Life is just a game

Life is just a game we are all just the same - Controversy! Here is Cory Henry & The Funk Apostles with a cover of Prince's Controversy from the Big Bang Block Party in Atlanta from 2017. If you haven't seen or heard of Cory Henry, you need to check him out. My man is funky!

Funky Funko?

Funko, the company that brings you vinyl figurines and bobbleheads based on the latest in pop culture, is apparently looking to bathe in the purple rain.  Sometime this fall, they are set to release their version of Prince-inspired figurines.  So far they have shown four designs with versions appearing to be based on the 1999 era(?), Purple Rain era, Raspberry Beret and the 3rd Eye Girl era. Now, I have a tendency to be biased when it comes to all things Prince and rush out and collect all I can, but I am still not sure I how I feel about these.Take a look.

I am not too sure that Funko got the funk right on these but to each his own I guess. What do you think? If you want to check out the website, you can you find the Pop Rocks - Prince here.

Until next time, Love4OneAnother, Love4EachOther, Lover4UsAll!  Peace!

4 U

Time is inching ever so closer to September and the time for me to attend the 4 U Symphonic Celebration here in the Music City.  Back at the end of last year, I had tickets to see the Music of Prince with the Nashville Symphony but then, just weeks before the show, we received an email from the symphony saying that the show as cancelled at the request of the Estate.  Needless to say, I was less than enthused.  The estate is not releasing any music. They are not releasing any video. They are not giving the fans what they want or need. All they are doing is in-fighting and now they are cheating me out of a moment to enjoy the wondrous music of Prince played by a symphony. What the hell? The email said that the Estate was planning their own musical tribute. Yeah, right! We shall see.  Well, I guess I was wrong to doubt the email, because here we are with 4U.  Here is how it is described on the official website which can be found here:

ABOUT THE TOUR

Live Nation Urban and TCG Entertainment are proud to present the first and only official Estate approved symphonic presentation of Prince’s music, titled 4U: A Symphonic Celebration of Prince. 4U will present the music of Prince like never before, with a full orchestra. In addition, each show will feature a live band who will perform collectively with the orchestra. 4U will draw from Prince’s singular and extensive music catalog, highlighting many of his greatest hits alongside lesser known gems. Live Nation and TCG Entertainment are working in partnership with acclaimed drummer and creative Questlove to curate the set list and arrangements to be played by the symphony.

The 2018 tour will include shows in both the United States and Europe, starting in early September and running through November 2018. Additional dates will be announced for 2019 at a later date.

What is the show?
4U: A Symphonic Celebration of Prince highlights the music of Prince like never before, with a full symphony orchestra. The show will draw from Prince’s extensive music catalog and will feature many of the hits that captivated generations of fans, alongside lesser known gems — all interpreted and performed via a world class symphony orchestra.

Is there a band?
Yes, in addition to the symphony orchestra, the production will include a live band who will perform collectively with the symphony — together creating a truly unique opportunity to experience Prince’s iconic music. This show is not “impersonating” Prince, but is instead “celebrating” Prince and his boundless creative output. 

What is in the show?
Complementing the live musicians, 4U: A Symphonic Celebration of Prince will feature state-of-the-art production elements, as well as photo and video content provided by The Prince Estate.

What does “official” mean?
4U: A Symphonic Celebration of Prince is officially endorsed by the Estate of Prince Rogers Nelson. This is the only approved Prince symphonic show in the world.

Needless to say, I am really excited to see this show. I am not sure what I expect, but just to share purple music with my fellow purple family is a therapeutic experience in and of itself.  I'll make sure that I come back and give a recap of my symphonic experience after the show. Until then, peace & B-wild!!!!!!!!

Ladies and Gentlemen, The Revolution!

This is a post that is two months overdue but it is finally here.  Back on May 15th, I had the privilege of attending a very special concert at the Mercury Ballroom in Louisville, Kentucky.  What band was playing that night? None other than The Revolution. That's right, Prince's former band was performing and there was not a chance in hell that I was not going to be there.  Not only was I there, I was at the very front of the stage rocking along with all the deep purple concord jams that I grew up with.  From the opening drum beat of Computer Blue that kicked off the show, The Revolution took us on a whirlwind tour of the soundtrack of my life. America was next followed by Mountains from Parade.  Next up was Automatic which led to Take Me With U.  Then special guest Stokley Williams (from Mint Condition) came out to take over lead vocalist duties on Uptown and D.M.S.R..

The then unreleased Our Destiny with Wendy and Lisa on lead vocals was next and this segued straight into Brownmark leading on the then unreleased Roadhouse Garden. Both of these songs have since been released on the Remastered Deluxe Edition of Purple Rain.  Stokley came back out as the band jumped into Raspberry Beret which was more of a crowd sing-a-long.  Next up was an extremely funky Erotic City with some slinky guitar work by Wendy.  I mean baby girl was playing that thing and I guarantee if Prince would have been there, he would have definitely been making one of his funk faces! Keeping that funk groove going, the band slid right into Let's Work with Stokley sharing vocal duties with Wendy. After a rousing version of 1999, which had the entire place rocking and chanting "PARTY!" at the top of our lungs, Wendy took to the mic for a brief monologue.  She spoke about Paisley Park and the time of Around the World in a Day and how it was a great time for Prince as a lyricist. She spoke about what Paisley Park meant and how much the song meant to him and the band and asked the crowd to sing along with them so that Prince could hear us.  And boy did we ever get loud because we let everyone know that "Paisley Park is in your heart!"

The Revolution went old school next with Controversy which segued into Mutiny rather nicely.  Then came one of the most heart-stopping, gut-wrenching moments of the night.  The band left the stage except for Wendy and Lisa and Wendy spoke about the day that Prince died.  And then she spoke about going through songs that they (Wendy & Lisa) had done with Prince and they came across Sometimes It Snows In April. They realized that they had recorded that song on 4/21/85 and that Prince had died on 4/21/16. So they said they had to play it for him.  They then performed Sometimes It Snows In April with Wendy on guitar and Lisa on piano and I cried like a baby.  I think we all did.

After a short break, the band reappeared and those familiar organ chords began playing before those famous words of "Dearly beloved..." were spoken and the band launched into Let's Go Crazy. Delirious and Kiss were next  followed by When Doves Cry.  Then we heard that familiar guitar chord from Wendy and the crowd lost their minds as Purple Rain was played.  Wendy played an amazing solo at the end that would have made Prince proud and then they were gone. But they weren't through with us as they came back out once more for I Would Die 4 U and then finally Baby, I'm A Star! After that, they took a bow and then left the stage for good.

I grabbed some swag at the merch table but my fav stuff is the autographed poster from the band, the setlist from the show and a guitar pick from Wendy! I went to celebrate Prince's music and it ended up being a very healing night.  I also met some new Prince friends and can't wait to see them again!

So there you have it folks! It was an awesome experience and if you have a chance to see them, go see The Revolution. They put on one hell of a show and you will not regret it.  If nothing else, go see them for the healing aspect and to honor the music of Prince! Until next time, peace & be wild!

R.I.P. John Blackwell, Jr.

Yesterday the world lost another wonderful musician when former Prince & the New Power Generation drummer John Blackwell passed away after a battle with brain tumors.  I had the privilege of meeting Mr. Blackwell during the Musicology tour in 2004 in Nashville.  I was sitting on the front row since I was a member of the NPG Music Club and during Renato's solo, John and the rest of the band (sans Prince of course) walked of stage.  He came over to me, held out a drum stick and asked, "Want one?" I couldn't grab it fast enough!!! He then asked how I liked the show so far and we talked for a minute or two. Then he introduced me to Maceo Parker and Candy Dulfer.  They were all so down to earth.  Then he shook my hand, gave me a little wink and a laugh, then said, "Gotta go!" and pointed over his shoulder and he was right back up on stage behind his drum kit, banging out the beats for Prince.  I'd like to think that's what happened yesterday.  He had to go because Prince needed him to play the drum intro to Shhhh! one more time! Rest in Peace, John! You will be missed by us all!

Prince Day #2

Prince Day

Candles 4 Prince

Thank you to Cindy for the candles and the Pythian Princess for everything else! To my Purple Family, remember, "Hold on 2 Ur soul! We got a long way 2 go!"

And the Tears Began to Fall (Again)

Just when I thought I had fully recovered from the tragic lost of our beloved Prince, I discovered this wonderful tribute.  Now don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that I don't miss him.  I'm just saying that I have accepted his death and moved on with life.  Well, I thought I had.  This video is called APRIL SNOWS and it is by four musicians in New York who wanted to pay tribute to Prince.  They came together and recorded their completely spontaneous version of Sometimes It Snows In April.  This is not a new video, it was recorded back in May, but it was new to me.  Take a look below:

I will be the first to admit, I lost it about a third of the way through this video and the tears began to fall like rain. I don't know why.  I've listen to this song several times over the last several months and it hasn't bothered me but this version...something about it got to me. I can't pinpoint it or describe it but something about it touched my soul. I guess maybe I will never truly get over Prince's death but with videos like this, I can always celebrate his life.  After all, I think that's what he would've wanted.

Love4OneAnother! Love4EachOther! Love4UsAll!

Tom Ibarra Pays Tribute to Prince

Nice little tribute to Prince by Tom Ibarra as he delivers a unique interpretation of Something In The Water (Does Not Compute). Check it out below.

Hope you enjoyed it.  Until next time, peace & B-wild!

The Prince of Music

FUNKNROLL

Please welcome The Revolution!

A Tribute 4 the Fans

There have been countless tributes to Prince since his untimely death. Some were very good and some were...well...not so good (Madonna anyone?).  But this video in my opinion is one of the best tributes I have seen.

Olga Nunes Tribute to Prince

So Olga Nunes shared this wonderful tribute to Prince titled This Is What It Sound Like.  It is a great cover of When Doves Cry and I have watched this over and over.


Head over to her page here to read more about the video and to also find out how to order a copy of the print used in the video.  The artist who painted it has made it available and I have already ordered mine so grab it now while you can.

Another Photoshop

Just more Photoshop experimenting!

Jimmy Fallon shares Prince ping pong story

Jimmy Fallon shares a great story about how Prince challenged him to a game of ping pong:

Great story to share about Prince!

I just can’t believe all the things people say

I just can’t believe all the things people say

Controversy

So who was the real Prince? That's the question it seems that Billy Jack Bitch keeps asking every day on the latest edition of the Menda City News. Go to the market and all you see is trash mags promising you a look inside the secret world of Prince.  But what do they know? Not a damn thing! Their articles are filled with sensational suppositions and half-thought out conspiracy theories. He was a pill-popping drug addict! He was dying of cancer! He was dying of AIDS! He was murdered because he fought for his master tapes! He was a funkified alien who was recalled to the Mothership by Dr. Funkenstein! All these reasons for his death have been reported by the so-called media since that fateful day in April.  Well, maybe not the Dr. Funkenstein recall to the Mothership.  I just threw that in there but it's just as plausible as any of the mind-numbing pabulum spewed by these sound-bite social-media-swilling journalists.  So I repeat my initial question, who was the real Prince?

How did I get in this predicament?
How did I get in this jam?
The person that they accuse me of being of
That's not the one I really am

Prince was many things to all of us.  He was not just a musician, producer, writer, composer, performer and singer.  He was the Partyman.  He was Camille, Joey Coco, Alexander Nevermind and Spooky Electric.  He was Jamie Starr! He was funk, rock, soul, jazz, rhythm and blues and pop! He was a showman like none of us had ever seen.  You could not go to a Prince show and walk away feeling cheated.  No. You walked away exhausted, exhilarated, ecstatic, and overwhelmed.  You walked away knowing that you just witnessed the greatest show you had ever seen (at least until your next Prince show). When you went to a Prince show, you saw the New Power Generation come alive.  You became part of the Rainbow Children. You were a member of the Purple Army. There were no blacks, whites, Latinos, Asians or any other ethnicities at a Prince concert.  There was just the human race colored purple and we came together for at least one night to party like it was 1999!!!! I have met so many wonderful people over the years through the Prince community on line and at concerts all because of our love for Prince.  But where do we go from here?

Surrender all ye sad of heart

Today hold back no tears

The past is gone when we can

Start conquering our fears

I know some of you are still having a hard time accepting that Prince is gone and I understand that.  We are all sort of lost now.  We are all like the Strays of the World and it's okay to let the tears flow but eventually we must move on to the next chapter of our lives. That doesn't mean we forget Prince.  How could anyone forget him? It just means that we take him forward with us.  The memories he gave us.  The music, oh man, the music! There is so much music and since his death, I have opened the minds of several new fans to musical genius that was Prince.  No....the musical genius that IS Prince! For as long as he lives in our hearts and minds, he is still alive! He merely transformed! He transcended to a higher plane of existence!

Using a special code he accessed his mind

In search of the reason why

In passion and fashion he began travelin’ time

3rd eye, 3rd eye, 3rd eye

On Twitter, I have seen many people keep saying that they hope that this is all just a dream. Maybe it all is just a dream.  Maybe Prince was just a dream.  I mean, how could one man be that talented and that prolific and not be a dream.  But, I know it's not a dream. That's why I am thankful I have these great friends and purple family to lean on to help me get through this. By talking to them, I am able to sort through all the crazy stories and remember that those wild accusations are not who the real Prince was! Quite simply he was.......PRINCE!!!!

Hollyrock ain’t all it seems

Don’t get too serious,

it’s just a dream

Don’t forget your friends,

they’re all you’ve got

Listen to the story of a man

I am not

Sorry for rambling but I needed to say some of this to get it off my chest! Thanks for listening.... uh ...reading. 

 

Playing with Photoshop

I was just experimenting with Photoshop.

 

I think they turned out pretty well.

Nothing Compares 2 Tributes

Here are 2 tributes to Prince.  The first is by fDeluxe, better known as The Family, as they recently re-recorded their Prince-penned song Nothing Compares 2 U as a tribute to the late singer.


And here is the Dixie Chicks performing Nothing Compares 2 U in Horsens, Denmark on 04/22/16, the day after Prince died.

What can I say, both will bring tears to your eyes!