New faces to watch
Prince is somewhat of a wunderkind on the contemporary music scene. At the tender age of 19, he Is already an accomplished multi-instrumentalist, producer, arranger and composer. With last year’s “For You” LP and his current self-titled LP to his credit, Prince is now enjoying his first hit single. the rhythmically sensuous “I Wanna Be Your Lover,” which is currently bulleting al #3 on the Cash Box B/C singles chart and recently crossed over 10 pop.
The son of a jazz bandleader In Minneapolis, Prince began his musical career at the age of seven by starting to play the piano. Since his mother was a singer for his father’s band, he was constantly surrounded by music and rapidly began to pick up bits and pieces of songs. However, Prince soon felt musically cloistered in Minneapolis and, oddly enough, turned to the television for inspiration
“It was hard absorbing a lof of musical influences in Minneapolis,” says the shy, reserved Prince. “I stopped buying records when I reached 11 because they always arrived so late. I was frustrated. So, a lot of the music I picked up was from television”
After one unsatisfying lesson, Prince decided to teach himself how to play, spending numerous hours in his room, honing and developing his musicianship to the point where he became adept at playing 27 different instruments. Still, he needed an outlet for his prodigious skills and decided to form a band while at Bryant Junior High School. The band, Grand Central, changed its name to Shampagne when he and the other members graduated to Central High School.
When Prince decided to make his first demo tapes In a small local studio, he was introduced to synthesizers. His affection for the versatile electronic instrument grew increasingly, to the point where its sounds now permeate much to the material on his LPs
“I like synthesizers because I can’t play the trombone.” says Prince wryly. “I don’t like horns very much and you can’t bend notes on them like you can on a synthesizer.”
Armed with his demos, Prince and his manager, since-departed, travelled west and immediately received offers from four major record labels. According to Prince, landing a record contract was easy In comparison to persuading label execs to allow his to produce his own album.
“They told me that I couldn’t, at first,” he stated. “I had to go in and then they watched me play all the instruments and produce. First they said yes, and then they changed their minds. I had to go through the whole thing again to convince them I could do it.”
Prince pointed out that it was originally “out of necessity” that he cut the “For You” LP by himself, since he hadn’t put together a band at the time. He liked the results, though, and so did his label. Warner Bros. “For You” yielded a B/C radio hit. “Soft And Wet.” That allowed him to repeat his solo effort on “Prince.”
Now, after assembling a band of fellow Minneapolis musicians. Prince is taking his show on the road for the first time. “I feel comfortable with this band because t think they know where I’m going,” Prince confidently slates.