439 Speaker 1: and Chick walking across the lobby towards us. And what's 1377 01:22:22,439 --> 01:22:26,720 Speaker 1: fascinated to meet was the conversation stopped. There was a 1378 01:22:26,880 --> 01:22:32,360 Speaker 1: tension at the table. You could feel, and I'm like, hey, now, 1379 01:22:32,439 --> 01:22:36,360 Speaker 1: all of a sudden, everybody's scared to talk because into 1380 01:22:36,439 --> 01:22:38,400 Speaker 1: whatever it is they're saying, they don't want him to 1381 01:22:38,479 --> 01:22:41,080 Speaker 1: hear it, because what I didn't realize is that he 1382 01:22:41,160 --> 01:22:43,400 Speaker 1: has a way of taking what you say out of context, 1383 01:22:43,439 --> 01:22:45,680 Speaker 1: twisting it around him mean something else, and so on. 1384 01:22:46,040 --> 01:22:48,519 Speaker 1: So their whole thing was, let's just don't say anything 1385 01:22:49,200 --> 01:22:53,880 Speaker 1: unless we're asked. Now, I'm from New York, I don't 1386 01:22:53,920 --> 01:22:57,840 Speaker 1: know from That's like, I'll say anything. Pick what you want, 1387 01:22:58,040 --> 01:23:01,679 Speaker 1: you know. Um, as luck would have it. The only 1388 01:23:01,760 --> 01:23:03,760 Speaker 1: empty chair at the table, who was next to me, 1389 01:23:05,200 --> 01:23:08,000 Speaker 1: so Chicken Prince Head outside of the table and I 1390 01:23:08,120 --> 01:23:10,639 Speaker 1: get up to offer my seat to Chick, figuring Prince 1391 01:23:10,680 --> 01:23:13,439 Speaker 1: will take the empty seat, and Chick kind of physically 1392 01:23:13,520 --> 01:23:17,519 Speaker 1: pushes me back in the seat, which was the right 1393 01:23:17,600 --> 01:23:19,800 Speaker 1: thing to do, is the bodyguard. But I'm being polite 1394 01:23:19,840 --> 01:23:23,000 Speaker 1: because I'm the newbie, right. So we're sitting at the 1395 01:23:23,080 --> 01:23:27,280 Speaker 1: table and now it's like awkwardly quiet, and everybody's waiting 1396 01:23:27,320 --> 01:23:30,360 Speaker 1: for him to say something because now the boss is here, 1397 01:23:30,920 --> 01:23:32,920 Speaker 1: and you know, they were talking about how the show 1398 01:23:33,120 --> 01:23:35,280 Speaker 1: was and so on, but but maybe he didn't like 1399 01:23:35,439 --> 01:23:38,479 Speaker 1: the show, so they're afraid to express anything. They want 1400 01:23:38,560 --> 01:23:40,600 Speaker 1: to read him first. Did he like to show or 1401 01:23:40,680 --> 01:23:43,599 Speaker 1: did he not? Is he here to pick up this mood? 1402 01:23:43,760 --> 01:23:45,600 Speaker 1: Did we miss the que that if they want to 1403 01:23:45,640 --> 01:23:49,320 Speaker 1: read his mood? Right, So there's this awkward silence for 1404 01:23:49,360 --> 01:23:52,640 Speaker 1: about sixty seconds, and then he just turns to me 1405 01:23:52,760 --> 01:23:54,719 Speaker 1: in my ear and he says, tell me some James 1406 01:23:54,760 --> 01:23:59,000 Speaker 1: Brunce stories. Wow, And I don't know what I thought 1407 01:23:59,000 --> 01:24:00,800 Speaker 1: of something real quick. I don't really knows what I 1408 01:24:00,880 --> 01:24:03,559 Speaker 1: told him. I have no recollection at all. And from 1409 01:24:03,640 --> 01:24:08,360 Speaker 1: that point on we talked so that that was okay, 1410 01:24:08,400 --> 01:24:13,920 Speaker 1: you're in. You passed initiation really and after that I 1411 01:24:13,960 --> 01:24:16,120 Speaker 1: couldn't get in this shut up because now it is 1412 01:24:16,520 --> 01:24:19,280 Speaker 1: it is the guy calling number ten minutes with get this, 1413 01:24:19,439 --> 01:24:22,320 Speaker 1: do that, get this, do that. Knowing what I think 1414 01:24:22,400 --> 01:24:26,240 Speaker 1: I know about him, I would have thought he was 1415 01:24:26,360 --> 01:24:30,920 Speaker 1: testing you to see would you spill any secrets, like 1416 01:24:31,120 --> 01:24:33,400 Speaker 1: he was testing your loyalty. So the story you told 1417 01:24:33,600 --> 01:24:36,400 Speaker 1: must have been humorous enough to give just a little 1418 01:24:36,400 --> 01:24:39,559 Speaker 1: bit of information. I'm sure this is that one time 1419 01:24:39,600 --> 01:24:43,280 Speaker 1: when I caught James Brown, You're like, oh no, he's 1420 01:24:43,280 --> 01:24:46,479 Speaker 1: not no, no dirty laundry that that that's that's too 1421 01:24:46,520 --> 01:24:48,320 Speaker 1: are men and you want no one that you don't 1422 01:24:48,439 --> 01:24:51,280 Speaker 1: You never dis a previous artist with the New Orleans 1423 01:24:51,320 --> 01:24:56,360 Speaker 1: because wow, you just don't. So when when you entered 1424 01:24:56,600 --> 01:25:04,080 Speaker 1: the the realm of of the Prince tour um, what 1425 01:25:05,080 --> 01:25:07,680 Speaker 1: preparation of anything that you were given? Like what's your 1426 01:25:08,320 --> 01:25:09,920 Speaker 1: I still don't know how you just jump in the 1427 01:25:10,000 --> 01:25:14,080 Speaker 1: head first too an already existent situation. You know, you 1428 01:25:14,240 --> 01:25:16,240 Speaker 1: just dive in. You figure out what's been done, what 1429 01:25:16,360 --> 01:25:18,720 Speaker 1: hasn't been done. But the biggest thing in that situation, 1430 01:25:18,880 --> 01:25:21,680 Speaker 1: because I wasn't used to jumping in its stream, was 1431 01:25:21,840 --> 01:25:24,960 Speaker 1: just kind of observe the whole thing was like, let 1432 01:25:25,040 --> 01:25:27,960 Speaker 1: me clock everybody and see how this works. Catch the 1433 01:25:28,080 --> 01:25:32,719 Speaker 1: dynamics of the personalities, who's outspoken, who's a problem, who's cool, 1434 01:25:32,880 --> 01:25:35,640 Speaker 1: who oversleeps? You know, just get a sense of of 1435 01:25:35,800 --> 01:25:39,200 Speaker 1: what you're dealing with. You know, you can't reinvent it. 1436 01:25:39,680 --> 01:25:42,599 Speaker 1: You can't come in cold and and reinvent the wheel, 1437 01:25:42,680 --> 01:25:46,560 Speaker 1: because whatever they're doing, it's working. Did you have to 1438 01:25:46,840 --> 01:25:50,080 Speaker 1: uh to babysit all three acts or was it just Prince? 1439 01:25:50,160 --> 01:25:55,040 Speaker 1: And each act had a road manager but they all 1440 01:25:55,080 --> 01:25:57,560 Speaker 1: answered to you? Yeah, pretty much, because I was the 1441 01:25:57,640 --> 01:25:59,760 Speaker 1: one who was telling him what plane we're on and 1442 01:26:00,280 --> 01:26:03,000 Speaker 1: what hotel we're gonna be out and so on. They 1443 01:26:03,000 --> 01:26:04,920 Speaker 1: didn't have a voice in that. What the res are 1444 01:26:04,920 --> 01:26:07,800 Speaker 1: you talking about? Vanity six? In the time as you 1445 01:26:07,920 --> 01:26:13,280 Speaker 1: I'm referring to um? So was it? Was? It well oiled? 1446 01:26:13,400 --> 01:26:16,439 Speaker 1: Even with those acts, Like were they professional? Were they? 1447 01:26:16,560 --> 01:26:19,120 Speaker 1: Everybody was very professional and it was obvious that he 1448 01:26:19,160 --> 01:26:24,320 Speaker 1: didn't tolerate in bullshit, so it was a very professional operation. Now, still, 1449 01:26:24,439 --> 01:26:27,439 Speaker 1: there were a lot of opinionated people, and it was 1450 01:26:27,680 --> 01:26:31,320 Speaker 1: there was some you had a real sense of drama 1451 01:26:32,000 --> 01:26:34,280 Speaker 1: and obviously it didn't take long to learn. A lot 1452 01:26:34,360 --> 01:26:37,400 Speaker 1: of it had to do with, um, what had happened 1453 01:26:37,439 --> 01:26:41,280 Speaker 1: with Jimmy, jam and Terry before I joined, when they 1454 01:26:41,320 --> 01:26:43,519 Speaker 1: had broken away, and Mr Gig because they've been in 1455 01:26:43,560 --> 01:26:45,839 Speaker 1: the studio, wounded Atlanta and so on for the listeners 1456 01:26:45,880 --> 01:26:50,400 Speaker 1: who don't quick side note. So Jimmy and Terry uh 1457 01:26:51,280 --> 01:26:54,680 Speaker 1: flew to Atlanta to produce just be good to Me, right, 1458 01:26:55,720 --> 01:26:59,280 Speaker 1: and then an ounce of drop of snow came in 1459 01:26:59,280 --> 01:27:05,280 Speaker 1: Atlanta shut the airport down, thus forcing uh, I guess 1460 01:27:05,400 --> 01:27:10,840 Speaker 1: uh Brown Mark and Lisa and Prince to fill in. 1461 01:27:11,400 --> 01:27:18,000 Speaker 1: Uh the Times music backstage? Were you witnessed to that? No? No, 1462 01:27:18,160 --> 01:27:22,000 Speaker 1: there was before before. Okay, So by I mean by that, 1463 01:27:22,120 --> 01:27:24,720 Speaker 1: by that point though, I mean could you, I mean 1464 01:27:24,800 --> 01:27:27,280 Speaker 1: the bands weren't speaking. The first of all, there was 1465 01:27:27,320 --> 01:27:31,320 Speaker 1: a musical rivalry between the bands because the Time could 1466 01:27:31,400 --> 01:27:38,479 Speaker 1: kick their ass and often did. Yeah, I mean because 1467 01:27:38,720 --> 01:27:42,560 Speaker 1: but Prince did he not have his well, it was 1468 01:27:43,360 --> 01:27:46,720 Speaker 1: already he designed that he wanted that. Well, I know that. 1469 01:27:46,840 --> 01:27:49,080 Speaker 1: But when I hear like, oh, the Time kicked our 1470 01:27:49,120 --> 01:27:52,080 Speaker 1: ass tonight, like I think it was like the frankis 1471 01:27:52,080 --> 01:27:54,240 Speaker 1: not Minster that kind of went beyond his control. Like 1472 01:27:54,320 --> 01:27:56,360 Speaker 1: I think it was I think the time was him 1473 01:27:56,400 --> 01:27:58,240 Speaker 1: just kind of getting his funk nut off, like I'll 1474 01:27:58,280 --> 01:28:00,320 Speaker 1: just do this kind of function. But you know, for 1475 01:28:00,400 --> 01:28:04,560 Speaker 1: a while, and I think even when we talked to 1476 01:28:05,400 --> 01:28:08,840 Speaker 1: Brown Mark and them, right, you know, they were saying that, 1477 01:28:08,920 --> 01:28:13,519 Speaker 1: I mean, because you know, after while the time was 1478 01:28:13,960 --> 01:28:17,960 Speaker 1: I mean, that was like the black audience, So they 1479 01:28:18,000 --> 01:28:22,080 Speaker 1: were It was a stylistic thing as much as anything else, 1480 01:28:22,360 --> 01:28:26,200 Speaker 1: because the nature of the songs, the repertoire was was different. 1481 01:28:26,520 --> 01:28:28,719 Speaker 1: It was more R and B. Yeah, it was hardcore 1482 01:28:28,840 --> 01:28:30,680 Speaker 1: R and B. When you get when, I mean, you 1483 01:28:30,760 --> 01:28:35,400 Speaker 1: can't funk with a ten minute vamp on cool a little. 1484 01:28:37,439 --> 01:28:41,360 Speaker 1: It's a tremendous song, but it ain't gonna do to 1485 01:28:41,479 --> 01:28:45,400 Speaker 1: a house what ten minutes to Cool does or seven 1486 01:28:45,479 --> 01:28:50,160 Speaker 1: seven seven, I mean, I get it. So, I mean 1487 01:28:52,880 --> 01:28:55,439 Speaker 1: they were just at at best cordial to each other 1488 01:28:55,520 --> 01:28:58,719 Speaker 1: by that point best. And then there was the Vanity 1489 01:28:58,840 --> 01:29:01,360 Speaker 1: sixth thing where he did been you know, been through 1490 01:29:01,400 --> 01:29:04,200 Speaker 1: the Vanity thing. They had already broken up, but he 1491 01:29:04,320 --> 01:29:06,160 Speaker 1: was trying to make people think he was still in 1492 01:29:06,320 --> 01:29:09,200 Speaker 1: there and they would hang together. But she was making 1493 01:29:09,240 --> 01:29:11,720 Speaker 1: everybody aware that it was just to hang that she 1494 01:29:11,880 --> 01:29:14,960 Speaker 1: was really done with him. And Susan Moons he's still 1495 01:29:15,120 --> 01:29:18,160 Speaker 1: his like sometimes friend, but she's not sleeping with him either, 1496 01:29:19,360 --> 01:29:22,040 Speaker 1: And Jill Jones is there, and I mean it was 1497 01:29:22,320 --> 01:29:30,559 Speaker 1: it was crazy at that levels of awesome juggling. One 1498 01:29:30,680 --> 01:29:35,559 Speaker 1: day fontago, you and I will discuss life. Life goes, 1499 01:29:41,720 --> 01:29:43,760 Speaker 1: I guess by the point. But by the time you 1500 01:29:43,880 --> 01:29:51,160 Speaker 1: joined the tour, the fabled Purple Notebook ever show itself. 1501 01:29:51,320 --> 01:29:55,519 Speaker 1: I mean, how much talk of we might do a 1502 01:29:55,600 --> 01:29:58,120 Speaker 1: movie or this sort of thing. Well, I heard that. 1503 01:29:58,920 --> 01:30:00,800 Speaker 1: I heard that because some of the guys in the 1504 01:30:00,840 --> 01:30:03,760 Speaker 1: band were talking about it. Jill Jones was talking about it. 1505 01:30:03,840 --> 01:30:06,280 Speaker 1: I remember Vanity and Susan Moon's he telling me, you know, 1506 01:30:06,360 --> 01:30:08,639 Speaker 1: he's writing in his notebook and these ideas. He thinks 1507 01:30:08,640 --> 01:30:11,400 Speaker 1: he's gonna make a movie, and everybody kind of like 1508 01:30:11,960 --> 01:30:16,400 Speaker 1: the sense I got was that nobody really believed it, 1509 01:30:16,520 --> 01:30:19,479 Speaker 1: but everybody was too afraid of him to express it. 1510 01:30:19,880 --> 01:30:22,120 Speaker 1: So everybody acted like, yeah, we're gonna make a movie, 1511 01:30:22,439 --> 01:30:27,400 Speaker 1: but you know, but like they didn't believe it. At 1512 01:30:27,439 --> 01:30:30,800 Speaker 1: what point did it become like, oh crap, this really 1513 01:30:30,880 --> 01:30:34,160 Speaker 1: is going to happen. Um About a month after I 1514 01:30:34,320 --> 01:30:38,160 Speaker 1: was in Minneapolis and we started doing casting calls. Well. 1515 01:30:38,760 --> 01:30:43,200 Speaker 1: But the one thing that I noticed when at least 1516 01:30:43,240 --> 01:30:46,960 Speaker 1: for searching the notes of the music that went into 1517 01:30:47,120 --> 01:30:51,320 Speaker 1: Purple Rain, was that he was on a serious deadline 1518 01:30:51,840 --> 01:30:56,720 Speaker 1: because once the movie got greenlit, songs still weren't finalized yet. 1519 01:30:57,120 --> 01:31:00,960 Speaker 1: And so, um, when I'm reading the Warner brother logs, 1520 01:31:01,120 --> 01:31:05,240 Speaker 1: the Warner Brothers uh studio logs of how songs got 1521 01:31:05,320 --> 01:31:09,120 Speaker 1: created and how fast and close to deadline that they were, 1522 01:31:10,360 --> 01:31:14,559 Speaker 1: you know, like the beautiful ones really wasn't created until 1523 01:31:14,760 --> 01:31:18,080 Speaker 1: like mer or months before they had to shoot this stuff. 1524 01:31:18,160 --> 01:31:20,599 Speaker 1: So I think Take Me with You came like during 1525 01:31:21,520 --> 01:31:24,720 Speaker 1: Well that's my point and the fact that, I mean 1526 01:31:26,479 --> 01:31:29,240 Speaker 1: it's easy to take for granted that his his talents 1527 01:31:29,280 --> 01:31:34,400 Speaker 1: were endless and metaphoric metaphorically speaking, he was just shooting 1528 01:31:34,840 --> 01:31:38,840 Speaker 1: three pointers all day. The film people worried about that, 1529 01:31:39,000 --> 01:31:42,240 Speaker 1: but we didn't because we, I mean we by then 1530 01:31:42,520 --> 01:31:44,640 Speaker 1: I knew what everybody else in they camp do that 1531 01:31:44,760 --> 01:31:46,680 Speaker 1: this was the guy who would go downstairs and in 1532 01:31:46,840 --> 01:31:50,160 Speaker 1: six hours great a new song. And at that point 1533 01:31:50,160 --> 01:31:55,040 Speaker 1: in his career, the songs it was creating were consistently good. Um, 1534 01:31:55,600 --> 01:31:58,800 Speaker 1: I think it didn't take long one shooting began to 1535 01:31:58,920 --> 01:32:01,519 Speaker 1: realize a that nobody in this cast was going to 1536 01:32:01,640 --> 01:32:06,840 Speaker 1: threaten Meryl Streep or George C. Scott. What were those preparations, like, 1537 01:32:07,280 --> 01:32:11,400 Speaker 1: did you witness like these? Balied? YEA. When when I 1538 01:32:11,600 --> 01:32:15,679 Speaker 1: first got to Minneapolis, as Farnoli said, you're an off 1539 01:32:15,840 --> 01:32:18,559 Speaker 1: road road because I said, what's the gig? You're an 1540 01:32:18,680 --> 01:32:23,679 Speaker 1: off road road manager with three bands. Why wouldn't Farnoli 1541 01:32:23,800 --> 01:32:27,720 Speaker 1: come into do the because he lived in l a 1542 01:32:27,880 --> 01:32:34,639 Speaker 1: And and he didn't want to leave. Yeah, yeah, yeah, 1543 01:32:34,680 --> 01:32:36,600 Speaker 1: I mean that this is this was kind of the 1544 01:32:36,640 --> 01:32:42,080 Speaker 1: gopher stuff. It's like we had an acting coach who 1545 01:32:42,160 --> 01:32:45,200 Speaker 1: had come come been hired from California to come in 1546 01:32:45,280 --> 01:32:47,639 Speaker 1: and work individually with the people who had the most 1547 01:32:47,760 --> 01:32:53,040 Speaker 1: speaking roles. We had a dance class down downtown that 1548 01:32:53,240 --> 01:32:58,160 Speaker 1: was just basically just basic dance and entered as much 1549 01:32:58,200 --> 01:33:01,120 Speaker 1: a workout as anything else. But so it's just to 1550 01:33:01,240 --> 01:33:05,840 Speaker 1: keep them in shape, not exactly exactly making them lazy 1551 01:33:05,880 --> 01:33:11,280 Speaker 1: and like no, but I just just figured yeah, um, 1552 01:33:11,479 --> 01:33:15,920 Speaker 1: and and then there was the rehearsals, and and you 1553 01:33:16,080 --> 01:33:19,719 Speaker 1: had Vanity six, you had the time, and you had 1554 01:33:20,000 --> 01:33:22,519 Speaker 1: the Revolution, and they were all rehearsing. So it was 1555 01:33:22,600 --> 01:33:26,200 Speaker 1: my job to stagger their schedules to make sure everybody 1556 01:33:26,280 --> 01:33:29,680 Speaker 1: knew where to go and win. The dance classes were 1557 01:33:29,760 --> 01:33:32,880 Speaker 1: like three times a week downtown at the Minnesota Dance Theater, 1558 01:33:33,160 --> 01:33:35,400 Speaker 1: three times a week downtown. Yeah, then it would be 1559 01:33:35,560 --> 01:33:38,920 Speaker 1: like in late morning so that we could have the day, 1560 01:33:39,600 --> 01:33:43,120 Speaker 1: you know, the day for rehearsing, and um, everybody would 1561 01:33:43,120 --> 01:33:45,000 Speaker 1: go to that together. So that would be all the 1562 01:33:45,080 --> 01:33:48,360 Speaker 1: groups together and anybody else who was the nineteen people? 1563 01:33:48,439 --> 01:33:50,680 Speaker 1: Is your job to wrinkled nineteen people? Yeah, pretty much, 1564 01:33:50,760 --> 01:33:54,240 Speaker 1: Morris included, and yeah, absolutely absolutely, And then Gwen and 1565 01:33:54,320 --> 01:33:56,280 Speaker 1: I would go and Gwen would get in tights and 1566 01:33:56,360 --> 01:33:58,639 Speaker 1: work out with Susan Mooncy and it would just all 1567 01:33:58,720 --> 01:34:02,320 Speaker 1: hang out the silly and Jerome with clown and drive 1568 01:34:02,400 --> 01:34:05,800 Speaker 1: the dance teacher crazy, give us hysterical. We should have 1569 01:34:05,840 --> 01:34:08,600 Speaker 1: had footage of that that. The dance theater stuff was 1570 01:34:08,640 --> 01:34:14,599 Speaker 1: all right. Prince included sometimes not always, but sometimes, I'd 1571 01:34:14,600 --> 01:34:16,960 Speaker 1: say half the time he was there. So, I mean, 1572 01:34:16,960 --> 01:34:18,439 Speaker 1: it was it easy at all for you to make 1573 01:34:18,479 --> 01:34:20,840 Speaker 1: this move or was it? Like? No, it was pretty 1574 01:34:20,880 --> 01:34:24,680 Speaker 1: traumatic actually, because it was like leaving a girlfriend and 1575 01:34:24,800 --> 01:34:27,479 Speaker 1: leaving New York, neither of which I wanted to leave 1576 01:34:28,640 --> 01:34:30,879 Speaker 1: um to live in a town I had no designs 1577 01:34:30,920 --> 01:34:35,880 Speaker 1: of staying in and and but but it was like 1578 01:34:36,320 --> 01:34:38,320 Speaker 1: it was like, this is the offer you can't refuse, 1579 01:34:38,439 --> 01:34:40,640 Speaker 1: and and and I was I really played hard to 1580 01:34:40,720 --> 01:34:43,479 Speaker 1: get with Farnoli when he called me, because it was like, 1581 01:34:43,600 --> 01:34:46,559 Speaker 1: you know, because he could tell I ain't feeling Minneapolis, man, 1582 01:34:46,680 --> 01:34:48,639 Speaker 1: I mean, how long am I to be there? Well? 1583 01:34:48,760 --> 01:34:52,960 Speaker 1: Maybe forever? It was like, no, well, you were lucky 1584 01:34:53,040 --> 01:34:56,879 Speaker 1: enough to pull Gwynn into the circle. Yeah, I can't imagine. 1585 01:34:56,920 --> 01:35:01,479 Speaker 1: That was like, okay, well I tried that once, like 1586 01:35:01,800 --> 01:35:04,240 Speaker 1: out of the end he broke up at the end 1587 01:35:04,320 --> 01:35:10,519 Speaker 1: of that. It ended. But wait, that's what you just said, Alan, 1588 01:35:10,560 --> 01:35:12,080 Speaker 1: you said that was a part of deal. Like it's 1589 01:35:12,080 --> 01:35:14,760 Speaker 1: either both of us or it was part of the 1590 01:35:14,840 --> 01:35:17,720 Speaker 1: deal at a certain point. Because after I was here 1591 01:35:17,760 --> 01:35:19,759 Speaker 1: for a while and I realized this was a keeper, 1592 01:35:19,920 --> 01:35:23,600 Speaker 1: meaning the gig, I was really concerned about our relationship 1593 01:35:23,640 --> 01:35:26,360 Speaker 1: because the relationship had just gotten to the point where 1594 01:35:26,439 --> 01:35:30,640 Speaker 1: this is like getting serious. And um, but you know, 1595 01:35:30,800 --> 01:35:32,720 Speaker 1: she had a good job in New York. She was 1596 01:35:33,080 --> 01:35:36,679 Speaker 1: public relations directed for the Hayden Planetarium at the Museum 1597 01:35:36,760 --> 01:35:39,720 Speaker 1: and Natural History had been there for several years. All 1598 01:35:39,800 --> 01:35:41,519 Speaker 1: her friends were in New York. She had never lived 1599 01:35:41,560 --> 01:35:44,360 Speaker 1: anywhere else except when she went away to school, and 1600 01:35:44,479 --> 01:35:47,040 Speaker 1: so the idea of her movie just didn't even seem 1601 01:35:47,240 --> 01:35:52,240 Speaker 1: worth having a conversation about. Never occurred to me. But 1602 01:35:52,560 --> 01:35:55,760 Speaker 1: something happened at the planetarium. They had a change in management, 1603 01:35:56,080 --> 01:35:58,719 Speaker 1: and the new regime was was not to her liking. 1604 01:35:58,880 --> 01:36:02,280 Speaker 1: So she was starting to obblund So Fate just said 1605 01:36:02,360 --> 01:36:04,320 Speaker 1: that if she was ever going to consider a move, 1606 01:36:04,479 --> 01:36:09,400 Speaker 1: this was the time. And um my thing was that 1607 01:36:10,560 --> 01:36:13,360 Speaker 1: eventually we would tour, which is what I lived for. 1608 01:36:13,960 --> 01:36:15,840 Speaker 1: If I had want to be in the movie making business, 1609 01:36:15,880 --> 01:36:18,080 Speaker 1: I wouldn't moved to La and got in that business. 1610 01:36:18,600 --> 01:36:20,559 Speaker 1: This was just something we were doing until we got 1611 01:36:20,600 --> 01:36:23,080 Speaker 1: to the next tour. That that's what got me excited, 1612 01:36:23,280 --> 01:36:26,000 Speaker 1: was hitting the road and making music. Making a movie 1613 01:36:26,160 --> 01:36:30,639 Speaker 1: was tedious to me. It was just bored. You didn't 1614 01:36:30,680 --> 01:36:33,439 Speaker 1: know whether or not it was gonna work or not. No, 1615 01:36:33,840 --> 01:36:36,400 Speaker 1: but but I knew whither without the success of the movie. 1616 01:36:36,520 --> 01:36:38,479 Speaker 1: One day, he's going to tour again. He's got a band, 1617 01:36:38,560 --> 01:36:40,560 Speaker 1: he makes new music, and he's popular. We're going to 1618 01:36:40,640 --> 01:36:41,920 Speaker 1: go out and the root and do what we do 1619 01:36:43,160 --> 01:36:45,759 Speaker 1: and at that point, I don't want to be away 1620 01:36:45,800 --> 01:36:47,920 Speaker 1: from home for six months. So the thing with Gwen 1621 01:36:48,200 --> 01:36:51,160 Speaker 1: was like once she came to she she came to visit, 1622 01:36:52,600 --> 01:36:57,080 Speaker 1: and then the job situation for her turned intowards something 1623 01:36:57,160 --> 01:37:00,320 Speaker 1: that became unpleasant because the management change and was like, 1624 01:37:00,439 --> 01:37:02,760 Speaker 1: you know what, and I missed you too, maybe this 1625 01:37:02,880 --> 01:37:06,360 Speaker 1: is what I'm supposed to do, so lo and behold. 1626 01:37:06,520 --> 01:37:09,400 Speaker 1: She was willing to move. So at that point I 1627 01:37:09,600 --> 01:37:11,640 Speaker 1: was like, okay, if we're going to tour, she's going 1628 01:37:11,680 --> 01:37:14,200 Speaker 1: to become my assistant. And it it kind of morphed 1629 01:37:14,320 --> 01:37:18,280 Speaker 1: organically because there was no Paisley Park, there was no office, 1630 01:37:19,200 --> 01:37:22,639 Speaker 1: and so kind of by default my apartment living room 1631 01:37:22,720 --> 01:37:25,360 Speaker 1: became the office. That's where guys would come to pick 1632 01:37:25,439 --> 01:37:29,240 Speaker 1: up their perdems and you know, when the packages would 1633 01:37:29,280 --> 01:37:31,479 Speaker 1: come that I'd have to take the Prince of rehearsal. 1634 01:37:32,160 --> 01:37:37,920 Speaker 1: So it was kind of the headquarters for Pierre and 1635 01:37:38,040 --> 01:37:41,439 Speaker 1: Productions until we finally had an office a year later. 1636 01:37:42,479 --> 01:37:46,760 Speaker 1: Um So, needless to say, Prince Scott used to calling me, 1637 01:37:46,880 --> 01:37:49,400 Speaker 1: He got used to Gwen answering the phone, and very 1638 01:37:49,520 --> 01:37:56,120 Speaker 1: gradually he started asking her to do stuff for him. Heah, 1639 01:37:56,680 --> 01:37:58,200 Speaker 1: so he was like, and I don't know if he 1640 01:37:58,320 --> 01:38:00,800 Speaker 1: was testing her what, but he was, you know, did 1641 01:38:01,000 --> 01:38:03,680 Speaker 1: did a package come for me? Well? I think so, 1642 01:38:03,920 --> 01:38:06,599 Speaker 1: but Alan's at the store. Well I need the package. 1643 01:38:06,640 --> 01:38:08,720 Speaker 1: Can you bring it out to the house, you know, 1644 01:38:09,720 --> 01:38:13,080 Speaker 1: you know, or or at at one in the morning, 1645 01:38:13,200 --> 01:38:16,200 Speaker 1: it was like, you know, I'm in St. Paul and 1646 01:38:16,240 --> 01:38:18,559 Speaker 1: I ran out of gas because somebody brings me some gas. 1647 01:38:23,320 --> 01:38:27,240 Speaker 1: He would do that a lot. Really yeah, I got 1648 01:38:27,360 --> 01:38:30,599 Speaker 1: it probably half a dozen times that he would call 1649 01:38:30,680 --> 01:38:32,320 Speaker 1: the house and say, we're not a gas and we 1650 01:38:32,479 --> 01:38:35,240 Speaker 1: have to go get gas, or we call somebody who 1651 01:38:35,400 --> 01:38:39,000 Speaker 1: was already out, either his brother Dwayne, or we find somebody. 1652 01:38:39,160 --> 01:38:41,920 Speaker 1: It wasn't like it had to be me, but you know, 1653 01:38:42,200 --> 01:38:45,120 Speaker 1: somebody got to bring me some without cell phones. I 1654 01:38:45,200 --> 01:38:52,679 Speaker 1: can't even imagine exactly that's that's crazy. Yeah, it was crazy, 1655 01:38:52,840 --> 01:38:55,320 Speaker 1: but but he he got used to Gwen doing stuff, 1656 01:38:55,360 --> 01:38:59,719 Speaker 1: so it just became like okay. And then then fans 1657 01:38:59,760 --> 01:39:03,840 Speaker 1: had discovered his house, the Purple House, and whenever he 1658 01:39:03,960 --> 01:39:05,479 Speaker 1: and I would go to New York or go to 1659 01:39:05,720 --> 01:39:08,120 Speaker 1: l A for meetings or business or just to get 1660 01:39:08,160 --> 01:39:11,040 Speaker 1: away for a few days, he was getting nervous about 1661 01:39:11,120 --> 01:39:13,840 Speaker 1: leaving the house empty. So there were a few times 1662 01:39:13,920 --> 01:39:16,280 Speaker 1: he asked Gwen the house sit for him when we'd 1663 01:39:16,280 --> 01:39:18,200 Speaker 1: be out of town and so and so so was 1664 01:39:18,240 --> 01:39:19,840 Speaker 1: it a gate at the house or yeah, there was 1665 01:39:19,880 --> 01:39:22,439 Speaker 1: an electronic gate and so on. In fact, once there 1666 01:39:22,479 --> 01:39:24,720 Speaker 1: were some fans out there and she accidentally opened the 1667 01:39:24,760 --> 01:39:27,240 Speaker 1: gate and at art attack because they came in. But 1668 01:39:27,400 --> 01:39:30,960 Speaker 1: that's a Gwen story. But but long and short of 1669 01:39:31,040 --> 01:39:33,080 Speaker 1: it is she just became part of the family. I 1670 01:39:33,160 --> 01:39:37,200 Speaker 1: mean it was you know, she became very friendly with 1671 01:39:37,320 --> 01:39:40,719 Speaker 1: Susan Muncie, particularly because Moosey didn't drink the kool age. 1672 01:39:40,760 --> 01:39:45,799 Speaker 1: She was more like a very grounded person, which appealed 1673 01:39:45,840 --> 01:39:48,040 Speaker 1: to Gwen because she was totally baffled by the whole 1674 01:39:48,120 --> 01:39:52,680 Speaker 1: rock and roll thing. She was She was from the planetarium, 1675 01:39:52,760 --> 01:39:57,120 Speaker 1: from the museum world, where every postage stamp counted, and 1676 01:39:57,560 --> 01:39:59,880 Speaker 1: you know, now it's like rock and roll, it's like 1677 01:40:00,080 --> 01:40:02,960 Speaker 1: case send something counter to counter, which was before fed 1678 01:40:03,240 --> 01:40:07,560 Speaker 1: x um. And she just couldn't get with the the 1679 01:40:07,800 --> 01:40:11,360 Speaker 1: sentiment entitlement and the with the waste and in the 1680 01:40:11,560 --> 01:40:15,400 Speaker 1: excess of our lifestyle. So it was it was a 1681 01:40:15,520 --> 01:40:19,000 Speaker 1: little bumpy for us. But you know, she adapted pretty 1682 01:40:19,080 --> 01:40:24,160 Speaker 1: quick and and and he accepted her. Well, I'm just 1683 01:40:24,280 --> 01:40:28,080 Speaker 1: amazed that. Can you describe the I guess the work 1684 01:40:28,160 --> 01:40:32,960 Speaker 1: ethic is what I'm really trying to grasp because I've 1685 01:40:33,080 --> 01:40:37,640 Speaker 1: never seen anyone who is up at the crack or 1686 01:40:37,800 --> 01:40:41,200 Speaker 1: I mean, what time did rehearsals normally start? Mm hm, 1687 01:40:42,880 --> 01:40:45,599 Speaker 1: as a were like like three ish to three o'clock 1688 01:40:45,640 --> 01:40:50,400 Speaker 1: in the afternoon. Really yeah, okay, So when did they end? 1689 01:40:50,439 --> 01:40:54,599 Speaker 1: Though totally varied, depended whether it was just a rehearsal 1690 01:40:54,680 --> 01:40:58,439 Speaker 1: rehearsal or if it was something specific, and the closer 1691 01:40:58,520 --> 01:41:01,600 Speaker 1: you get to that specific gig or tour, then the 1692 01:41:01,680 --> 01:41:04,200 Speaker 1: rehearsals might go to midnight, one or two in the morning. 1693 01:41:04,720 --> 01:41:08,559 Speaker 1: But the average day because I mean, he'd rehearse all 1694 01:41:08,840 --> 01:41:12,639 Speaker 1: everybody's on a retainer, so he would rehearse constantly, even 1695 01:41:12,720 --> 01:41:16,000 Speaker 1: if there wasn't a tour around the corner, and those 1696 01:41:16,080 --> 01:41:18,320 Speaker 1: rehearsals might be I mean, if he went the studio 1697 01:41:18,320 --> 01:41:20,960 Speaker 1: and recorded a new song, he'd want to rehearse it 1698 01:41:21,040 --> 01:41:22,800 Speaker 1: with the band, so they'd learned it even before the 1699 01:41:22,840 --> 01:41:25,200 Speaker 1: record ever came out, without even knowing whether the song 1700 01:41:25,280 --> 01:41:30,600 Speaker 1: would make an album. So we were always rehearsing, and 1701 01:41:30,960 --> 01:41:34,120 Speaker 1: those just for lack of better way of putting in. 1702 01:41:34,200 --> 01:41:38,240 Speaker 1: Those kind of everyday rehearsals without a serious purpose would 1703 01:41:38,520 --> 01:41:41,240 Speaker 1: maybe three o'clock till eight o'clock a day or something 1704 01:41:41,320 --> 01:41:45,640 Speaker 1: like that, five or six hours. Not as intense as no, 1705 01:41:46,040 --> 01:41:48,759 Speaker 1: but then if it's if it's a tour three weeks away, 1706 01:41:49,280 --> 01:41:55,040 Speaker 1: then they get really really focused and longer. But the 1707 01:41:55,160 --> 01:41:57,600 Speaker 1: thing was the rehearsal might last three or four or 1708 01:41:57,640 --> 01:42:02,160 Speaker 1: five hours, but then he'd want the jam on night. Oh, 1709 01:42:02,400 --> 01:42:05,600 Speaker 1: after the rehearsal, after rehearsal, once he done whatever he 1710 01:42:05,680 --> 01:42:08,760 Speaker 1: wanted to rehearse, then it was like, okay, didn't he 1711 01:42:09,000 --> 01:42:11,479 Speaker 1: like all of his studden started playing body heat and 1712 01:42:11,880 --> 01:42:16,320 Speaker 1: vamp on it for like an hour. Were they generally 1713 01:42:16,720 --> 01:42:21,120 Speaker 1: enjoying it or was it like one of them was like, yo, man, 1714 01:42:21,160 --> 01:42:24,960 Speaker 1: I made plans to Yeah, there were those times, but 1715 01:42:25,080 --> 01:42:28,040 Speaker 1: they knew better than to make plans. You just didn't 1716 01:42:28,080 --> 01:42:30,080 Speaker 1: dare make plans. But I'm certain someone gave you like 1717 01:42:30,200 --> 01:42:35,160 Speaker 1: the eyes like yeah, of course it's my kid's birthday, 1718 01:42:35,320 --> 01:42:39,680 Speaker 1: Like that's sort of but none of that matters. It's 1719 01:42:39,680 --> 01:42:42,320 Speaker 1: all about him indulging. Is That's what retainers are for 1720 01:42:44,160 --> 01:42:48,559 Speaker 1: you're seven. In fact, let's play first Avenue to night 1721 01:42:48,600 --> 01:42:50,840 Speaker 1: at midnight, get out of bed and comes down town. 1722 01:42:52,200 --> 01:42:59,120 Speaker 1: What was the most eleventh hour request you've ever had 1723 01:42:59,200 --> 01:43:04,800 Speaker 1: to make? Happened in your history of this organization? The 1724 01:43:05,200 --> 01:43:12,559 Speaker 1: video for Alphabets Alphabet Street. Really that was a oh god, 1725 01:43:12,920 --> 01:43:15,960 Speaker 1: this might not happen or no. It was a phone 1726 01:43:16,000 --> 01:43:20,080 Speaker 1: call on a Sunday morning in a snowstorm. But I 1727 01:43:20,120 --> 01:43:23,280 Speaker 1: mean it's Minneapolis, so that's no. But it's still a 1728 01:43:23,360 --> 01:43:28,959 Speaker 1: Sunday morning. And he it was no advance notice whatsoever. 1729 01:43:29,400 --> 01:43:32,639 Speaker 1: Was literally like ten ten eleven o'clock Sunday morning phone rings. 1730 01:43:32,880 --> 01:43:38,519 Speaker 1: I want to see the video, okay, when now? Wait? 1731 01:43:38,560 --> 01:43:41,240 Speaker 1: Time out? Was there even like in a hello, hello, 1732 01:43:41,360 --> 01:43:44,240 Speaker 1: is Alan there? No? Very seldom just hello, I want 1733 01:43:44,280 --> 01:43:46,360 Speaker 1: to shoot the video? He'd just go right into He'd 1734 01:43:46,400 --> 01:43:48,599 Speaker 1: never say alone. I just said. It used to drive 1735 01:43:48,720 --> 01:43:51,360 Speaker 1: quitting crazy because he'd never say hello to her, and 1736 01:43:51,720 --> 01:43:56,640 Speaker 1: like would she would dance the phone Allen there? Not 1737 01:43:56,960 --> 01:44:04,240 Speaker 1: is Allen? Just two words Allan there? And like yeah, 1738 01:44:04,479 --> 01:44:07,320 Speaker 1: and she did what you would probably do, high prince, 1739 01:44:07,400 --> 01:44:12,599 Speaker 1: how are you just hey? Prince? How you hello? Wait? 1740 01:44:12,640 --> 01:44:16,960 Speaker 1: Were you're allowed to call even I can't imagine him. 1741 01:44:17,360 --> 01:44:22,280 Speaker 1: I can't imagine calling him Prince. That was his name. Yeah, 1742 01:44:22,400 --> 01:44:24,639 Speaker 1: what else was coma play? I'm gonna call him Clay. 1743 01:44:24,800 --> 01:44:33,120 Speaker 1: This is long before alright, you know? Uh so Alan, Uh? 1744 01:44:34,680 --> 01:44:37,960 Speaker 1: I guess can you tell us at the time when 1745 01:44:38,000 --> 01:44:41,960 Speaker 1: you're taking this uh tour on the road, like, at 1746 01:44:42,000 --> 01:44:46,400 Speaker 1: what point does this become like Beatlemania? As soon as 1747 01:44:46,479 --> 01:44:49,600 Speaker 1: we got to Detroit the first shop? What is it 1748 01:44:49,680 --> 01:44:52,600 Speaker 1: about Detroit? Like he was it? The fact that electrifying 1749 01:44:52,680 --> 01:44:55,400 Speaker 1: mojo just yeah, I think I had the city on 1750 01:44:55,520 --> 01:44:57,880 Speaker 1: fire for him more than anything that wasn't around. But 1751 01:44:57,960 --> 01:44:59,679 Speaker 1: I think it was one of the first cities where 1752 01:44:59,720 --> 01:45:03,800 Speaker 1: he blew up. And for whatever reason, it just works. 1753 01:45:05,200 --> 01:45:08,519 Speaker 1: Billy Sparks from Billy Sparks is from Detroit. But but 1754 01:45:08,720 --> 01:45:13,800 Speaker 1: when you really think back, Detroit, Motown, decide Detroit. When 1755 01:45:13,800 --> 01:45:17,519 Speaker 1: you think of p funk Um and the fact that 1756 01:45:18,360 --> 01:45:23,160 Speaker 1: the early Funkadelic came out of Detroit, there was always 1757 01:45:23,280 --> 01:45:28,599 Speaker 1: kind of a unique merger of of funk and rock 1758 01:45:29,680 --> 01:45:34,640 Speaker 1: there that wasn't necessarily elsewhere, And maybe that speaks to it. 1759 01:45:34,720 --> 01:45:38,120 Speaker 1: I'm just guessing here. I always wanted to know how 1760 01:45:38,240 --> 01:45:41,320 Speaker 1: did Billy Sparks get his position in Purple Rain, like 1761 01:45:41,520 --> 01:45:44,720 Speaker 1: was he just always Billy Sparks is a promoter by 1762 01:45:44,880 --> 01:45:49,599 Speaker 1: trade and an actual Actually he worked with Quentin Perry 1763 01:45:49,640 --> 01:45:53,360 Speaker 1: and Jeff Sharpoo where our tour promoters, and had been 1764 01:45:53,640 --> 01:45:56,800 Speaker 1: with Prince since the controversy tour so It's before my time, 1765 01:45:58,040 --> 01:46:02,000 Speaker 1: and continued to be the tour per voters and um 1766 01:46:03,320 --> 01:46:06,439 Speaker 1: Billy's Billy's gig was that he did to all their 1767 01:46:06,560 --> 01:46:08,920 Speaker 1: radio and he was like their publicist. He was their 1768 01:46:09,000 --> 01:46:11,960 Speaker 1: promo guy who would go to all the radio stations 1769 01:46:12,040 --> 01:46:15,960 Speaker 1: and hype the shows. But I mean, obviously there's something 1770 01:46:17,280 --> 01:46:20,720 Speaker 1: personal about Billy that Prince took a liking to him. 1771 01:46:21,040 --> 01:46:23,680 Speaker 1: I mean he had he was. Billy's a character. He's 1772 01:46:23,680 --> 01:46:28,960 Speaker 1: got a really outgoing personality and a real flavor to 1773 01:46:29,120 --> 01:46:34,040 Speaker 1: him and had a good sense of humor. But enough 1774 01:46:34,120 --> 01:46:36,200 Speaker 1: to say I'm gonna put you in my movie and 1775 01:46:37,560 --> 01:46:39,040 Speaker 1: do you have any I mean, this is the guy. 1776 01:46:39,080 --> 01:46:40,800 Speaker 1: But you just thought that was natural, Like, oh yeah, 1777 01:46:40,840 --> 01:46:43,120 Speaker 1: well dude, he put me in the movie. Why wouldn't 1778 01:46:43,120 --> 01:46:48,400 Speaker 1: he put put everybody in the movie. Yeah. By the way, Alan, 1779 01:46:48,920 --> 01:46:52,680 Speaker 1: for those who do all the point is about me, 1780 01:46:52,760 --> 01:46:55,840 Speaker 1: It's about he put everybody in the movie. It was like, 1781 01:46:57,000 --> 01:46:59,280 Speaker 1: you know, that was his that was his thing. Where 1782 01:47:00,320 --> 01:47:03,280 Speaker 1: the world everybody's going to be part of this his dream. 1783 01:47:03,360 --> 01:47:06,440 Speaker 1: Once we would all live in a gated community Janasson 1784 01:47:07,080 --> 01:47:12,759 Speaker 1: and and you know kids will have a nursery center 1785 01:47:12,840 --> 01:47:15,720 Speaker 1: inside Paisley so we never have to mix with it 1786 01:47:15,840 --> 01:47:18,639 Speaker 1: was real, Howard. You know, it's more like Dr York 1787 01:47:18,960 --> 01:47:27,000 Speaker 1: York Bill. No, I'm just no, no, no, that's a 1788 01:47:27,080 --> 01:47:31,960 Speaker 1: whole yeah with its own soundtrack. Yeah, all right, So 1789 01:47:32,040 --> 01:47:34,240 Speaker 1: you're just saying it was very natural for Billy Sparks 1790 01:47:34,320 --> 01:47:37,280 Speaker 1: to just Yeah. It was like it's part of the gang. 1791 01:47:37,400 --> 01:47:42,240 Speaker 1: That's the Purple Crew gang. At at the at the 1792 01:47:42,400 --> 01:47:47,120 Speaker 1: at the height of that tour, Um, I mean did 1793 01:47:47,200 --> 01:47:49,920 Speaker 1: you think that it was over? Was? I mean what 1794 01:47:50,160 --> 01:47:54,960 Speaker 1: kept you on because he stopped touring for two years, 1795 01:47:55,040 --> 01:47:58,479 Speaker 1: but yet you were still there correct? Yeah, Um, you 1796 01:47:58,560 --> 01:48:02,600 Speaker 1: were just there on standby and case. No, because by 1797 01:48:02,680 --> 01:48:05,400 Speaker 1: that point, whatever he did that was part of it, 1798 01:48:05,600 --> 01:48:08,120 Speaker 1: even if it was just two for the hang, that 1799 01:48:08,280 --> 01:48:10,840 Speaker 1: was just part of whenever he traveled and go with him, 1800 01:48:11,560 --> 01:48:14,920 Speaker 1: and it was it was I mean, there was a valet, 1801 01:48:15,000 --> 01:48:16,519 Speaker 1: there was a chef, and there was me and I 1802 01:48:16,680 --> 01:48:18,800 Speaker 1: was like the road manager. And even if it wasn't 1803 01:48:18,800 --> 01:48:22,200 Speaker 1: a tour, I was still managing his moves in in 1804 01:48:22,320 --> 01:48:26,800 Speaker 1: and ounce of hotels and clubs and whatever. Okay, So 1805 01:48:26,920 --> 01:48:28,639 Speaker 1: it was just, you know, there was just that point 1806 01:48:28,680 --> 01:48:31,120 Speaker 1: in time where whenever he moved down, moved with him. 1807 01:48:32,360 --> 01:48:36,760 Speaker 1: So and and understand something to all this time from 1808 01:48:36,800 --> 01:48:39,920 Speaker 1: the day I got to Minnesota. What it really really 1809 01:48:40,240 --> 01:48:45,360 Speaker 1: was was, as much as anything was, I was like 1810 01:48:45,640 --> 01:48:51,240 Speaker 1: the liason between Prince and the management. Because his management Kavala, Ruffalo, 1811 01:48:51,240 --> 01:48:54,200 Speaker 1: and FARNOLDI were based in l A. They did not 1812 01:48:54,360 --> 01:48:57,680 Speaker 1: want to move to help to Minneapolis. If they had, 1813 01:48:57,720 --> 01:48:59,840 Speaker 1: I wouldn't never had a gig. So you were the 1814 01:49:00,000 --> 01:49:04,519 Speaker 1: silent member of of of that firm. You decided to 1815 01:49:04,600 --> 01:49:09,880 Speaker 1: live in Minnesota. I see, I see. Um. So at 1816 01:49:09,960 --> 01:49:12,000 Speaker 1: what point are you just told that you're the president 1817 01:49:12,160 --> 01:49:16,519 Speaker 1: of Paisley Park or no. It's just it's like, Kate, 1818 01:49:16,600 --> 01:49:19,720 Speaker 1: we got the money, we're gonna build the building, you know. 1819 01:49:20,320 --> 01:49:24,720 Speaker 1: And um Now, Okay, as as a principan that I 1820 01:49:24,920 --> 01:49:28,719 Speaker 1: was his guy, I mean I was the guy on site. 1821 01:49:29,120 --> 01:49:33,160 Speaker 1: I mean there was Farnoli who I answered to, and 1822 01:49:33,439 --> 01:49:37,400 Speaker 1: Cavallo and Ruffalo to a degree. But um, but in 1823 01:49:37,560 --> 01:49:39,720 Speaker 1: terms of on site mean, now, there were a lot 1824 01:49:39,760 --> 01:49:41,360 Speaker 1: of other guys by the nd by the time we 1825 01:49:41,479 --> 01:49:45,560 Speaker 1: built Paisley that it was a pretty big crew of 1826 01:49:45,720 --> 01:49:50,280 Speaker 1: technicians and engineers, and um we hired a student that 1827 01:49:50,479 --> 01:49:53,960 Speaker 1: the the guy who actually ran Paisley, the facility, the 1828 01:49:54,080 --> 01:49:58,080 Speaker 1: studio manage, the building manager was a guy named Harry 1829 01:49:58,120 --> 01:50:03,200 Speaker 1: Grossman who had Maurice White's complex in West Hollywood. We 1830 01:50:03,320 --> 01:50:07,439 Speaker 1: hired him away as as a as a music observer, 1831 01:50:07,760 --> 01:50:15,240 Speaker 1: always noticed that whenever someone chooses to upgrade, that also 1832 01:50:15,360 --> 01:50:21,840 Speaker 1: marks the beginning of the moment, like kind of the 1833 01:50:21,920 --> 01:50:24,000 Speaker 1: beginning of the not the beginning of the end. But 1834 01:50:24,120 --> 01:50:29,040 Speaker 1: it's like Barry Gordy taking Motown out of Detroit and 1835 01:50:29,120 --> 01:50:35,200 Speaker 1: going to l a uh wu tang uh leaving the 1836 01:50:36,080 --> 01:50:41,880 Speaker 1: versus Basement two a more posh Hollywood studio. I mean, 1837 01:50:41,960 --> 01:50:44,800 Speaker 1: there's other examples of you know, cleaner studios and that 1838 01:50:44,880 --> 01:50:48,680 Speaker 1: sort of stuff, and then it lose it's it's it's 1839 01:50:49,280 --> 01:50:53,080 Speaker 1: did you feel I mean not saying that you could 1840 01:50:53,120 --> 01:50:56,360 Speaker 1: answer from I wouldn't call you a Prince fan, but 1841 01:50:56,479 --> 01:50:58,240 Speaker 1: I would at least think that you miired some of 1842 01:50:58,360 --> 01:51:04,360 Speaker 1: his music time, did you necessarily feel like this might 1843 01:51:04,400 --> 01:51:06,640 Speaker 1: be a jink situation where like, and you know, all 1844 01:51:06,680 --> 01:51:08,600 Speaker 1: this magic is coming out of the warehouse in this 1845 01:51:08,720 --> 01:51:14,479 Speaker 1: particular studio, not a jink situation. UM, I think, would 1846 01:51:15,240 --> 01:51:18,160 Speaker 1: I know where you're going with this? But I look 1847 01:51:18,240 --> 01:51:21,200 Speaker 1: at it a little differently, but maybe with the same result. 1848 01:51:22,280 --> 01:51:24,720 Speaker 1: My brother always accuses me, He says, you holp you 1849 01:51:24,800 --> 01:51:28,519 Speaker 1: what was like every artist's early work the best? And 1850 01:51:28,640 --> 01:51:32,919 Speaker 1: I do tend to um And I think it's because 1851 01:51:33,640 --> 01:51:36,439 Speaker 1: there's a there's a sense of adventure when an artist 1852 01:51:36,600 --> 01:51:42,519 Speaker 1: is developing. When an artist is growing and learning, is 1853 01:51:42,600 --> 01:51:47,240 Speaker 1: he or she goes along and discovering new things to 1854 01:51:47,360 --> 01:51:49,519 Speaker 1: their skill set that they didn't even know they had 1855 01:51:49,680 --> 01:51:53,759 Speaker 1: necessarily And you're gonna get that in their early work. 1856 01:51:54,640 --> 01:52:00,240 Speaker 1: Now that doesn't mean it's their best work, but just 1857 01:52:00,560 --> 01:52:03,160 Speaker 1: the way my DNA is, that's what appeals to me 1858 01:52:03,320 --> 01:52:07,880 Speaker 1: the most. And the more you're established, the more you've 1859 01:52:07,960 --> 01:52:13,960 Speaker 1: defined yourself, then it's starting to get to the point 1860 01:52:14,000 --> 01:52:18,120 Speaker 1: where you can become derivative or or or or just 1861 01:52:19,680 --> 01:52:26,160 Speaker 1: repetitive because you pretty much have done what you have 1862 01:52:26,360 --> 01:52:28,120 Speaker 1: to do and now it's just about how can I 1863 01:52:28,400 --> 01:52:31,360 Speaker 1: do this differently, but you've kind of learned what you're 1864 01:52:31,360 --> 01:52:33,519 Speaker 1: gonna learn. There's just a point where you get a 1865 01:52:33,600 --> 01:52:37,800 Speaker 1: ceiling as as as an artist, and you, I don't 1866 01:52:37,800 --> 01:52:43,519 Speaker 1: want to say, run out of ideas, but you know 1867 01:52:43,680 --> 01:52:47,439 Speaker 1: you you're gonna you're gonna do another adort. It's just 1868 01:52:47,520 --> 01:52:49,479 Speaker 1: gonna have a different name it. It might be even 1869 01:52:49,560 --> 01:52:55,240 Speaker 1: as good. But I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry. Have 1870 01:52:55,400 --> 01:52:57,439 Speaker 1: you heard this song? I have not heard She's all that? 1871 01:52:57,680 --> 01:53:01,000 Speaker 1: Have you heard this? She's all that? Alan? That's not fair. 1872 01:53:02,520 --> 01:53:06,720 Speaker 1: Wait a minute, have you heard it? Of course of 1873 01:53:06,840 --> 01:53:09,040 Speaker 1: course he's heard it. Okay, that was during it was 1874 01:53:09,120 --> 01:53:11,479 Speaker 1: during your reign. Are you allowed to say what you 1875 01:53:11,760 --> 01:53:15,120 Speaker 1: thought of it? Or you should probably tell who it 1876 01:53:15,240 --> 01:53:19,240 Speaker 1: is first? Okay? Well, I don't know that. No, we can't. 1877 01:53:20,880 --> 01:53:22,560 Speaker 1: Even if even if we could, I don't think I 1878 01:53:22,600 --> 01:53:25,240 Speaker 1: don't think we would. Is it that? Well? There was 1879 01:53:25,280 --> 01:53:33,439 Speaker 1: a point where okay, so when Karmen electra, Okay, we 1880 01:53:33,520 --> 01:53:37,559 Speaker 1: can start right there? All right, quest les Supreme where 1881 01:53:38,000 --> 01:53:44,120 Speaker 1: leads ladies and gentlemen? No? Um, yeah, so he uh electorate? 1882 01:53:44,200 --> 01:53:46,519 Speaker 1: First off, you should probably tell the significance of the 1883 01:53:46,600 --> 01:53:48,960 Speaker 1: song the door. Will you tell me? Well, it's like 1884 01:53:49,200 --> 01:53:54,599 Speaker 1: the fan favorite Prince song, Like, what's your favorite Prince ballot? See, 1885 01:53:54,720 --> 01:53:58,280 Speaker 1: that's the thing that's it's a door. It's a door. 1886 01:53:59,040 --> 01:54:02,200 Speaker 1: It's a door, trust me. But what's your favorite? Forget 1887 01:54:02,280 --> 01:54:05,439 Speaker 1: what anybody else thinks. What's the most popular, what's the best, 1888 01:54:05,760 --> 01:54:13,880 Speaker 1: what's your favorite's close? Win with dance and glo slow. 1889 01:54:14,320 --> 01:54:16,479 Speaker 1: Here's the thing. I'm gonna, I'm gonna. I'm gonna be 1890 01:54:16,760 --> 01:54:23,160 Speaker 1: real honest with you. I technically have been very much 1891 01:54:23,520 --> 01:54:27,040 Speaker 1: indifferent to print slow songs. No, no, no, you gotta 1892 01:54:27,080 --> 01:54:30,040 Speaker 1: pick don't do that. No no, no, no no, Like 1893 01:54:30,960 --> 01:54:35,000 Speaker 1: I don't know, I skipped these ships. I you move 1894 01:54:35,080 --> 01:54:37,160 Speaker 1: for beautiful ones. It moves you. When I got it 1895 01:54:37,240 --> 01:54:39,040 Speaker 1: you on then I'm like, all right, I'll put some 1896 01:54:39,120 --> 01:54:41,520 Speaker 1: print things on it. But I don't like, like, look, 1897 01:54:41,680 --> 01:54:46,480 Speaker 1: I acknowledge, I acknowledge that do Me Baby is probably 1898 01:54:47,480 --> 01:54:52,920 Speaker 1: his best. See that's mine vocal performance. Yeah, but it's like, really, 1899 01:54:53,360 --> 01:54:56,600 Speaker 1: hearing a ten minute song of Prince having sex is 1900 01:54:57,000 --> 01:55:02,520 Speaker 1: not my go to thing. So I think that's generational. 1901 01:55:02,680 --> 01:55:05,800 Speaker 1: I think that's that's your generation of of No. No, 1902 01:55:05,960 --> 01:55:10,480 Speaker 1: I'm who feel uncomfortable and racing a ballot unless you 1903 01:55:10,560 --> 01:55:16,800 Speaker 1: got a woman under your arm. Yeah, it's okay to 1904 01:55:16,960 --> 01:55:21,040 Speaker 1: like a ballot. No, no, I'm saying, I just never 1905 01:55:21,160 --> 01:55:23,400 Speaker 1: like slow songs. I just had a flashback to the 1906 01:55:23,480 --> 01:55:32,440 Speaker 1: endography bird. She's sorry with the ballot, all right, you 1907 01:55:32,480 --> 01:55:34,640 Speaker 1: get it passed. But my point was there there was 1908 01:55:34,720 --> 01:55:38,200 Speaker 1: a point in his career where we've heard his ballots. 1909 01:55:38,880 --> 01:55:41,840 Speaker 1: They just sounded like, Okay, this is the new version 1910 01:55:42,160 --> 01:55:45,920 Speaker 1: of doom me baby, and it's like scandal. This might 1911 01:55:45,960 --> 01:55:49,200 Speaker 1: be a dynamite ballot if I never heard the other ones, right, 1912 01:55:50,640 --> 01:55:54,800 Speaker 1: But if I heard Scandal his first, that's the joint. 1913 01:55:55,000 --> 01:55:57,160 Speaker 1: I like condition of the heart. But I don't consider 1914 01:55:57,200 --> 01:56:01,000 Speaker 1: that a ballot. The narrative, the point being, there's a 1915 01:56:01,080 --> 01:56:04,960 Speaker 1: point where you've defined yourself as an artist and and 1916 01:56:05,400 --> 01:56:08,480 Speaker 1: you can't help but be repetitive because it's what you do. Now. 1917 01:56:09,080 --> 01:56:12,880 Speaker 1: You've kind of stopped learning and growing. And yeah, you 1918 01:56:13,000 --> 01:56:14,800 Speaker 1: may you may find a new way to mix it, 1919 01:56:14,920 --> 01:56:18,320 Speaker 1: or you may tinker with the instrumentation and approach it. 1920 01:56:18,520 --> 01:56:20,800 Speaker 1: You know, it's you know, different ways to do things, 1921 01:56:21,080 --> 01:56:25,560 Speaker 1: but you're basically still doing the same thing you've already done. Wait, 1922 01:56:26,200 --> 01:56:28,440 Speaker 1: that's what I knew was eventually going to happen, but 1923 01:56:28,520 --> 01:56:30,360 Speaker 1: it would have happened with it with out Paisley part 1924 01:56:30,360 --> 01:56:32,760 Speaker 1: because it happens to every artist. Well to explain to 1925 01:56:32,800 --> 01:56:36,760 Speaker 1: our listeners, uh sort of u taboo blasphemous thing that 1926 01:56:36,840 --> 01:56:40,560 Speaker 1: Prince did in terms of karma, the lecture and and 1927 01:56:40,760 --> 01:56:44,400 Speaker 1: some sort of Ted Turner colorization. Way was he took 1928 01:56:45,160 --> 01:56:49,880 Speaker 1: his much loved the door ballot and gave it to 1929 01:56:50,240 --> 01:56:58,440 Speaker 1: Carmen to wrap over a song called I'm All That. Yeah, 1930 01:56:58,960 --> 01:57:02,480 Speaker 1: it was Badea, so suffice it to say God burst 1931 01:57:02,560 --> 01:57:05,600 Speaker 1: his soul. He was a little confused with the advent 1932 01:57:05,680 --> 01:57:11,480 Speaker 1: of hip hop and hip hop's um crossover into mainstream 1933 01:57:11,560 --> 01:57:16,800 Speaker 1: acceptance just at best bewildered him. Were you around for 1934 01:57:17,040 --> 01:57:21,960 Speaker 1: his hammer observations? Because I think more than Run DMC 1935 01:57:22,080 --> 01:57:27,040 Speaker 1: and Public Enemy, I feel like Diamonds and Pearls was 1936 01:57:27,120 --> 01:57:35,240 Speaker 1: derivative of the Hammer reaction. Thunder was definitely definitely that 1937 01:57:35,600 --> 01:57:38,400 Speaker 1: I got. I can't think of its of a particular song, 1938 01:57:38,800 --> 01:57:42,520 Speaker 1: but there's a conversation that we had alone in studio 1939 01:57:42,760 --> 01:57:46,280 Speaker 1: A and I don't recall how we've gotten on the subject, 1940 01:57:47,400 --> 01:57:50,160 Speaker 1: but I'll never forget what he said. He held up 1941 01:57:50,200 --> 01:57:56,520 Speaker 1: a copy of Billboards Hot one m and Hammer and 1942 01:57:56,640 --> 01:57:59,200 Speaker 1: Vanilla Ice both had hits at the time, huge hits, 1943 01:58:00,000 --> 01:58:02,240 Speaker 1: a dark period. And he pointed to the chart and 1944 01:58:02,360 --> 01:58:04,400 Speaker 1: he said, do you know what it feels like to 1945 01:58:04,520 --> 01:58:08,800 Speaker 1: spend your whole life learning a craft and look at 1946 01:58:08,840 --> 01:58:13,000 Speaker 1: this and see Hammer and Vanilla Ice, who cannot sing 1947 01:58:13,880 --> 01:58:16,960 Speaker 1: and cannot play an instrument, and I can't get in 1948 01:58:17,000 --> 01:58:26,600 Speaker 1: the top twenty. Yeah. Wow, he didn't get it. And 1949 01:58:26,720 --> 01:58:30,040 Speaker 1: I would say, okay, fuck Hammer, fun funk the Ice, 1950 01:58:30,160 --> 01:58:34,000 Speaker 1: What up with public enemy? Well that's a good politics, 1951 01:58:34,120 --> 01:58:36,360 Speaker 1: but it ain't it ain't. They can't singer, They can't 1952 01:58:36,400 --> 01:58:40,520 Speaker 1: singer play. You know, I don't think he really respected 1953 01:58:40,600 --> 01:58:44,840 Speaker 1: the art of sampling in mixing, but he wasn't mad 1954 01:58:44,920 --> 01:58:48,040 Speaker 1: at those pray checks either. Well of course, well no, 1955 01:58:48,160 --> 01:58:55,200 Speaker 1: of course, but it's certainly influenced. As you said, you know, 1956 01:58:55,280 --> 01:58:57,240 Speaker 1: there was a point where you can't beat him join them, 1957 01:58:57,640 --> 01:58:59,800 Speaker 1: because there was a point where he looked up and 1958 01:59:00,120 --> 01:59:01,880 Speaker 1: lives that. You know, this is a guy who threw 1959 01:59:01,920 --> 01:59:06,280 Speaker 1: out the bulk of the eighties. Was the he was 1960 01:59:06,360 --> 01:59:08,840 Speaker 1: the leader. He was the guy who was building the new, 1961 01:59:09,320 --> 01:59:12,760 Speaker 1: the new. He was setting the new trends. You know, 1962 01:59:12,920 --> 01:59:15,960 Speaker 1: he was at the forefront that he he was cutting edge. 1963 01:59:16,040 --> 01:59:18,960 Speaker 1: Everything he was doing was what everybody was fighting. Now 1964 01:59:19,080 --> 01:59:22,080 Speaker 1: all of a sudden, it's not his day anymore. There's 1965 01:59:22,120 --> 01:59:25,720 Speaker 1: new kids on the block, bad bad pun But um, 1966 01:59:26,160 --> 01:59:29,480 Speaker 1: you know, all of a sudden, it's something else, and 1967 01:59:30,520 --> 01:59:34,760 Speaker 1: it's something he doesn't do and something that he doesn't 1968 01:59:34,840 --> 01:59:37,200 Speaker 1: I mean, look, I know the brother grew up in 1969 01:59:37,280 --> 01:59:43,240 Speaker 1: North Minneapolis, and you know what the Minneapolis is to Minneapolis, 1970 01:59:43,320 --> 01:59:46,200 Speaker 1: it's the hood. But it ain't like growing up in 1971 01:59:46,280 --> 01:59:49,560 Speaker 1: the Bronx in the seventies. When we moved to Minneapolis 1972 01:59:49,640 --> 01:59:51,280 Speaker 1: and sort of hood, the first thing we thought was 1973 01:59:51,320 --> 01:59:56,520 Speaker 1: like damn projects, Like how did it end? Everything is relative? Okay, 1974 01:59:57,080 --> 02:00:01,280 Speaker 1: dude did not understand hip hop culture. Okay, he may 1975 02:00:01,360 --> 02:00:03,480 Speaker 1: or may not have liked to give ni record, but 1976 02:00:03,680 --> 02:00:08,800 Speaker 1: the culture didn't relate to him. Blackness aside. It wasn't 1977 02:00:08,840 --> 02:00:11,880 Speaker 1: where he came from. He grew up in Mini funking Apolis. 1978 02:00:12,400 --> 02:00:14,600 Speaker 1: You know what I wish, You know what I wish though, 1979 02:00:16,960 --> 02:00:20,920 Speaker 1: I wish someone was there to actually just explained to 1980 02:00:21,040 --> 02:00:25,360 Speaker 1: him he was actually hip hop and didn't even know it. 1981 02:00:26,200 --> 02:00:29,520 Speaker 1: Like he That's the funny. The funniest thing was that 1982 02:00:29,760 --> 02:00:32,760 Speaker 1: he didn't even know he was showing the blueprint, because 1983 02:00:33,320 --> 02:00:36,959 Speaker 1: in my mind, all he did was provide the blueprint, 1984 02:00:37,000 --> 02:00:41,839 Speaker 1: because everything he did from his work on drum machines, 1985 02:00:42,200 --> 02:00:46,800 Speaker 1: that to me it was hip hop. Yeah, I'm not 1986 02:00:46,880 --> 02:00:49,040 Speaker 1: even talking about the times where he just rapped a song, 1987 02:00:49,200 --> 02:00:53,160 Speaker 1: like even when no, no, I know, but even then 1988 02:00:53,200 --> 02:00:55,120 Speaker 1: I didn't think like, oh, Prince can rap. I was 1989 02:00:55,240 --> 02:01:00,080 Speaker 1: just like Prince sometimes just spoke shit and but but 1990 02:01:00,280 --> 02:01:03,320 Speaker 1: I've meant his attitude. But those are his cask offs 1991 02:01:03,360 --> 02:01:05,400 Speaker 1: and his head those are just the silly little songs 1992 02:01:05,440 --> 02:01:07,920 Speaker 1: that we have fun with. Their not the serious work. Right. 1993 02:01:08,200 --> 02:01:12,680 Speaker 1: But even then, like everything he did from his u 1994 02:01:14,480 --> 02:01:18,040 Speaker 1: the stories that he would concoct in early interviews, to 1995 02:01:19,360 --> 02:01:27,200 Speaker 1: his exploitation of are fair scared exotic women, I mean, 1996 02:01:27,240 --> 02:01:29,800 Speaker 1: that's that's that's your definition of hip hop, which is 1997 02:01:29,920 --> 02:01:33,520 Speaker 1: very broad. But his as much an arro who work 1998 02:01:33,720 --> 02:01:36,240 Speaker 1: hip hop, to him, moment meant two things. You didn't 1999 02:01:36,280 --> 02:01:38,920 Speaker 1: play and you didn't sing, but you still made records. 2000 02:01:39,760 --> 02:01:44,000 Speaker 1: But to me, he was more when he wasn't trying 2001 02:01:44,040 --> 02:01:48,280 Speaker 1: to rap. So yeah, I agree, I agree, And I 2002 02:01:48,320 --> 02:01:50,720 Speaker 1: mean that the proof of the pudding is that when 2003 02:01:50,800 --> 02:01:53,320 Speaker 1: he you know, when when he suddenly realized that not 2004 02:01:53,560 --> 02:01:56,400 Speaker 1: maybe not suddenly, he gradually realized that that he was 2005 02:01:56,520 --> 02:01:59,160 Speaker 1: no longer at the cutting edge of things and had 2006 02:01:59,240 --> 02:02:02,240 Speaker 1: to reckond saw that. Then all of a sudden, he's 2007 02:02:02,360 --> 02:02:05,600 Speaker 1: he's singing into a microphone shaped like a gun, and 2008 02:02:05,800 --> 02:02:09,040 Speaker 1: he's got somebody spitting rhymes in his band. And the 2009 02:02:09,120 --> 02:02:11,960 Speaker 1: guys who were trying to get him into hip hop 2010 02:02:12,520 --> 02:02:16,440 Speaker 1: we're actually the wrong guys because they weren't prime examples 2011 02:02:16,480 --> 02:02:20,200 Speaker 1: of that culture and were people who rapped for a 2012 02:02:20,280 --> 02:02:24,440 Speaker 1: living or tried to. But it wasn't Chuck, but we're 2013 02:02:24,560 --> 02:02:26,720 Speaker 1: him and Michael Jackson going through it seemed like at 2014 02:02:26,760 --> 02:02:30,000 Speaker 1: the time, and I said, I felt like Michael Jackson 2015 02:02:30,040 --> 02:02:31,240 Speaker 1: and him were going through that at the same time. 2016 02:02:31,280 --> 02:02:33,000 Speaker 1: At some point. They both must have felt that that 2017 02:02:33,080 --> 02:02:40,200 Speaker 1: way because they both were artists. But I think he 2018 02:02:40,240 --> 02:02:42,800 Speaker 1: adapted way better In prisoned, Michael Jackson worked with like 2019 02:02:42,920 --> 02:02:46,000 Speaker 1: actual rappers and we got the Golden the album from 2020 02:02:49,920 --> 02:02:52,520 Speaker 1: But I think I think the important thing is Michael 2021 02:02:52,600 --> 02:02:56,160 Speaker 1: never tried to be somebody he wasn't And when prince 2022 02:02:56,280 --> 02:02:59,360 Speaker 1: of singing into a mic shaped black a gun and 2023 02:02:59,480 --> 02:03:03,520 Speaker 1: having a rapper in the band who isn't good that's 2024 02:03:03,760 --> 02:03:08,280 Speaker 1: trying to be something you're not. Was there? And this 2025 02:03:08,400 --> 02:03:10,000 Speaker 1: is only like a few short years after the song 2026 02:03:10,120 --> 02:03:13,800 Speaker 1: dead on It where he basically calls out rappers. So 2027 02:03:14,720 --> 02:03:19,560 Speaker 1: was there a general feeling of relief when the Batman 2028 02:03:19,680 --> 02:03:22,520 Speaker 1: soundtrack sold like seven eight million units? Or was it 2029 02:03:22,640 --> 02:03:25,680 Speaker 1: just like was it like, okay, the lights are still on? 2030 02:03:26,120 --> 02:03:29,800 Speaker 1: Or was it well, I don't, I mean nobody was 2031 02:03:29,960 --> 02:03:36,200 Speaker 1: nobody was feeling doom? Um? Well okay, well, okay, I 2032 02:03:36,280 --> 02:03:38,760 Speaker 1: mean don't don't justus understand. Mean, Diamonds and Pearls was 2033 02:03:38,840 --> 02:03:41,120 Speaker 1: a huge selling record. I know that. So did he feel. 2034 02:03:41,200 --> 02:03:43,840 Speaker 1: Vince Kid and you know, Love Sexy was a flop 2035 02:03:43,920 --> 02:03:46,080 Speaker 1: by his standards, but there's a lot of artists would 2036 02:03:46,080 --> 02:03:48,200 Speaker 1: have loved to have those sales. I mean, every everything 2037 02:03:48,360 --> 02:03:50,600 Speaker 1: is relative. It wasn't like he was, you know, he 2038 02:03:50,840 --> 02:03:53,920 Speaker 1: just was no longer at the forefront of things because 2039 02:03:54,000 --> 02:03:56,880 Speaker 1: the world had caught up and people were listening to 2040 02:03:56,960 --> 02:03:59,920 Speaker 1: different things. They got used to him. There's a point 2041 02:04:00,000 --> 02:04:02,000 Speaker 1: were no matter how good you are, people get used 2042 02:04:02,040 --> 02:04:04,840 Speaker 1: to your only knew once. I would like to ask 2043 02:04:04,920 --> 02:04:06,920 Speaker 1: you about your take, or at least what you can 2044 02:04:07,000 --> 02:04:12,520 Speaker 1: indulge on the Japan run which for many Prince fans 2045 02:04:12,600 --> 02:04:17,840 Speaker 1: know that was like the the last hurrah of the revolution. Um, 2046 02:04:20,160 --> 02:04:24,680 Speaker 1: how not? How easy was it too? This is eighty 2047 02:04:24,760 --> 02:04:28,040 Speaker 1: six I believe there's eighty six. Um, So I guess 2048 02:04:28,040 --> 02:04:33,040 Speaker 1: the legend is that once one d and uh Bobby 2049 02:04:33,120 --> 02:04:38,320 Speaker 1: saw Prince smashes cloud guitars twice. Actually, um, when you 2050 02:04:38,360 --> 02:04:41,680 Speaker 1: watch have you seen the clip? So there's he's doing 2051 02:04:41,720 --> 02:04:43,840 Speaker 1: the preboine solo and then he just looks and then 2052 02:04:43,920 --> 02:04:46,520 Speaker 1: he just takes the cloud guitar and stamps to the 2053 02:04:46,600 --> 02:04:49,000 Speaker 1: ground marches off stage. But what's so funny is that 2054 02:04:50,120 --> 02:04:53,600 Speaker 1: the staff is so efficient. I know he wanted to 2055 02:04:53,640 --> 02:04:55,720 Speaker 1: be like the one and done, like this is done, 2056 02:04:55,760 --> 02:04:59,640 Speaker 1: I'm walking off stage. But then the guitar tech had 2057 02:04:59,680 --> 02:05:03,640 Speaker 1: another weren't ready for him, so I was like, man, 2058 02:05:03,800 --> 02:05:07,160 Speaker 1: you you were the momentum. Now gonna go back. So 2059 02:05:07,200 --> 02:05:09,360 Speaker 1: then he came out, didn't know this older and then 2060 02:05:09,400 --> 02:05:11,720 Speaker 1: he smashed that one too, and this time really marched 2061 02:05:11,760 --> 02:05:14,960 Speaker 1: off stage. And you know, Wendy was like, oh god, 2062 02:05:15,160 --> 02:05:19,400 Speaker 1: I knew that was the beginning of the end. I mean, 2063 02:05:19,520 --> 02:05:25,240 Speaker 1: you've been there for a lot of I guess awkward 2064 02:05:25,640 --> 02:05:30,560 Speaker 1: silent car rides home. Um, did you think, did you 2065 02:05:30,640 --> 02:05:32,800 Speaker 1: know if you had a future after that, you know, 2066 02:05:32,960 --> 02:05:34,880 Speaker 1: after that moment where you figured he was going to 2067 02:05:35,000 --> 02:05:39,040 Speaker 1: disband the group or I didn't take it as seriously 2068 02:05:39,160 --> 02:05:42,040 Speaker 1: as they did. Um Oh, so even if he didn't 2069 02:05:42,040 --> 02:05:43,800 Speaker 1: have a future, you just be like on to the 2070 02:05:43,840 --> 02:05:46,000 Speaker 1: next And well, I thought I had a future because 2071 02:05:46,040 --> 02:05:49,520 Speaker 1: I figured somebody's gonna play with him. Okay, you know 2072 02:05:49,760 --> 02:05:53,360 Speaker 1: I wasn't there. The band didn't hire me, he did, Okay, 2073 02:05:53,680 --> 02:05:57,600 Speaker 1: So so that didn't I didn't for a minute think 2074 02:05:57,640 --> 02:06:02,160 Speaker 1: that that would affect me. Um. I had a different 2075 02:06:02,440 --> 02:06:05,400 Speaker 1: idea about the thing, because there was by that time, 2076 02:06:05,480 --> 02:06:07,400 Speaker 1: there was a lot of tension in the band for 2077 02:06:07,520 --> 02:06:13,040 Speaker 1: whatever reason. And I've been around the you know, everybody 2078 02:06:13,120 --> 02:06:15,760 Speaker 1: in that band. This was their first real taste of 2079 02:06:15,840 --> 02:06:21,640 Speaker 1: anything major. They'd all come from bar bands and all 2080 02:06:21,720 --> 02:06:25,400 Speaker 1: they knew was this, And it was almost a disservice 2081 02:06:25,520 --> 02:06:28,360 Speaker 1: to their careers to blow up to the proportion that 2082 02:06:28,520 --> 02:06:31,160 Speaker 1: they did, because it's deceptive. It's like the real world 2083 02:06:31,200 --> 02:06:35,880 Speaker 1: doesn't like Purple Rain, but that's their reference point. Wow. 2084 02:06:36,800 --> 02:06:39,320 Speaker 1: And I had been through so many artists and so 2085 02:06:39,400 --> 02:06:42,200 Speaker 1: many bands have been through James Brown, going from Macio 2086 02:06:42,320 --> 02:06:45,480 Speaker 1: to Bootsey and you know, all of those kinds of transitions. 2087 02:06:46,600 --> 02:06:49,200 Speaker 1: And I was fully aware of the fact that there's 2088 02:06:49,240 --> 02:06:51,640 Speaker 1: only one name on the marquee that sells the tickets, 2089 02:06:52,080 --> 02:06:53,920 Speaker 1: and that as long as the new band is good, 2090 02:06:54,000 --> 02:06:57,880 Speaker 1: Prince is gonna be eight. Now people are gonna sendimentally 2091 02:06:58,000 --> 02:07:00,480 Speaker 1: miss the old band and due to the stay for 2092 02:07:00,640 --> 02:07:05,160 Speaker 1: good reason. Yeah, but I never for a minute thought 2093 02:07:05,200 --> 02:07:09,440 Speaker 1: it wasn't gonna be I. Um, but isn't the whole 2094 02:07:09,480 --> 02:07:13,560 Speaker 1: starting over again? And no, because because his music was growing. 2095 02:07:14,680 --> 02:07:17,120 Speaker 1: And now the irony is that went near at Leasta 2096 02:07:17,240 --> 02:07:19,880 Speaker 1: had so much to do with opening him up to 2097 02:07:20,080 --> 02:07:23,400 Speaker 1: new music, but so did Eric and so did Sheila, 2098 02:07:24,320 --> 02:07:27,640 Speaker 1: all right in their own ways had brought him to 2099 02:07:27,800 --> 02:07:31,040 Speaker 1: things that he hadn't heard before. And the point here 2100 02:07:31,160 --> 02:07:34,160 Speaker 1: is not who did it, but that his palette had 2101 02:07:34,400 --> 02:07:39,440 Speaker 1: had grown so tremendously that five pieces wasn't going to 2102 02:07:39,600 --> 02:07:44,080 Speaker 1: handle it. I E. Here comes Eric and he says, 2103 02:07:44,160 --> 02:07:49,360 Speaker 1: get a trumpet player, so we can do parts umlution 2104 02:07:49,440 --> 02:07:53,400 Speaker 1: movement and now it becomes the counter revolution um. But 2105 02:07:53,600 --> 02:07:58,440 Speaker 1: the real point being that that he just his what 2106 02:07:58,680 --> 02:08:01,760 Speaker 1: he heard was so much bigger than what Purple Rain 2107 02:08:02,040 --> 02:08:07,200 Speaker 1: was in terms of just from a musical standpoint, and 2108 02:08:08,280 --> 02:08:13,720 Speaker 1: I think he saw those five pieces as a limitation wow. 2109 02:08:14,560 --> 02:08:16,240 Speaker 1: And it has nothing to do with the quality of 2110 02:08:16,360 --> 02:08:20,600 Speaker 1: musicianship or the personalities or anything. Um. It was just 2111 02:08:20,760 --> 02:08:24,120 Speaker 1: time for a change and he wanted some new blood, 2112 02:08:24,240 --> 02:08:27,280 Speaker 1: and he wanted a bigger group and an opportunity to 2113 02:08:27,440 --> 02:08:32,280 Speaker 1: explore different kinds of music. And I think to something 2114 02:08:32,360 --> 02:08:34,440 Speaker 1: else I picked up from James Brand was that when 2115 02:08:34,480 --> 02:08:37,520 Speaker 1: you bring new people into the band, it reinvigorates you. 2116 02:08:38,760 --> 02:08:41,760 Speaker 1: Because when you feel you've gone as far as you 2117 02:08:41,880 --> 02:08:45,080 Speaker 1: can with the people around you, the only way to 2118 02:08:45,200 --> 02:08:47,800 Speaker 1: keep from being derivative is to freshen up the people 2119 02:08:47,880 --> 02:08:51,360 Speaker 1: around you, and James did that all the time, particularly 2120 02:08:51,640 --> 02:08:54,760 Speaker 1: with drummers. He may not change his whole band, but 2121 02:08:54,960 --> 02:08:57,320 Speaker 1: he went through drummers like crazy, and every one of 2122 02:08:57,400 --> 02:09:02,240 Speaker 1: them had a very identifiably different style out Jabbo Claude, 2123 02:09:03,280 --> 02:09:06,640 Speaker 1: I see you're right. So you were president of Paisley 2124 02:09:06,680 --> 02:09:09,520 Speaker 1: Park two win, Well it was technically I was vice 2125 02:09:09,600 --> 02:09:13,400 Speaker 1: president the Paisley Park Records. I was president. He was 2126 02:09:15,000 --> 02:09:18,440 Speaker 1: um obvious, I forgot that one. I took over the 2127 02:09:18,560 --> 02:09:22,880 Speaker 1: label in January of eight nine. So was it a 2128 02:09:23,000 --> 02:09:26,640 Speaker 1: real label like warners respected you guys, and they wanted 2129 02:09:26,720 --> 02:09:30,720 Speaker 1: to h and up until I took it over. Really, 2130 02:09:30,800 --> 02:09:33,160 Speaker 1: there was no Paisley Park Records. It was an imprint. 2131 02:09:33,240 --> 02:09:36,760 Speaker 1: I mean, it existed on paper, but nobody ran it. 2132 02:09:37,360 --> 02:09:41,160 Speaker 1: You know, Cavala Ruffalo and Farnoli we're supposedly running it. 2133 02:09:41,240 --> 02:09:43,560 Speaker 1: But I mean, if you wanted to call Paisley Park Records, 2134 02:09:43,600 --> 02:09:46,400 Speaker 1: there was no number to call. You would call Cavala 2135 02:09:46,480 --> 02:09:50,120 Speaker 1: Ruffalo Management and maybe they'd have time to talk about it. 2136 02:09:50,440 --> 02:09:53,240 Speaker 1: But it wasn't there focus because they ran am management 2137 02:09:53,280 --> 02:09:55,920 Speaker 1: company with a lot of clients. So it's just a 2138 02:09:56,000 --> 02:09:59,440 Speaker 1: vanity label in their eyes to him, and I think 2139 02:09:59,520 --> 02:10:02,400 Speaker 1: they usually really wanted it to turn into something new 2140 02:10:02,440 --> 02:10:06,000 Speaker 1: way Maverick did, in the sense that one of these 2141 02:10:06,080 --> 02:10:08,240 Speaker 1: artists will catch on. Yeah, because he was a guy 2142 02:10:08,320 --> 02:10:12,320 Speaker 1: who had been able to produce Manic Monday the time, 2143 02:10:12,560 --> 02:10:14,720 Speaker 1: Vanity six. This was a guy who could write and 2144 02:10:14,840 --> 02:10:18,160 Speaker 1: produce good records with people, and they expected he would 2145 02:10:18,200 --> 02:10:20,840 Speaker 1: do that in the house. When did you realize, like, 2146 02:10:21,440 --> 02:10:25,880 Speaker 1: maybe perhaps you should make your exit then what or 2147 02:10:26,680 --> 02:10:30,200 Speaker 1: it ended up being ninety two? May have ninety two, Um, 2148 02:10:32,400 --> 02:10:34,040 Speaker 1: you're just this just one day you wake up and 2149 02:10:34,120 --> 02:10:36,880 Speaker 1: realize you've been in the same place too long and 2150 02:10:37,000 --> 02:10:40,720 Speaker 1: you're just not Minnesota. Though, like you know, when i'd 2151 02:10:40,720 --> 02:10:44,000 Speaker 1: say place, I'm talking about a career position. UM, I 2152 02:10:44,040 --> 02:10:52,200 Speaker 1: don't mean geographically. UM. Was it quasi amicable? I mean 2153 02:10:52,200 --> 02:10:55,880 Speaker 1: at least that, Yeah, I mean actually hired me back 2154 02:10:55,960 --> 02:10:58,000 Speaker 1: for a couple of one off projects. I came back 2155 02:10:58,080 --> 02:11:01,800 Speaker 1: a year later to put together a Japanese to reform UM. 2156 02:11:02,440 --> 02:11:05,360 Speaker 1: I didn't do the tour, but I assembled the crew 2157 02:11:05,560 --> 02:11:07,960 Speaker 1: and dealt with the promoter and worked on all the 2158 02:11:08,080 --> 02:11:13,080 Speaker 1: contracts and the writers and so on. UM. And then 2159 02:11:13,120 --> 02:11:14,840 Speaker 1: I came back to do the liner notes for the 2160 02:11:14,920 --> 02:11:19,960 Speaker 1: Hits project. So we we spoke. I mean, we were cool. 2161 02:11:20,200 --> 02:11:23,920 Speaker 1: It was just that he had the Paisley Park label. 2162 02:11:24,120 --> 02:11:29,680 Speaker 1: Was wasn't no win. It was a joint venture with Warners, 2163 02:11:29,800 --> 02:11:34,600 Speaker 1: meaning there was owned fifty fifty and funded by Warners. UM. 2164 02:11:35,280 --> 02:11:38,000 Speaker 1: But his contract was up and he wanted He was 2165 02:11:38,120 --> 02:11:41,800 Speaker 1: in the midst of renegotiating his own contract. And there 2166 02:11:41,840 --> 02:11:44,160 Speaker 1: were a lot of things about those negotiations that I 2167 02:11:44,360 --> 02:11:48,000 Speaker 1: wasn't keen on. We we just didn't see eye and 2168 02:11:48,280 --> 02:11:52,320 Speaker 1: certain things from a business standpoint. It wasn't you know, 2169 02:11:52,960 --> 02:11:58,600 Speaker 1: as much as anything else. But Um, he he was 2170 02:11:58,720 --> 02:12:02,280 Speaker 1: convinced that the failure at Paisley Park, and I've never 2171 02:12:02,360 --> 02:12:05,000 Speaker 1: met an artist who would say anything different was because 2172 02:12:05,080 --> 02:12:11,000 Speaker 1: Warners didn't prioritize the product. And I knew for a 2173 02:12:11,120 --> 02:12:13,760 Speaker 1: fact because as as as the head of the label, 2174 02:12:13,800 --> 02:12:16,040 Speaker 1: I was spending better part of a week to ten 2175 02:12:16,160 --> 02:12:18,840 Speaker 1: days out of each month working out of Warners in 2176 02:12:18,920 --> 02:12:22,400 Speaker 1: Burbank and very close with Mo Austin, Lenny Warnick or 2177 02:12:22,400 --> 02:12:25,120 Speaker 1: Bitney Medina, the whole gang, and I knew what they 2178 02:12:25,200 --> 02:12:27,880 Speaker 1: were willing to do if we had the product they wanted, 2179 02:12:28,800 --> 02:12:33,160 Speaker 1: and it just wasn't there. They expected him to make 2180 02:12:33,440 --> 02:12:37,960 Speaker 1: cutting edge records, or at least contemporary radio worthy records, 2181 02:12:39,440 --> 02:12:41,840 Speaker 1: and not that all the records were bad. We made 2182 02:12:41,880 --> 02:12:44,440 Speaker 1: some good records, made a couple of great jazz albums 2183 02:12:44,480 --> 02:12:47,800 Speaker 1: with my brother Um, one of which actually did very 2184 02:12:47,840 --> 02:12:49,880 Speaker 1: well on the jazz charts Things Lift and Said was 2185 02:12:49,960 --> 02:12:52,560 Speaker 1: the top ten jazz album that year. But jazz albums 2186 02:12:52,680 --> 02:12:58,680 Speaker 1: were selling units at best. Um we had George Clinton 2187 02:12:58,760 --> 02:13:01,800 Speaker 1: record that was one of the least interesting George Clinton records. 2188 02:13:01,920 --> 02:13:04,800 Speaker 1: It was old stuff that he had recorded for another label. 2189 02:13:04,880 --> 02:13:07,120 Speaker 1: The deal had fallen apart and Prince did it as 2190 02:13:07,160 --> 02:13:12,720 Speaker 1: a favor. Um, and the idea of signing George was 2191 02:13:12,840 --> 02:13:16,480 Speaker 1: that they would work together. Never happened. I mean, Prince 2192 02:13:16,560 --> 02:13:20,240 Speaker 1: gave a couple of tracks, but none of the none 2193 02:13:20,240 --> 02:13:22,400 Speaker 1: of that was one song and that was the worst 2194 02:13:22,440 --> 02:13:26,560 Speaker 1: song in the album. No, it was the Big Pump 2195 02:13:28,440 --> 02:13:32,880 Speaker 1: with a Big Pump. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah that Um. 2196 02:13:33,040 --> 02:13:35,920 Speaker 1: And then he signed Mavis Staples and that that was 2197 02:13:36,000 --> 02:13:39,240 Speaker 1: a good, solid old school soul record. But it wasn't 2198 02:13:39,280 --> 02:13:42,360 Speaker 1: time for her to come back yet. Thankfully she has. 2199 02:13:42,560 --> 02:13:45,400 Speaker 1: She had a lot of successfu lately thrilled for that 2200 02:13:45,680 --> 02:13:50,840 Speaker 1: much deserved. The Mayvid Staples records were good records, but 2201 02:13:50,960 --> 02:13:53,040 Speaker 1: there were no hits. There was nothing at all that 2202 02:13:53,200 --> 02:13:56,920 Speaker 1: was contemporary radio worthy, not when hip hop was blowing up, 2203 02:13:57,000 --> 02:13:59,760 Speaker 1: and you know that's what those were the records were doing. 2204 02:13:59,800 --> 02:14:02,640 Speaker 1: And Warnest was just like, come on, guys, we love 2205 02:14:02,760 --> 02:14:04,760 Speaker 1: Mavis and George, but there's a reason they don't have 2206 02:14:04,920 --> 02:14:11,520 Speaker 1: deals cold they're not selling records. Wow, now I'm depressed. 2207 02:14:19,040 --> 02:14:23,040 Speaker 1: I always brag about you have, uh, you have this 2208 02:14:23,320 --> 02:14:27,920 Speaker 1: artifact in your house, um, on this cassette. You have 2209 02:14:28,120 --> 02:14:31,520 Speaker 1: what what my opinion is some of the greatest recorded 2210 02:14:31,600 --> 02:14:38,120 Speaker 1: moments in answer machine history. Uh, of which these these 2211 02:14:38,200 --> 02:14:42,560 Speaker 1: notable music gods are leaving you messages, But but you 2212 02:14:42,640 --> 02:14:45,480 Speaker 1: still get an inkling of an idea of what the 2213 02:14:46,080 --> 02:14:49,320 Speaker 1: time was like, Like, I guess with James Brown's message, 2214 02:14:50,240 --> 02:14:52,840 Speaker 1: it's because he left a few messages. I get the 2215 02:14:52,840 --> 02:14:54,440 Speaker 1: feeling that was like one of the first times that 2216 02:14:54,520 --> 02:15:00,040 Speaker 1: James Brown was dealing with a modern answering machine. I 2217 02:15:00,200 --> 02:15:02,400 Speaker 1: was one of them, you know, like the news guy 2218 02:15:02,520 --> 02:15:04,720 Speaker 1: doesn't know he's on the air yet, like yeah, wait, 2219 02:15:04,840 --> 02:15:09,880 Speaker 1: wait now, oh hey, guys, this is from Channel six news, 2220 02:15:10,160 --> 02:15:12,880 Speaker 1: Like that's how James Brown's messages And then like next 2221 02:15:12,960 --> 02:15:17,920 Speaker 1: comes uh uh, I guess Prince left you a message about, 2222 02:15:18,040 --> 02:15:22,320 Speaker 1: you know, uh, leaving a piano for my father to 2223 02:15:22,400 --> 02:15:25,920 Speaker 1: play in this But it sounded like that grasshopper kunk 2224 02:15:25,960 --> 02:15:29,920 Speaker 1: Fu voice. Yes, I don't I don't know if he 2225 02:15:30,040 --> 02:15:34,640 Speaker 1: mentioned seventeen days or he I think he mentioned one 2226 02:15:34,680 --> 02:15:38,200 Speaker 1: of his singles that was kind of I don't know, 2227 02:15:38,480 --> 02:15:41,720 Speaker 1: I've only heard it once. And then then George Clinton 2228 02:15:41,880 --> 02:15:45,560 Speaker 1: calls and talks about, you know, I might sign the 2229 02:15:45,640 --> 02:15:49,000 Speaker 1: Paisley Parker that sort of thing, and then like it's 2230 02:15:49,000 --> 02:15:53,200 Speaker 1: just it goes through throughout history and you get to 2231 02:15:53,240 --> 02:15:56,879 Speaker 1: see the scope of you know, of of what Alan's 2232 02:15:56,920 --> 02:16:00,560 Speaker 1: life is like when the angel calls like that happened 2233 02:16:00,680 --> 02:16:07,680 Speaker 1: was and there's one that's missing that I never somehow 2234 02:16:07,760 --> 02:16:13,720 Speaker 1: I erased, never transferred what that was? Miles and it 2235 02:16:13,960 --> 02:16:22,280 Speaker 1: was tell that little purple motherfucker that called me. Well, yeah, 2236 02:16:22,320 --> 02:16:24,120 Speaker 1: I have to say I had it for about a month. 2237 02:16:24,200 --> 02:16:30,200 Speaker 1: I saved it. One day was gone. Well I know that. 2238 02:16:31,040 --> 02:16:33,120 Speaker 1: I mean, even though you made a life and soul, 2239 02:16:33,360 --> 02:16:37,400 Speaker 1: I know for a fact that you are a jazz fanatic. 2240 02:16:37,680 --> 02:16:41,920 Speaker 1: I mean, if anything, I think that you would have 2241 02:16:42,000 --> 02:16:44,680 Speaker 1: loved to how come you never pursued I know that 2242 02:16:44,800 --> 02:16:50,360 Speaker 1: your love for Weather Report kind of surpasses, at least 2243 02:16:50,560 --> 02:16:53,760 Speaker 1: in my eyes, any any music that you've worked with, 2244 02:16:53,959 --> 02:16:56,560 Speaker 1: Like I know that your fandom for for that particular unit. 2245 02:16:56,640 --> 02:16:59,200 Speaker 1: How come you never I don't know about surpasses, but 2246 02:16:59,800 --> 02:17:04,280 Speaker 1: I know you love some other big time tim So 2247 02:17:04,400 --> 02:17:09,080 Speaker 1: how come you never? And probably the number one is 2248 02:17:09,160 --> 02:17:13,360 Speaker 1: any Parmier Wow? Mm So at no point did you 2249 02:17:13,440 --> 02:17:18,520 Speaker 1: think like I want to manage these guys and um, 2250 02:17:19,400 --> 02:17:24,480 Speaker 1: it just wasn't my world and they didn't. But I 2251 02:17:24,560 --> 02:17:26,200 Speaker 1: figured if you can conquer that they don't have well 2252 02:17:26,280 --> 02:17:35,160 Speaker 1: paid tour There you go, gigs weren't there, okay, so 2253 02:17:35,280 --> 02:17:38,040 Speaker 1: when you made your exit, didn't I mean, do you 2254 02:17:38,120 --> 02:17:40,120 Speaker 1: ever fear? I mean, I guess the life of a 2255 02:17:40,160 --> 02:17:45,080 Speaker 1: tour managers like you're only as stable monetarily at least 2256 02:17:45,360 --> 02:17:49,560 Speaker 1: as the act that year with until you get to 2257 02:17:49,680 --> 02:17:54,280 Speaker 1: your next I feel like it's almost like a trappiez thing, 2258 02:17:54,360 --> 02:17:58,680 Speaker 1: like you might catch you might catch the you know, 2259 02:17:59,000 --> 02:18:01,920 Speaker 1: the the bar of the Chapeese line, or you can 2260 02:18:02,000 --> 02:18:04,560 Speaker 1: just fall into the pit. I mean, there were there 2261 02:18:04,600 --> 02:18:08,840 Speaker 1: were phases in my career where for just simple economic 2262 02:18:08,920 --> 02:18:13,240 Speaker 1: reasons I was concerned about what's next and fearing the 2263 02:18:13,320 --> 02:18:14,840 Speaker 1: fact that you might have to take a gig it 2264 02:18:14,879 --> 02:18:17,360 Speaker 1: didn't like, or worse yet, just go through a year 2265 02:18:17,400 --> 02:18:21,120 Speaker 1: without kicks because sometimes the phone didn't ring. But you know, 2266 02:18:21,200 --> 02:18:23,879 Speaker 1: it was very blessed because that it was ten solid 2267 02:18:24,000 --> 02:18:27,760 Speaker 1: years with Prince would a paycheck every week, so that's 2268 02:18:27,840 --> 02:18:32,000 Speaker 1: not a typical tour manager situation. It was five five 2269 02:18:32,080 --> 02:18:35,280 Speaker 1: and a half solid used with James Brown except for 2270 02:18:35,360 --> 02:18:37,120 Speaker 1: the three weeks I got fired because I was sick. 2271 02:18:38,879 --> 02:18:42,320 Speaker 1: Otherwise would a paycheck every week, so that was not 2272 02:18:42,440 --> 02:18:46,080 Speaker 1: a typical tour managers thing. Now the rest of the time, 2273 02:18:46,160 --> 02:18:48,600 Speaker 1: it's been kind of freelance, except once I got back 2274 02:18:48,680 --> 02:18:51,320 Speaker 1: with the Angelo, now is his co manager. Of course, 2275 02:18:51,400 --> 02:18:54,720 Speaker 1: that's an entirely different relationship, and it's you know, it's 2276 02:18:54,720 --> 02:18:58,120 Speaker 1: about management contracts and so on, which is a whole 2277 02:18:58,240 --> 02:19:04,320 Speaker 1: different um kind of the compensation situation. But you know, 2278 02:19:04,400 --> 02:19:07,600 Speaker 1: there were times, but I've just been really really blessed 2279 02:19:07,680 --> 02:19:11,879 Speaker 1: because it's it's it's like like the Prince thing. I mean, 2280 02:19:12,080 --> 02:19:15,520 Speaker 1: I had become a huge Just just to make a 2281 02:19:15,600 --> 02:19:18,920 Speaker 1: long story short, I didn't get into Prince until Controversy 2282 02:19:19,720 --> 02:19:24,080 Speaker 1: and um um before I met my wife Gwen and 2283 02:19:24,440 --> 02:19:26,520 Speaker 1: was dating a girl in Pittsburgh who worked at a 2284 02:19:26,640 --> 02:19:29,000 Speaker 1: radio station and said, I got front road tickets to 2285 02:19:29,080 --> 02:19:32,680 Speaker 1: the Controversy show Prince and come on, let's go because 2286 02:19:32,760 --> 02:19:34,480 Speaker 1: she worked for the station and they were promoting it 2287 02:19:34,560 --> 02:19:37,920 Speaker 1: so on and so literally front row center. And I'm like, 2288 02:19:38,080 --> 02:19:40,080 Speaker 1: I don't want to see this, like the record, but 2289 02:19:40,280 --> 02:19:42,720 Speaker 1: you know, I want to see some little guy in bikinis. 2290 02:19:42,760 --> 02:19:47,560 Speaker 1: What what I'm going to miniature Chippendale's. You know, It's 2291 02:19:47,640 --> 02:19:51,879 Speaker 1: like I had absolutely no interest, but you know, new 2292 02:19:51,920 --> 02:19:55,280 Speaker 1: girlfriends so I went and I walked out of there like, yo, 2293 02:19:55,400 --> 02:19:58,480 Speaker 1: I gotta work for this guy someday. And it wasn't 2294 02:19:58,520 --> 02:20:00,320 Speaker 1: just the music, it was the whole pack. It's the 2295 02:20:00,400 --> 02:20:04,160 Speaker 1: lighting was dope, the p a was dope. Everything about 2296 02:20:04,280 --> 02:20:08,360 Speaker 1: his thing was was like what's like gold standard? And 2297 02:20:08,440 --> 02:20:10,960 Speaker 1: I'm like, you could see this is this is the 2298 02:20:11,040 --> 02:20:17,480 Speaker 1: real deal and obviously an amazing performer. Um, And I 2299 02:20:17,560 --> 02:20:19,920 Speaker 1: didn't know a soul with that outfit. And I was 2300 02:20:20,080 --> 02:20:22,080 Speaker 1: out of the business that A year later, I'm working 2301 02:20:22,160 --> 02:20:25,920 Speaker 1: for Kiss and Lo and behold, the production manager says, hey, 2302 02:20:25,959 --> 02:20:29,959 Speaker 1: you want to go to Prince Okay? You know um, 2303 02:20:31,680 --> 02:20:36,360 Speaker 1: and kind of D'Angelo happened. I mean, I met Chris 2304 02:20:36,520 --> 02:20:39,360 Speaker 1: Rock because he came to a print show. He came 2305 02:20:39,440 --> 02:20:42,080 Speaker 1: to Love Sexy. This was even before sn L and 2306 02:20:42,200 --> 02:20:44,360 Speaker 1: he was when Nelson George brought into the show and 2307 02:20:44,440 --> 02:20:46,400 Speaker 1: we hung out after and it was like that kind 2308 02:20:46,440 --> 02:20:48,480 Speaker 1: of like hey man, one day, I'm gonna be big 2309 02:20:48,520 --> 02:20:50,160 Speaker 1: and I want you to run my shows. Like if 2310 02:20:50,200 --> 02:20:52,080 Speaker 1: you run this, I want you to run my shows. 2311 02:20:52,360 --> 02:20:55,680 Speaker 1: That's how literally, and it's like yeah, it was was 2312 02:20:55,840 --> 02:20:58,760 Speaker 1: Chris Rock next after your Prince? No no, no no, 2313 02:20:58,879 --> 02:21:01,880 Speaker 1: But I'm saying that's how I'm and and you know, 2314 02:21:02,040 --> 02:21:04,040 Speaker 1: we kind of stayed in touch, rand into each other 2315 02:21:04,160 --> 02:21:06,680 Speaker 1: once or twice a year. He'd come to Mineapolis pay 2316 02:21:06,760 --> 02:21:09,480 Speaker 1: Comedy Club and call me, and once he blew up. 2317 02:21:09,600 --> 02:21:12,520 Speaker 1: And it's now it's been five Chris Rock tours UM 2318 02:21:13,800 --> 02:21:18,160 Speaker 1: and the Maxwell thing happened. Somebody of a friend of 2319 02:21:18,200 --> 02:21:20,400 Speaker 1: mine who worked for Sony gave me the first CD 2320 02:21:21,560 --> 02:21:24,600 Speaker 1: UM the Urban Hank Sweet before it came out, said 2321 02:21:24,680 --> 02:21:26,480 Speaker 1: this is a kid from New York. You think it's 2322 02:21:26,560 --> 02:21:28,400 Speaker 1: right up your alley. You're probably gonnat like this. Just 2323 02:21:28,480 --> 02:21:31,320 Speaker 1: gave it to me, and I'm like, oh ship, this 2324 02:21:31,480 --> 02:21:34,320 Speaker 1: is kind of dope. I'm driving around the lake one 2325 02:21:34,400 --> 02:21:36,840 Speaker 1: day playing it in the car and Gwen says, what's that. 2326 02:21:37,400 --> 02:21:39,640 Speaker 1: I'm like, there's some kid from New York. Maxwell's He's, 2327 02:21:39,720 --> 02:21:42,520 Speaker 1: oh my god, I haven't heard anything fresh in years. 2328 02:21:42,920 --> 02:21:45,480 Speaker 1: So on it's and my wife has real old r 2329 02:21:45,560 --> 02:21:48,040 Speaker 1: and b ears it, so it went for for her. 2330 02:21:48,080 --> 02:21:50,879 Speaker 1: It's from Luther Vandrows to Maxwell. That was the evolution. 2331 02:21:51,640 --> 02:21:53,480 Speaker 1: But I'm like, Okay, if she loves it, this is 2332 02:21:53,760 --> 02:21:56,320 Speaker 1: this is gonna work. And like three months later, I 2333 02:21:56,360 --> 02:21:58,720 Speaker 1: get a call from an agent who says, I got 2334 02:21:58,800 --> 02:22:01,600 Speaker 1: a new kid who's going now and he's kind of difficult. 2335 02:22:01,680 --> 02:22:03,560 Speaker 1: So I thought of you. And I don't know if 2336 02:22:03,640 --> 02:22:06,200 Speaker 1: that was a compliment or not, but you know, it's 2337 02:22:06,240 --> 02:22:08,440 Speaker 1: the rep I guy after Prince and James Brown and 2338 02:22:08,480 --> 02:22:11,240 Speaker 1: so on. And it turned out to be Maxwell. And 2339 02:22:11,360 --> 02:22:13,560 Speaker 1: that's the record I've been in love with for three months. 2340 02:22:14,280 --> 02:22:17,680 Speaker 1: So I do several Maxwell tours. Brown Sugar comes out. 2341 02:22:17,879 --> 02:22:22,400 Speaker 1: I fall in love with that. Um, I'm a D'Angelo fan. 2342 02:22:22,959 --> 02:22:25,320 Speaker 1: I saw him once or twice on shows that I 2343 02:22:25,480 --> 02:22:29,959 Speaker 1: was with other artists, didn't know him, never met him. Um. 2344 02:22:30,640 --> 02:22:32,840 Speaker 1: It wasn't an impressed with the show I saw because 2345 02:22:32,840 --> 02:22:34,440 Speaker 1: he was a guy in the Trench coast sitting at 2346 02:22:34,440 --> 02:22:36,680 Speaker 1: a piano. He didn't really work the stage. Yet this 2347 02:22:36,840 --> 02:22:46,480 Speaker 1: is Brown Sugar, eras and trench coats and but but 2348 02:22:46,720 --> 02:22:49,320 Speaker 1: I finished at Maxwell tour. I don't remember which one 2349 02:22:49,480 --> 02:22:53,120 Speaker 1: is the third or fourth Maxwell tour. And I'm in 2350 02:22:53,280 --> 02:22:56,720 Speaker 1: New York at a meeting, finishing up the accounting with 2351 02:22:56,840 --> 02:23:00,280 Speaker 1: the business manager, planning to fly home in the morning. 2352 02:23:00,320 --> 02:23:01,959 Speaker 1: I've been on the road for three or four months, 2353 02:23:02,680 --> 02:23:05,760 Speaker 1: and I'm walking across the lob in my hotel and 2354 02:23:05,879 --> 02:23:09,440 Speaker 1: my cell phone rings and it's like, Mr Leeds, my 2355 02:23:09,600 --> 02:23:12,600 Speaker 1: name is d' angelo and I've heard about you and 2356 02:23:12,680 --> 02:23:14,320 Speaker 1: so on and so on and so on. And I 2357 02:23:14,640 --> 02:23:16,840 Speaker 1: thought it was Maxwell playing a prank, honest to god. 2358 02:23:17,400 --> 02:23:19,440 Speaker 1: So I'm like, yeah, right, Max, to get out of 2359 02:23:19,480 --> 02:23:21,560 Speaker 1: here because I just left him at this meeting. We've 2360 02:23:21,600 --> 02:23:25,080 Speaker 1: been on the road for three months. He's playing. He's 2361 02:23:25,120 --> 02:23:28,120 Speaker 1: playing playing with me. So I'm like, yeah, right, Max, 2362 02:23:28,160 --> 02:23:29,680 Speaker 1: you can't. You can't get me now. I'm on the 2363 02:23:29,760 --> 02:23:33,120 Speaker 1: phone up and two minutes later it rings again. It's like, seriously, 2364 02:23:33,200 --> 02:23:36,040 Speaker 1: this is d' angelo and um, you know, i'd like 2365 02:23:36,120 --> 02:23:37,680 Speaker 1: to see if you could fly into New York to 2366 02:23:37,760 --> 02:23:40,120 Speaker 1: have a meeting. And you guys were working on in 2367 02:23:40,360 --> 02:23:42,600 Speaker 1: the last month or so a voodoo at the time, 2368 02:23:43,480 --> 02:23:46,840 Speaker 1: and um, I stayed over and I said, well, I 2369 02:23:46,879 --> 02:23:48,800 Speaker 1: happened to be in New York. I canceled my flight, 2370 02:23:48,920 --> 02:23:51,160 Speaker 1: went to meet with him, and dumb god bless his soul, 2371 02:23:51,920 --> 02:23:55,400 Speaker 1: um the next day. And that was fifteen years ago. 2372 02:23:56,160 --> 02:24:00,880 Speaker 1: What was hilarious was that we didn't I think I 2373 02:24:01,000 --> 02:24:02,680 Speaker 1: told him the night before that you were going to 2374 02:24:02,760 --> 02:24:04,520 Speaker 1: come to like one of the rehearsals. I don't know, 2375 02:24:05,080 --> 02:24:08,880 Speaker 1: I don't know what you were. I recall that you 2376 02:24:09,080 --> 02:24:11,840 Speaker 1: came to s I R to watch us do something. 2377 02:24:12,360 --> 02:24:13,840 Speaker 1: I don't know if it was the very beginning of 2378 02:24:13,879 --> 02:24:16,320 Speaker 1: the tour or whatever. We're just starting to rehearse the tour, 2379 02:24:17,080 --> 02:24:21,640 Speaker 1: but I remember remember the night before, like d and 2380 02:24:21,680 --> 02:24:24,720 Speaker 1: I were like rehearsing our lines, like Okay, we don't 2381 02:24:24,720 --> 02:24:28,400 Speaker 1: want to freak him out, so maybe we shouldn't ask 2382 02:24:28,640 --> 02:24:37,920 Speaker 1: that many uh Prince Chase questions, so which is like 2383 02:24:38,560 --> 02:24:41,760 Speaker 1: We're gonna play real cool when he comes in, like don't, don't, 2384 02:24:42,040 --> 02:24:45,280 Speaker 1: let's not geek out. And I think that last at 2385 02:24:45,320 --> 02:24:48,360 Speaker 1: all for like five minutes in the So you guys 2386 02:24:48,400 --> 02:24:51,400 Speaker 1: were like the anti Prince back then, where no we 2387 02:24:51,520 --> 02:24:54,080 Speaker 1: were when one Prince and Alan first started talking and 2388 02:24:54,120 --> 02:24:56,840 Speaker 1: he was like tell me some James Brown stories. Yeah, 2389 02:24:56,920 --> 02:25:02,480 Speaker 1: we were like tell us some print stories. Um. So yeah, 2390 02:25:02,520 --> 02:25:07,279 Speaker 1: I was gonna say, like if I mean what drives 2391 02:25:07,320 --> 02:25:11,360 Speaker 1: you now, like what's your what's your passion? What's the 2392 02:25:11,360 --> 02:25:16,040 Speaker 1: same thing that always did to music. I'm still a 2393 02:25:16,160 --> 02:25:18,440 Speaker 1: kid who's a fan of the music. And that's the 2394 02:25:18,560 --> 02:25:21,360 Speaker 1: blessing is that every other tour manahge I know may 2395 02:25:21,400 --> 02:25:24,640 Speaker 1: have started out that way and then got jaded because 2396 02:25:24,640 --> 02:25:27,160 Speaker 1: they had to take that gig they didn't want, or 2397 02:25:27,320 --> 02:25:29,040 Speaker 1: the artists they were in love who turned out to 2398 02:25:29,080 --> 02:25:32,800 Speaker 1: be a jerk and um, you know, or they had 2399 02:25:33,200 --> 02:25:36,119 Speaker 1: too many months off between tours and couldn't pay the bills, 2400 02:25:36,760 --> 02:25:40,920 Speaker 1: and all that passion for this, this life of traveling 2401 02:25:41,040 --> 02:25:44,480 Speaker 1: and meeting interesting people and going interesting places and doing 2402 02:25:44,560 --> 02:25:48,000 Speaker 1: interesting things comes to a halt. And you know, but 2403 02:25:48,240 --> 02:25:51,200 Speaker 1: my first wife once said, you know, what, are you 2404 02:25:51,320 --> 02:25:54,360 Speaker 1: gonna come home and get a real job. And I'm like, 2405 02:25:54,600 --> 02:25:57,040 Speaker 1: I think it's real money paying the bills, isn't it. 2406 02:25:59,080 --> 02:26:00,720 Speaker 1: I don't know what you call a real job. But 2407 02:26:01,360 --> 02:26:03,600 Speaker 1: you know, I'm one of the few people on the 2408 02:26:03,720 --> 02:26:06,720 Speaker 1: planet that's blessed enough to actually enjoy what I'm doing 2409 02:26:07,760 --> 02:26:12,560 Speaker 1: to get and get paid for it. But I love 2410 02:26:12,640 --> 02:26:16,200 Speaker 1: the music, and I guess at the end of the day, 2411 02:26:16,280 --> 02:26:18,280 Speaker 1: I mean, people ask him at this age, what in 2412 02:26:18,320 --> 02:26:20,520 Speaker 1: the world are you doing on the road because Mondy's hurt. 2413 02:26:20,520 --> 02:26:22,039 Speaker 1: When I get in a bunk on the tour bus, 2414 02:26:22,240 --> 02:26:25,480 Speaker 1: this is not fun anymore. But when the lights go 2415 02:26:25,640 --> 02:26:29,560 Speaker 1: down and people scream and the vant guard hits the 2416 02:26:29,640 --> 02:26:33,720 Speaker 1: funk out of here, I get paid for this. That's 2417 02:26:33,720 --> 02:26:36,240 Speaker 1: all you can say. I guess wait before before we 2418 02:26:36,520 --> 02:26:40,080 Speaker 1: we we we wrap up. I just personally want to know, 2419 02:26:41,280 --> 02:26:44,720 Speaker 1: I mean out of I mean, you've seen a lot 2420 02:26:44,840 --> 02:26:50,520 Speaker 1: of historical things in your years as a manager tour manager. 2421 02:26:50,959 --> 02:26:57,760 Speaker 1: You know, do you think you can actually um come 2422 02:26:57,879 --> 02:27:03,480 Speaker 1: up with like a top three historical moments like I 2423 02:27:03,720 --> 02:27:07,200 Speaker 1: was there when blah blah blah was conceived, or you 2424 02:27:07,280 --> 02:27:13,920 Speaker 1: know that time when Prince and Michael Jackson that, you 2425 02:27:14,000 --> 02:27:17,920 Speaker 1: know whatever, Like do you have a personal top three 2426 02:27:18,040 --> 02:27:23,760 Speaker 1: like reflection? I was actually there when this happened thro 2427 02:27:23,800 --> 02:27:28,040 Speaker 1: about sex Machine. So you mentioned the poster with the 2428 02:27:28,120 --> 02:27:31,400 Speaker 1: lyrics on it in Nashville, which was the first recording 2429 02:27:31,520 --> 02:27:33,480 Speaker 1: session he did with the new bit, and that was 2430 02:27:33,600 --> 02:27:38,520 Speaker 1: Boots and his brother Phelps and those guys um which 2431 02:27:38,600 --> 02:27:43,000 Speaker 1: kind of reinvented his brand of funk and open things up. 2432 02:27:43,680 --> 02:27:45,960 Speaker 1: So did you feel so James Brown was about to 2433 02:27:46,040 --> 02:27:47,920 Speaker 1: be played out by that point or something? He was 2434 02:27:48,000 --> 02:27:51,760 Speaker 1: played out, the records weren't selling the it had I can't, 2435 02:27:52,040 --> 02:27:55,279 Speaker 1: but in nineteen sixty nine, I'm still thinking like Mother Popcorn. 2436 02:27:55,640 --> 02:27:58,120 Speaker 1: So you're saying that the younger kids Mother Popcorn was 2437 02:27:58,440 --> 02:28:01,880 Speaker 1: Mother Popcorn was a huge hit, but we were living 2438 02:28:01,920 --> 02:28:03,840 Speaker 1: in the era of this is still living in the 2439 02:28:03,920 --> 02:28:06,040 Speaker 1: era of the single, and you were only as good 2440 02:28:06,080 --> 02:28:10,240 Speaker 1: as your last single. And after Mother Popcorn came Fucking Drummer, 2441 02:28:10,320 --> 02:28:12,560 Speaker 1: which is legendary, but you couldn't give the record away, 2442 02:28:12,640 --> 02:28:17,560 Speaker 1: didn't sell. That's crazy. James Brown's one flop and his 2443 02:28:17,680 --> 02:28:24,240 Speaker 1: whole it was between the and let a Man Come In, 2444 02:28:25,720 --> 02:28:29,119 Speaker 1: which it's a nice record, but it wasn't a real hit. 2445 02:28:30,200 --> 02:28:32,280 Speaker 1: I mean, it did okay, but it wasn't like a 2446 02:28:32,360 --> 02:28:37,720 Speaker 1: number one record. Brother Rap that was another one, did okay, 2447 02:28:37,959 --> 02:28:41,640 Speaker 1: but it wasn't a number one record. But Sex Machine 2448 02:28:41,800 --> 02:28:44,160 Speaker 1: was hot. Sex Machine was like, all of a sudden, 2449 02:28:44,200 --> 02:28:47,360 Speaker 1: people are calling, kids are bugging out, the attendance at 2450 02:28:47,360 --> 02:28:50,640 Speaker 1: the show's picked up, and the fact that we had 2451 02:28:50,640 --> 02:28:53,920 Speaker 1: a new band and had gone through the bad press 2452 02:28:54,000 --> 02:28:57,080 Speaker 1: that came when Macy on Him left and Marvel Whitney 2453 02:28:57,120 --> 02:28:59,800 Speaker 1: had quit and did an interview this and James So 2454 02:29:00,080 --> 02:29:02,800 Speaker 1: the press had been really, really negative, and all of 2455 02:29:02,879 --> 02:29:04,920 Speaker 1: a sudden we got this new band with these new 2456 02:29:05,040 --> 02:29:07,720 Speaker 1: kids and this fresh hit, and it was like, in 2457 02:29:07,760 --> 02:29:09,520 Speaker 1: a period of three or four months we had gone 2458 02:29:09,600 --> 02:29:12,440 Speaker 1: downhill and come back up. So that was cool. That 2459 02:29:12,560 --> 02:29:16,920 Speaker 1: was that was pretty major. I think Payback because there 2460 02:29:16,959 --> 02:29:20,960 Speaker 1: again he was cold. He'd had several records that you know, 2461 02:29:21,080 --> 02:29:26,840 Speaker 1: you might consider worthy but weren't huge hits. And Payback 2462 02:29:27,000 --> 02:29:31,720 Speaker 1: was a huge hit, and um and didn't sound like 2463 02:29:31,840 --> 02:29:36,280 Speaker 1: the other ones. Okay. And then obviously Purple Rain. I 2464 02:29:36,320 --> 02:29:39,640 Speaker 1: mean that's that's just the premiere of that, just or 2465 02:29:39,760 --> 02:29:42,560 Speaker 1: just you know, the premiere and the idea that the 2466 02:29:43,200 --> 02:29:47,200 Speaker 1: reviews and the box office the opening week that like, 2467 02:29:47,360 --> 02:29:50,520 Speaker 1: my god, we're really really part of something that's gonna 2468 02:29:50,640 --> 02:29:55,440 Speaker 1: be huge. That's amazing. This is this is a story 2469 02:29:55,480 --> 02:29:58,600 Speaker 1: about the Proper Rain premiere that you tell a lot 2470 02:29:58,720 --> 02:30:00,920 Speaker 1: that I don't think. I don't think all of our 2471 02:30:00,959 --> 02:30:03,680 Speaker 1: listeners have heard about you guys being in the limo 2472 02:30:04,280 --> 02:30:08,800 Speaker 1: approaching the theater. Can you tell that story. Yeah, we 2473 02:30:09,040 --> 02:30:11,720 Speaker 1: we had a procession of limos going to the premiere. 2474 02:30:11,959 --> 02:30:15,680 Speaker 1: The premiere was that the Man's Groundlands Chinese Theater in 2475 02:30:16,160 --> 02:30:19,279 Speaker 1: Hollywood board and you know, big red carpet affair. MTV 2476 02:30:19,520 --> 02:30:22,120 Speaker 1: was out front and everybody else was out front, and 2477 02:30:23,160 --> 02:30:28,080 Speaker 1: you know, um, a lot of celebs invited. We typically yeah, 2478 02:30:28,680 --> 02:30:34,400 Speaker 1: typical l a rock and roll movie. Premiere, UM, and 2479 02:30:34,680 --> 02:30:37,680 Speaker 1: we had a We were staying in Westwood at what 2480 02:30:37,879 --> 02:30:39,879 Speaker 1: was then called the Westward bar Key, I think it's 2481 02:30:39,879 --> 02:30:42,680 Speaker 1: a w now and UM. We had limos for the 2482 02:30:42,760 --> 02:30:45,279 Speaker 1: band Windy and Lisa we're in one. I guess Bobby 2483 02:30:45,360 --> 02:30:47,240 Speaker 1: and Fink we're probably at new I don't I forget 2484 02:30:47,280 --> 02:30:49,560 Speaker 1: how we were divided up, but we had several limos. 2485 02:30:49,920 --> 02:30:51,440 Speaker 1: And I was in the car. Who was just me, 2486 02:30:51,680 --> 02:30:53,800 Speaker 1: Prince and Chick. Chick was in the front. I was 2487 02:30:53,840 --> 02:30:56,960 Speaker 1: in the Backwood Prince. As we came out of the hotel, 2488 02:30:57,879 --> 02:31:00,840 Speaker 1: he grabbed the flower from the garden in front of 2489 02:31:00,879 --> 02:31:03,080 Speaker 1: the hotel. There was just a little garden in front 2490 02:31:03,080 --> 02:31:06,240 Speaker 1: of the hotel, but along the curb grabbed flowers and 2491 02:31:06,320 --> 02:31:08,600 Speaker 1: he was holding them in the car all the way. 2492 02:31:09,680 --> 02:31:12,600 Speaker 1: Now this is again before cell phones and high tech stuff, 2493 02:31:12,640 --> 02:31:15,920 Speaker 1: so we had walkie talkies, and we had security already 2494 02:31:16,000 --> 02:31:18,440 Speaker 1: at the theater that we're going to orchestrate how the 2495 02:31:18,560 --> 02:31:21,800 Speaker 1: cars pulled up in what sequence and so on and 2496 02:31:21,879 --> 02:31:25,280 Speaker 1: so on. And as we got within about five or 2497 02:31:25,320 --> 02:31:28,520 Speaker 1: six blocks of the theater, one of our security guys 2498 02:31:28,720 --> 02:31:34,640 Speaker 1: radio Big Chick and to and started telling them how 2499 02:31:34,760 --> 02:31:37,040 Speaker 1: crazy the scene was like man, you won't believe there's 2500 02:31:37,080 --> 02:31:39,400 Speaker 1: there's thousands of kids in the street. The police are 2501 02:31:39,440 --> 02:31:42,520 Speaker 1: going crazy trying to control the crowd. This is just 2502 02:31:42,640 --> 02:31:45,840 Speaker 1: the biggest thing I've ever seen. It's madness. So on 2503 02:31:45,959 --> 02:31:48,440 Speaker 1: and so on and so on, and and Prince overheard, 2504 02:31:48,520 --> 02:31:50,960 Speaker 1: we in the backseat kind of overheard some of it, 2505 02:31:51,959 --> 02:31:54,959 Speaker 1: and all of a sudden his voice kind of broke 2506 02:31:56,520 --> 02:32:05,840 Speaker 1: and he said, Chick, what did they say? And Chick 2507 02:32:05,959 --> 02:32:12,120 Speaker 1: repeated it to him, and I looked at his face 2508 02:32:13,240 --> 02:32:16,000 Speaker 1: and it was the deer in the headlights. It was 2509 02:32:16,120 --> 02:32:19,400 Speaker 1: like all of this preparation, the whole or deal of 2510 02:32:19,560 --> 02:32:23,320 Speaker 1: making the movie, making the album, of doing the preview 2511 02:32:23,400 --> 02:32:25,760 Speaker 1: shows that we did at First Avenue and so on, 2512 02:32:25,879 --> 02:32:27,800 Speaker 1: all of that had let up to this moment, this 2513 02:32:27,920 --> 02:32:30,760 Speaker 1: whole fantasy that know what he believed what happened, but him, 2514 02:32:31,320 --> 02:32:33,400 Speaker 1: or at least he claimed he believed it would happen. 2515 02:32:34,520 --> 02:32:38,040 Speaker 1: And for a split second, he really lost it, and 2516 02:32:38,120 --> 02:32:41,199 Speaker 1: he grabbed my hand and he said, what did he say? 2517 02:32:42,200 --> 02:32:45,240 Speaker 1: Say it again? I mean, just just really lost it. 2518 02:32:46,160 --> 02:32:49,720 Speaker 1: And it lasted for about his hand was shaken, and 2519 02:32:49,840 --> 02:32:54,600 Speaker 1: it lasted for about ten fifteen seconds, and then all 2520 02:32:54,640 --> 02:32:57,760 Speaker 1: of a sudden he stiffened up, he got his game 2521 02:32:57,840 --> 02:33:03,320 Speaker 1: face back on, and from then on it was typical Prince. 2522 02:33:03,640 --> 02:33:06,039 Speaker 1: And I don't think he ever heard so he was human. 2523 02:33:06,280 --> 02:33:09,920 Speaker 1: He was human totally for like fifteen seconds. And that 2524 02:33:10,000 --> 02:33:11,320 Speaker 1: was the only time you ever did that in front 2525 02:33:11,360 --> 02:33:15,880 Speaker 1: of you or in front of me. That's amazing. Did 2526 02:33:15,920 --> 02:33:17,920 Speaker 1: you have a human sat next to him at the 2527 02:33:17,959 --> 02:33:24,800 Speaker 1: premier graffiti bridge? All right? Just like that was the case? 2528 02:33:25,200 --> 02:33:28,000 Speaker 1: What was that? Who where he got up and left 2529 02:33:28,040 --> 02:33:32,400 Speaker 1: before the lights came up? It one scene? Or Okay, 2530 02:33:33,560 --> 02:33:36,680 Speaker 1: do you love this film? No? I mean, but it 2531 02:33:36,800 --> 02:33:40,000 Speaker 1: was the birth of Tevin Campbell, so you know it 2532 02:33:40,200 --> 02:33:43,000 Speaker 1: has a special place in my heart. Really, for all 2533 02:33:43,120 --> 02:33:47,320 Speaker 1: five minutes he was right, and thank you. See I 2534 02:33:47,480 --> 02:33:51,080 Speaker 1: was close. She was pretty whatever she was actually liked 2535 02:33:51,080 --> 02:33:53,840 Speaker 1: her album. I don't know what any My wife was 2536 02:33:53,879 --> 02:34:03,440 Speaker 1: pretty shet in a movie to shame. Well that I 2537 02:34:03,600 --> 02:34:07,720 Speaker 1: know that, you know, doing all this emotional emotion of 2538 02:34:07,720 --> 02:34:12,160 Speaker 1: the stuff is you can't stand it. And uh, I 2539 02:34:12,240 --> 02:34:14,480 Speaker 1: appreciate the fact that you let us pick your brain. 2540 02:34:14,800 --> 02:34:17,240 Speaker 1: If you got a second, let me put one PostScript 2541 02:34:17,400 --> 02:34:21,200 Speaker 1: on the last thing we talked about momentous moments. This 2542 02:34:21,360 --> 02:34:24,320 Speaker 1: is something I want to share, and and it's embarrassing 2543 02:34:24,360 --> 02:34:25,879 Speaker 1: to share it to you. I wish we were talking 2544 02:34:25,959 --> 02:34:28,400 Speaker 1: to somebody else because it looks like I'm trying to 2545 02:34:28,480 --> 02:34:32,879 Speaker 1: bottle you up. But um. Once we're in a car 2546 02:34:33,040 --> 02:34:35,320 Speaker 1: coming from his show and Chris Rock I don't know where, 2547 02:34:35,360 --> 02:34:39,000 Speaker 1: he said, Yo, what was the best tour you were 2548 02:34:39,040 --> 02:34:41,160 Speaker 1: ever on? And he was like, you know Jame's brand, 2549 02:34:41,200 --> 02:34:44,200 Speaker 1: Prince Prison. I'm sure he was fishing for a print store, 2550 02:34:44,200 --> 02:34:46,120 Speaker 1: because you know, Chris says, you will know he's a 2551 02:34:46,200 --> 02:34:50,240 Speaker 1: print o file like the rest of us. And I 2552 02:34:51,240 --> 02:34:53,480 Speaker 1: you would think I'd stop and think about it, but 2553 02:34:53,680 --> 02:34:56,840 Speaker 1: before I could even think, it just came out, as 2554 02:34:56,879 --> 02:35:03,120 Speaker 1: if I were programmed. Voodoo really just came out. I 2555 02:35:03,160 --> 02:35:06,280 Speaker 1: wouldn't even even think to ask that. I didn't think 2556 02:35:06,320 --> 02:35:08,280 Speaker 1: about it. I didn't think of it. And once it 2557 02:35:08,400 --> 02:35:12,960 Speaker 1: came out, I was like, yeah, he's right, you know, 2558 02:35:14,200 --> 02:35:20,640 Speaker 1: and what made that the best? Yeah? Oh, did you 2559 02:35:20,720 --> 02:35:24,280 Speaker 1: see it? That's what Chris said, because he was he 2560 02:35:24,440 --> 02:35:27,520 Speaker 1: was stunned and and and and the only thing I 2561 02:35:27,600 --> 02:35:29,280 Speaker 1: could say to him was did you see it? And 2562 02:35:29,400 --> 02:35:31,280 Speaker 1: he said, no, I missed it. When it played Tann 2563 02:35:31,320 --> 02:35:33,000 Speaker 1: I was out of town and I missed it, damn it. 2564 02:35:33,360 --> 02:35:36,480 Speaker 1: And I said, then I can't tell you the biggest 2565 02:35:36,520 --> 02:35:39,039 Speaker 1: disgrace in my whole career is that we didn't professionally 2566 02:35:39,080 --> 02:35:42,880 Speaker 1: shoot that show. That there isn't a professional shoot of 2567 02:35:43,000 --> 02:35:47,600 Speaker 1: that show. I mean there's bootlegs of the Brazilian shows, 2568 02:35:47,680 --> 02:35:49,520 Speaker 1: but you weren't there and we didn't have the set. 2569 02:35:49,959 --> 02:35:54,880 Speaker 1: They don't count. Yeah, yeah, I gotta say that. Uh 2570 02:35:55,680 --> 02:35:58,840 Speaker 1: you know, I think maybe I downplay it just it's 2571 02:35:58,959 --> 02:36:02,040 Speaker 1: just to do. It was the perfect show, the perfect 2572 02:36:02,120 --> 02:36:08,039 Speaker 1: material that was not it was Well I hear that too. 2573 02:36:08,959 --> 02:36:13,960 Speaker 1: Um yeah, yeah, I guess I could probably say that, 2574 02:36:14,760 --> 02:36:18,760 Speaker 1: probably say that probably the most magical times of my 2575 02:36:18,959 --> 02:36:23,440 Speaker 1: drumming career came where it's that to where I don't know, 2576 02:36:23,600 --> 02:36:27,880 Speaker 1: it's like in our mind, I think that we just 2577 02:36:28,440 --> 02:36:33,680 Speaker 1: created the show hoping that one day, like we get 2578 02:36:33,720 --> 02:36:38,160 Speaker 1: the pad on the back approval from the Big Brother 2579 02:36:38,200 --> 02:36:44,080 Speaker 1: approval thing, and uh, it didn't happen. But we still 2580 02:36:44,520 --> 02:36:48,440 Speaker 1: went to that city and I felt like, who are 2581 02:36:48,480 --> 02:36:50,600 Speaker 1: you looking to get the pedal the back from? I 2582 02:36:50,640 --> 02:36:54,160 Speaker 1: don't think that was the best show though. Really they 2583 02:36:54,200 --> 02:36:59,080 Speaker 1: were in Minneapolis Fonte. Oh okay, I get it. So 2584 02:36:59,360 --> 02:37:01,880 Speaker 1: you thought that it was just okay, no, you know 2585 02:37:02,000 --> 02:37:06,240 Speaker 1: what your brother got on stage, and yeah, he ruined 2586 02:37:06,320 --> 02:37:13,280 Speaker 1: Jock's life for about a month. No, Um, maybe okay, 2587 02:37:13,320 --> 02:37:15,480 Speaker 1: maybe I was just caught up in the good one. 2588 02:37:15,560 --> 02:37:17,560 Speaker 1: But I think that was just the whole prince or 2589 02:37:18,440 --> 02:37:20,640 Speaker 1: magic of it all. I mean, because the thing was, 2590 02:37:20,760 --> 02:37:23,280 Speaker 1: it could have went either way, and I felt like 2591 02:37:24,560 --> 02:37:28,280 Speaker 1: what I didn't I didn't want to. We could have 2592 02:37:28,360 --> 02:37:30,880 Speaker 1: slam dunked it. Or we could have been like, uh 2593 02:37:32,560 --> 02:37:34,959 Speaker 1: what's his name on the Orlando Magic that missed those 2594 02:37:35,000 --> 02:37:40,359 Speaker 1: four Uh yeah, yeah, or we could have Kenny Anderson 2595 02:37:40,400 --> 02:37:45,360 Speaker 1: and missed and and lost our our our championship goals. 2596 02:37:45,920 --> 02:37:48,320 Speaker 1: No on the worst night, that show was dope. Um, 2597 02:37:48,800 --> 02:37:52,360 Speaker 1: I mean yeah, just for a listener. Wise, though, y'all 2598 02:37:52,520 --> 02:37:54,880 Speaker 1: you and indeed eventually did get like a pad on 2599 02:37:54,959 --> 02:37:58,600 Speaker 1: the back. Maybe it wasn't for Voodoo, but like creatively, 2600 02:37:58,879 --> 02:38:02,200 Speaker 1: at some point we had we had respect. We had 2601 02:38:02,240 --> 02:38:05,320 Speaker 1: his respect. Tell us who was in that band, in 2602 02:38:05,400 --> 02:38:09,640 Speaker 1: the in the Voodoos tour band, well, uh, miraculously he 2603 02:38:09,840 --> 02:38:14,240 Speaker 1: got Probably the best thing about that tour was the 2604 02:38:14,360 --> 02:38:16,800 Speaker 1: fact that he got a lot of cats to just 2605 02:38:17,000 --> 02:38:20,920 Speaker 1: leave their day jobs. Much of the Segrein of whatever 2606 02:38:21,040 --> 02:38:25,320 Speaker 1: situation they were in. So like Roy Hargrove, uh was 2607 02:38:25,400 --> 02:38:30,240 Speaker 1: part of the horn section, uh Peno Palladino, who um 2608 02:38:31,240 --> 02:38:34,200 Speaker 1: I mean by that point, I mean even before then, 2609 02:38:34,360 --> 02:38:38,320 Speaker 1: before two thousand, I mean he was severely in demand 2610 02:38:38,600 --> 02:38:44,440 Speaker 1: as a session bass player. Um cats like an uh 2611 02:38:45,080 --> 02:38:51,600 Speaker 1: about to say Anthony Anderson right before you did, right, Anthony, 2612 02:38:51,760 --> 02:38:59,680 Speaker 1: Anthony Hamilton's uh j Yes, Shelby j James KOs have 2613 02:38:59,760 --> 02:39:04,720 Speaker 1: one point Balou was yeah, but um didn't he get 2614 02:39:04,760 --> 02:39:08,440 Speaker 1: fired or something? Bloud never got fired. I couldn't swear 2615 02:39:08,560 --> 02:39:11,320 Speaker 1: there was some somebody got Firedou just things like I 2616 02:39:11,360 --> 02:39:14,240 Speaker 1: got fired. But okay, now he just got a record 2617 02:39:14,320 --> 02:39:16,880 Speaker 1: deal after that, and uh, you know, I mean there 2618 02:39:17,000 --> 02:39:20,200 Speaker 1: was a time lapse between the gig that Blou was 2619 02:39:20,280 --> 02:39:24,360 Speaker 1: on that was like the Essence Festival, and you know, 2620 02:39:24,440 --> 02:39:27,360 Speaker 1: by the time we got Voodoo finished, it was a 2621 02:39:27,440 --> 02:39:33,279 Speaker 1: new millennium. So but Spanky and uh yeah, Spanky, Alfred 2622 02:39:33,480 --> 02:39:38,120 Speaker 1: Chalmers and jeff Johnson Jesus, yeah I forgot about Yeah, 2623 02:39:38,360 --> 02:39:42,200 Speaker 1: God rest is so old to Jeffrey Johnson. Um. Anyway, 2624 02:39:42,480 --> 02:39:45,280 Speaker 1: So Alan, I would like to thank you for coming 2625 02:39:45,320 --> 02:39:52,520 Speaker 1: get up for Alan, Thank you for having me this 2626 02:39:52,600 --> 02:39:57,040 Speaker 1: is a bit fun. Thank you. I appreciate you coming. Um, 2627 02:39:57,640 --> 02:40:08,960 Speaker 1: I guess it's a brutality. Yeah, alright, so we're about 2628 02:40:08,959 --> 02:40:14,000 Speaker 1: to wrap up. We've learned a lot uh with Fontikola. Man, 2629 02:40:14,200 --> 02:40:16,080 Speaker 1: what did you learn today? Bro? What did I learn? 2630 02:40:16,160 --> 02:40:17,840 Speaker 1: I think the most interesting thing I learned just when 2631 02:40:17,920 --> 02:40:22,000 Speaker 1: listen now and talk is, um, how similar the business 2632 02:40:22,280 --> 02:40:26,720 Speaker 1: of you know yesterday or yesteryear. Rather, it's very similar 2633 02:40:26,800 --> 02:40:29,560 Speaker 1: to the business now, and that it's very much singles driven. 2634 02:40:29,680 --> 02:40:31,640 Speaker 1: You know what I'm saying. It's it's not really uh 2635 02:40:32,360 --> 02:40:34,040 Speaker 1: a thing of you know, it's not really about the 2636 02:40:34,160 --> 02:40:36,560 Speaker 1: album per se um. When you talk about James would 2637 02:40:36,560 --> 02:40:39,440 Speaker 1: put out a single every three months. That's pretty much 2638 02:40:39,560 --> 02:40:42,720 Speaker 1: what all the guys are doing now, particularly in like 2639 02:40:42,840 --> 02:40:44,840 Speaker 1: hip hop, and you know it's cats just kind of 2640 02:40:44,879 --> 02:40:48,960 Speaker 1: putting out well, you know, just singles. That's just what's 2641 02:40:49,040 --> 02:40:52,680 Speaker 1: kind of that only tells me that we need I mean, well, 2642 02:40:53,320 --> 02:40:56,640 Speaker 1: the Beatles changed all that once Charging Peppers came out. 2643 02:40:56,680 --> 02:40:59,320 Speaker 1: Then it was like, ah, the album to be the format. 2644 02:40:59,440 --> 02:41:03,240 Speaker 1: So I guess now any day now someone's gonna release 2645 02:41:03,360 --> 02:41:06,800 Speaker 1: the album format that will make everyone believe in a 2646 02:41:06,840 --> 02:41:09,520 Speaker 1: bigger vision than just the single and maybe they will 2647 02:41:09,560 --> 02:41:17,720 Speaker 1: do it only on pendor uh so uh, I'm paid, Billy. 2648 02:41:18,560 --> 02:41:21,560 Speaker 1: What did you learn today? Bro? Two things? One I 2649 02:41:21,600 --> 02:41:24,000 Speaker 1: could listen to on Lyad the Dog for fucking ever. Man. 2650 02:41:24,080 --> 02:41:27,160 Speaker 1: It's just like it was amazing and too it was 2651 02:41:27,200 --> 02:41:29,440 Speaker 1: interesting to listen to a guy who has been going 2652 02:41:29,520 --> 02:41:32,400 Speaker 1: off his instincts, his his love of music and what 2653 02:41:32,560 --> 02:41:35,440 Speaker 1: he likes and how that shaped his career. It's a 2654 02:41:35,480 --> 02:41:37,840 Speaker 1: pretty inspiring thing, just like this is the music he loved, 2655 02:41:37,879 --> 02:41:39,920 Speaker 1: and so he followed it and he continues to follow it. 2656 02:41:40,000 --> 02:41:43,680 Speaker 1: And I think, as a person who dabbles and music, 2657 02:41:43,800 --> 02:41:47,160 Speaker 1: that that's a great thing. That's amazing. There's very few 2658 02:41:47,200 --> 02:41:48,960 Speaker 1: people that get to make a living off of like 2659 02:41:49,080 --> 02:41:51,080 Speaker 1: what you love. I mean, like you have to sometimes 2660 02:41:51,200 --> 02:41:52,760 Speaker 1: just kind of do the ship you hate in order 2661 02:41:52,840 --> 02:41:54,840 Speaker 1: to make that rent. But and those people are in 2662 02:41:54,879 --> 02:41:56,360 Speaker 1: this room, which is also kind of cool to share 2663 02:41:56,400 --> 02:41:59,840 Speaker 1: that just trying to make rent man every damn day, 2664 02:42:00,720 --> 02:42:04,199 Speaker 1: sugar Steve. What I found interesting about Alan was among 2665 02:42:04,879 --> 02:42:08,640 Speaker 1: among the the things that made him uniquely qualified to 2666 02:42:08,760 --> 02:42:10,120 Speaker 1: do what he did and to have the career that 2667 02:42:10,200 --> 02:42:13,920 Speaker 1: he had was I think that at all the different stages, 2668 02:42:13,959 --> 02:42:16,800 Speaker 1: I think you did what my father tells me to do, 2669 02:42:16,879 --> 02:42:20,000 Speaker 1: which is make yourself useful. So like, in addition to 2670 02:42:20,120 --> 02:42:23,040 Speaker 1: doing your actual job of tour managing, you did the 2671 02:42:23,080 --> 02:42:28,400 Speaker 1: publicity for James and then you did the the imprint label. 2672 02:42:28,400 --> 02:42:32,360 Speaker 1: You're running that for Prince. So you were doing making yourself, 2673 02:42:32,480 --> 02:42:35,080 Speaker 1: you know, worthy of a salary, you know, worthy of 2674 02:42:35,280 --> 02:42:39,119 Speaker 1: having a weekly paycheck rather than just the tour manager checks. 2675 02:42:39,160 --> 02:42:43,520 Speaker 1: You know, kept your employed. You know, so I thought that, 2676 02:42:44,400 --> 02:42:45,920 Speaker 1: you know, I was thinking about my father, because it 2677 02:42:46,040 --> 02:42:51,320 Speaker 1: makes yourself useful. You know that my dad told me 2678 02:42:51,400 --> 02:42:58,160 Speaker 1: that too, your is not mine? Oh my god, so much? 2679 02:42:58,480 --> 02:43:01,240 Speaker 1: What had I learned? Well? I learned not to give up, 2680 02:43:01,520 --> 02:43:04,279 Speaker 1: um because I don't. Showed me that through your passion 2681 02:43:04,600 --> 02:43:06,959 Speaker 1: you can live life in the joyous way, and that's 2682 02:43:07,000 --> 02:43:11,320 Speaker 1: my goal. I have also learned that, um yeah, working 2683 02:43:11,360 --> 02:43:13,440 Speaker 1: with musicians is a doozy. I've also learned that I 2684 02:43:13,480 --> 02:43:15,560 Speaker 1: need to take a mirror in a corner and slow 2685 02:43:15,680 --> 02:43:18,880 Speaker 1: drag with him and to a nice Prince ballot, because 2686 02:43:19,600 --> 02:43:24,000 Speaker 1: show what is from with life. I'm just saying all 2687 02:43:24,080 --> 02:43:28,640 Speaker 1: that I learned some more too, Okay, much time, boss Bill? 2688 02:43:29,360 --> 02:43:31,480 Speaker 1: Would you learn bro? I learned that I'm too reliant 2689 02:43:31,520 --> 02:43:36,320 Speaker 1: on technology, and I wouldn't have made it four years ago. Yeah, 2690 02:43:38,600 --> 02:43:51,440 Speaker 1: I love technology as much as you. You see, we 2691 02:43:51,600 --> 02:43:56,960 Speaker 1: will see you next Wednesday one pm specifically yea and 2692 02:43:57,240 --> 02:44:03,199 Speaker 1: ten m specific specific Listen Pisketti ten am, Pisketti time. 2693 02:44:04,560 --> 02:44:10,040 Speaker 1: This is Quest Love Supreme Onfa Fontigoelo Boss Bill, unpaid Bill, 2694 02:44:10,800 --> 02:44:15,840 Speaker 1: and uh Sugar Steve and do we have a proper 2695 02:44:15,920 --> 02:44:26,000 Speaker 1: moniker for yet? Doesn't misogynistic Margaret. We'll see you then, 2696 02:44:26,360 --> 02:44:36,840 Speaker 1: Thank you, West. Love Supreme is a production of I 2697 02:44:37,040 --> 02:44:40,440 Speaker 1: Heart Radio. This classic episode was produced by the team 2698 02:44:40,680 --> 02:44:47,560 Speaker 1: at Pandora. For more podcasts from my heart Radio, visit 2699 02:44:47,600 --> 02:44:50,760 Speaker 1: the I heart Radio app, Apple podcast, or wherever you 2700 02:44:50,840 --> 02:44:52,000 Speaker 1: listen to your favorite shows.