"Musicians Reveal with Joe Kelley" Podcast features an insightful conversation with drummer Michael Bland, renowned for his work with Prince and The New Power Generation, as well as Soul Asylum. The episode delves into Bland's journey in the music industry, highlighting his transition from being a reluctant tech user to establishing a professional online presence through his website, michaelbland.org. Bland shares anecdotes about his early experiences with Prince, including the challenges and rewards of working for such an iconic artist. The discussion also touches on his current projects and collaborations, including the anticipation surrounding new music with Soul Asylum and his contributions to various artists. Throughout the episode, listeners gain a glimpse into the vibrant Minneapolis music scene and Bland's enduring influence within it.

Michael Bland, renowned drummer for Prince and The New Power Generation, joins Joe Kelly to discuss his extensive career in music and the unique experiences he's had while collaborating with some of the industry's most influential artists. The conversation dives deep into Bland's journey, highlighting his early years, the moment he received the call from Prince that changed his life, and the impact that working with such a legendary figure had on his musical evolution. Bland shares anecdotes from his time with Prince, including the rigorous expectations and the creativity that flourished in the studio.

As the discussion unfolds, Bland reflects on the Minneapolis music scene, its vibrant culture, and the significance of collaboration among local musicians. He emphasizes the importance of maintaining a strong local presence, exemplified by his regular performances with the Mambo's Combo at Bunkers, a staple venue for music enthusiasts. The podcast also touches on Bland's aspirations for future projects, including the potential for a new Sons of Almighty album, showcasing his dedication to creating meaningful music. This episode offers listeners an inside look at the life of a musician who has navigated both the mainstream and independent music landscapes, delivering a heartfelt message about passion, collaboration, and the ever-evolving nature of artistry.

Bland's candidness about his experiences, the challenges he faced, and the joys of musical exploration resonate throughout the episode, making it a must-listen for fans of music and those interested in the behind-the-scenes dynamics of the industry. With engaging discussions about technology's role in music today, the essence of live performance, and the ongoing connections within the Twin Cities music community, this episode is rich with insight and inspiration for aspiring musicians and fans alike.

Takeaways:

• Michael Bland discusses his evolution from being resistant to technology to embracing it for his music career.
• He emphasizes the importance of maintaining a balance between personal projects and commercial work as a musician.
• Bland reflects on his time with Prince, highlighting the discipline and hard work required to meet the artist's high standards.
• He shares insights on his collaborations with various artists, demonstrating his versatility across different music genres.
• The conversation touches on the impact of Minneapolis music scene, especially during the '90s and its ongoing influence today.
• Bland reveals his plans for future projects, including a potential new album with Sons of Almighty.

Takeaways:

• Michael Bland discusses his evolution from being resistant to technology to embracing it for his music career.
• He emphasizes the importance of maintaining a balance between personal projects and commercial work as a musician.
• Bland reflects on his time with Prince, highlighting the discipline and hard work required to meet the artist's high standards.
• He shares insights on his collaborations with various artists, demonstrating his versatility across different music genres.
• The conversation touches on the impact of Minneapolis music scene, especially during the '90s and its ongoing influence today.
• Bland reveals his plans for future projects, including a potential new album with Sons of Almighty.

As we celebrate our annual Minneapolis St.

Paul Music Month.

And our next guest is one of the foremost musicians in the Twin City.

He's been a special friend to ours here at WVOF in the upper room with Joe Kelly and Gee Douceau and want to say what's up to everybody in the MPG Music club chat room, we welcome once again, busy guy, but he's got some time tonight, Mr.

Michael Bland.

How you doing, Michael?

I'm doing great.

How you doing, Joe?

I'm doing really well.

And you know, one thing I remember when I first, you know, you and I first started talking on radio, you had mentioned you weren't into the big Hollywood business and stuff like that.

But you know what's real cool?

You got a great website.

I want to.

People ought to head over there.

Yeah.

You become the real high tech guy over these years.

You know what?

It's an illusion, Joe.

Okay, High tech guy.

I know how to maintain a profile.

And actually, I mean, my nickname used to be the unit drummer because I was so, like, just against technological advancement.

Yeah, I guess that's what I was.

And at some point I realized I was getting calls from producers and artists.

Well, not calls, but people were looking for me on the net and my phone number's unlisted.

That started back when I was working for Prince, because I'd get calls in the middle of the night from fans anywhere in the world.

And I just like, who's this three in the morning people calling my house?

Even for business, people couldn't really get ahold of me.

And somebody brought that to my attention.

And I was like, wow.

Yeah, I guess I better go ahead and take the nesty plunge and just get a site together and make myself available that way.

And it's funny because all sorts of offers for tours and recording projects immediately started coming.

And for our listeners, Michael's website is michaelbland.org and you go right up there, great picture of you right on the front.

And a lot of people have been saying nice words about the website pictures up there.

You got some cool archive photos, and I'm sure you got a ton more, right?

Yeah, I pretty much gave everything that I wanted to show to my web programmer.

His name is Chris Schoff.

He's actually the leader of a band called Catchpenny, also from Minneapolis, originally from Wisconsin.

I'm actually producing them right now.

And in lieu of, we kind of made a bit of an exchange for some work I did on a record for them.

And he was.

Well, he was a web programmer.

By trade.

And I was like, dude, I need a site.

And he just did it.

And we had a free exchange of ideas and I spit out a bunch of stuff that I thought would be funny and he made it happen and I just kind of bugged out.

I'm like, yeah, man, give me a.

Like I should talk or something.

Like make my, like take a picture of my head and like detach the jaw like Monty Python style, you know, and we just.

I think we went a little too far.

But it's definitely funny.

I think people are digging it.

So I'm sure, you know, hopefully people go there.

Michaelbland.org and hopefully, you know, myself, I'm hoping for another Sons of Almighty album.

I don't know if you got tracks or the idea to put another one out, but we just listened to Thy Kingdom Come.

Tell us about the making of that album and are there any hopes for a second release?

Yeah, I mean, as I was.

Well, as the first record was being mixed, I was already working on material for the next record.

But we've just been.

I mean, Sonny's been still.

And Jeff Lee lives in Philly, he's been doing a lot of work with George Duke.

So we've all been kind of just fragmented over the last couple of years.

Just mostly engaged in the paper chase.

Just surviving.

As a musician, you have to take quite often whatever is offered to you.

And sometimes it means compromising.

Well, it quite often means compromising the time you would rather spend on something that's a labor of love.

So we just.

And plus I joined Soul Asylum two years ago.

So, you know, just no one's been able to mine the store.

Nobody's been able to maintain any momentum.

You were talking Sons of Almighty record finished.

I mean, I have probably five or six tracks that are, you know, in some sort of working form, but I just don't have the time right now.

Well, you had spoken about the Paper Chase and you've played on a bunch of so called pop star records and I mean, you'd want to be doing your own stuff.

But what I mean, musicians going in the studio with them.

How do you put your mentality?

Like, I'm going to lay down the track and stay in a positive frame of mind.

Well, with the Suns, it's quite a bit of it is.

I'm kind of the engine.

It's like if I'm not there directly to motivate it.

I mean, the other cats just kind of.

They yield to my.

You know, they yield to whatever I think should be going on.

So the trade off is that then nothing happens unless I.

I, you know, give it any momentum, you know, But.

But how about working?

I.

I guess I meant working on other people's records.

And you said the paper chase.

Is it tough to stay motivated?

Oh, playing on other people's records.

Yeah, yeah, it's not tough to stay motivated.

I mean, I enjoy working with new artists all the time.

You know, I think that this past year was a real eye opener for me in realizing that I've managed to avoid being really pigeonholed into any particular genre.

The last six months in particular, there was a steady stream of calls that I mostly turned down, starting with the Dixie Chicks and then I think it was Nine Inch Nails.

What else happened?

In the middle of that, I started talking to Johnny Lang about possibly going out this summer.

Some other stuff I can't recall right now.

And then, like, maybe a couple of weeks ago, I got a call from John Mayer's management.

Yeah, I grew up in the same town as him.

Okay.

So, I mean, it's just.

It's.

It's.

But in that list of artists, it's like they're all over the map.

And somebody in each of these camps went, oh, call that guy.

He'd be perfect.

You know?

And that's what's blowing my mind.

I'm like, really?

And the Dixie Chicks call came right before the Nine Inch Nails call.

So I'm like, all right.

I don't know what that illustrates other than the fact that I just.

I have no genre and that I could pretty much, you know, work in any context that interests me, which is a real privilege.

So, I mean, I'm not so egotistical that I'm only concerned with my own, you know, artistic visions being met out.

I'm always acquiring information.

I'll always be a student, you know.

Well, Michael Bland is our special guest right now on the Upper Room with Joe Kelly and G.

Duso.

If you're listening on our WVOF broadcast at 88.5 FM.

Thanks for checking us out.

WVUF.org upper room with jokelly.com and michaelbland.org you can go there right now and find out.

I'm sure you all know about Michael Bland, but if you're just tuning in, check out his website and we'll come back.

We've got.

This is one of my favorite songs off the Great Tribulation Beautiful.

You wrote with Julius Collins.

And how'd you put this together in the studio?

Wow, you're really taxing my memory, man.

So much of it.

I was starting to write for the record, the material.

Some of it was put together in piecemeal, like in overdub sort of form.

I wrote that song in a small demo studio in southeast Minneapolis and Julius would come by and visit maybe twice a week to see what I was working on and exchange ideas.

And then it escalated to Sonny coming by and we were just literally working these ideas out on a four track cassette machine.

Because in my mind it's like if a song doesn't work in its simplest form, it's not going to work anyway.

So it kind of started there and I had the main section of the song and Julius was like, well, if you give me some sort of bridge together, I can work from there.

And it just kind of happened one day.

I don't honestly remember what happened once we got to the studio.

I don't remember how the sequence of events it took on.

It took on shape after maybe a couple of tries.

I guess I had to find a baseline that was really working with Sonny and had to wait for Jeff Lee to get back to town.

Tommy and I haggled over the keyboards and the arrangement.

I don't know.

I don't think any of this information is helping you.

I think that's good enough.

I think it gives us a feel of it and it's a great.

I mean, I worked when I could.

I was on tour with Maxwell at the same time.

So I'd be in my hotel room with my discman on, listening to the latest rough mix, making notes in a notebook longhand.

So I made my production notes while I was on the road.

I'd get home for two days, go in, blast, get no sleep and fly back out.

So we're going to listen to it right now.

This is Michael Bland's project, Sons of Almighty.

Beautiful.

And we'll come back and speak once again with Mr.

Michael Bland.

That was another great track from Sons of Almighty, the Great Tribulation.

We listened to Beautiful, which the producer and leader of the band, Mr.

Michael Bland, who has, you know, I got to give you a lot of credit still out in Minneapolis.

I know a lot of your fellow musicians kind of have spent time in different areas around the country and world, but you know what's going on in Minneapolis these days.

And for you, I know you do still Mambo's combo.

But what's been going on?

Well, like I was saying earlier, I joined Soul Asylum September before last, and we spent the majority of the year the bass player, God rest his soul, Carl Mueller, passed away in June and he had been in remission when I first joined the band.

And then he got sick again.

He had esophageal cancer.

And so the record was unfinished and the lineup was uncertain.

Obviously they didn't even know if they were really going to continue as a band.

And within the last six months or so, Tommy Stinson, who was friends with Carl and who was also the bass player in the Replacements, he's a solo artist and he's also the bass player in the most recent lineup of Guns N Roses, grew up with Dave Perner and Dan Murphy and Carl, and he stepped up to the plate.

So it's been the four of us since probably September or some.

So you've been.

You plan on doing gigs around town?

Yeah, I mean, the record, we just finished the record.

John Fields came in and helped us kind of finish it up.

John also, well, basically a minapolitan Greasy Meal produced the last two Switchfoot Records.

His uncle Stephen Greenberg, wrote and produced Funky Town.

You know, was a big contributor to the Minneapolis music scene.

He lives in Los Angeles now.

He came back, you know, it was an opportunity to hit to him to put a feather in his cap and say that he got a chance to work with one of the greatest bands that ever worked well that ever came from Minneapolis with Soul Asylum.

So he was happy to do it.

So the record's coming out, I believe in June.

It's on Sony Legacy.

And yeah, we're going to be doing dates as early as actually we're doing a date in D.C.

next month at the 9:30 Club.

Legendary club out there.

Yeah, well, I'm gonna.

I think I like the old location better, but I'm cool.

Michael Bland's with us.

Michaelbland.org you can go over there and find out all the stuff this brother's played on, whether his own music, music with Prince and the MPG and various artists that we spoke on before.

And you know, we've got some questions.

We're fielding questions.

We're giving the MPG music club people a little start on things.

We have Minneapolis Music Month for the entire month of March, but we're jump starting a couple and people in the chat room, a guy by the name of Gamila, he's a music reviewer up in Montreal.

He wanted to know if you have any Plans to come up to Montreal, Quebec one day to play.

Or have you.

Have you been up there before?

That was Vancouver last spring, and that was with Paul Westerberg on the road to promote Volker, the record he came out with on Vagrant.

So have you ever played up in Montreal?

No, I won't.

Nope.

Wait a minute, hold on.

Montreal, I think we did in.

I think 93 maybe was the last time I was there.

I think it was with Prince.

I think we did Montreal and we did Toronto because I remember Tony, Damon and Kirk coming out with Blue Jays jerseys on.

So last night, I guess it was a bit like old times playing over at Paisley park with the Mambo's Combo.

At least that's what I've read.

But you're.

You're the direct source because you were there.

What happened last night?

Oh, we.

We pretty much, you know, hung out and played some music.

I mean, it's just what we.

We did, we did at Paisley, what we do every Monday night at Bunkers, basically.

You know, it's just kind of we, we play music that we like in the way we see fit and hope that other people will find it entertaining.

I suppose.

So.

Has Paisley park itself complex changed a lot since you were out there recording and performing?

Not a lot, no.

I wouldn't say a lot.

I think that it has much less activity in it because there's not.

I mean, when we were working there, there was probably 120 administrative employees.

So, I mean, it's like there's probably one tenth of that amount of people working there now.

And the place is very quiet a lot of the time.

I mean, the decor has changed quite a bit.

But other than the activity, it's basically the same place that it was.

So.

Any chance Prince play last night with you or he just kind of admired what you were doing?

He hired us.

He didn't even guess, you know.

And I think that some of the fans were plenty salty because they paid 25 bucks to get in hoping that Prince was going to be playing.

Right, right.

You know, and I guess it's their prerogative to be, you know, upset.

But, you know, you guys threw that.

You guys, I'm sure.

I mean, you, Sonny and Jelly Bean.

And tell us who was in the combo last night?

Yeah, me, Sonny, Jellybean, Billy Franzi, Margaret Cox, Julius Collins, G Sharp Bean, Bill Brown.

Yeah.

Mark Licktie, everybody.

Everybody was there now.

We had fun.

I don't know if they had as much fun as we did.

Well, I was reading that there's A good possibility that you're somewhere on the upcoming 31,21 Prince release.

Any idea yet on where you're going to be?

Yeah, I'm imagining that I'll probably.

Probably be Sonny and I will probably be on the title track and I imagine maybe two or three other songs.

You know, hard to say.

I mean, even when we were in the band, we didn't know what was coming out until we saw the artwork.

Now I was reading on Prince Orc.

I mean, you go on there, you connecting really good with the fans.

And I know there was something they asked you different questions about John Blackwell, who's a good friend of ours as well.

The different styles of playing drummers that Prince has played with.

I mean, you were with Prince a long time and John Blackwell, but it was a cool differentiation that you talked about.

Maybe.

For those who aren't on prince.org do you have any comments on that?

I don't, not really.

I mean, I just.

I think that even.

Just the age gap between me and John is even evidence that we just.

We come from different schools of thought.

We have different approaches towards the instrument.

It was all I was really trying to illustrate, just that I'm old school.

I came up with, you know, P Funk Records and Ohio Players and whatnot.

And he's younger than I am, so different things influence his ear.

You know, there's a different approach just in his bloodstream.

And I don't really think.

I think he probably had to borrow from me somewhat to get him through the gig.

But, I mean, he doesn't really have anything I can use.

You know, he has a very modern approach and I'm just.

That's.

That's not.

You can't really find that in my style.

And I guess Prince's current drummer, Cora, have you seen her play yet?

Yeah, we were talking.

Yeah, we were talking about Foley.

I guess that, you know, he was mentioning her a while back, even before Prince connected with her.

But that was cool.

Yeah, I guess we'll have to wait and see how the tour is.

Yeah, you know, it's like.

It's.

Yeah, you can never really tell until things are, you know, available for public consumption now Speak.

Until it is now touring with Prince.

And you work with so many great musicians throughout the years over at Paisley Park.

Do you keep in contact with a lot of the cats that you work with over the years?

Well, funny man, I ran into Damon last night and Kirk.

They were both out at Paisley, so.

Yeah, I mean, people surface from time to time.

Tony Mosley's been down to Bunkers.

You know, I've had the opportunity to chat with him.

Haven't seen Levi in a while.

I tried to contact Miko by email and he wrote back.

I think he's living in, I want to say, Germany.

I'm not sure.

I can't recall.

But, you know, people surface from time to time.

I mean, I see Sonny all the time.

I see Sonny, I see Tommy.

I see, you know, the cats that.

When it was like, the four of us left standing.

It's like I see Morris and Tommy and Sonny all the time.

And the Mambas combo every Monday night at Bunkers.

Yeah, that's a good, you know, stomping ground for everybody because they know that, you know, without fail, the combo will play on a Monday.

And it's usually a pretty good hang for musicians, new musicians who come to town.

Sometimes we'll let them get up and sit in just to, you know, see what they got.

See if we have any use for them, you know, anywhere in the community.

You know, one of our favorite guests and good people, Dave Ananea, gave you.

And, you know, one day I should send you that interview.

He gave you the highest compliments because he said when he was a young kid going to school in the Twin Cities, he spotted you playing over at Bunkers, and he said it was the best $5 drum lesson he could ever imagine seeing you play.

I mean, he really.

I mean, when he was talking about it, he really said some cool stuff about you.

Well, I'm happy that any of that was of use to him.

I mean, that really is a place where we experiment.

I don't make real money doing that, man.

That's like a weightlifting competition down there.

It's like, can I do it?

We'll see.

You know, that.

That gig is a really.

It's a.

I don't know, man.

It's its own organism, that gig.

I mean, I've been down there for 19 years now, and it's.

It's a lot of what I do down there.

I mean, it's a very much an entity of its.

Of its own.

I don't cultivate techniques that I use anywhere else there.

I use those techniques there only.

And I think a lot of drummers get.

It's more of a drummer sort of thing.

But people will know from my professional body of work that I'm very simplified in my approach.

I love popular music, and I have a very responsible sort of role in it.

I just keep it grooving, man.

That's it.

The drummers like the Bunkers gig, because I flex a lot, but that's the only place I do that, really.

And I advise them to not.

Because I never made a dime doing that.

Hey, we should ask you a couple more questions from the MPG Music club chat room over there.

Someone by the name of Barry wants to know if you ever plan on doing some jazz records.

We've done a couple.

I'm in general, it's like, if I listen to jazz, it's usually something from the Miles Davis Quintet, period.

I'm not really that much of a jazz aficionado.

I'm not that much of a connoisseur.

I've been quoted in Jazz magazine in Paris, France, saying, I hate jazz.

Wow.

You know, I'm not.

I think I meant that more in the sense that some musicians really get, like, wrapped up in their journey, and they think that it's an exclusive, sort of very special set of circumstances that they somehow have control over, and they don't.

So I'm not into the art form.

Can come off as being really selfish to me.

Jazz music, you know.

But as far as, you know, my contributions in that area.

News from the Jungle is on Universal France, the jazz label.

We also did two records with Michel Portal, who's a French woodwinds player.

Me and Sonny, Jeff Lee.

Vernon Reed was involved, some Tony Hymas from the old Jeff Beck group.

He played keys.

And the record was recorded here at Creation, a studio over in South Minneapolis.

It's called Minneapolis.

You should still be able to get it.

I'm pretty sure they're still pressing copies.

It was a very popular record last time.

We were hanging out with Jellybean in the Time about a month ago here in Connecticut.

Made mention that you're going to be on the new Ronnie Baker Brooks record whenever it comes out.

So.

Yeah.

How does this sound?

I haven't heard anything.

I haven't heard anything either.

Okay.

I mean, I've heard.

I played on the songs, but I don't know what the.

You know, how things.

Ronnie did all his, like, solo work and whatnot, you know, in overdub form.

I mean, pretty much the rhythm section was me and Chance Howard and Ronnie Bean in the studio.

Go.

Go.

Hit him, man.

Hit him.

You know, being, you know, keeping everybody motivated.

What studio did you work on that.

Record with at Winterland Studios, which is in New Hope, Minnesota.

I work there a lot.

I really like their facility.

They have a really great recording engineer there named Brian Johnson, who I've worked with since he was probably in his early 20s, maybe even his late teens.

And he just.

He knows what my sound is.

He knows how to get it.

We don't even have to discuss it.

So I do a lot of work there.

And I just told Ronnie, I'm like, well, if you only have two days to record, man, let's go where we can maximize our time, and let's get a really great engineer in a really great room, and let's just let it happen.

So that's what he did.

So if you just tuned in, Michael Bland is our special guest right now.

His website, which is really cool.

Michaelbland.org Go there.

And how do you get to be employee of the month?

Oh, that's a secret.

Okay.

McGurk changed my life, man.

Okay.

That's all we need to know, right?

Yeah.

So I'm sure there'll be a lot of added stuff on the website and people can contact you.

And, you know, I'm trying to make it more personal, too, because it's been up for.

I mean, I guess in July or so, it will have been up for about a year.

But I'm trying to, you know, I want to start, you know, I figured, you know, give people behind the scenes sort of, you know, vibe as far as who's all, you know, involved in the greater organization.

So there'll be a different employee of the month every month.

I think I want to start, like, an album appreciation sort of thing happening.

Like, I want to pick a different album to, like, hype up.

Just a record that's had a major influence on me, you know, not just as a musician, but just, like, what I listen to just for pleasure around the house, you know, just to give people, I don't know, a broader perspective on what makes me pick, I suppose.

Now, you talked about music, but, you know, giving some of the listeners a little insight.

And what do you like to do when you kick back other than music?

Oh, I'm almost embarrassed to say I watch a lot of tv, man.

Like, everybody, right.

I know it's supposed to.

It's a bad thing, but the work I do is very personal.

And it's like the only way I can disengage is just watching something that stops me from circular thought.

And TV does that.

It just stops everything.

So I guess another question we have from the MPG Music Club.

Do you like to do a lot of impromptu jamming, or do you, like, do it straight up, do the song?

I'm not really the jam guy.

I mean, I can do it, but it's a different Head space for me to just be kind of open ended like that.

Because so much of where I come from musically has to do with structure.

Well, what do I want to say?

Like, obvious structure, not structure in general, or structure in an abstract sort of way, because everything has structure.

I mean, even, you know, I mean, Ornette Coleman records that seem to have none whatsoever have it.

I mean, structure is inherent in music.

But I guess I'm just saying the more conventional forms, you know, I'm very much a pop music aficionado.

Not necessarily what, you know, people are laying down now, but, like Motown songs come on the radio, man.

I'm just all about it right, Right now.

Four Tops still kill me, man.

Oh, yeah.

Levi Stubbs.

Levi Stubbs.

Yeah, yeah, baby I need your loving all that, man.

Now, when you were you and Kat and you got the call, or Prince came up to you and said, I want to take you on tour.

I want you to record.

Who's the first person you tell to let all that excitement out?

Or was it a tough decision to do all that?

Well, my parents were both standing in the dining room when I answered the phone.

Okay, I got you.

And I had been studying at Augsburg Lutheran College for a couple of years, wondering what I was doing there other than hiding out during, you know, I was supposed to be in, like, Christian ethics class, and I'm listening to Bitches Brew in the music library, hiding out.

So I was spinning my wheels there.

Anyway, man, I was reading City of God by St.

Augustine in one hand and reading Beyond Good and Evil by Nietzsche in the other.

So I was confused and really wanted to make a life out of music.

And so that call came at the right time, man.

And how old were you back then?

I believe when Prince first called, I was 18, and I was probably 19 by the time we actually started working, working.

So, I mean, a great opportunity and obviously, you know, wonderful things for you to go on that ride.

But what was the toughest thing at first for you?

If you can think back, maybe touring or recording the change of lifestyle, what.

Was the toughest thing?

Yeah, one of the toughest things for you to adjust to?

Um.

Wow.

I don't know, Joe.

I mean, really, I think the whole time I knew about what it meant to work for Prince.

Just stories I'd heard even, you know, just while being involved in the Minneapolis music scene.

Just people saying this and that.

Always really hard to work for this and that.

A lot of that stuff was true.

But it's different to when you understand what makes a person Excellent.

Your perspective changes on hard work.

You know, I really think, you know, because in the years that I worked for Prince, he never asked me to do one thing that he wasn't willing to do himself, you know, and he never, you know, whether it was, you know, recall perfectly what we did in rehearsal the day before, you know, anything like that.

It's like he was always the first one to illustrate that it could be done.

You know what I mean?

Yeah, exactly.

For a lot of cats, if their retention is poor, I mean, you know, that gig is about being musical, but it's really about being in tune, you know, just being there totally and just being.

Being about it.

It's very much a discipline in that respect.

I mean, a lot of great musicians could probably jam with Prince, but unless you know how to really take instruction and get to the heart of his music, you're of no use to him, you know.

Do you still keep up on his music pretty much album to album yourself?

Somewhat.

But, you know, to be perfectly honest, it's like if I hear something that doesn't agree with me and I tell some fan, they'll think I'm being a buster.

So I tend to try to shy away.

Like, I didn't go to any of the musicology shows because I knew I was going to be getting static constantly.

And I wasn't.

To be honest, I wasn't quite certain that I was going to enjoy it.

I mean, for a couple of reasons, but mainly because it's difficult to imagine music being played another way rather than how you would play it.

If you've been playing it for seven years, you, in your mind, in your spirit somewhere, you have a personal investment, an emotional investment in what took place prior to that moment.

And it's very difficult to disassociate from that.

And I know there was discussion.

Well, always Prince seems like he has the open door about having guest friends on his shows.

And you guys still open to maybe doing a few shows with him?

Yeah, he could call anytime.

I think Sonny and I have proven over the last year that really we're totally at his disposal, you know.

That's right.

With the recording.

That says it all right there.

Pretty much.

That's a good stretch there.

Yeah, yeah, I just off and on.

I mean, we come play a couple of.

A couple of cuts here, you know, couple.

A couple of things here, a couple.

Of things there over at Paisley Park.

Yeah, we just go out There and, you know, record on the equipment that was sitting there.

Pretty much.

Sonny would bring his axe and, you know, a couple of effect pedals.

I just sit down, you know, I think there was a set of drums that John Blackwell had sitting in Studio A.

I just played those.

And actually, one of the funnest sessions we did was with Macio Parker and a trumpet player named Ray and Greg Boyer.

And Sonny was playing bass and Prince was playing piano, and I was playing drums.

And it was all cut live.

And it was very much in the traditional, like, early James Brown records, like, before he got, like, into the whole funky thing, like more of, like, the 12 8, the 6 8, like the bluesier side of that, but piano driven, but with the three horns.

It was really a lot of fun.

It was really a lot of fun.

I don't know if that'll ever see the light of day either, though, but, you know.

But you're whetting a lot of people's appetite, I'm sure, by those words.

Well, I'm just saying, believe I did write to someone on prince.org, they were asking, like, about this and that if it's coming out.

And I'm like, dude, I have no idea.

There's probably 60%, 70 maybe, of what we recorded with Prince that got released.

You know, I mean, that didn't get released.

Sorry.

The opposite of that.

Probably 30% of the material that we recorded actually has come out.

I mean, the rest of it is just sitting, you know.

Was the trumpet player with Mesa, was that Tooley, Ray Tooley?

I never got his last name, but he kind of.

I think he was kin to somebody in the Booyah Tribe.

Okay.

Yeah, maybe it's another guy.

He had, like, long braids.

Okay.

Yeah.

That's a different guy than his regular trumpet player.

Yeah.

Yeah.

He was bad, though, man.

Right.

Right now, you're still based out of the Twin Cities, and we celebrate Minneapolis music here through the entire month of March.

How about such big heavyweights as Jam and Lewis and Prince seemingly, you know, putting a lot of time out in Los Angeles.

Harry, why do you think they're out there instead of spending most of the time here in the Twin Cities?

Well, I actually.

I actually, while I was in Los Angeles, placed a call to Terry and Jimmy, because I was just pound of the pavement, looking for work, looking for different things to do.

And John Fields is actually the one who told me.

He's like, dude, they took over the Village.

Like, the top floor, there's five studios.

I'm like, really?

He's like, call over there, dude.

So I called over there, you know, just I was going to leave a message and lo and behold, the operator was like, oh, wait a minute, Terry wants to talk to you.

I'm like, oh, okay, fine.

I mean, I don't really know Terry and Jimmy that well and I had no reason to expect that they were just going to drop what they were doing to talk to me.

But Terry got on the phone.

I mean, he's always been great to me, but again, we're not.

We come from the same camp, but we're not like compadres, compadres, you know.

And I just was asking like, what made you move, man?

All he said was like, it's just time, man.

It's time.

Like, all right, here's the number I'm at if you need me.

Great, man, Good to hear from you.

Stop by the studio anytime, just real friendly.

So that was their explanation.

I think that Prince has begun going out and spending a lot more time in California during the winter months.

And I can't blame him for that.

And I guess he rehearses a lot of his tours out there.

The Musicology tour.

His.

That's cool.

I mean there's, you know, there are facilities available to him there.

But I was kind of enlivened by knowing that there was a party last night at Paisley park of which he played, you know, that he still has stakes in the Twin City, at least the area.

Yeah, I think that in his own way he tries to continue to have a stake in that.

I mean, and that's kind of.

We're all of the same mind.

That's why we, we've maintained a profile down at Bunkers, because there's really, you know, not only in the city is there no other gig like that, but I mean, in the country, a Monday night, you know, being the top money making night at a club for 19 years.

For 20 years, you know.

A Monday night too.

Yeah, it's a Monday, man.

And you know, you go to Bunkers on the weekend.

Most of the time it's debt, you know, it's like the exact reverse of everywhere else.

It's a.

Many, many clubs in downtown Minneapolis don't even open on Monday night.

So I really want to maintaining a.

Profile and a forum, you know, where some music can happen, you know.

And a lot of our local legends come through there, man.

Stokely Williams.

Stokely comes down through there, you know, beans down there every week, you know, anybody might show up.

So, Michael Bland, I gotta thank you again.

This probably about the third or fourth time you've been on the show.

And, you know, all these people get pumped up when they know you're gonna be on.

And, hey, you're the opening, you know, big superstar guest for the Minneapolis Music Special.

And people here at WVOF and the MPG Music Club listen online and on a regular standard radio wherever they're hearing this.

Definitely are happy you stop by.

So thanks, my brother.

Not at all.

I do have a question, though, from Angelo Schifano in Holland, because he heard that I was going to be on the show.

He was asking if I could get a sound file or something to send them, because I guess.

Are they not able to hear this in Europe?

Oh, yeah, they'll be able to hear it.

We'll load it right up away so, you know, we'll have an MP3 file of it.

Oh, so it'll be.

Oh, so he will be able to hear it.

Yeah.

Angelo's from the band out there.

Octopussy, I think.

Right.

Hey.

To say what's up, man?

Yeah, yeah, tell him what's up.

We just played Break the Chains the other day on the radio.

All right, I'll let him know.

Okay, cool.

Yeah.

So Michael Bland, you know, when you first came on the show, you said you weren't high tech at all, but.

Yeah, you got me beat, I think.

Yeah.

Well, hey, Joe, I'm in the business of being in business, man, and I can't work if people can't find me.

That's right.

So we should go out with one of your trademark songs you did with Prince.

Shh.

Which, you know the song that was on the Gold Experience, right?

Yep.

It was the original version we recorded at the.

We did a party for the NBA that turned into the Beautiful Experience.

The video, like maxi video or something like that.

It was a thing with Nona Gay.

And yeah, we had a big party pretty much.

And actually that arrangement we came up with for Tevin Campbell to sing along too, because the original version of Shush was on.

What is the name of his record?

I'm ready.

Yeah, right, right.

Yeah.

And that was a way more laid back, you know, and Prince was like, oh, we need to hype it up.

Tevin coming to sing, man.

Let's put some breaks in it, do some drumming right here.

So we kind of threw it together and then just went out there and did it.

And Tevin, I think either he had left before we got to it, and Prince was like, let's just do it anyway.

And I think that ended up Being some sort of a bootleg because we were in new york shortly after that, and they took the audio off.

Off the dvd, off the video.

And had been playing it on this radio station in new york, and we were driving somewhere.

The limo driver had it on up front.

Like, bro, turn that up, man.

They already got this on the radio.

I mean, I don't even think we multitracked the gig, like, in a form that would be, you know, like, acceptable.

You know, I think I did hear that when it was played, it was on a pretty major new york station at the time.

Yeah.

And they were like, we're playing this once an hour until, you know, something, something, something, something.

I think it was when we went there to play the.

Do the two night stand at the palladium.

Yeah.

And they did the record sign.

I met you at the record signing back at tower records.

All right.

On.

Right on.

Yeah.

Okay.

All right, Joe, I know you got to go, man.

I'm talking to you.

No, that's cool.

So thanks again, michael.

And we'll get into another song.

We'll play.

Shh.

And then we'll get into welcome to heaven.

So thank.