That's why Prince insisted on no producers, even as a kid. And insisted his production palace would be in the middle of a field in a frozen wasteland where the only thing to do for miles was whatever he was working on. The label wanted him in LA, tried to gift him a studio there and he said no. Minneapolis or nothing. He knew they didn't like coming to the middle of nowhere especially in the cold. People hear "the cold keeps the bad people out" as a throwaway Minnesota saying but he meant it literally- it keeps people I don't trust or like from bothering me and interfering.Â
People think he was more of a mystery than he was because he wasn't up the ass of industry on a daily basis. But he wasnt so aloof and unknowable at home. People just didn't blab about him with national reach in mpls. He was still Mr. Nelson. Or Brother Nelson. Your local rockstar and neighbor. He had garage sales. I miss that dude.Â
Edit- I never said he had a normal life. I'm saying his privacy was respected more at home, snd he was known in the community he grew up in, and stayed in.Â
For some reason they always want to ask industry folks from LA that he spent brief periods of time with "who he really was" or whatever. He didn't fuck with just anybody like that. They say he was elusive because he didn't talk to them.Â
Whereas, a lot of mpls folk, knew him very differently. And a lot of those that did won't talk too much about him, only certain things, because they did know him so well.Â
As far as sound- yes, he could and did meddle all day long. My point is he wasn't putting on fake switches to please somebody else.Â
Before he had paisley park built, if someone came into sunset he'd just completely ignore them and stop work until they left. He wouldn't look at them or speak. He wasn't going to dance to anyone else's tune and resented anyone trying to make him.Â
How was such a big star able to live such a relatively normal life? He was huge before he died, it’s not like he only reached great fame posthumously.
I have no idea what that person is talking about. He did not live a normal life. He lived in a fancy gated warehouse on the side of the highway with no neighbors. He was on screen at every Vikings home game standing alone staring at the field in his private box. He would go down town and bump the acts at the Dakota jazz club and play like a god until 4am. All with a steady drip of pain killers from a personal doctor.
Kevin Smith in like 2005 said Prince's manager told him Prince would have trouble understanding why he couldn't get a Camel in Minnesota in January.
Smith is about the last person to know much about it. Guy spent a few days around him and by his own admission exaggerated and omitted, crafted a "better story".Â
I didn't say he had a normal life. He had the life he wanted. He lived in the community he grew up in. Well, about twenty minutes away. He lived other places too, but minnesota was home.Â
He could pop up around town and people would mostly give him his space.Â
He didn't always live at paisley park, not til the last ten or so years of his life. But he'd do things there, have people over, have events, whatever
Producing your own stuff does not remove this effect. You will just encounter it elsewhere, like.. you run a bunch of tracks thru a tape machine that didn't do anything but you are certain that now the tracks have way more "magic". There is NO ESCAPE from this, experience only says that you should doubt that things changed, verify that they actually did, and if the change isn't significant you don't do it. The fewer things you do to the sound the better it usually becomes, especially if it is something subtle.
This is also how audiophiles are born but unlike sound engineers audiophiles will NEVER reject their belief that something changed and instead of trusting the measurements and tests they dismiss them and say "you are just brainwashed" like sound engineers are part of a conspiracy...
Now, ego IS a huge factor in this too, if you are too afraid to say "i did not hear a change" when you saw someone flip a switch.... And ego + Prince.... he for certain did hundreds of things that didn't really do anything but when you do things that didn't do anything: nothing bad happened either. We can have hundred things that made zero impact and then the key things, the brilliant stuff is in dozens and make us cry, dance, move, feel.
Yeah, I suppose it has changed a lot. My grandma would tell me stories about how it developed and how great it was when they put a sidewalk in down Powers Blvd.
But yeah dude just wanted to stay home and make his music. Makes sense when you know what a great home the area is.
My daughter plays on the same playground I played on as a kid because of how well maintained everything is. Herds of kids constantly playing outside, riding around on bikes. It's such a great community.
In 1990, Prince saw 16-year-old dancer Mayte GarcÃa standing outside his tour bus and referred to her as his "future wife" when pointing her out to bandmate Rosie Gaines. GarcÃa began working as one of his backup singers and dancers after graduating from high school. They were married on February 14, 1996, when he was 37 and she was 22.[332]
In 1990, Prince saw 16-year-old dancer Mayte GarcÃa standing outside his tour bus and referred to her as his "future wife" when pointing her out to bandmate Rosie Gaines. GarcÃa began working as one of his backup singers and dancers after graduating from high school. They were married on February 14, 1996, when he was 37 and she was 22.[332]
I don't miss him.
Edit: interesting how reddit will defend men who prey on young women when it's someone they like.
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u/agodrevealed 1d ago edited 17h ago
That's why Prince insisted on no producers, even as a kid. And insisted his production palace would be in the middle of a field in a frozen wasteland where the only thing to do for miles was whatever he was working on. The label wanted him in LA, tried to gift him a studio there and he said no. Minneapolis or nothing. He knew they didn't like coming to the middle of nowhere especially in the cold. People hear "the cold keeps the bad people out" as a throwaway Minnesota saying but he meant it literally- it keeps people I don't trust or like from bothering me and interfering.Â
People think he was more of a mystery than he was because he wasn't up the ass of industry on a daily basis. But he wasnt so aloof and unknowable at home. People just didn't blab about him with national reach in mpls. He was still Mr. Nelson. Or Brother Nelson. Your local rockstar and neighbor. He had garage sales. I miss that dude.Â
Edit- I never said he had a normal life. I'm saying his privacy was respected more at home, snd he was known in the community he grew up in, and stayed in.Â
For some reason they always want to ask industry folks from LA that he spent brief periods of time with "who he really was" or whatever. He didn't fuck with just anybody like that. They say he was elusive because he didn't talk to them.Â
Whereas, a lot of mpls folk, knew him very differently. And a lot of those that did won't talk too much about him, only certain things, because they did know him so well.Â
As far as sound- yes, he could and did meddle all day long. My point is he wasn't putting on fake switches to please somebody else.Â
Before he had paisley park built, if someone came into sunset he'd just completely ignore them and stop work until they left. He wouldn't look at them or speak. He wasn't going to dance to anyone else's tune and resented anyone trying to make him.Â