In Part 2 of this powerful conversation, drummer Michael Bland (Prince & The New Power Generation) goes deeper into the genius, intensity, and emotional complexity of working with Prince.
Bland shares incredible behind-the-scenes stories — from spontaneous studio sessions that became finished records, to the creative process that made Prince nearly impossible to replicate. He explains how Prince layered music, hid arrangements, and pushed musicians to operate at the highest level.
The conversation also turns deeply personal, as Bland reflects on Prince’s later years, his mindset, and the emotional weight surrounding his passing.
Along the way, Bland discusses:
🎙️ A rare and honest look inside one of the most iconic musical worlds ever created.
Drummer for Soul Asylum, Prince of the New Power Generation and so many other great artists.
Speaker B:Yeah, I also, I did a run with Chaka Khan.
Speaker B:Don't forget that.
Speaker A:I know, yeah.
Speaker A:Chaka Khan.
Speaker A:You know, I never saw you on tour with Chaka Khan, but you were with her for a couple years, right?
Speaker B:Yes, I think it might have been more like a year and a half or so.
Speaker B:And when I left, it was because I got an offer to go on tour with Maxwell.
Speaker A:That's right, yeah.
Speaker A:Were you before or after Rocky Bryant?
Speaker A:Not sure.
Speaker B:Rocky playing with Chaka?
Speaker A:No, for Maxwell.
Speaker B:Oh, I think I was before Rocky.
Speaker A:Okay.
Speaker B:I was on the Embryo tour.
Speaker B: It was like: Speaker B:We did 40 sold out shows.
Speaker B:Nine of them were at Constitution hall in DC.
Speaker B:A nine night run and just women throwing panties and flowers all night.
Speaker B:They loved this dude, you know, and he was so gracious and such a nice guy.
Speaker B:And, you know, we got to know each other a little bit, actually.
Speaker B:While we were in rehearsal for that tour, we were out in LA at what's the name of the place?
Speaker B:Center Staging.
Speaker B:And one night him and his woman were going to see the Blair Witch Project.
Speaker A:Oh, yeah.
Speaker B:And he was like, hey, Money, you want to come see Blair Witch with us?
Speaker B:I said, yeah, man, I'll go.
Speaker B:So they found some theater, you know, in LA and got our seats kind of blocked off.
Speaker B:It was just me, Alan Leeds, Maxwell and his lady friend.
Speaker B:And we waited for the lights to kind of go to half and we kind of went through like the side exit.
Speaker B:Came in the exit and got our seats and I ended up sitting right next to Maxwell.
Speaker B:I think Alan was on the other side of me and his woman was on the other side.
Speaker B:So we were sitting together and.
Speaker B:And so, you know, like a couple of sissies.
Speaker B:A couple of things happened at a movie.
Speaker B:We both kind of got freaked out at the same time.
Speaker A:Holding on to each other.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:And we looked at each other and started cracking up, you know, he was all right with me, man.
Speaker B:Maxwell was really, really kind.
Speaker B:I really love that dude.
Speaker B:He was so gracious.
Speaker A:Why do you think, you know, Maxwell d' Angelo are so sparse in putting releases?
Speaker A:And then on the other extreme, Prince, he could have put out an album a week.
Speaker A:What do you think is the difference for someone, they're all great artists.
Speaker B:Here's the thing you have to remember about Prince, and I've been saying this a lot lately.
Speaker B:You're talking about somebody who, you know at several times in their career went in the studio by themself and walked out with a hit.
Speaker B:You know, everybody can't do that.
Speaker B:Prince could engineer for himself.
Speaker B:Prince could mic instruments by him.
Speaker B:He knew what he was doing.
Speaker B:All those years he spent working at Chris Moon Studio, he could commandeer a session.
Speaker B:I have many times it was just me and him in Studio A and he was rocking the SSL all by himself.
Speaker B:You know, it's what you, that's what people don't understand is that you're talking about somebody who had complete artistic control, like he could do it all.
Speaker B:He didn't need nobody except God and ambition, really.
Speaker B:You know, So I don't know if Maxwell plays any instruments at all.
Speaker B:You know, I think that.
Speaker B:What's the word?
Speaker B:You know what it is.
Speaker B:I was talking to Paul Peterson about this.
Speaker B:We did a podcast for.
Speaker A:Oh yeah, I watched that.
Speaker A:Must watch.
Speaker B:And in that I'm explaining, he said, what do you think Prince had over everybody?
Speaker B:I said, he was confident.
Speaker B:He never second guessed himself.
Speaker B:He was certain.
Speaker B:He approached music with a certitude that a lot of artists don't have the bravery to do.
Speaker B:He trusted himself.
Speaker B:And Paul mentioned he's like, yeah, you write about that.
Speaker B:Cause I saw him single handedly make decisions from.
Speaker B:Paul was in the time playing keyboards, not even out of high school.
Speaker B:And so he got to see the rocket ship kind of take off like Purple Rain and all that.
Speaker B:The phenomenon, you know, and it was one man saying, this is what I want, this is what I need.
Speaker B:And Prince didn't need nobody to tell him.
Speaker B:He knew what he was after, you know.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:I first became aware of Paul when I was the Purple Rain tour and we slept out actually at Nassau Coliseum for tickets.
Speaker A:We wound up there pushing with the crowd for like five hours before they opened the windows.
Speaker A:And then our tickets were behind the stage.
Speaker A:So one of the shows Prince, you know when people leave the theater, think it's over and you guys come out and do one more with the house lights up?
Speaker A:Oh yeah, he came out and St. Paul with his.
Speaker A:I think it was the yellow suit he was wearing.
Speaker B:Okay.
Speaker A:For some reason he was out for the encore and, and jamming with Prince of the Revolution.
Speaker A:So that's when I first came aware of Paul.
Speaker B:Okay.
Speaker B:Yeah, I told that, told Paul in that, in that.
Speaker B:In that podcast I heard from Prince's mouth himself.
Speaker B:It's like Paul Peterson was the baddest white boy I ever worked with.
Speaker A:That's right.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker B:I think he stunned he said that.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:And he was sneaking in Paisley Park.
Speaker B:Yeah, well, that Was later on, it's like, I got it.
Speaker B:It's like, if you got a history with Prince, you know, you don't know what kind of reception you're gonna get.
Speaker B:And I actually.
Speaker B:I was working for Jam and Lewis for a little while after all that.
Speaker B:Oh, really?
Speaker A:I didn't know that.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker B:Still kind of hot.
Speaker B:I mean, I played on a couple things on a Sounds of Blackness record.
Speaker B:And also, they had an artist named.
Speaker B:Oh, wow, I'm trying to remember her name now.
Speaker B:Angel Grant was her name.
Speaker B:Okay.
Speaker B:And she had kind of a hit single.
Speaker B:It was a song called Little Red Boat.
Speaker B:And we were in rehearsal and Terry and Jimmy and Big Jim Wright was.
Speaker B:Were all in the band, you know.
Speaker B:And Terry asked me, like, right before we got started, he said, hey, have you been out to visit Prince?
Speaker B:And I said, no.
Speaker B:I said, why would I do that?
Speaker B:He said, somebody like you, he said, I'm sure he misses you.
Speaker B:I'm sure I would miss you.
Speaker B:What you.
Speaker B:What you're able to do, who you are.
Speaker B:I would miss you.
Speaker B:After spending all that time, you should.
Speaker B:You should go see him, you know, and at the time, I was still kind of disgruntled about getting fired.
Speaker B:And, you know.
Speaker B:You know, it was.
Speaker B:It was a small dumpster fire for us because.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker B:When you get fired from that camp, nobody knows how come, you know, And a lot of people were like, well, I guess maybe they couldn't hang.
Speaker B:No, no, no, no.
Speaker B:That wasn't part of the problem at all, you know, And I guess, you know, history will prove that in my case, because I made several returns, you know, to the recording studio, you know, with him after Sonny and I both, you know, and a lot of people did not, you know.
Speaker A:So is there stuff that's.
Speaker A:Well, was taken out of the original vault that you guys recorded, but that you would look forward to seeing one day release that you were on?
Speaker B:Oh, wow, man.
Speaker B:You know, one night, Prince was just in kind of a.
Speaker B:Kind of old school mood, and he had Maceo and Greg Boyer and that trumpet player named Ray who was related to the Booyah Tribe, the dude with the braids.
Speaker A:Oh, okay.
Speaker B:They were in town.
Speaker B:They were doing something, and Prince had him out of Paisley.
Speaker B:And he called me and Sonny out, and we did a.
Speaker B:Prince played piano and they arranged horns, like, on the spot.
Speaker B:Like we were just coming up with stuff.
Speaker B:And a lot of it sounded like
Speaker A:early.
Speaker B:Some of us sound like early Little Richard records and whatnot.
Speaker B:And it was just raw and spontaneous.
Speaker B:And I think some of the baddest stuff we ever did.
Speaker B:And I would really be curious to see if he did anything with any of it.
Speaker B:I mean, we probably cut, like, you know, nine or ten things that night.
Speaker A:You know, he was always rolling tape, right?
Speaker B:Always.
Speaker B: I mean, that's how he got: Speaker A:Oh, okay,
Speaker B:man.
Speaker B:We were just grooving to get.
Speaker B:Get tones for the engineer, you know, and we just fell into this thing.
Speaker B:And we were in there, you know, just kind of laughing and, you know, carrying on.
Speaker B:And I saw Prince walk into the airlock of Studio A.
Speaker B:And he was walking and he stopped and he was looking.
Speaker B:And then he looked in the.
Speaker B:In the.
Speaker B:In the control room, and he was like, turn.
Speaker B:Turn my.
Speaker B:Turn my equipment on.
Speaker B:You know, like.
Speaker B:Like, get some tape ready.
Speaker B:And he came high, stepping out, you know, and grabbed the Strat.
Speaker B:The.
Speaker B:The.
Speaker B:The powder blue Strat that he.
Speaker B:He had named Sonny, because he said Sonny used to have a Strat.
Speaker B:So it was kind of an homage to Sonny.
Speaker B:And he grabbed the guitar.
Speaker B:What key we in?
Speaker B:What's this?
Speaker B:What's this?
Speaker B:What are we working on?
Speaker B:You know?
Speaker B:And me and Sonny just looked at each other like, okay, here's the.
Speaker B:We just gave him another one, you know.
Speaker A:You gave him the title track?
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:We didn't know.
Speaker B:I mean, we knew he was gonna make something out of it.
Speaker B:Cause he was too excited, you know.
Speaker A:When you were recording with him, was it primarily just instrumentals or was he doing vocals at the same time?
Speaker B:It depended.
Speaker B:Like, when we cut guitar for Planet Earth, he had the words together.
Speaker B:He was reading out of a notebook and kind of, you know, and giving us cues at the same time.
Speaker B:And it just kind of.
Speaker B:I mean, we had done that sort of thing with him so often.
Speaker B:That's why he liked to call us, because we had a sort of shorthand way of getting things done.
Speaker B:Like, if he needed to make real headway, you know, he would call us, and we'd just marathon it.
Speaker B:I don't know if there was a session ever that we cut.
Speaker B:Less than five different ideas, you know, so.
Speaker A:And also, I would love to see the tour footage come out.
Speaker A:I know that you can't saturate the market with it, but I'm sure there's some amazing shows.
Speaker B:Oh, man.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:I mean, there's some of that.
Speaker B:Yeah, Some of that I'm dying to see.
Speaker B:There were a lot of gigs on the Gold Experience tour that were.
Speaker B:I guess the only word really for it is just victorious.
Speaker B:I mean, you consider the headspace that he was in.
Speaker B:You know, and the fact that he never intended to release this record ever.
Speaker A:That's right.
Speaker B:It was like the only way you could hear the music was to come to the show.
Speaker B:And, you know, but luckily in Europe, you know, he had a lot of.
Speaker B:You know, the fans followed him everywhere, like the Grateful Dead, you know, so they got used to the music or, you know, maybe somebody was bootlegging, I don't know.
Speaker B:But it, you know, it all kind of caught up.
Speaker B:And so there were a couple of shows where I'm sure it was like, in the absence of his actual freedom from his contract, he put it into the performance.
Speaker B:Like, we could all feel it.
Speaker B:Like, that's.
Speaker B:He was just.
Speaker B:He was just bursting at the seams.
Speaker B:And that type of energy is infectious.
Speaker B:You know,
Speaker A:he did the Letterman show, right?
Speaker B:Yeah, that was.
Speaker B:Yeah, that.
Speaker B:Yes, we did.
Speaker B:We did do Letterman.
Speaker B:I can't remember.
Speaker B:I don't think the record was out yet.
Speaker B:It was still out.
Speaker B:It was still not.
Speaker A:You did Dolphin?
Speaker B:We did Dolphin.
Speaker B:And David Letterman.
Speaker B:You know how he likes to come up and shake everybody's hand after they perform?
Speaker B:Oh, yeah.
Speaker B:He leans over the drum set, he says, is he going to be all right?
Speaker A:He thought it was real.
Speaker B:No, he just thought like.
Speaker B:Oh, just.
Speaker A:Yeah, played it.
Speaker B:A crazy person.
Speaker B:What's.
Speaker B:Yeah, it was like.
Speaker A:Right, Right.
Speaker A:That was something.
Speaker A:Did you guys know something like that was going to happen?
Speaker B:Not really.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker B:But, you know, again, what we do is we do our jobs.
Speaker B:We don't.
Speaker A:That's right.
Speaker B:What would it look like for us to start gawking and going, what?
Speaker B:Hey, what's.
Speaker A:Yeah, especially when, you know, he had the cutout on the Pit and Damon had his head down there.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker B:Just.
Speaker A:The show must go on.
Speaker A:Right?
Speaker B:Yeah, it's.
Speaker B:Yeah, that's just.
Speaker B:You just have to keep moving, you know, it happens sometimes with Soul Asylum, like Dave Perner.
Speaker B:Just because he had a hit with Runaway Train don't mean his punk roots are gone.
Speaker B:You know, let the show start to, you know, start to.
Speaker B:To go south.
Speaker B:That his inner Ramone will come alive like nobody's business.
Speaker B:I mean, I've seen him just, you know, just go straight, you know, just guitar into amplifier.
Speaker B:Just, you know, just.
Speaker B:It happens.
Speaker B:Sometimes it happens.
Speaker B:And he's not proud about it, but it's like.
Speaker B:Well, that's just part of the gig.
Speaker B:It's just part of the aesthetic, you know, so the next.
Speaker A:The next record is going to be like 20 minutes long with 10 songs on, like the Ramones, two minute songs.
Speaker B:No, I just mean I just.
Speaker B:Like, he has.
Speaker A:I know, I know.
Speaker B:I just.
Speaker B:Yeah, it just.
Speaker B:It's.
Speaker B:That rage is still in him, which is why he's, you know, still doing what he's doing.
Speaker B:If you quiet the rage, what is your raison d'?
Speaker B:Etre?
Speaker B:What is your reason to be, Joe Kelly?
Speaker B:You have to have the rage.
Speaker B:And, you know, in all honesty, the last.
Speaker B:I feel funny about talking about this, but I'm gonna say it because the last session I did with Prince, as I was leaving, he walked up to give me a copy of Hit and Run, Volume two.
Speaker B:He's like, you're on this, by the way.
Speaker B:Like, I.
Speaker B:You know, I recycled one of your.
Speaker B:One of your drum tracks on here, and I guess it was for groovy potential.
Speaker A:Okay.
Speaker B:And.
Speaker B:But I was looking at his face and something didn't look right.
Speaker B:Like, I don't want to say I saw something coming, but it just.
Speaker B:I was looking in the face of a person who was changing, and I really couldn't figure that out at the time, but it was a different look than he used to have when he was just working himself to death.
Speaker B:It was just something.
Speaker B:And he was a little indecisive about what he wanted during the session, and that almost never really happened.
Speaker B:I really feel like a friend told me somewhat in confidence that apparently he had had a conversation with his sister, with Taika, at some point.
Speaker B:This is what I heard where he was basically saying, like, I really think my work here is done.
Speaker B:Like, I don't think there's anything left for me to do here, you know?
Speaker B:Like, I mean, he was a super aware person to.
Speaker B:I mean, I wouldn't put it past him to understand his own mortality.
Speaker B:You know, he was really in tune with something, you know, and I could just.
Speaker A:I could just imagine the night that he, you know, passed away, a day away from going to rehab.
Speaker A:The torment going through his head.
Speaker A:I mean, it just.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:I mean, I really think that it's.
Speaker B:It's the way he died is just about the saddest thing I ever heard.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker B:This is a person who lived his whole life, you know, more or less on his own terms, and that means you live a lot of it alone, you know?
Speaker B:Like, this is a person who.
Speaker B:I'm quite certain that it was like his biggest fear realized, you know?
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker B:Like this.
Speaker B:I think.
Speaker A:I think the fans and every.
Speaker A:Everybody would have been welcoming to him even if he had this problem.
Speaker B:Yeah, I mean, I. Yeah, I don't.
Speaker B:I don't really know the details of the problem and.
Speaker B:Or the issues.
Speaker B:I know that, you know, he was.
Speaker B:He had a pretty good limp going, so I knew that he was.
Speaker B:He was.
Speaker B:He was suffering.
Speaker A:Right, Right.
Speaker B:But, yeah, I don't really.
Speaker B:That part of it, what happened or how it happened.
Speaker B:I'm not only.
Speaker A:He knows.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:I'm not clear on that, but what I am clear on is that who wants to die alone?
Speaker A:Right?
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker B:I mean, you know, it's.
Speaker B:It's just heartbreaking, man.
Speaker B:You know, and I don't mean to go all the way back there, but he's just been on my mind quite a bit lately.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:I mean, hey, you were an integral part of his life working.
Speaker A:Yeah, I'm sure.
Speaker A:As friends, too, so.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:I mean, as friends as we could be.
Speaker B:I mean, without, you know.
Speaker B:You know, it's like.
Speaker B:I mean.
Speaker B:But, you know, for me, you know, in many ways, I had a reverential fear of him like I did my own father.
Speaker A:Okay.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:You know, it was like.
Speaker B:It was hard to.
Speaker B:Even though we were peers, it was hard for me to characterize it that way in my brain because he gave so much.
Speaker B:He poured a lot of information and care into my upbringing musically.
Speaker B:You know, he taught me a lot.
Speaker B:And so it's that sort of thing where it's like when somebody sews into your life that way when they take the time when they.
Speaker B:You know, because I was 19, he doesn't.
Speaker B:He couldn't possibly know what kind of trouble I could have caused later on.
Speaker B:And luckily, you know, I was a good boy.
Speaker B:I didn't have any particulars.
Speaker B:I didn't, you know, there was nothing I was really chasing except a rack of ribs from time to time.
Speaker B:But, you know, so, you know, he met me.
Speaker B:At the time that he met me, he was meeting somebody who was pure of heart and motivated and ambitious.
Speaker B:I wanted to be the best I could be.
Speaker B:And whatever he saw confirmed that, you know, and he decided I was worth it.
Speaker B:And he didn't have to.
Speaker B:There could have been easily, you know, a dozen.
Speaker B:Two dozen drummers in Minneapolis who, you know, were shedding harder than I was, you know.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:I mean, if you weren't that kind of person and musician, you've gone in a heartbeat.
Speaker B:Right, Exactly.
Speaker B:And that's what that was also the thing I was saying.
Speaker B:It's like it wasn't just my ability to play good time.
Speaker B:You got to understand what's happening.
Speaker B:You got to be able to, you know, memorize things.
Speaker B:You got to be.
Speaker B:To change everything at the, you know, turn at the drop of a dime.
Speaker B:Because that's the kind of person he was.
Speaker B:He just followed his muse.
Speaker B:He just did whatever felt good.
Speaker B:You know, he was put on this planet to enjoy.
Speaker B:You know, I think he was just like that.
Speaker B:Like.
Speaker B:I mean, you know, we know from his catalog that, you know, he explored all the nooks and crannies, the bright places, the dark places.
Speaker B:And a lot of those dark places.
Speaker B:I don't have the.
Speaker B:What's the word I'm looking for?
Speaker B:I just didn't have it.
Speaker B:I don't have the courage to go into those places, you know, and not
Speaker A:too many people do.
Speaker B:No.
Speaker B:And he was.
Speaker B:But he wanted.
Speaker B:He was fascinated.
Speaker B:He wanted to see an experience at all, you know, intestinal fortitude was what
Speaker A:I was going to say.
Speaker B:I didn't have the intestinal fortitude to explore those dark places, so we couldn't have been, you know, super tight anyway, you know what I mean?
Speaker B:Because he had a penchant for exploration that I didn't share.
Speaker B:All I knew was to trust God and that if things ever got too heavy, I could leave if it ever got to be so unpleasant.
Speaker B:Because it wasn't easy, Joe.
Speaker B:You know, it's a.
Speaker B:He's.
Speaker B:Every real artist is temperamental and demanding and, you know, they can, you know, maybe not super friendly all the time.
Speaker A:So you have the scar marks on your tongue for not saying anything back sometimes.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker B:Well, you know, it's just.
Speaker B:It's funny because, you know, when it's somebody older than you and you feel the pressure of having your.
Speaker B:Your job sort of, you know, dangling in front of your eyes 24 hours a day, you know, it's like you could.
Speaker B:We didn't.
Speaker B:You know, I couldn't call in sick.
Speaker B:I had to show up, Joe.
Speaker B:I don't know what would have happened if I had gotten too sick to.
Speaker B:You know, it's like, you know, I don't know, what other job.
Speaker B:Where is there.
Speaker B:Where you can't.
Speaker B:You can't call it.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:That's a lot of pressure on Secret Service.
Speaker B:You know, I mean, it's so.
Speaker B:It's.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:It's like people don't really understand how that.
Speaker B:That working with him, you had to.
Speaker B:You had to have a life to give him because it was going to take your life.
Speaker B:You know, like, you go, you're gonna be there if you want.
Speaker B:You say you want to play music all day, get ready,
Speaker A:because you found your spot.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:So it's.
Speaker B:You know, it takes a certain temperament not to.
Speaker A:I remember Yeah.
Speaker A:I remember talking to John Blackwell, having him on the first time, and we talked before the interview, like the day before, and he's like, I don't know if we can play any Prince music and put it in the interview, because I don't want to lose this job, you know, he was, like, so reverential, like, I'm here.
Speaker A:Let's keep this job straight, you know?
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:And it's.
Speaker B:It's.
Speaker B:It's weird because, you know, I.
Speaker B:The first time I met John, I was doing a gig in Indianapolis with Chaka Khan, and it was a triple bill.
Speaker B:It was Ann Nesby, so I knew all her cats because they were all from Minneapolis, Ann Nesby and then Cameo, and John was playing with Cameo and then Shaka.
Speaker B:And so I watched John's whole set, you know, and, man, Larry was.
Speaker B:Larry Blackman was just all over him.
Speaker B:I mean, he was just.
Speaker B:I mean, it looked like he was just cussing him out the whole gig.
Speaker B:I think, you know, that's.
Speaker B:I would have thought that once he got to work with Prince, that it would have been a piece of cake, because Prince wasn't really like that.
Speaker B:Prince was more like, can you or can't you?
Speaker B:You know?
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker B:And so I.
Speaker B:You know, I. I don't understand how John could still be so touchy about it, but who knows what he went through?
Speaker B:Who knows his temperament, you know, I mean, and God knows he had enough darkness in his life.
Speaker A:I mean, my goodness, how much you're
Speaker B:supposed to take as a human, you know?
Speaker A:So I talked to it.
Speaker A:I talked to John.
Speaker A:He called me New Year's Day after he had his second setback, and he had a bad operation.
Speaker A:So he called me on New Year's Day and he said wanted some advice for his wife.
Speaker A:She wanted to do voiceovers in the studio, and we were talking a little bit, but I said, how you doing, John?
Speaker A:He says, I'm just learning to try to walk.
Speaker A:So.
Speaker B:Wow.
Speaker A:I guess it went downhill a few months later.
Speaker A:And he passed away in the summer, I think in July that year.
Speaker B:Sure.
Speaker B:Wow.
Speaker B:I don't know.
Speaker B:Sometimes you ask, it's like, why.
Speaker B:Why do these things happen?
Speaker A:Yeah, right.
Speaker B:You know, it's.
Speaker B:That's one of the answers I'm.
Speaker B:I'm hoping that God will give me one day, you know, when I have to, you know, cross over.
Speaker B:It's like, why.
Speaker B:Why do you take.
Speaker B:Why must good people suffer?
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker B:You know, but, you know, I'm.
Speaker B:You know, but, you know, we're looking at this from our, you know, Our pea brain perspective.
Speaker B:We're just.
Speaker B:We're just humans.
Speaker B:We can't even.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker B:You know, we can't.
Speaker B:We can't even manage to, you know, to take care of ourselves, you know, we can't manage to do right by ourselves.
Speaker B:It's like I have no right to ask God anything.
Speaker B:We haven't been good stewards, you know.
Speaker A:That's true.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:We still, you know, mess each other over and, you know, and allow others to abuse others.
Speaker A:So, you know, a lot more to discover and work on.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker B:Absolutely.
Speaker B:Joe.
Speaker B:I don't mean.
Speaker B:I don't know.
Speaker B:How long you got to talk?
Speaker A:No, no, no.
Speaker A:I was gonna say goodbye and.
Speaker A:Because we got a lot of more music that you've performed on and recorded over the year to slip in here, but.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:So one last thing.
Speaker A:Your wife and your kid, your daughter, right?
Speaker B:I have two stepdaughters.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:Two stepdaughters.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:How is it everybody staying cool, not on each other's nerves with dad staying home that long?
Speaker B:Well, you know, I don't really.
Speaker B:Because they're both a little more active, you know, like, they got.
Speaker B:They go to work, they do this, they do that.
Speaker B:It's like I don't really even go upstairs, Joe.
Speaker B:Like, I kind of stay where I'm at.
Speaker B:I'm very.
Speaker B:From the years of being a musician.
Speaker B:It's like, you don't want to get sick, you know.
Speaker A:Oh, I got you.
Speaker B:And I don't want to get sick.
Speaker B:And none of us have been vaccinated yet, you know, I mean, aside from the myriad of issues that come with just being in a house that is overwrought with.
Speaker B:What's the word I'm looking for?
Speaker B:Not testosterone.
Speaker B:The opposite.
Speaker A:Oh,
Speaker B:you got me, too.
Speaker A:I know what you're saying.
Speaker B:Yeah, yeah.
Speaker B:So
Speaker A:women jeans.
Speaker A:Lady jeans.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:What is it called?
Speaker B:Why can't we remember what.
Speaker A:This will be the best part of the.
Speaker A:This will be the best part of the interview.
Speaker A:I speak.
Speaker B:Figuring out.
Speaker B:I'm brain dead.
Speaker B:Yeah, I'll remember as soon as we hang up.
Speaker B:It'll click.
Speaker A:I'll text you.
Speaker A:Wow.
Speaker B:But, yeah, so in general, you know, nothing.
Speaker B:I don't expect anything in this house to go my way, and it's just better if I just kind of keep to myself most often, you know, there's too many.
Speaker B:Too many.
Speaker B:You know, there's a lot of potential beef, Joe, you know?
Speaker A:Yeah, yeah.
Speaker B:It's like, you know, you know, over the years, it's just like, I ain't their real dad, you Know, the list could go on and on about the different, you know, conflicts or sense of conflict that I felt in this house, but I love everybody, you know.
Speaker B:Oh, yeah, it's, you know, it's just, you know, being a family, we've all been through that.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:I'm living with two ladies and my dog.
Speaker A:My dog's a female too, so.
Speaker B:Oh, you.
Speaker B:Yeah, we got a.
Speaker B:We have a cat that's a female, but they named her Arnie or Arnold.
Speaker B:Oh, it's since become Ms.
Speaker B:Pants.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:You know, so, yeah, that's.
Speaker B:Oh, it's the most talkative cat I've ever experienced in my life.
Speaker B:And like, she just.
Speaker B:Just talking all the time.
Speaker B:I don't know what she's saying, but she means it.
Speaker B:So.
Speaker B:Yeah, God bless the life of a
Speaker A:musician on his break, but, you know.
Speaker A:Yeah, you know, up and coming back out with Soul Asylum, man.
Speaker B:Yeah, man.
Speaker B:I mean, it's, you know, I'm sure, I'm sure they can't wait until I'm on the road and out, you know, if people are not used to you being around, you know, when you come around and you stay longer than you used to, you know, that, that can cause tension, you know, But.
Speaker A:Oh, well, one last thing before we close out the interview, I want to tell you, I was looking through, like, your discography of all the things you played on and you know, Music on the run podcast with St. Paul Peterson.
Speaker A:You guys were talking about the George Benson sessions.
Speaker A:The song you played on True Love was co written by a good friend of mine, Adam Falcon.
Speaker B:Okay, whichever.
Speaker A:Gale, I didn't even know.
Speaker A:I didn't know that story.
Speaker A:I guess he's really good friends with George Benson, so that's probably how this phone got on there.
Speaker B:That's great.
Speaker B:Needless to say, we were, you know, we were floored every day.
Speaker B:I mean, he.
Speaker B:George was just a class act all the way, man.
Speaker B:He treated us like pure gold.
Speaker B:And yeah, I think I told the story on the podcast about Prince walked in the Studio B into the control room to get his.
Speaker B:He had a George Benson model, a 335 Gibson, and he wanted to get it autographed by George.
Speaker B:So Prince stepped into the control room for a minute and while George was signing it, he looked out, you know, into the performance area and saw me behind the drums and ice grilled me.
Speaker B:Like he was upset.
Speaker B:Like, oh, you get to play with George.
Speaker B:I think that was more of that than like a sort of like a thing where it was like, you know, I mean, the session Was at Paisley park.
Speaker B:So, I mean, it's like he was making his money.
Speaker B:He didn't have anything to complain about.
Speaker B:I think as a player, he was, like, kind of jealous that I was in on something that he.
Speaker B:He couldn't, you know, and that was.
Speaker B:That was one of the.
Speaker B:The things about having to be prince that I'm sure was.
Speaker B:That was probably harder on him than anybody could imagine.
Speaker B:He couldn't enter any situation as, you know, as just another musician.
Speaker B:Like, you know what I mean?
Speaker B:Like, he couldn't.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker B:Called him to play on anything.
Speaker B:Nobody, you know, asked him to, you know, and he was.
Speaker B:He was.
Speaker B:In every way, he was a real musician.
Speaker B:Like, he liked to jam, he liked to share ideas.
Speaker B:He liked to be a part of things.
Speaker B:And his fame kind of put, you know, a wall between him and that, you know, which is why he liked coming down to bunkers and sitting in with us, because he could just sit in the corner, you know, where almost nobody could see him, you know, and just play rhythm.
Speaker B:He never wanted to solo.
Speaker B:He never wanted nothing.
Speaker B:He didn't grab the microphone.
Speaker B:He just wanted to talk a little bit, you know, get, get, you know, have a funky good time, you know, and yuck it up with me and sonny a little bit, you know.
Speaker B:So I think that was freeing for him to have that available to him, because in most other situations, I'm sure people are too intimidated or they imagine not in a million years would he, you know, want to, you know, just hang out and jam.
Speaker B:So, you know, I'm glad we at least provided a place for him to do that.
Speaker B:Sorry, Joe, What'd you want to say?
Speaker A:No, no, I. I was.
Speaker A:I was saying the one time I met you, I don't know if I took.
Speaker A:It was at the record signing.
Speaker A:New York city, Greenwich village.
Speaker A:Okay, you guys were at tower records.
Speaker A:You guys did that thing in New York city.
Speaker B:Oh, boy.
Speaker A:Yeah, with maite and, you know, nona gay and everything.
Speaker B:Oh, so that was later on, like in 94.
Speaker B:Yeah, yeah.
Speaker A:You guys did the today show and then you hit.
Speaker B:Oh, that's right.
Speaker B:I remember that day.
Speaker B:We didn't perform at tower, did we?
Speaker A:No, no, I was just.
Speaker A:Okay, sign in.
Speaker A:And, you know, and.
Speaker A:And I had the mpg, the first.
Speaker B:The.
Speaker A:The debut issue.
Speaker A:I had it signed on everybody's autograph on air, so.
Speaker B:Oh, all right.
Speaker A:That's a treasure day.
Speaker B:Right on, man.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:You guys didn't do too many of those.
Speaker B:No, we didn't.
Speaker B:He didn't really enjoy it.
Speaker B:And so, you know, and nobody would be.
Speaker B:You know, very few people would be interested if he didn't show up.
Speaker A:So as I was walking in, somebody goes, hey, can you give this cassette tape to him?
Speaker A:I was like, no.
Speaker B:Oh, yeah.
Speaker B:What, are you kidding?
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker B:I mean, he would have just.
Speaker B:He would have handed it.
Speaker B:He may have not picked it up, or he probably would have handed it to a security to get rid of it or, you know what.
Speaker B:But he might have listened too.
Speaker B:You know, it's hard to say, man.
Speaker B:We were in the UK for about a month when we were doing the Gold Experience tour.
Speaker B:We were staying at a hotel in London that was kind of our hub, and Stevie Wonder was staying there with his band at the time.
Speaker B:He was doing a promotional tour.
Speaker B:For what record would it have been?
Speaker B:Maybe Conversation Peace or.
Speaker B:Or the one after.
Speaker B:I can't remember.
Speaker B:But so, you know, I got to meet Nate Watts, you know, who played bass with Stevie longer than anybody.
Speaker B:And, you know, we had lunch together and compared notes, like, okay, what?
Speaker B:You know, I know Stevie has no conception of night or day.
Speaker B:You know, does that mean that you guys have to record, like, you know, you have to be available around the.
Speaker B:Yeah, around the clock.
Speaker B:Not much different than you are Brazil.
Speaker B:I said, you're exactly right.
Speaker B:You know, whenever Prince feels, you know, whenever the mood hits him, we gotta stop whatever we're doing and go.
Speaker B:So, you know, we.
Speaker B:You know, that was a good time with Nate.
Speaker B:I got to hear his stories, he got to hear mine.
Speaker B:But what I was gonna say was that Terrence Trent Darby was staying at the same hotel.
Speaker B:Oh.
Speaker B:And he was staying just a couple of.
Speaker B:Just a couple of doors down from me, and I was leaving my room one time, and he was standing out in the hallway with the hotel robe on and, like, the.
Speaker B:The.
Speaker B:The.
Speaker B:The.
Speaker B:The hair cap, the shower cap, right?
Speaker B:And.
Speaker B:And the.
Speaker B:And the.
Speaker B:The hotel slippers on, and he was waiting for the masseuse to come up.
Speaker B:And I don't know if he wanted to, like, first, you know, he didn't want her just barging in.
Speaker B:You know, I don't.
Speaker B:I didn't really know him that well.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker B:I never got to.
Speaker B:But he.
Speaker B:He.
Speaker B:He standing out there, and I'm like, oh, hey, Terrence, how's it going, man?
Speaker B:And he recognized me from working with Prince, and I recognize him because he's Terrence Trent Darby.
Speaker B:And I said, what are you doing in town?
Speaker B:Oh, I got this new record coming out.
Speaker B:I'm doing a couple of shows.
Speaker B:I think he was doing Top of the Pops.
Speaker B:Tops of the Pops or whatever it is.
Speaker B:Top of the Pops, I think it is, yeah.
Speaker B:And I was like, oh, really?
Speaker B:Oh, you got a record coming out?
Speaker B:He's like, yeah.
Speaker B:He.
Speaker B:Hold on, man.
Speaker B:And he went in his room and he came back out with a cassette.
Speaker B:Here's a, you know, here's a copy of it, you know.
Speaker B:You know, I hope you like it.
Speaker B:Well, I like all your records, man, so I imagine I will, you know.
Speaker B:And so I listened to it for a couple days, and I. I told Prince that he, you know, that Terrence gave me copy this new record.
Speaker B:He said, can I hear that?
Speaker B:Sure, I'll bring the cassette.
Speaker B:And I brought it, and I gave it to him, and he brought it back the next day.
Speaker B:He's like, I don't hear no hits.
Speaker B:He's like.
Speaker B:He can still.
Speaker B:He can still blow, though.
Speaker B:He can still sing, right?
Speaker A:Right?
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker B:Like.
Speaker B:Yeah, all right.
Speaker B:You know.
Speaker B:So that's what Prince thought of Vibrator.
Speaker B:He didn't hear any hits.
Speaker A:Yeah, well, you know, it's funny, I just jogged my memory that two or three times Prince requested copies.
Speaker A:This is before, you know, MP3s and you can load stuff up my radio show.
Speaker A:So I sent him up, you know, up to Paisley park, like, three cassette tapes of the show and whatever it was, like print specials.
Speaker A:And I got an email back from Paisley park, and it just says I was listening to the show.
Speaker A:And the pitch on.
Speaker A:I think it was one of the Camille songs, like Erotic City.
Speaker A:The voice was just a little off, right.
Speaker A:And I'm listening on the playback.
Speaker A:I'm like, off.
Speaker A:It doesn't sound anything right.
Speaker A:But he wrote the music, so.
Speaker A:Wow.
Speaker A:So, yeah, he.
Speaker A:You know.
Speaker B:What was your source?
Speaker A:What's that?
Speaker B:What did you use to source the song?
Speaker B:Was it.
Speaker A:No, no, it was the actual.
Speaker A:It was the actual record.
Speaker A:But I think the recording maybe in the cassette recorder in the studio at the radio station.
Speaker B:Oh, maybe it was recording.
Speaker A:Recording at a little off speed.
Speaker A:And he wrote back, the pitch was a little off, you know?
Speaker B:Yeah, okay.
Speaker A:I was like, okay.
Speaker A:And I asked the guy who was a guest on the show, did you think it was up?
Speaker A:He goes, no, but he wouldn't know who was his music.
Speaker B:I was.
Speaker B:I'll just say this because a friend of mine was texting me the other day.
Speaker B:His name is Icky James.
Speaker B:Icky James was texting me, talking about, you know.
Speaker B:He's like, why don't they just let Prince's music alone?
Speaker B:Like, every time I look up, some Huron is covering a Prince Song.
Speaker B:Prince didn't like for his music to be covered in the first place.
Speaker B:He didn't care for that.
Speaker B:And not only that.
Speaker B:And I texted him back saying, not only that, he went through painstaking processes to make his music hard to cover.
Speaker B:Like, he would stack the keyboards in a certain kind of way.
Speaker B:He would, you know, he would, you know, detune things.
Speaker B:He would, you know, do things with tape that nobody was trying to, you know, he would.
Speaker B:It's, you know, he would.
Speaker B:He would hide things, you know.
Speaker B:On Alphabet street, we didn't know until we opened the multi to get set to harvest samples one day.
Speaker B:There's three bass tracks on it.
Speaker A:Oh, wow.
Speaker B:There's three bass is going the whole time.
Speaker B:And he's got it mixed in a way where it sounds continuous.
Speaker B:Like it's just one bass track.
Speaker B:And it's like, it's very active and there's a lot to play.
Speaker B:It's like, who.
Speaker B:Anybody who's gonna.
Speaker B:Certain intersections of that recording.
Speaker B:It's like there's two different things happening on bass and it's like, well, who's gonna be able to do that?
Speaker A:Yeah, right.
Speaker B:You know, that's pretty slick to do that.
Speaker B:Yeah, yeah.
Speaker B:He stacked the.
Speaker B:He did that his whole career.
Speaker B:He'd stack the ob.
Speaker B:The Oberheim patches in a way that nobody could program.
Speaker B:I mean, it's, you know,
Speaker A:that's great.
Speaker B:So he would.
Speaker B:Yeah, he would always cloak his music.
Speaker B:He didn't want anybody touching his stuff, you know, but so it's funny because recently there's been a lot of, like, I think it was just on Facebook, a lot of people.
Speaker B:Some people we like just, you know, covering Prince and it's just like, ah, let him live or let him.
Speaker B:Let him be at peace.
Speaker B:Let him alone, you know?
Speaker A:Well, yeah, I mean, we're gonna be long gone and you guys are gonna be discussed with.
Speaker A:With other generations.
Speaker A:So.
Speaker B:Yeah, I mean, music is.
Speaker B:Yeah, it's definitely going to live on thanks to people like.
Speaker B:Actually, I recently had a zoom call with Mike Howe, who was.
Speaker A:Oh, okay.
Speaker A:Yeah, yeah.
Speaker A:In charge of the stuff, right?
Speaker B:Yeah, the man in charge.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:And he was.
Speaker A:Let's push on this.
Speaker A:You.
Speaker A:You have your own.
Speaker A:You have your own thing on YouTube, right?
Speaker B:My own thing.
Speaker A:No, you do a podcast on YouTube sometimes.
Speaker B:I was for a while.
Speaker B:But, you know, I had to get back to what I know.
Speaker B:I mean, we're living in trying and troubled times.
Speaker B:Joe Kelly.
Speaker B:And, you know, I did what I could to try to, you know, inform people, educate people a little bit.
Speaker B:But we can sit back and talk about legislation and changing laws and making things more equal for everybody.
Speaker B:But the reality is that you can't legislate love or concern.
Speaker B:You can't change a person's heart with legislation.
Speaker B:The history of this country has proven that.
Speaker B: aves still around in the year: Speaker B:My grandfather was a slave.
Speaker B:So, you know, you can.
Speaker B:You can.
Speaker B:You can affect the system, you know, And I guess that's what the.
Speaker B:The whole.
Speaker B:This course gave me was that people have to make up their minds for themselves.
Speaker B:And not only that, most of these issues are white people issues.
Speaker B:It ain't us.
Speaker B:We didn't start it.
Speaker B:We don't perpetuate it.
Speaker B:So it's gonna take white people waking up white people before the real strides are gonna happen.
Speaker B:And that's just how I feel about it.
Speaker B:And I didn't mean to turn this into little.
Speaker A:No, no, hey, I apologize.
Speaker A:I cut you right off about your talk with Mike Howe, so.
Speaker B:That's okay.
Speaker A:We can wrap up on that, so.
Speaker A:Sure.
Speaker B:Okay.
Speaker B:Well, yeah, Mike Howe and I had a delightful conversation with the dude.
Speaker A:And he.
Speaker B:We talked for a minute about how, you know, it's like.
Speaker B:It's a.
Speaker B:There's so many hidden treasures and how it just.
Speaker B:It keeps him up.
Speaker B:He's saying it keeps him up at night.
Speaker B:It's like just, you know, the things to do and the things.
Speaker B:You know, how much unreleased material there really is.
Speaker B:It's just.
Speaker B:It's inundated his life.
Speaker B:It's all he can focus on.
Speaker B:And I'm like, I understand, because I know quite a bit about what's in there, you know, and there are alternate versions of songs that have already been released.
Speaker B:You know, there's covers.
Speaker B:There's all sorts of stuff in that vault, you know, and it's.
Speaker B:It was really interesting to talk to him about Fritz's process and so on and so forth.
Speaker B:I don't know if he's.
Speaker B:If he's going to ask me to be involved in the Diamonds and Pearls, you know, redux or not.
Speaker B:There was some talk about it from a mutual friend at some point, but, you know, I mean, I can take it or leave it, but I let him know that I was at his disposal.
Speaker A:Oh, yeah, you definitely, definitely should be there.
Speaker B:You know, whatever advice or commentary or, you know, if he wants to know my opinion, I'm happy to give it, you know, especially, you know, if it means that, you know, Prince's, you know, his canon is more perfected because of what I may have to say.
Speaker B:You know, it's important that his music gets out and in the right way.
Speaker A:So Michael has the biggest thing.
Speaker A:What, gets released?
Speaker A:Or is it a joint committee?
Speaker B:We didn't get that far.
Speaker B:We really just talked about the psychosis that it's brought on.
Speaker B:Right, right.
Speaker B:And, you know, and, you know, so, you know, and so I'm like, I feel for you, man.
Speaker B:I mean, you need to talk about any of this, you know, you need me for something, just.
Speaker B:Just call.
Speaker B:So, you know, I mean, that's a daunting task.
Speaker B:I wouldn't want to be in his position, you know?
Speaker A:Yeah, yeah.
Speaker A:I mean, you just punch into the Internet, you're going to hear.
Speaker A:Yes.
Speaker A:No, you're going to hear it.
Speaker A:You know, everybody's got a view on things.
Speaker B:Yeah, yeah.
Speaker B:That's the other thing, is to sustain the scrutiny.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:To deal with it.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker B:So.
Speaker A:Hey, Michael, I gotta thank you so much.
Speaker A:Michael Bland, drummer for Soul Asylum, Prince of New Power, Generation Shaka Chaka Khan, of course.
Speaker A:And Madonna missed out and Guns N Roses missed out.
Speaker A:But, you know, you were.
Speaker A:No, go ahead.
Speaker B:No, that's all right, man.
Speaker B:No, it was cool.
Speaker A:I'm just kidding around.
Speaker B:I know.
Speaker B:You know, listen, that Madonna situation, she was right.
Speaker B:I didn't want to go out on tour playing a bunch of pads and, you know, in such a.
Speaker B:It wasn't.
Speaker B:It was not going to enrich me in any other way except monetarily.
Speaker B:And you know what?
Speaker B:They ended up giving me a severance package, and I was fine with it.
Speaker B:So she took care of business.
Speaker B:I got love from Madonna.
Speaker B:She.
Speaker B:She did right by me.
Speaker B:I'm cool.
Speaker A:We're cool, right?
Speaker A:So thanks, brother, for.
Speaker A:For always nice having you on the show.
Speaker B:Yeah, man, it's been too long.
Speaker B:Let's do it again.
Speaker A:I know we got to do this on the regular, you know, Give me.
Speaker B:I'm ready for the harder questions.
Speaker B:We can delve deeper.
Speaker B:Joe, really, I wouldn't do that with everybody, but I'll do it with you.
Speaker A:I'm gonna.
Speaker A:I'm gonna do my homework and I'll come back with the grilling session for you.
Speaker B:All right, bro?
Speaker A:All right, brother.
Speaker A:Hey, thanks so much, man.
Speaker B:All right, brother, we'll talk to you soon.
Speaker A:Thanks, Michael.
Speaker B:Okay.
Speaker B:Thank you.