K Nicola Dyes and Elke Hautala, of "Dyes Got the Answers 2 Ur ?s," took a road trip from Seattle to Boise, Idaho earlier this month to meet with Gayle Chapman, Prince's keyboardist from 1978-1980. Check out the interview below where Chapman, who famously left the band for personal reasons, discusses life, music and the Purple One:
Jesse
Jenkins can now add song promotion to his list of recent
accomplishments.
Jenkins,
20, of Arlington, Texas, was one of two Prince fans to receive an
e-mail on Feb. 21 from 3rd Eye Girl-- Hannah Ford, Donna
Grantis and Ida Nielsen-- who make up the artist's backing band.
The
message contained a link to their new song "LOL (Live Out
Loud)," before it was officially released on the 3rdeyegirl.com
Web site with instructions to do whatever he wished with it, he said.
Jenkins produced a short video that night which he posted on his YouTube
channel. His clip--which, at the time of this writing has had more than 4,700 views-- introduced Prince fans to a five-second teaser of the song, included artwork for the single and a, now removed, link to download the track.
Jenkins
agreed to a telephone interview with "Dyes Got the Answers 2 Ur
?s" last week, to share details of his experience: ?:
Tell me about a little bit about yourself and your background.
JJ:
Well, I like communication; I love words. I'm from New Orleans,
(but), after Hurricane Katrina hit, I moved to Texas and I've been
living here ever since. I'm into fashion and I love good music. I
love the power it creates... My family would describe me as a little
weird...I do things on a different wavelength. I am very spiritual,
I'm into spiritual things. I lived in Europe for three months and I
just came back. I lived in Sweden, and I was able to visit Germany
and France...I've studied eternality and I don't believe in
numbers... according to the records I'm 20, but, some people might
think I'm older than that...
?:
How long have you been a Prince fan? How did you discover Prince?
JJ:
I would say I've been a fan for close to three years. I was looking
for a video (on YouTube), when I saw (a performance of) "Pop
Life" during the One Night Alone era at the Aladdin (Hotel and
Casino in Las Vegas). But, I really became massively interested when
I heard 20Ten. It was leaked on YouTube before the release.
(The song) "Beginning Endlessly"... it's just metaphorical,
it's poetic. I loved the title, I loved the lyrics and from then on I
just wanted to hear more of his music.
I
have been amazed at his musicianship. He writes all the songs and
plays all the instruments... After I heard that album, I talked to one
of my friends (and) she told me I should listen to Sign o' the
Times, and that changed everything, too. I kind of worked my way
backwards; I listened to the newer stuff first.
?:
Tell me about your YouTube Channels.
JJ:
"Jesterants," that's where I have the Prince playlist.
That's (the channel) that I have dedicated to rants (and) share some
of the things I've written. "Demonstrativerand" was my
first channel (where) I wanted to demonstrate random desires. (It
has) a lot of Michael Jackson material (and) it's kind of a
community-based channel. I'll post stuff that inspires me. It's a
personal channel, a random channel.
?:
I heard that you had been in contact with Dr. Funkenberry before you
received the e-mail from 3rd Eye Girl. How did that happen?
JJ: Dr.
Funkenberry (had been) following me on Twitter since October 2012 and
(in the past) he sent out a tweet (that) said "check Jesse out,
he's a cool guy." (He said) Prince and the NPG (New Power
Generation) were already looking at my videos back then. Well... I made a video when I came back from Europe, because, I was gone for so long. While I was (in Europe) I kind of took a break. When I came back, so many (Prince-related events) had already happened. I made a video about that and it got more than 1,000 views (on YouTube) by the next day.
Later, I got a message from Dr. Funkenberry (that) said
"somebody saw your video and they really liked it...They think
you're very articulate and talented." He asked for my e-mail
address, because (Prince's camp) wanted to send me something. He said,
(he) didn't know what (they were) going to send or anything, but, to
keep on the lookout.
Then
he was doing the Spreecast (an online interactive forum where
Prince-related discussions and interviews are conducted via webcam)
and I jumped on board and asked Bobby Z (former drummer for The
Revolution) some questions. A lot of people kept asking my questions,
because there were quite a few people in front of me...
Right after I
posted "LOL (Live Out Loud)," he warned me about some
people who (might) want to steal the spotlight. He said (there will
be) people who think I'm an insider and are going to hate on
everything I do.
Courtesy of 3rd Eye Girl
?:
Describe the entire process once you received the song from 3rd
Eye Girl.
JJ:
After I spoke to Dr. Funkenberry those few times, I didn't hear much.
I made other videos, he sent me a couple messages that said "did
you hear from anybody?" I said no and (he said) "don't
sweat it."
When
I got the e-mail (from 3rd Eye Girl), I thought it was
spam, but, I responded anyway. They said "I have a new song, are
you interested?" I said "yeah!" They said it was a
gift and I could do whatever I wanted with it. I asked them "are
you sure I can share this?" They sent the e-mail around 8:25
p.m. and I had to wait three hours for the link.
There
was another guy on YouTube named Jake, I believe, (Jak3vision), I
know that he was the other person that Prince's camp sent the song
to. I knew I wasn't going to play the whole song, because, you have to be careful. I played five seconds of it (in the video)
and I posted the links (for people to download the song). It was
downloaded more than 1,000 times from the two Web sites I used and
both reached their download limit.
Two to three hours later, (3rd Eye Girl) e-mailed me and
said they really appreciated it and (asked) if I could remove the
links, but, I could keep (my) video (online).
We
(Jenkins and Jak3vision) were basically used to keep up the suspense
before (the song) released. I believe (the other video made by
Jak3vision) was posted (on YouTube) around the same time or maybe a
little a bit after mine. You can tell he used a lot of video editing.
I checked it out, I watched it and I commented. The video was taken
down by Controversy Music and I think it was because he played the
entire song.
?:
How did the entire experience make you feel?
JJ:
It really did feel like a dream; it didn't feel like it was
happening... I knew it was coming, I just didn't know it would come
so suddenly... It was hectic getting all of those follows (on
Twitter) and emails. It was suspenseful. I did tell my followers at
the time that I was going to drop a surprise right after I got the
e-mail (from 3rd Eye Girl).
?:
What has been the reaction from Prince fans so far?
JJ:
On Prince.org, I've gotten a lot of "orgnotes" thanking me. I have been
making videos for a while an sometimes, I don't think people
understand my approach. I'm not an expert...I haven't even been to a
Prince concert yet. What I know about him now inspires me to have the
album discussions on my (YouTube) channel. I've had people question
me about it, thinking it's a set up. But, I have no connection to
Prince. When Dr. Funkenberry told me he (Prince) was watching the
videos, that was enough. I'm not one of those guys that thinks
everything Prince does is good, (but) I appreciate his depth, his
innuendo, his mystery...His music is spiritual and it changes me. He
is human just like we are and I don't worship him. Overall (the
response) was positive, (but) there have been some negative
(responses).
I'll
never ask anyone to follow me on Twitter, or "like" me or
"share" me... Someone said "you are the chosen one"...
I just appreciate his work and I'm thankful that he shared what he
(has) shared for so long.
?:
Have you been contacted by 3rd Eye Girl since you
premiered the song?
JJ:
The last message I got from them just said thank you and you'll hear
from us soon...I wouldn't mind being contacted again, but, I'm glad
to just have had the opportunity and having it come out the way it
did.
?:
What are you hoping for, as a fan, in 2013?
JJ:
To see Prince live for the first time, that's the one thing I'm
looking forward to. I would love an official DVD release of (the)
Montreaux (Jazz Festival), that's one of my favorites...I'm looking
forward to new music. I'm (also) looking forward to the Billboard Music
Awards and (Prince's upcoming performance on) "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon." I hope he
performs "Screwdriver."
?:
What do you hope will come out of this entire experience?
JJ:
I think that it might open some doors for my communication, (but) who
knows what will come out out it? I'm humbled with what I do. It's
always a surprise when somebody likes what
I do... But, whatever comes out of it, like Prince would say,
I surrender my expectation...
When it comes to questions about her life and career, Jill Jones is not afraid to say what's on her mind.
Jones met Prince in 1980, on the Dirty Mind Tour, when she was doing backing vocals for R&B legend Teena Marie, who was the opening act. She was already honing her chops and is listed as co-writer on two Teena Marie songs “Young Girl in Love” from the 1980 album Lady T and “The Ballad of Cradle Rob and Me” from It Must Be Magic, released in 1981.
She later moved to Minneapolis around 1982 and worked with Prince in various capacities for more than 10 years. She eventually signed a contract with Prince's Paisley Park Record label and released a self-titled album in 1987. However, the release was not the success she had hoped for, with the album and all three singles failing to chart on either the U.S. Billboard Pop or R&B Charts.
Jones and Prince started work on a second untitled Paisley Park album in the early 1990s, and three tracks were recorded:“My Baby Knows How to Love Me,” “Flesh and Blood” and “Boom Boom,” with a music video being shot for the last song. However, differences of opinion led to the plans for the second album being abandoned and Jones moved to New York to quietly let her contract with the record label expire in 1993.
For many Prince fans she has left an inescapable legacy: her iconic voice can be heard on Prince songs such as “1999,” “Pop Life” and “Hello,” among many others; she was featured in two movies starring Prince, “Purple Rain” in 1984 and “Graffiti Bridge” in 1990 and she was memorably showcased in Prince's breakthrough video for the single“1999” – wearing just lingerie and a captain's hat.
She also did vocal work, sometimes uncredited, for associated artists albums' such as Apollonia 6, Vanity 6, Mazarati and more. It has also been said that she inspired Prince's “She's Always in My Hair,” which is the b-side of “Raspberry Beret,” one of his biggest hits.
In addition, she has worked with other artists including Ryuchi Sakamoto, and Nile Rogers and Bernard Edwards, of Chic. She released her second album Two in 2000 and more recently in 2009, she released the dance music single “Living for the Weekend”.
Jones recently agreed to speak with K Nicola Dyes for “Dyes Got the Answers 2 Ur ?s” by telephone in a free-form interview to reflect on her life and career in her own words:
My childhood...half of my childhood was spent in Ohio where I lived with my grandparents. The other half my childhood was spent in LA, where I went to live with my mother and stepfather...
My teenage years were surrounded by the music industry. My mom was with the Motown family. My stepfather was Fuller Gordy (brother of Motown Records Founder Berry Gordy). I had everybody's albums... I did not want for music in the house. Everybody was stimulating and creative...not really eating dinner at 6 o'clock so much.
Teena Marie was the sister I never had. My mother was her manager and she lived in our house. She took me everywhere. We drove up the (California) coast. She took me to school. I hung out with her and her friends. She was very supportive of my craft and music. (She taught me to) get my own style. I could imitate Barbra Streisand perfectly. She taught me about songwriting. We would go up to the house and see Smokey (Robinson) and Marvin (Gaye). (It was) a one-of-a-kind lifestyle, especially coming from Ohio.
Songwriting is the escape. The place where you can vent. The place where you can say anything you want, (that) you can't say in real life. You can work things out. Sometimes I just want to pay tribute to certain things and certain people. I've since taken up writing as well and I find that to be the same thing. Having things fictionalized a little bit helps.
It all changed when I moved to California, because I originally wanted to get into law...the practical side of me always fancied being an attorney, because we had a family friend who was an attorney. When I came out here it brought out the creative side, it also brought out the competitive side, because I attended Beverly Hills High School. It really changed after touring with Teena, working with Rick James and touring with all those people.
Rick James could be very sweet. He was very intelligent. Based upon the fact that he knew me when I was a teenager, he was always pushing education, always asking me why I wasn't in school. I would bring my friends to hang out at his house when I was supposed to be in school... My stepsister Iris Gordy was pretty instrumental in putting together his first album. Rick was a bigger-than-life person and he enjoyed being that way; that was his personality. After I started working with Prince, he would always take the piss out of me when he saw me...
I met Prince on tour with Teena, on the Dirty Mind Tour. I think it was in Florida... We had left Rick (James') Tour and I was singing backing vocals for (Teena Marie).
Life on the road... Oh, I love it! I love being in a different place everyday. I (didn't) have to clean, I barely packed. I didn't have a problem with being on the road.
Jill Jones on coming of age: I definitely got over any kind of hang ups. I'm not (going to be) rolling around with a lot of wrinkles on my face doing threesomes... I remember that being on tour, the old guys who would try to pick you up. And I'd be like “ yuck, he's 32!” and (my) mother is saying things like, “you know he has a jet.”
Jill Jones and Lisa Coleman in the music video for "1999"
I learned so much... I don't know, I'm still learning so much... I learned a lot about being independent and about being overprotected because (when you're on tour) you are in a capsule and surrounded by a chosen few. I learned that even when you don't feel well, you still have to perform, but, once you're out there you feel a little bit better. I learned a lot about men on the road. I learned about women, too. They sold themselves really cheap. I do know that I learned a lot about how women can be and that everybody wants to be special... at least for one night... and learning that they may not be. It's a really bizarre situation...
I used to think that Prince and I would have been friends during the duration, during our whole lives. Because we had a really strong friendship... You can be with people for 10, 12 years, it's phases of your life, you just close the book and you just put it on the shelf. So, it's so bizarre when people ask anything about him, it was just a phase in my life. It's nothing in particular, it's just my point of view of certain phase in my life. It's always in retrospect. I used to say, when I got older, if I was on the Swiss Alps and I was milking cows, there would be somebody that would come across the hill that asked about Prince!
I've never tried...Ooh, let me think for a second. Let me think. I've never tried... parasailing? (Laughing). I would say skydiving. Never tried that. I've never tried on a size 4 shoe. I've tried on a size 5. I guess some of those crazy things like jumping out of a plane...I've never drunk dialed President Obama.
I don't understand why the political arguments going on today, are the same ones that were going on when Abe Lincoln was president. I don't understand why (there are) Republicans, who are broke as shit, who don't want a minimum wage increase. I don't get the Republican mentality when people are broke! I don't understand how best friends can go out with your exes...
I hate when people ask, oh, I don't know if I hate anything anyone asks me. I guess it's okay people for to ask me, I just don't have to answer. I think that when people ask your age, they associate that with your demise and what they think you should be doing. I think when you're newly married, people shouldn't ask when you're having kids. Because you don't know what their deal is and I think it's personal.
People would be surprised that I have a really, really crazy temper. Maybe they wouldn't be surprised at a hot temper. They would be surprised to know that I am trying to learn German right now. My husband is German and (the language) is really, really hard. People would be surprised to know that I want to live in Germany.
I love my family. I love that the universe has given me many opportunities to have a family. Even going back (to being) on tour I liked having a family. I adore my husband, when I was getting married I just looked at him and I thought "what took you so long to get to here?" I love that everyone gets along. My family. My cats and all my pets that I've ever had.
Jill Jones on Tipper Gore (and the Parents Music Resource Center): Tipper Gore was on our ass. (MTV) banned my video ( for the single "Mia Bocca"). They would only play it in the middle of the night, at 3 am... She directly impacted my life, she actually did in a weird way...
My first album was a very long pregnancy, good God, it took so long get out. It was a really ace album, but, the timing was way off. I don't think everyone was ready for it. Radio wasn't looking for it. There's a rap convention in Atlanta that I went to and people came up to me saying “you're Black? I didn't know you were Black! I would've played your record.” I just came back to Prince, like, “should I just get a tan?” White people somehow knew I was Black and they said “I'm not playing that house Negro on the radio.”
The album was dead in the water. Then, I went to a function and I think I was crying. A Warner Brothers executive (Rob Dickens, CEO of Warner Brothers UK) saw me and he put money into the project to do promotion in Europe. We made the (music) video (for the single "Mia Bocca")...They (Europeans) always liked Josephine Baker, that whole thing always worked. I was discriminated against in my own country. I opened for Jody Watley in LA and, seriously, the crowd just stood there whole time with their arms crossed. I was angry dancing. I was singing “G-Spot” and I was like “I'm not going to shake my ass.” I know (on past tours) I would go out in my bra and panties, but, then I put on my trench coat and I'd leave. I just threw the mike down and walked off the stage. Prince came to me and said “is that it, are you done?” Maybe he created the diva in me. I think the album was a very intellectual album. We made a decision to take a lot of the poppy songs off. Once Clare Fisher puts the strings on it... I wanted to leave them on... That's where I sealed my fate to never have a hit record...(Prince) could have given me "The Glamorous Life". Sheila E. would come to the studio to play basketball and I did not know that the child was going in (to the studio) late at night and singing the songs...
The second album... My mother passed away in '95. When she was diagnosed in cancer in '94, I had a deal with London Records. Steve Fargnoli hooked me up with them. My contract expired with Prince in 1993 on April 15... which I remember because it was seven years to the day. When my mom passed...I didn't want to sing. I don't think I handled it as professionally as I should have. I wrote a letter to my manager that said “You're just too busy going through the corporate world, because you don't know what the fuck you're doing.” And I faxed it. And we were dropped... I (later) recorded (the album Two) with Chris Bruce and it was cathartic. I had a new boyfriend at the time and that was a nightmare. (I) just had to get it all out. That record came and it was supposed to come. (The song) "Gorgeous Wonder" is about my daughter and she just saved me in so many ways. I just ended up going into interior design through friends. It was very trying and tricky. I remember (one time) that I was bartending and the RZA (from the Wu-Tang Clan) came in and said “you're Jill Jones” and I was like “No, I don't understand” and I pretended like I was French. Don't let your pride swallow you up...because that is a mistake. Everything's fixable and your good friends would never make you feel bad about it...
True friendship...learning a lot about it. I don't know what it is. I think it's the intimacy that I have with (some) people, but, it's always tested. People disappoint you. I know I tolerate a lot of other people's mistakes. I don't know. Honestly, I don't know what to say.
I want to know how to stop over analyzing and to kind of just not take things so personally anymore.
Can I? What does that mean, can I? Now it's at the point of why can't I?
I wish that I did not see so many homeless people and that they had their own home. I wish that the bankers that perpetrated all this fraud would be prosecuted and in jail for a long time. I wish good health to all my friends and family. I wish everybody had health care...
Ten years. Ten Years (emphasis added). Wasted. Yeah, ten years wasted. And I don't think fondly of these ten years, the ten years that I'm thinking of... But, I got a good song out of it.
My musical influences, this is the thing, I hate that question...Of course David Bowie, of course Led Zeppelin, of course Billie Holiday. Even Barbra Streisand. To me Prince was a great influence...Ryuchi Sakamoto. Classical pieces. I just love Rachmaninoff. I love Radiohead. I love Fiona Apple...I love people who are actually just a little bit themselves. They have hitches and flaws...
Jill Jones on the unfinished second Paisley Park album: We (Jones and Prince) were kind of were at two different roads. The song (“Boom Boom”) was from 1982 and it seemed forced. He kept remixing it. I went to do the video, but, it was late, it was too late. And I just ended up going back to New York, got married and waited until my contract expired. During this time he called me-- and I was at a friend's house-- and said, "you don't have any charisma, you should dye your hair black and you need to get breast implants like Brigitte Nielsen." I was furious... Dickens (CEO of Warner Brothers UK) was instrumental at one point with Roger Davies, my manager, when we were trying to complete my second album alone. Without Prince. But, Prince rejected every attempt we tried.
I've done a lot of interesting pieces of material. I've done many internal journeys, spiritual journeys...I can do a lot of things, I'm curious, everyone would be surprised by that. I've done crocheting and I have also done knitting.
The music business is not the same as it used to be...it's worse. The music business is now just isolated by a few of the old guard and they are just picking at it like vultures. They have reduced people to this value and it's disgusting...The music business is full of spineless people who are getting 20 to 25 percent of these kids' money for licensing and merchandising...Have you looked at how many plays you need to get on Spotify just to make $3,000? What is crazy is that they were doing this back in my day. They made money on the vinyl and they made money on the plastic. But, you know, here we are.
Pop stars can be boring. They are boring nowadays. I mean, American pop stars are boring. I love the Brits. I don't know if anybody really wants to have good content anymore. Maybe it's generational. I think it's superficial. It's synthesized. It's synthetic. They're equally as processed as the food in the grocery stores...it's synthetic and processed and it's fake.
Nowadays, people are just in flux. Things are suspended. Nowadays, everyone has had a big pill that has them in a coma. People don't have any verve, they've just lost it. Nowadays, I don't think people go out to gigs a lot, live performances, they don't really watch them.
My mother...amazing lady. Strong, sensitive, compassionate. But, she let a lot of people walk all over her, unfortunately, and she was a lot more forgiving than I was.
My father... I don't know him. I had two conversations with him on the phone. When I was younger I cared, but, now I don't care anymore. I got over my daddy issues a long time ago, but, that was in God's hands and I think that worked out. He had a really salty character that might have impacted me. I think we were touring and I called my father and Prince said you should never call him again. And I said, you're right, he wouldn't even come to the show. He was just a sperm donor.
The future...God willing, I will learn more. I will be doing a new album which I'm working on now. I want to be busy doing things. I want to be open to being more creative. I'm more interested in film things behind the scenes. I don't know, we'll see. Right now I am wrapping up a Dance album.
Jill Jones and Marcus Scott of Beautiful Nights
Check out the video for "Mia Bocca" here:
Check out the unreleased video for "Boom Boom" here:
This is the official blog for the Beautiful Nights Facebook group, a page dedicated to Prince and associated acts. We'll tell you everything you need to know.
