International Lover: Marcus Scott Goes to Australia

  

  Beautiful Nights and Purple Funk (Australia) have teamed up to throw the ultimate Prince party.  

  W2AUS: The Prince Anniversary Party will take place 9 p.m. to 3 a.m. May 31 at The Hi-Fi, 125 Swanston St., Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Marcus Scott, of Beautiful Nights in Chicago, will be the host. DJ Phil K and special guest DJ Philvester will be featured on the turntables all night long. Tickets are $25, plus a booking fee (AUD) and this is an 18 and over event.

  The night's theme will celebrate the one-year anniversary of Prince's Welcome 2 Australia Tour stop in Melbourne. Highlights will include, songs, concert footage and music videos from Prince and related artists; special cocktails; a “Sexy MF” contest (with three categories including “purple,” “Princely” and “sexy”), with prizes donated by Seattle Artist Troy Gua and a special performance by Scott.

  “This is a purple night that you are never going to forget,” said Party Organizer Sofie Hendrickse, who has been a Prince fan since 1981. “So 'let's get crazy! Let's get nuts!”

  The event was the brainchild of Hendrickse and Karen Parrish, both of Melbourne. The two met last year in Parrish's “Princepirations” Facebook Group which she started in May 2012 after seeing Prince on the Welcome 2 Australia Tour. This will be the first Prince party hosted in Melbourne, according to the pair.

Sofie Hendrickse

   Hendrickse said the idea was formulated when she made a comment on the page that she thought someone in Melbourne should throw a Prince party, as a way for local fans to “cope” with only seeing him in concert intermittently. She added that he has only been to Australia three times in the last 20 years: The Diamonds and Pearls Tour (1992); World Tour (2003) and Welcome 2 Australia Tour (2012). 

  She said Parrish, who has been a Prince fan for 33 years, joined in the online conversation and assured her that they could make it happen. The two had never met in person, but, not long after that exchange, they were on the telephone brainstorming and discussing ideas. They launched Purple Funk (Australia) as a business venture and “the rest is history.”

  Hendrickse added that his last stint in Oz left many fans with what she called “P.P.D.,” or “Post Prince Depression,” especially since he started touring the United States earlier this year.

  “Australia just can't get enough of Prince and...I was, and still am, on a 'purple high'” Parrish said. “I felt the best way to bring back the Prince magic was to gather our purple family together for one special night...”

  “Melbourne went into a frenzy” when Prince had his afterparty at the Hi-Fi last year. More than 5,000 people lined up to get inside, but, only 900, including Hendrickse, got in. While he did not perform that night, he did DJ for a bit (with DJ Rashida) and she got the chance to meet Cassandra O'Neal, who was then a keyboard player in Prince's band. When the ladies approached the club with the idea for a Prince party, the booker was very interested, Hendrickse said.

  They have promoted the event through the W2AUS Facebook event page, Twitter, the Purple Funk (Australia) Web site (purplefunk.org) and press releases to radio and print media. There has also been strong word of mouth in their local Prince community.

 In addition, there has also been a whirlwind of planning including hiring DJs and a photographer, selecting music videos, concert footage and music for the party, arranging accommodations for Scott and much more,said Hendrickse, who has past experience as an event manager.

  Parrish said it has been “months of hard work, late nights (and) networking,” but, that the response has been “fantastic.”

Karen Parrish

  As of this writing more than 580 people have responded to their event page to say they will attend the party and that although that figure does not represent everyone who has already purchased tickets, sales have been moving “very nicely,” Hendrickse said.

  "The fun part has been interacting with Prince fans on our event page, witnessing their excitement and feeling appreciated,” she said. “It's exciting to know that we are bringing everyone so much 'purple pleasure.'”

  The ladies met Scott online when he joined the Princepirations page, around the time he was planning the very first Beautiful Nights Prince party in Chicago, hosted by Maya and Nandy McClean, better known as The Twinz, who originally hail from Australia. The three began talking and they asked him if would be interested in hosting their Prince party in Australia. He readily agreed, Hendrickse said.

  Scott said he is grateful and honored that he was asked to host this party. He arrived on May 23 and will spend two weeks in Melbourne. He is looking forward to meeting a lots of new Prince fans at the party and sharing music and stories with them. He will perform a couple of times during the course of the night, but, that it will be “nothing extravagant.” He will focus on answering questions and taking pictures for anyone who is interested. His goal is to be a “respectful American representing Chicago.”

 He also said he's not going to the party to “be Prince” and that he hopes people don't expect to see him in ruffled shirts, high-waisted pants and a purple jacket. In fact, he has another role model in mind for the night's party --James Bond-- and said that watching a 007 movie recently inspired him to likely wear a tuxedo to the event.

  “I want to be a smooth operator,” he said.

Marcus Scott

  To add to the festivities, Scott will be celebrating his 36^th birthday May 25 and the ladies arranged a gathering for him at the Blue Diamond to celebrate.

  He said that he is thrilled to spreading the Beautiful Nights message across the globe, but, he wants to let his stateside fans know that he hasn't forgotten them.

  “Since we had the first (Beautiful Nights party last November), I've been in high demand,” he said. “I'm going constantly going to all these different parties. I tell people they will just have to wait (for another Beautiful Nights party). There's only one me, (but), I haven't forgotten about the Chi.”

  He added that he hopes this bash will lead to more Prince parties in Melbourne.

  Parrish, on her part, hopes that this event will have even far more reaching effects.

  “This party will be so loud and so funky it will wake (Prince) in his boots wherever he may be,” she said. “We hope he hears us and returns to Oz. We are waiting!”

Tickets are still available at thehifi.com.au.

Visit the W2AUS: The Prince Anniversary Party event page at www.facebook.com/W2AUS.

Stay beautiful, Kristi

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Lead photo courtesy of Purple Funk (Australia). Design by Troy Gua.

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Much 2 Hot 2 B Cool: K Nicola Talks 2 The Twinz

   It takes two to make “A Beautiful Night.”

  The team behind the Beautiful Nights Facebook group, a page dedicated to Prince and associated artists, have tapped Singers/Dancers/Choreographers Maya and Nandy McClean, better known as The Twinz, to be special guests at the group's kick-off Prince party, “A Beautiful Night,” at 10 p.m. Nov. 24 at the Harold Washington Cultural Center, 4701 S. King Dr., in Chicago. The two will host, meet and greet with the fans and sign autographs. The party is being thrown by Marcus Scott, Bemaji Tillman, Alexis Wofford and L'Quita Sanders, all of Chicago. The event will also feature DJ Maurice Ice Culpepper.

  “We got connected (with Beautiful Nights) and we thought it would be a cool, fun event,” Maya said. “We're definitely looking forward to mingling with the fans.”

  The pair is best known for working with Prince since 2005. They performed with him during the halftime show at Super Bowl XLI in 2007,  did a six-month residency at the Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas starting in 2006,  there was a historic 21-night run at the O2 Arena in London and were featured in 21 Nights, a coffee-table book released in conjunction with the London concerts. They were also featured with the artist on American Idol, Saturday Night Live, the videos for his singles “Fury,” “Guitar” and “Chelsea Rodgers” and a Verizon Wireless TV commercial, according to a press release.

  “It was a big chain of events,” Nandy said. “It just started working one right after the other.”

Maya McClean, courtesy of Coastal Connection Group

  They have also worked with Chris Brown, Rihanna and LeToya Luckett. For the last two years they have fronted the urban pop-rock band Heroine December-- the group name being a combination of a suggestion from Prince, who noted the word “heroine” in one of their songs and the fact that the band was formed in the month of December. The group released the promotional single “Weekend,” in April 2011, which is available on iTunes and they working on a currently untitled album, which will be released in early 2013.

  They also teamed up again with Prince more recently in 2011 for his 21-night stand at The Forum in Los Angeles and the Welcome 2 Australia tour earlier this year, according to The Twinz' Facebook page.

  Before The Twinz hit U.S. soil they were well known in their native Australia. They both auditioned for Season 2 of Austrailan Idol, in 2004: Maya made the Top 30; Nandy did not. They created a sensation when Maya withdrew from the show to continue pursuing a career as a duo with her sister. They continued to work in Australia doing commercials, theater, fashion shows and movies, appearing in Moulin Rouge, starring Nicole Kidman and Ewan MacGregor, according to the Prince Vault Web site.

  The next year, they relocated to Los Angeles to further their careers and quickly found the break they were looking for. Their third audition was for backup dancers in a music video in a revue reminiscent of Ike and Tina Turner, featuring Tamar, an artist Prince was working with at the time.

  Nandy said they later heard that when Prince saw the audition tape, he saw one of The Twinz dancing and said “she moves in an interesting way.” Then the camera panned out and he saw that the dancer had an identical twin who moved the same way and that's when he made his decision.

  The music video eventually fell through, but, Prince tapped Maya and Nandy to back up Tamar on her tour, which he eventually ended up joining himself after Tamar's original guitar player dropped out. This was after being in America for a little more than six weeks and they said things took off from there.

Nandy McClean, courtesy of Coastal Connection Group

  They said they have two moments they consider career highlights: performing for their childhood idol Michael Jackson in Las Vegas and performing with Prince at the Super Bowl. Maya described the moment when she was waiting to begin the halftime performance and was in a position looking up at the sky. The sky was changing as it began to rain and there was a moment of reflection. She said it was a “really peaceful gratitude moment”.

  “The Super Bowl, that was amazing,” she said. “Especially when it started raining. That was a whole different ball game – literally.”

  On the night Jackson attended one of the 3121 shows at the Rio Hotel, they said their hairdresser did not tell them that Michael was there until after she finished their hair, because she did not want them to “bolt from their chairs” before she was done.

  The first chance they got, Maya said, the two checked the set list and saw that they did not have to go on stage until the third song, which gave them nine minutes to talk to their idol. The girls found him backstage and talked with him for as long as they could before they had to go to their places.
  However, this was not the first time they met Jackson: He came to Sydney with the HIStory Tour when The Twinz were 16 years old. They ended up visiting his hotel room for three hours and were able to speak with the artist and a chorus of children who accompanied him when he sang “Heal the World” onstage. They later auditioned as backup dancers on the ill-fated “This is It” tour in 2009, but were not chosen. She said they were both very emotional when they heard he passed away later that year.

  “He was beautiful, really generous,” she said.

  They cited Mariah Carey as a another professional influence and said their favorite associated Prince acts are Sheila E. and Andy Allo, respectively. But, there is only person who they said inspired them from the very beginning, their mother Maureen Gwendolyn Moseley, who passed away in early 2012.

  “She had a huge heart,” Nandy said. She was a symbol of unconditional love. Just her energy... she was always happy.”

 The Twinz were born in a remote area of Northern Australia to Hughes, who did charity work with underprivileged children, and Bruce McClean, a musician from Trinidad. They had an interest in the arts from an early age. They would learn the choreography from music videos and perform the routines in their bedrooms. They later moved to Sydney and studied singing, acting and dancing at the Northern Rivers Conservatorium of Arts and Brent Street, a performing arts school, according to a press release.

  Nandy said that in their private lives they are both pretty outspoken and really honest. The two declined to give their ages and said jokingly that they were “as old as they looked”. They added that they do not drink or smoke and they are committed to being healthy. They are at a point in their lives where they are more self aware and conscious and try to encourage others to feel the same.

  “You're as old as you feel,” Nandy said.

  In the next year The Twinz want to release an album, books shows-- especially one at the world famous Roxy nightclub in Los Angeles--, start their own entertainment company and work on getting a record deal. They are also very interested in using their talents for humanitarian efforts and donating to charity. Some artists they said they would like to work with include India.Arie, Bruno Mars, Rihanna and, of course, Prince.

  They said they are really looking forward to seeing one thing in particular Saturday: impersonators. They said they have heard about a "Prince impersonator" (Scott, who will be performing that night) and are particularly looking forward to seeing their own “impersonators,” another pair of twins who they discovered while looking through the Beautiful Nights Facebook page in a picture with Scott,  where the three re-created a famous shot of the The Twinz and Prince looking at their reflections in the mirror.

  “I definitely want to connect with them,” Maya said.

  She also had a personal message for all the fans of the Beautiful Nights page:

“We'd love to give them a shout out, give our love to them, tell them to get dressed up and look fly. We look forward to meeting as many people (as possible).”

For more information about The Twinz and Heroine December visit facebook.com/heroinedecember, heroinedecember.com and twitter.com/thetwinz.

Stay beautiful, Kristi

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Lead photo courtesy of Coastal Connection Group.

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