Andre Cymone—legendary bassist, songwriter, and producer—joins Musicians Reveal with Joe Kelley to reflect on his journey from Prince’s earliest collaborator in the Minneapolis Sound to a groundbreaking solo career.

Cymone shares stories from the early days with Prince, the creative energy that shaped a new musical movement, and his decision to step out on his own with hits like Livin’ in the New Wave and Survivin’ in the 80s. He also discusses his work with artists like Jody Watley and Adam Ant, along with insights into his latest project, Resurrection of Funk.

This conversation offers a rare look into the foundation of Prince’s rise, the evolution of funk and new wave, and the mindset of an artist who helped shape it all.

⏱️ CHAPTERS (KEEP THESE — GREAT FOR AUDIO)

00:00 Intro

01:10 Bernadette Anderson

03:34 Pepe Willie

05:40 Early Music Influences

06:35 Early Success

07:54 Who Played Which Instrument

09:00 Morris Day

10:30 Linda Anderson

11:17 Raising Family

11:45 Resurrection of Funk

14:33 Solo Career

15:45 Prince’s Vault

16:30 Close Relationship with Prince

21:00 Early Prince Tours

25:00 Style and Image

29:00 Leaving Prince’s Band

31:00 “Do Me Baby”

33:00 Minneapolis Sound

36:34 Jill Jones

40:00 First Interview with Andre

42:11 Adam Ant

46:00 New Wave Era

52:30 Jody Watley

55:15 New Music

59:30 Andre and Prince

01:01:00 Unreleased Tours

01:02:30 Mighty Soulmates

01:04:00 New Projects

Welcome to another edition of Musicians with Joe Kelly.

I'm extremely excited this afternoon.

SL evening.

My next guest is a pillar of the Minneapolis music sound.

He is a award winning musician, producer, songwriter.

He grew up with Prince, was Prince's best friend, played with Morris Day and all the young cats making a name for themselves in the Twin Cities.

He's produced Grammy award winning artists such as Jody Watley, Adamant, Tina Turner, Jermaine Stewart, the Girls.

That's a, that's a great album.

He's released several solo albums of his own and he has a new album just around the corner.

He's blessed us with two funk songs already this summer and a belated happy birthday to our next guest, Andre Simone.

How you doing, Andre?

I'm good, Joe.

How you doing?

Yeah, you've been getting those frequent flyer miles, right, this summer?

No, it.

Yeah, I've been traveling around and you know, just trying to stay busy and keeping my fingers on the pulse, you know what I mean?

That's right.

Yeah, we, we.

I was catching up on some of the pictures.

You.

You went back home, Minneapolis.

And what was going on there?

Something real special to your heart, right?

Yeah, a couple of things.

One thing is they're naming the street the street that, that I grew up on.

Um, but kind of we kind of got our music jumped off at the name after my mother.

It's going to be called Burn it that Way.

So I burned it Anderson Way.

So.

Yeah, so I'm looking forward to that.

And I was also there because Spike, Spike Moss, who ran a community center that gave us our first opportunity to play in front of a crowd.

Yeah, they honored him with a street named after his.

The area right where the community center was.

Unfortunately it's a police station now, but it used to be a community center, so.

Right.

But your, your, your mom, for those that don't know, was a real crucial part of your upbringing.

But others, Prince.

And, and just the community she was well known in.

And tell us a little bit about your mom and the significance of what you brought to the community and your life.

You know, my mom was, you know, basically, to give you a quick, brief overview, she was sc.

Separated from her family at a really young age.

Got pregnant at 14, had my oldest brother at 15, got married, raised six amazing children with my father, Fred Anderson, and you know, went back to school, worked hard, got her education and actually basically became the director of the ywca.

Had one of.

The YWCA is named after her.

She really helped a lot of teens in the community in the Area.

Basically, our family won family of the Year, which is an amazing picture that includes myself, my siblings, and Prince, who at the time my mother actually adopted.

And so he lived with us for several years during that period of time.

And, you know, basically we were able to, you know, she allowed us to do our music and allowing us to do our music allowed a lot of other musicians in the neighborhood and the community a place to come and hang out and, and just, you know, feel comfortable, you know, playing music.

So your house was the, the home where the neighborhood kids would gravitate towards and their parents had to say, call them for dinner, right?

Absolutely.

Something like that.

No, abs, exactly like that.

It was, yeah, it was the hub.

Yeah.

Right.

Now we've had multiple friends of yours from Minneapolis.

And I was thinking back prior to you coming on the air, Pepe Willie, A while back, I, I put up an interview.

He made mention about you and Prince.

When you worked, there was something so advanced, you and Prince working with him in the studio.

He was just amazed.

Remember the, remember those days?

You worked on a few things, right?

Yeah, we worked on a lot.

I mean, you know, Pepe was introduced to us.

We.

We did a gig at Ski Chalet.

Oh, okay.

I think he was having some sort of wedding or reception party, something.

I don't know.

But we, you know, we were introduced to him by Morris's mother, who was managing us at the time.

And basically, you know, we met him and he, you know, she said he was a record producer from New York.

And, you know, and so he kind of, you know, showed us a few things here and there about making music and making actually production.

He showed us how to put in tom fills and places and things like that.

It was, it was actually really kind of cool though, I have to say, because, you know, we were just, you know, because we were so young, we were just, you know, really excited to learn new stuff.

And how, how patient were you guys at that age to.

To correct things and work like that, or you guys just press play and recorded and that was it.

We were not patient at all.

We had no real interest in indulging in that at first until he actually showed that he, you know, he really had some, some real skills to offer because we, you know, at that point we pretty much.

We used to play four hour sets.

So we, you know, we played all the music that was out at the time.

So we knew music production because we played it literally on a regular basis.

So.

So it was a little bit interesting.

But, you know, but he, he definitely came with some things that we just did not, you know, anticipate and really didn't think of.

And it definitely brought, you know, brought some colors to what we were trying to do at the time.

So.

So when you're growing up there, I.

We know a little bit about Prince learning music and everything.

Were you guys sitting in the.

In the living room putting the records on and trying to pick up the grooves and learning your instruments like that?

Well, we were a band.

I mean, you know, so, yeah, we learned everything.

We played everything from, you know, obviously Santana to Ohio Players to Slide Family Stone to, you know, and then, you know, he and I got into some other stuff because my family had a ridiculously extensive record collection because I'm the youngest of six.

Right.

So all of them were in the different variations of music at the time.

So that gave us an opportunity to explore all sorts of different stuff.

Everything from Laura Nairo to, I mean, you name it.

I mean, just, you know, just, you know, the Beatles, whatever.

Yeah.

What a great upbringing.

And from.

From that stage, wow.

It went fast, I'm sure, for you guys, into your early 20s, something like that.

And how do you handle something like that?

I mean, it was just.

I don't think I could handle something like that.

Handle what?

Handle?

You know, going from, you know, Woodshed and just jamming it at the local parties into record deals and starting with the tours at.

Wow, early 20s, right?

Yeah.

Yeah.

Well, you know, you have to understand we had no doubt that that was going to be the outcome.

I mean, we were very focused.

You know, I.

As a kid, I mean, because I, you know, grew up in a different neighborhood than Prince and the other guys.

And I was very, very.

I grew up in a project, so I was very motivated.

In that environment, you're going to be motivated.

And so I brought that.

I think.

I like to think I brought that energy and attitude and confidence into that neighborhood, into our group, because I guess maybe what five of the four of the five members in the group, I brought into the group.

So I was very much a part of putting our band together right now.

Now, as far as the instruments in the group, how'd you guys settle who was going to play what?

Because, I mean, you and Prince could play anything.

And Morris.

Morris as well.

How'd you guys settle on who's going to play what?

Well, at the time, you know, that wasn't the case.

You know, obviously, you know, my father was a bass player, so I learned how to play upright bass, but I didn't have a.

An electric Bass, So.

So I originally wasn't our bass player.

So we had.

But, you know.

You know.

You know, Prince didn't play bass then because he didn't have a bass.

And he didn't know how to play bass.

Right.

And he just had just gotten a guitar on one of his, you know, one of his first, you know, of his own guitars I actually managed to get for him because his father had a guitar.

But he wouldn't let him play it very often.

So you really didn't have access that much.

And we were able to finally get him a guitar and he could, you know, kind of play.

So, you know, I mean, and Morris came later.

He was.

He was somebody that used to really kind of sweat me about, you know, playing in our band because he'd heard of us and, you know, really wanted in.

So, you know, he had assumed, you know, like a lot of people at the time assumed I was the.

The leader of the band.

So he would just sweat me real good.

I'm real good.

Like, yeah, we already got.

But I'm good.

I'm better.

I was like, yeah.

But he.

He finally talked me into coming and hearing him.

And he was like, not just better, but just.

There was no.

There was no comparison.

He was just unbelievable.

And I was like, okay, you're in.

And so that was it.

And he probably had.

It had to bring his drums over, and they never left, as he said.

And that's just the way it was.

How'd you break it to your drummer before him?

Well, we really didn't get along that well, you know, at the time, you know, we was, you know, so he was Prince's cousin.

And, you know, I mean.

But, you know, the thing is, I just, you know, I said, well, I figured if Morris set up and playing, everybody, the rest of the guys in the band heard.

You know, what I knew is that, you know, this is what we need to go to that next level because, you know, kind of, you know, kind of, you know, relegated to a certain kind of thing that we could get into.

And we really needed my cousin Tedro Saluki was a.

One of the most, you know, amazing drummers in the.

In the.

In the city, you know, all over this.

Both the Twin Cities.

And so he left a.

A drum set at my mom's house.

So I always.

I mean, a lot of people don't know, but I can play the drums really, really well.

Right.

Right.

So, I mean, so obviously, you know, playing drums is a.

Was.

Was a big deal for me.

So I was always like, you Know, you know, so when I heard Morris, I was like, this dude, if he.

If we all got together, me, him, Prince, you know, you know, just that trio.

Right, right.

Insane.

You know, and then once you add, you know, William Doughty, you know, who's unbelievable percussionist, and my sister, who can basically play anything, I mean, she's just right.

And the thing about my sister is she really doesn't make very many mistakes, if any.

Oh, wow.

Yeah, she was.

She was.

They called her, like the Ice lady because she was just like, just serious.

That's your sister Linda, right?

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

So she still plays occasionally, you know.

I don't think so.

You know, she's just, you know, she.

She got into raising our family.

You know, the thing about my family is that we had this, you know, family is a big deal for us.

And so I got into that.

And that's kind of one of the main reasons why I kind of stepped out of the.

Off the scene for a while.

Because once I started having kids, I really wanted to focus on raising my kids.

So I just stepped out of the, you know, out of the spot and just kind of did that and was trying to wait for an opportunity to really be able to dive back in and, you know, and kind of, you know, 27 years later, hey, that happened.

It's not uncommon for.

For a lot of those stories like that.

Yeah, no, it's a beautiful thing.

Yeah, I have the most amazing kids, so I'm happy.

And you.

And you're still making great music.

I mean, you just released this summer, music from.

I love it personally.

I mean, I know you're so well rounded, you know, funk, rock, pop and everything.

But, you know, this is.

This is just some great funk music.

And tell us a little preview on the album and tell us about the two songs we've already heard.

Well, you know, I mean, the album is called the Resurrection of Funk.

And I think, you know, my goal is to really bring funk music back to the conversation because I think, you know, people have kind of forgotten about, you know, funk music.

And, yeah, music is kind of the backbone of hip hop and so many other things that, you know, the idea that, you know, it's sort of been you know, relegated to sort of, you know, just backing up hip hop artists and things like that just seems, you know, it seems criminal to me.

And it's like, you know what?

So anyway, so I got back into it and I'm really kind of, you know, happy because, you know, the kind of music I'm creating now is the kind of music I created back when I was living at my mom's house when.

When I first started off and.

And the things.

The music that inspired me back then, you know, was like, Slide the Family Stone and those groups and, you know, Ohio Players and Parliament Funkadelic, obviously Bootsy and, you know, all of James Brown.

Just.

There's so many amazing groups back then that were saying something and, you know, and backed it up with amazing performances and attitude and style and.

Yeah, and that's kind of a lost art, you know.

I mean, and right now, I think there's a.

There's a sort of an opening for somebody to come in and sort of reestablish that and really create that, you know, that conversation again.

And I want to be that person because, I mean, you know, I really don't get very much credit for music that I created Right.

Right in the day.

And a lot of people don't understand why, you know, and it's because, you know, you know, the first person out.

I call it Jeffrey Robinson.

Jeffrey Robinson Theory.

And he's a guy who used to live in our neighborhood.

And every time I would get a new car, he would come and ask me if he could drive it.

And.

And I'd say, sure, go ahead.

You know, and he'd drive, and he wouldn't come back for a few hours.

And when he.

When he finally would come back, you know, and I. I drive around in my car, people would say, hey, why are you driving Jeffrey's car?

And it's kind of the same thing with music.

It's like the first person that comes.

Music.

And so I just thought, you know what?

Everybody thinks Prince.

And if I did it, people say, you're trying to copy Prince.

It's like, no, I'm not.

And so I just thought, well, let me just create some different music.

So I. I created, you know, New Wave.

And my record company was.

Was like.

Because they heard other stuff, they said.

Why don't you do that?

I said, right.

I'm an artist.

I like the idea of just creating whatever I want, you know, and the idea that there's some sort of musical guardrails or, you know, some sort of musical color barrier or something.

I just thought, come on, you got to be kidding me.

And I realized that, no, it's true.

But, you know, I mean, I'm going to continue because, you know, I actually.

One of the other things that I. I love.

I mean, I still love doing, you know, rock, and I actually do a lot of folk and.

And I actually have done like maybe 20.

Some classical arrangements.

So I just do a lot of stuff.

I love music, so.

So you.

You got a vault just along the lines of Prince.

Right?

I mean, you got tons of stuff, I'm sure, in your home.

Yeah.

It's insane.

I mean, you know, I don't obviously, have a vault and, you know.

Right.

You know, it's not my really.

Not.

Not really my thing, but I just create a lot of music.

My vault is a lot of hard drives.

You know, Prince was said to have forgot the.

The code to the.

The vault.

The combination.

Did you hear that?

No, I never heard that.

Yeah, I heard, like, the.

The first vault, he forgot the combination.

So he started up another vault or stuff was outside the original vault.

And when they first came down there and started, you know, saving.

Saving the music that was there.

Yeah.

I mean, you know, the interesting thing about Prince forgetting, you know, him forgetting it, that he has the combination or.

Doesn'T sound like your buddy making a will.

I mean, all this stuff is just.

That's.

Yeah, I know.

I mean, and I knew this guy, lived with this guy.

I mean.

Yeah.

You're his best friend growing up and through the years.

Right.

Yeah.

So it's really.

It's really.

It's really been.

I gotta tell you, from that standpoint, it's really been interesting, you know, through.

Through these last, you know, since he passed away, to be sort of, you know, on the outside of a lot of these conversations, because it's just.

It's baffling to me because I knew this guy.

I mean, I knew him in some cases, at some points better than he knew himself.

And he knew me, in some cases, better than myself.

We were just really, really close.

And a lot of things that we used to share when we were kids, you know, are things that, you know, defy right now that I'm hearing it's.

And I don't, you know, obviously, you know, now who's saying what and where it comes from is an interesting thing, but it's really unfortunate because, you know, I mean, you know, this guy, you know, was obviously an amazing talent and deserved and earned, you know, his spot in musical history.

So the idea that, you know, his legacy is sort of in this weird sort of limbo or whatever you want to call it, you know, is really.

I just.

It breaks my heart.

It really does.

Because, you know, I mean, I know how much he sacrificed.

I know specifically some of the things that he, you know, he sacrificed to.

To be, you know, the person that he became and to, you Know, have the kind of career that he had, so.

Right.

Yeah.

You talked about family.

I'm sure that affected his closeness with his family.

I mean, you had no time, right?

Yeah, well, yeah, what he did.

Yeah, yeah.

No, that's the.

The trade off with having that kind of success, you know, and a lot of people may not understand that, but, you know, you do sacrifice that.

You know, you sacrifice, you know, even for me, obviously, you know, I. I had to.

I didn't want to make that sacrifice because I, you know, when I had kids, you know, I couldn't.

You know, I couldn't walk away from that.

I.

You know, it's hard to do for your heart and soul to be in two places.

And, you know, one of, you know, somebody that I really admire and respect a lot, that was kind of a mentor for me was Prince's father.

And one of the things that he said was that when you have kids, you know, you gotta stop.

You gotta.

You gotta raise your kid.

And.

And I, you know, I always remember that.

And so when I had kids and I tried to produce and even that got to be really hard, and.

But the beauty is, you know, one of my older sons, you know, was.

We were having a conversation.

He was sharing with me all the different things that we did, you know, like riding bikes all through Chinatown and all in Little Tokyo, because I lived in downtown.

And he was telling me all these different stories and how much fun he used to have and, you know, we used to play basketball and, you know, all the kind of stuff that we used to just have a lot of fun and.

Right.

Big loft.

And in fact, in my loft, Lisa's mother, Lisa from.

Lisa and Wendy, her mother used to live in the same law space.

Oh, okay.

Yeah.

So she was like.

We became really, really good friends.

So anyway, just.

It was.

I mean, him telling me that now as a grown man and how much it meant to him.

Right.

Helped me understand if I didn't, you know, obviously, what a great sacrifice and, you know, you know, it was beautiful and I would do it and, you know, so, you know, you did the right thing.

Did the right thing.

Absolutely.

The right thing.

Yeah.

Yeah.

We.

I mean, talking about, I mean, obviously, you know, Prince inside and out, and we're there growing up and making your way in the music business.

I.

It.

I feel the same.

You're more personal because you were involved with that.

But just seeing, like, the people who knew him the best should be, you know, they should be calling you and saying, hey, you know, we want this.

You know, can you give us some advice and what, I don't know, it's kind of.

Sure.

You got so many hands and ideas, it's nuts.

You know, I, I, you know, they did, you know, they did reach out and I did talk to them, but you know, some of them, you know, probably had a lot of people in their ear and you know, from different perspectives with different motives.

Who knows?

Right.

But you know, I mean, all I can, you know, I just said, hey, if you ever need anything, I'm here, I'm happy.

Yeah, I've been doing this stuff for a long time.

I know a lot of really good people.

Yeah.

That are really good hearted people that are not shady and, you know, so if you ever need, you know, I told him that.

So, you know, it's like, you know, it's all done.

That's all you can really do.

You know, I mean, I make anybody do anything, obviously, you know.

Right.

And you know, and I think, you know, one thing that I've learned that I didn't know, I mean, I guess I should have, you know, I should have assumed, I guess, because obviously I was on the first three tours.

Right.

I, you know, kind of helped, you know, to a large degree build, you know, that fan base, you know, because we were out there working our behinds off.

I mean.

Right, right.

Especially that Rick James tour was like, you know, we were kicking booty.

You know, that was with Zap.

Yeah, exactly.

I mean, we, we, you know, Lenny White, I think it was a Dougie Fresh, Slick Rick, ready for the world.

You know, it was, it was a lot of people on some of those tours.

But, you know, we were, you know, I mean, you know, we, we established some, some, some, some new ground and obviously it's Prince's thing, so he gets all the credit.

But you know, I mean, I think the reality is, and those who really understand know how much, you know, that presentation, how solid it was, you know, because I think even, I think when the Rolling Stones, you know, said, hey, you know, we want you to open, I think it's because they saw, you know, the version when I was in the band.

Right, right.

You know, I mean, the thing about me is I just, I'm one of those kind of performers, you know, especially back then, who I just don't, you know, you know, I'm a very take no prisoners kind of thing, you know, like, we need to go out and we need to just rip everybody's head off.

That was always my attitude.

It's like, you know, and, and I'm Just, you know, I'm not shy when it comes to that, you know, and.

And I think that energy and, you know, same with Des and, you know, and then eventually.

And people might not realize this now because obviously, you know, Prince is an icon and, you know, a legend in Rock and Roll hall of Fame and all of that, but he was.

That was not in the beginning, not quite the case that developed.

And I think he gained confidence from myself and from dez because DEZ had been doing it as a lead singer for a long time, you know, and in our band, you know, you know, I was kind of, you know, I wasn't the lead singer all the time, but.

Right.

A lot of the time.

And so was, you know, our percussionist, William Doughty.

So, you know, so I just think, you know, you know, so it was a new thing, you know, Princess Capri, it was.

That was his first time, you know, fronting a band.

So, you know, so it was it.

As raw or like, hey, we got to go back and work on it kind of thing.

I mean, I just read reviews and hear people talk about it.

What.

What kind of show is it?

Oh, the Capri was his very first show as a solo artist.

And it was.

Is.

You know, he had signed a record company, signed to Warner Brothers and, you know, had his first record out.

And this was, you know, and so it was his first outing.

And, you know, he just, you know, he was just, you know, he was kind of dear.

Caught the headlights and, you know, and I had to have one of those talks that we used to have some every now about got to get up on stage.

Right, Right.

We got to go get into this, you know, rip this.

Rip this show apart.

Right.

And we ultimately wound up doing it.

It just, you know, and so, you know, but we, you know, then once he got acclimated, you know, he found his, you know, he found his.

His voice and found his Persona.

And once he.

Once he did that, it was.

It was, you know, the rest is.

Literally he just built up on it, you know.

Yeah.

Not a lot of regression.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Hey, let.

Let me ask you a stupid question.

The, The.

The see through pants, the plastic pants they used.

I don't even know what they were, but whose idea was that and how uncomfortable to do shows with that?

No, that was my idea.

I found them, you know, because we, you know, me and Prince obviously used to just, you know, when we were making the records, we.

I was always there.

I mean, San Francisco, the first one in la.

When we mixed it in Los Angeles, we Made the second one, you know, and then together we made the third one at his house in Minnesota.

But, you know, but we would travel, you know.

You know, we would go to some of the funkiest shops and in New York there was a place called Trash in Vaudeville.

There was another place called Jumping Jack Flash that was in New York in the Village.

But I think I found the first pair there.

And then I found a place here in LA, then I found a place in D.C. and so every time I would find them, I just buy, you know, and then, you know, they.

Management really.

They, you know, once he got new management, they wanted to re design his whole presentation and make it less about, you know, a band presentation and more about, okay, solo artists.

The guy.

Yeah.

So I found it.

You know, they started, you know, they started my.

My bag started getting lost at air airport security and it took me a minute to realize, oh, I get it.

They're trying to take my ward robes.

So I won't.

Right.

Yeah, no, it's totally my idea.

I mean, yeah, he would tell me.

What to wear ever as Prince say.

They were.

You guys were going to the Edge, the Ledge or whatever, you know.

Yeah, yeah, pretty much.

Yeah.

Yeah.

So you.

You played the Bottom Line in New York, right, on one of those tours?

Yeah, yeah, yeah, the first.

That was the first New York gig, I believe.

Yeah.

John Lennon was on Assassin, right.

Yeah, you had mentioned that and walking around and.

Wow, that's.

Yeah, we stopped.

We went by the Dakota that day before, right.

Literally almost right before.

And then I was.

I had gotten some sort of cold, so I was like laying in bed listening to screaming Jay Hawkins.

Yeah.

You know, it might have been my time because I was like.

I woke up here and I was like, yeah, all that red.

And it was like all this, you know, weird, you know.

Then the news broke in and they talked.

They announced that that had happened.

And I was like, oh, my God.

So, yeah, just a pivotal.

I mean, that whole Beatles and all and you mentioned the Beatles before and everything was.

Was Princeton in the Beatles as well?

Oh, yeah, yeah, he was.

He was.

You know, I don't know.

I'm trying to think.

I don't know if I.

Or my family or just the fact that we had the records around the house.

Because I really don't know what he, you know, got into before he came to live with us.

Right.

But, you know, I do know he had.

He used to babysit for a DJ who had a little girl.

And.

And the DJ had, you know, a massive record collection of it was mostly 45, so it was a little bit different.

So.

But.

So.

But I just, you know, it sounded like it was more of a.

An R B kind of thing and not so much.

I mean, you know, like I said, I was blessed to have siblings that were really into a lot of diversified musical content and definitely the Beatles.

And once I heard.

And my cousin.

I had a cousin, Bobby Dean, who was older, but he was a musician.

And he was really, you know, influential in terms of, you know, kind of hip and meaning stuff.

He'd come over, hey, cuz, listen, have you heard this?

And he'd play, you know, you know, all kinds of just avant garde stuff that never heard of.

And he knew I was into music.

And the beautiful thing about having a big family like I did is people are always.

And once they find out you're really into music and you're, like, dedicated, they come by with all kinds.

They want to, you know, share and hip you to stuff and help you grow.

And that's exactly what they did for me.

And Prince benefited as well.

So Bobby Dean, he was in your solo band, right?

Yeah, yeah, he was.

Yeah, I remember.

Yeah, I remember seeing.

Yep, yep.

Yeah, let's get to that.

You and Prince parted ways, but you.

This was kind of like, you know, you guys had kind of forecast that.

Yeah, well, we did.

Yeah, I did.

I mean, because I, you know, I mean, you have to understand we were in a band that was not like a Prince banner, you know.

And if you think about it, you know, three out of the five members in our band all wound up solo artists on American Bandstand.

Right.

So that might be some sort of record, I don't know.

But, yeah, we were all, you know, artists in our own right.

So the idea, you know, of, you know, being just, you know, background in somebody's band was nothing that I was ever, you know, all that interested in.

But I will say this.

I mean, you know, because, you know, a lot of people.

Something a lot of people don't realize is that we were really.

Our band was really focused on.

On.

On getting a record deal and trying to get.

Make all that kind of stuff happen when, you know, you know, at the time that Prince wound up getting his solo deal.

So, you know, and I just had a choice to make between, you know, a record deal with the band that I was in or.

Or my friend who had, you know, got his record deal.

So I was like, yeah, like, I go out with, you know, the band and, you know, but the Prince is my best friend and you know?

Right.

And he was like, literally, come on, man, you got to do this.

You got to.

You know, this means a lot, you know, And I was like.

And so I was like, all right, you know, and so we went to San Francisco and, you know.

You know, I don't know.

I'll never know, hopefully.

I. I like to think that that was the right choice, but it was the choice, you know, because I chose my friend.

Right, right.

You know, and, you know, I mean, we.

We had a lot of fun, you know.

I mean, I got no credit.

Zero.

Well, do me, baby.

Come on.

Right?

There you go.

I didn't get credit for that.

Yeah, no.

I mean, yeah, let's tell people that.

That was.

You wrote that song, right?

Yeah.

I didn't get credit for that until years later, and.

And really, you know, it just showed up one day in.

In.

In checks and, you know, which I was like.

Because I. I didn't make a big deal out of it, and I never even ran around telling anybody that I wrote it.

I didn't, you know.

You know, that was just something between Prince and myself, but other people who knew made it an issue, but I never made it an issue because that was just something between my friend and myself.

And I just, you know, said, hey, you know, between he and I, he knew, you know.

Right, right.

And eventually he.

He did the right thing.

And, you know, I appreciate it.

I mean, you know.

Yeah, that was a staple of his concert, you know.

Yeah.

Well, it was a great song because if you think about it, it's the bass pattern.

And, you know, I mean, because a lot of the songs back then were driven by the base patterns, you know, which were a lot.

A lot of the stuff that I was a part of creating because I was a bass player, and I managed to create.

I took it.

I took pride in creating a very unique bass style that, you know.

You know, it was just my.

You know, it was my own style, and I really, really worked on that, you know, and.

Right.

Yeah, that.

You know, that.

I just don't get any credit for that.

I just.

I almost stopped playing bass for a while because, you know, I played.

People said, you sound like.

It's like, oh, my God.

Oh, this hurts.

This really hurts.

Like, you know, because my.

My dad was a bass player.

Right, Right.

Knows how, you know, dedicated I was because I would.

I would literally.

And I've told the story before, but I literally would learn horn solos, like, sax solos and trumpet souls because I played horn.

And I would look because I got bored playing Bass parts.

But what I think that did is that's what helped me create that, that bass styles because, you know, you learn horn souls, they're completely a different way of approaching melodic interpretation.

So that, that became again, you know, you know, part of what people like to call the Minneapolis sound.

And, you know, and some other things that, you know, you know, I was very much a part of creating because we were.

We were literally creating that sound.

What a lot of people don't know, but we were creating that for a specific purpose.

Right, Right.

Not just some random, you know, I've heard so many different, you know, interpretations of why the Minneapolis sound is what it is and who invented it and who came up with it and all of that.

And that's wonderful.

And, you know, and some of it's, you know, is, Is, you know, I'm not trying to take anything away from anybody because I think, you know, in Minneapolis we had some of the most really, really amazingly talented musicians and artists and all of that.

But, but I just know that specific sound.

I know where it came from, and I know why.

I know what, what it was rooted in.

And, you know, I mean, I have, you know, tapes that I created back then.

I have tapes that, you know, we created together as a band back then.

And, you know, a lot of that stuff that, you know, reflects to a certain extent, you know, what we were attempting to do back then.

But, you know, and so, you know, so I know.

I mean, not only do I know, but I have, you know, content.

Right.

Right.

To, to, you know, to play one day, you know, if it's, you know, whenever that, that day comes or seems like it might be, you know, something that might, you know, people might be interested in, you know.

You know, because I think, you know, people might find it fascinating to hear some of that stuff.

You have to hear the, the actual, you know, evolution of some of the stuff that, you know, at least I know I was creating back then.

And, you know, and obviously, you know, as our band was growing and developing, we were creating different things.

And, you know, obviously, I was very much a part of it because, like I said, you know, most of the people in the band were people that I, you know, you know, brought on board.

So.

Yeah.

So you should be well represented in the Minneapolis Sound Museum.

Jelly Bean will have you up there.

Right.

Yeah.

Well, you know, you never know.

I mean, I, I, I, I'm not going to hold my breath anymore about, you know, I realize, you know, at this point, you know, I think people feel real comfortable with where they're where their place is in this sort of, you know, whatever, you know, interpretation of the creators of the Minneapolis sound.

All I know is I'm still creating music, and I'm going to continue create music.

And it started with the music, and it's going to always be about the music.

And so if they're still creating music, that's still, you know.

Yeah.

To the people.

Like, I like.

I like to think that I am and like, I'm going.

Going to continue doing.

Because the resurrection of funk.

If you weren't sure, you know, about Andre Simone being a part of the year of whatever you listen to this record, that's going to.

Lot of questions and people will have.

We'll have the links up on.

On the screen here and also in.

In the description.

But the best place to get the new music is right through Band Camp.

Yes.

Okay.

Band Camp.

Oh, boy.

Well, I. I'll.

I'll.

Yeah, we.

We'll have the links up there.

Good.

Yeah.

Because I want to get it wrong.

I. I was thinking back to your friend Jill Jones.

When we were down back in Connecticut, she came to the studio with Ian Ginsburg, and they played live in the studio.

And we were somehow kind of similar to what you were saying about back.

That music was more like kind of rock, popish.

And she says, I'm still gonna play funk music.

It just happens to be.

This is what I was feeling that particular day.

So, I mean.

Yeah.

She didn't leave, right?

Yeah, no, no, I. I said it didn't leave, you guys, you know.

Oh, no, it's never gonna leave.

I mean.

Yeah, I mean, I'm.

You know, it'd be one thing if I weren't, you know, a content creator.

I mean, because.

Right.

You know, I can.

I literally play, like, in the songs that you heard.

I'm playing everything, you know.

Yeah, yeah, I figured.

Yeah.

So.

Yeah, I mean, so I can create, you know, whatever my mind can conceive.

And so.

Yeah.

And.

And Jill, I mean, she's just a beautiful soul.

She's really a.

And a special artist in her own right.

And she's.

She's got her own way of thinking.

She loves her own.

She's got her own way of, you know, the kind of stuff she likes to do.

And she's got a. I mean, she's got a history and a background that really, you know, speaks for itself, I think, you know.

Right.

And I actually thought it was cool recently there was.

It was out in LA.

It was Prince Day.

You, Jill, Dr. Funkoberry.

Jam.

Jerome.

I.

Did I leave anybody off?

Terry.

Terry Lewis.

Oh, Terry.

Yeah, Terry Flight time.

Terry and, and Jimmy Jam.

Yeah.

What.

What was that like?

And what, what happened that day?

Man, that was, it was cool.

It was, it was good to see those guys because, you know, Jimmy's my cousin, which is always interesting to see him.

Terry I grew up with.

We went to school together.

He's a little older than me, but we went to school together.

He was an amazing athlete, so.

Yeah, that's what I hear.

Until he tore up his knee a little.

Right?

Yeah.

I don't know.

I just know that obviously he's, he's doing quite well.

Yeah, that's right.

Multiple bases.

Yeah.

You know, but you know, the interesting thing is, you know, because, you know, I think sometimes, you know, they forget I'm still the same Andre I've always been.

So I was just kind of, you know, cracking jokes and you know, Terry's.

He's a little more serious, although he finally realized Andre's the same because I was cracking jokes.

We were at, we were at City hall and they had this big table in front of all these, you know, know, all the different, you know, representatives.

And I was like, you know, you want to go out there and play ping pong on the table?

No, I said, man, I wish they had a cupcake.

I was just kind of, you know, kind of mess a little bit, but.

And Jerome's always serious, right?

I'm just kidding.

We were having fun.

Jerome is fun.

That's another.

Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah.

Great guy.

We, we had so many times hanging out with him at the time, shows and everything.

Yeah, yeah, he definitely, if the crowd is dull sitting there, you know, it's like a comedy show, he'll go right in there and start looking at the bill on your table and start cracking on it.

Yeah, no, he is, he is, he is, he is a consummate performer, but he's just a good person.

He's got.

Yeah, yeah.

And he, and he's working with Jimmy and Terry.

Right?

He has been.

If he's not, he should be.

But I think he is.

I, I'm not completely sure, but.

Right, yeah.

If he's not, he should be because he's, he's just, you know, he's going to add just that element of, of really heart and, and energy in anything he, he steps and gets involved in.

Yeah.

I think I've told you before, but for, for the audience who haven't heard you, you were the first person I ever had an interview with back I think it was 83.

And it was.

I think it was your second record.

You did a tour on surviving in the 80s, right?

I did, yeah.

Yeah.

So I was 18 or 19.

I'll, you know, condense this, but I was living at my mom's house.

I just got into radio.

I was working for a commercial station.

The phone rings.

My mom says, oh, phone calls for you.

It was Owen Husney on the line.

He goes, are you ready to do the interview with Andre Simone?

I said I could be in the studio in, like, an hour.

I didn't even know how I contacted.

I got to the studio.

I. I talked to you.

That was my first interview, so I'm indebted to you for.

Oh, wow.

Yeah, it was.

You were playing.

I was in Connecticut, but you obviously were playing in New York, and we were hyping it up.

Yeah, I think.

But I was like a nervous, nervous kid growing up listening to you and the Minneapolis and Prince and everything.

I think I had to get the reel to reel and splice and the tape just to make it sound airworthy.

If it's any consolation, I didn't do many.

I didn't like doing interviews.

So, you know, I literally.

Back then, I hated it because I just thought, you know, they used to ask some of the most crazy questions, like, you know, what's your favorite color?

And, you know, I would just say, really?

You know, I would always say, you know, because.

And, you know, I.

It wound up getting me in trouble.

Oh, really?

Wow.

Yeah.

No, because it was.

They would ask me stuff, and I just thought the questions were so ridiculous.

So they.

Right.

They would ask me about Prince and.

What.

You know, they would always ask me stuff about Prince, and I'm like, are you interviewing me or Prince?

So I would just say, well, we would tie girls up on the roof of my mom's house and duct tape them to the naked.

And, you know, I would just say stuff.

And, you know, they print it.

Yeah, they.

What's your favorite?

You know, what's your.

What's your sign?

I'd say, you know, alligator.

Just say stuff.

Right, right.

And.

And.

And it would always be, you know, people think that I was just some weirdo, and I just, you know, it wasn't until I was working without a man that he gave me sort of a.

A tutorial on how to conduct, you know, a successful, decent sort of interview.

Right.

And, and, you know, he said, well, Andre, when they ask you about Prince, just.

Just say he's a snappy dresser.

And, you know, tell him.

Tell him he's a great guy.

You know, he's fabulous.

And, you know, everything will be great.

And so I was like, that's it.

I can do that.

But.

But I asked you.

Yeah, I asked you a stupid question.

I can remember this because I was like, was your first instrument the synthesizer?

Well, that was.

Maybe that's why you stopped giving interviews.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, because that would be.

That would make sense, you know, but.

Yeah, yeah, I was young.

I. Yeah, I was like 83.

So, yeah, yeah, because, yeah, obviously it's a synthesizer back then.

I mean, you know, the first real synthesizer I got my hands on was, you know, that Princess 4 voice we got from Roger Dodger guy, owner, music place in Minneapolis.

And, you know, I was really into new technology.

We had.

I had a couple of friends that really are, you know, kind of listen to really abstract and avant garde music.

And, you know, again, you know, that's the beauty of, you know, growing up in the community that I. I lived in, especially at my mother's house, because people would always come by and they tell me stuff about things that were.

That were new and cutting edge that I hadn't heard about.

And that was one of those things.

It was like, you know, man, have you.

You've heard about this.

These new computers, man, they're called Oberheims.

And I was like, Oberheim.

And I was like, Prince.

You heard about that?

We need to check into that, you know, and so, and so we researched it and we found out where you could.

Where we could get our hands on one.

It was a guy who had a keyboard place in Minneapolis called, named Roger Dodger, who.

Yeah, that's where we got.

I went in debt to Roger Dodger, literally buying, you know, obviously different keyboards.

I wound up buying this PPG wave term, which is like, I don't know, it's 29, 000, something crazy like that on those.

I was one of the only three people in the country that had one me, Thomas Dobie and Stevie Wonder at the time.

And you know, but.

But, you know, anyway, it was just fun stuff back in those days.

Yeah.

And, you know, the sound you had on your solo records, especially the first two, you know, utilize a lot of.

Let me ask you.

I mean, this.

The technique you had, some of the vocals on those first two solo records kind of singing into it was like a little distorted.

How did you do that.

Well, you know, a lot of it was.

I was really trying to create a totally different.

You know, it's like.

It's like I was talking about.

We tried to create a specific sound back when we were a band.

You know, I was doing that back then.

But when, you know, Prince came out and his.

Everybody, he became synonymous with that vibe.

And I just didn't want to come and go, oh, you're trying to be like that.

So I just created one to create a whole new sound.

And so that's what I was trying to do with that record.

And so I wanted it to be a little edgy.

And, you know, I was listening to a lot of Devo and Kraft work and, you know, Yellow Magic Orchestra and different groups that were doing some different stuff.

And so I wanted to incorporate some of that with, like, you know, kind of a little bit of an R B funk perspective.

And so that's what I, you know, created what I used to call new wave.

Yeah.

But it didn't help that Prince in the Time went on that we don't like new waves.

So then it became, you know.

Was that a dig at you?

Oh, yeah.

Okay.

It was.

Because, you know, a lot of people said, well, you know, because he was.

You know.

And a lot of the fans were, like.

They felt like they had to choose between, Right.

Prince and the Time stuff and me doing new wave.

Not that we were.

They didn't look at us anymore after that.

Like, we were all from the same.

Not just the same city, but the same, literally, group.

Right, right, right.

So it created this whole.

Because I would hear a lot of, you know, a lot of people say, well, Prince said he doesn't like new wave.

You're doing new wave.

And, wow.

Okay.

But, you know, I just kept doing it, you know, because I just really wanted to make my own statement anyway, so.

Right.

You know, people.

Some people really, really got into it, you know.

Yeah.

Yeah.

I still got the record, so.

And, you know, obviously, you and Prince, you know, got together again for the dance.

Electric still.

I mean, whether it's his version or your version, it's just a smash.

That.

I mean, that.

That's a song to go on for 25 minutes and I never get tired of it.

It really could.

It's a great song.

And, you know, I think the thing about.

About that song is, you know, there's a lot of things about it, really.

I mean, because, you know, we had done a record with.

With.

With a group called the Rebels that we did.

Oh, yeah.

Yeah.

During a break and the lead single was going to be a song that I wrote called Thrill, you'll Kill youl.

And so, you know, but me and Prince had had a conversation about the kind of music I wanted to do when I did my own thing.

And I used to always talk about how I would love making political statements, and we were just.

It was just a conversation.

So when he came with that song, it was like, I got this song for you, man.

You're gonna love it.

And he was telling me about sort of the, you know, the message and music, and I was like, that sounds cool, but I. I just didn't want to.

I really didn't want to do it because I didn't want to be, you know, you know, connected with, you know, Prince in that way and people saying, oh, the only reason why you made it was because of Prince and all that kind of stuff.

Right.

And.

And, you know, I just didn't want to have that even be a part of any kind of conversation.

But, you know, you know, I talked to my mom and, you know, because he kept, you know, he was adamant about it, and, you know.

Right.

My record company heard about it.

They were like, oh, you got to do it.

You got to do it.

And, you know, and so everybody around my management at the time and everybody was like, it'll be a great thing if you guys could, you know, bring yourself come back together and, you know, sort of heal all the wounds and, you know, whatever.

Whatever.

And so, you know, and he came by with his dad, who was, like I said, was like a mentor to me.

And, you know, they played the music, and I sat there, I listened to it, and I said, you know what?

You know, at the end of the day, it's about friendship, and it's.

It's a beautiful thing.

Yeah.

I said, let's do it.

And so, you know, we wound up doing it.

It was really something he had already done.

I really had, you know, very little to do it.

I would never try to take any credit.

It's just his thing.

And, you know, he just wanted to do that because of, obviously, a lot of the music we had done.

And, you know, I think it was also a way for him to, you know, want to sort of, you know, I guess, mend some of the, you know, the.

The song I may not have gotten credit for, but.

But anyway, whatever.

Whatever the reason is, it really, you know, be honest.

It doesn't matter.

It was my friend and talented.

I. I didn't.

I just found out the other day.

I didn't know you guessed it, with him at the Warfield Theater in San Francisco on Dance Electric.

He brought you out on stage and a faster version.

But yeah, that was, that was cool, right?

It was, it was very cool.

There was a.

It was amazing night and there was another gig, you know, which.

It's.

It's amazing because I just, I don't remember it, but it's.

It's.

And it was.

It's on something.

But you got to go to talk to Dwayne.

Dwayne Tudor, princevault.com Dwayne Doing.

Knows all the dates.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

No, he does.

He really does.

But.

But this one, you know, it's interesting because it's.

You know, I think they released it and I don't.

I think I'm not in the release, but there's a copy of it and I'm killing.

Well, she.

I think Sheila.

There was a release.

She played at the Warfield.

I don't know if it was around the same time or not, but it was.

It would have to be around the same time.

Yeah, the band.

Yeah.

Yeah, I don't remember that, but I remember.

I remember.

I remember the San Francisco gig because I remember running into, believe it or not, my, My ex, Kelly.

Kelly's eyes.

Kelly.

And who was at the time was.

Or actually she's married now, but she was just dating.

What was his name, is it Valentino or Anyway, something like that.

Alentini.

Anyway, she was dating, you know, and he, um.

Giorgio.

Giorgio.

That was.

Oh, Georgio.

Yeah, yeah, she was dating him and I had met him and you know, um, and.

And it was, it was, it was great.

It was great to see her.

It was great.

And so I always think about that because, you know, she, she talked about.

Because, you know, you know, we were really close back then when I was making my, you know, first record.

And in fact I stayed at her.

Out her parents house when I was making my first record.

So we.

It was, it was great.

It was great catching up.

It was great to meet him.

So.

Yeah, it was just, you know, that whole.

That was such a.

A throwback because I think that might have been.

There's a picture of.

Of that I always see online of me, Jill Jones, Kelly, and I'm talking to Prince.

I think you can see.

I know Jamie Shute was in the picture.

Chick was in the picture.

But it's a really.

It's actually a funny picture because I'm.

Gonna try to find that one.

Yeah, yeah, no, I'm talking to Prince and you can tell I'm.

I'm doing.

I'm probably giving him a hard time because Get a kick out of giving him a hard time, you know.

Yeah.

So.

So.

So then after the, the first three records and everything, you just transitioned right.

Into a hugely successful songwriting production career for other artists.

You know, Jody Watley, if, if people don't know Jody Watley won best New Artist of the Year for the Grammys.

Right, yeah.

And this gentleman, produced, wrote, probably played just about everything on the record himself, right?

Yeah, everything except horns.

Yeah.

Okay.

That was just a sax part that Scott Mayo played, but, you know.

Yeah, yeah.

And just.

Wow, that would.

So then the video, you're playing all these different instruments as well for the video, so.

Yeah, well, a few of them.

Yeah.

Well, there's one that I think I'm playing.

I'm playing drums.

Yeah.

Right.

When I think I'm, you know, just.

I think she.

Once she had me cast as her love interest kind of.

Right.

And I think that's.

But that's not the one I did.

And don't you want me.

I'm in the video.

But.

Right, right.

So.

So recently or maybe a couple years, you came back on stage, played with Jody a few, few songs and on her gigs, what was that like getting back together?

You playing guitar on that gig?

Right?

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

No, it was, it was great.

I mean, you know, she had reached out and it was, you know, anniversary gig and she said, hey, do you want to come and join me?

And you know.

Right.

Are you kidding?

Yeah.

And it was so much fun, you know, and we just, we just had a lot of fun because, you know, obviously I think she's a great artist and, you know, she's got an amazing voice and those songs are just really timeless.

Yeah, I mean, they, they still hold up.

I Still a Thrill is one of my favorites.

Yeah.

On those records, you know, and you know, we did a lot of stuff.

I mean, we did this 27 piece orchestra version of.

Of after you, Cole Porter.

So we did for Red Hot and Blue and it was.

It's amazing.

I. I got a chance to, you know, do an orchestration thing and really kind of get with like a whole huge big band orchestra.

And it was beautiful.

Loved it, loved it, loved it.

So.

So as Jody's got to invite you on her show to talk about the Resurrection of the Funk.

Right.

The new record, say that you broke up a little.

I said, oh.

I said, Jody's got to invite you on her show to talk about your new record, the Resurrection of the Funk.

That would be great.

I would love it if she does, because.

Yeah, I mean, I would be happy and be, you know, obviously honored to go on and talk about it, you know, because, you know, I think with this record, you know, I try to avoid, as much as I can getting too much into, you know, too much of the political stuff, because I really love to speak on, you know, politics of music.

Right.

Important.

I'm not sure if this connection is still good, but.

Yeah, you're freezing up a little bit because it's.

I see that.

Yeah.

But, yeah, no, I tried to get away from, you know, getting into too much politics on this one, and I just really wanted to have fun, and so I'm really kind of focused on that.

And, you know, and it's really.

I mean, there's so many tracks on here that I think people are really going to enjoy because it's just fun.

It's just fun music.

It's just stuff you can put on and.

And just party, too.

You can just dance to it, you know, I mean, I.

You know, my.

My nephew Omar Brown just signed to the Denver Broncos, and he was having a little party in.

In Dallas, and we went up there and.

And while we were.

We were there because it was, you know, it was draft day.

I wanted to play because I always.

I used to do this back in the day, is play music to my family just to sort of get a feel.

And they were.

If my family is, you know, is partying and jumping and getting, you know.

Right.

Getting in.

Into your.

Your groove, you're on something.

Because they don't.

Yeah, right.

They have no.

Yeah.

They have no problem saying, you need to go back to the drawing board.

Huh?

So, hey, you know what?

Before we close out and before.

I don't know if the connections.

Oh, there you go.

You're back in.

In sync.

But anyways, something I.

There's a clip if people want to go.

Just type in Andre Simone on.

On YouTube that you're jamming with mostly younger cats, young ladies and guys in a rehearsal.

You're playing bass and funking it up.

And the coolest thing I thought was, like, in the middle of the song, the keyboardists take out their cell phones and recording you playing.

And then the other side.

Yeah.

In the middle of a song.

What was that?

What was going on there?

What.

Who.

Who were those musicians?

It was a rehearsal for a show I was doing.

And.

And, you know, you know, I think, you know, because I. I really hadn't played bass that much, you know, because I was just Trying to.

I was just, you know, showing everybody kind of the track and how to do whatever.

And so.

And during.

There was a.

A part in that track where me and the bass player kind of do like a.

A bass duel kind of thing.

And.

And, you know, and they.

They've been waiting for me to play bass because they've heard that I'm like this bass player that's, you know.

You know, and.

And.

And really, when I.

When I really get into it, I mean, because I really don't, you know, I don't get into it as often as I probably should, but when I do, especially when I sit and practice a little bit, then I'm.

I. I'll.

I'll tear anybody up.

I don't care who it is, right?

Give me two weeks to rehearse, and I will rip anybody's head off.

I don't care.

They can bring all comers.

Yeah, bring all comers.

You can talk all the stuff you want, but give me two weeks where I can focus.

And believe me, you.

You'll hear stuff you've never heard because, you know, I just don't, you know, because a lot of people don't really.

You know, the kind of music I like to do is just fun.

I mean, I don't want to get too into, you know, getting into too riffy kind of stuff and stuff like that, because that's.

You start losing some people when you do that.

But it's not like I can't.

It's just right.

Pick and choose when I. I think.

But anyway, they.

They heard me doing that stuff, and they're like, oh, boy.

That.

That's that guy.

There it is.

Oh, yeah, their phones.

And they started recording it.

But my bass player at the time, he was.

He was killing it too.

He was giving me a run for my money.

So.

So when you play the bass, do you switch off playing with the pick and not with the pick or.

Yeah.

Developed a thing back in the day where I. I can hold, I can pluck and, you know, and still have the pick in my hand and do all that.

Sometimes I pluck and I can play with.

I play stuff with my right hand, you know, along with my.

I just.

I, you know, like I said, I used to take it really serious and upside down and sideways and all kinds of other crazy stuff because I. I really got into it when, you know, back.

Back early on.

But, yeah, I play with a pig because a pig gives you a whole different sound.

It's a different kind of bass style that, you know, I just got into back in the day.

And how about, how about Prince?

Did he play with the picker?

Just fingers.

Because he, you know, I showed him literally how I played because, man, how you doing that?

And you know, and you know, so I literally showed him right play and he picked it up.

That's why a lot of the way he plays is a lot like me.

Yeah, and vice versa because, you know, obviously, you know, he showed me a lot of, you know, some of the guitar licks and things like that that I, you know, learned throughout the years.

I, I definitely picked up from him.

And you know, I mean, I had a guitar because, I mean, what a lot of people don't know is the first guitar, one of the first guitars he ever had, I got for him.

I still have it.

And you know, that was what I would learn on.

And um, you know, what we played and what we used back in the day.

Is there anything comes to mind, concert wise or studio wise, that you guys did together that you would love one day to see, you know, really presented well and get released with Prince?

Yeah, I mean, you know, you know, some of those Rick James tours were amazing.

I mean, we did.

We're really, you know, some of the early shows, even before we did the Rick James tour were really special.

I think, you know, he lost his voice during the first tour, so we had to cancel part of that tour and go back.

We actually got stuck in Philadelphia, but we wound up going, going to, going back to Minneapolis and he had to learn how to conserve his voice.

And so when we went back out, you know, he was able to, you know, deliver a lot stronger.

But.

But yeah, there's a lot of those shows.

I'm trying to think.

There's one in particular that I really.

Oh, the Circle Star, which is where we met Sheila.

Oh, okay.

That show was amazing.

That was.

I mean, because I mean, you know, we, we were supposed to open for Cooling.

We did open that night for the Cooling.

Cooling the game.

We were supposed to open for them on some kind of a tour.

But we were such.

We were, we were so cocky after that show that they, you know, I think DEZ accidentally kicked his, his amplifiers.

You know, it was the Circle Star.

You know, one ax, you know, equipment is.

Oh yeah, right on the side and.

And their keyboard players setup was right behind Dez's amps and when he reached over to kick his amp or whatever, it fell on top of the keyboard player set up.

So we got, we got booted.

We got booted off of that right opportunity but we wound up on the Rick James thing, so.

Right.

It kind of worked out.

And Mike Murphy was on with the Rick James tour, right?

Your buddy.

Yeah, he was.

Yeah.

He wasn't with Rick James, but he was.

Right.

Right.

Yeah, I think he was, yeah.

Because he had mentioned about the.

The setup and everything.

Good guy, you guys, you know, an album people should not sleep on which didn't get a lot of widespread release.

The Mighty Soulmates with you, Garner Cole, Paul Peterson, and Mike Murphy of the system.

Yeah.

Where did you record that?

Or.

It was in different spots.

We recorded a lot of it in.

In Gardner's studio and a lot of the funky, funkier stuff in my studio.

But, yeah, no, that was such a fun project that, you know, it's.

It's, you know, they released it after, God, what, however many years, because we did it in, like, 93, I think, and it didn't come out, you know, like last year.

So.

Wow.

So.

Yeah.

Yeah, the music, you've seen it all, from getting the first record deal to.

Yeah.

Production and today.

But you, you know, you're calling your own shots and making great music.

And how about what the.

The future record.

It's going to be released as a whole pretty soon or.

Yeah, we're just.

We're talking to some different people, so we really want to try to get it to as many people and so it can get as much of a presence as we possibly can, you know, and so we're talking to some different people to try to find, you know, you know, a way to really kind of get it to as many people as we can.

So we're, you know, that's the main thing.

And, you know, we released a couple of songs, as you mentioned, and we're going to release a couple more and.

And keep dropping out some clips and until, you know, until, you know, people really become aware that this thing is coming.

Yeah, yeah.

Gonna drop it.

You know.

You know, probably.

I like to think October, November, maybe.

We.

I'm not quite sure yet.

We'll see maybe before that.

Maybe, you know, but we just definitely, you know, it's already done, so we're just.

We're just trying to finish up, strategically.

Put it out there.

Yeah.

Mastering and the mixing part of it.

But we've finished all that we've got.

I think I had, like, 36 songs, so I'm trying to air it down.

Yeah.

A lot of music.