#Welcome2PaisleyPark Events

If you follow me on Twitter, you saw I was waffling about going to Minneapolis for the Welcome 2 America celebration for quite a while. After talking with a friend I finally decided to go! It would be a great break, haven’t been anywhere for a while, and the clincher was  to super support projects that have a more obvious message re racial Injustice and social inequity. Of course these topics are throughout Prince’s music on pretty much every album, but it’s not often when almost every song is an essay!

I will share my thoughts about the record later in the month, but for now I want to comment on the actual event at Paisley Park.

As a recap…

Part 2! Shout out to Heidi and Willie from @PurplePlayg and @PaisleyLove7 for their dance parties in the back! pic.twitter.com/fPaGWZJWJN

— Darling Nisi (@darlingnisi) July 31, 2021

I talked to a few people before going and they mentioned not wanting to listen to the album until they were at Paisley. Unfortunately the environment of the music club wasn’t the best for hearing a Prince album for the first time, not just because of the out of order sequencing, but it was more of kind of a social environment than one reminiscent of past celebrations (ie Rainbow Children oriented ones when attendees were given copies of the lyrics and a place to sit, listen, and absorb the music. A bit of a missed opportunity there I think.)

I must say though that the Paisley Park staff and associates were extremely kind, generous and accommodating both during the event and when we visited just to hang out later. I felt welcome and appreciated for sure!

Also, and again this is a personal kind of wish, it would have been great to have discussions around the album much like like Prince did at his past celebrations, specifically Xenophobia where there was a panel of Cornel West, Tavis Smiley, Michael Eric Dyson and others speaking on how we can address issues like xenophobia and racism.

Or even have facilitated sessions to discuss how people felt about the topics Prince brings attention to in these songs, a la 2001’s Rainbow Children Celebration.

Prince may not physically be in the room to stir people up or pose questions, but no doubt he would be in some other dimension we can’t see planting the questions to be asked, don’t you think?

For me that’s what’s missing from the Paisley Park events. We can talk about Prince all day, and share stories, or listen to podcasts, and read books. For me it would be really cool if Paisley became more than a museum of memories and more a place to continue the work of Prince. That’s not just in creating new music, but as a cultural center devoted to continuing the conversations he started and searching for solutions to issues he cared about.

For me, while I am glad I went to see friends that I haven’t seen in a while and just as an escape as I love heading up there, I’m not sure that I loved the experience of the Welcome 2 event (outside of the dance portion) and would be weary about other album celebrations there…

That said…

There are rumors of upcoming releases. Like…say Diamonds and Pearls. An album that had the full machine of Paisley Park (the building) behind it to promote it when it came out.

There  are important songs from that album that were created in that same building. Many of the musicians who supported it live in the area and are still working musicians. I just came across a podcast centering on dancers who auditioned for or were in the videos supporting that album. The studio engineers who worked on that album are still working studio engineers. That building is a big building…

Use the building!

Wouldn’t it be cool to have sessions in the studios to break apart the songs from that album…by the actual engineers who were in the room while the songs were being recorded?

Wouldn’t it be cool to have choreographers/dancers who created dances for the videos host a workshop in one of the studios? To do demonstrations or mock a tryout of the videos for Cream or Gett Off?

Wouldn’t it be cool to have Stacia Lang talk about how she crafted his clothes alongside her sketches with the other wardrobe staff in attendance, not just talking about it but showing us the pieces and talking (or demonstrating) their process from concept to creation?

Wouldn’t it be cool to have an exhibition or panel of photographer Joel Larson,  art directors Tom Recchion/Jeff Gold, designer Greg Ross, music video directors Randee St Nicholas, Spike Lee, Sotera Tschetter  etc who were on staff supporting the visual rollout of the album and tour?

And yes, so much great footage, not even just the concert that will come with the deluxe edition, but an alternate one that would make taking the trip out to Paisley to see something that we can’t already see at home!

And maybe an ACTUAL concert to close with the musicians who stood behind him during that era as well?

I know all of this costs money to do, scheduling, immense planning and we’re still in the middle of a pandemic…

But honestly I would be willing to pay up to 250-800 bucks for a true immersive experience celebrating the legacy of this album!

If we have to wait until the next celebration to make a day of it…

I am Willing and Able.

Ready to place my coins.

On the table.

Because I don’t want you tell me about what happened, I want you to teach me something. I want to LEARN something.

We gotta use the space at Paisley. We must make it worthwhile to make that trip for folks who are spending at least 1k each to even make it to Minneapolis outside of the cost of event tickets (it’s not cheap to travel there! People have to set aside coins and make arrangements!)

The stories need to be shared, but in a way that will help people deeply understand the amount and breath of talent that it takes to promote an artist like Prince. For me I’m not as much interested in what people thought he was motivated by, as much as I am interested in  the technical details behind launching and promoting an album Like Diamonds and Pearls. Teach me, how does industry do this? Teach me the skills you need to have. Teach me about it so I can understand what it takes! Who knows, maybe I’ll get inspired and want to jump into the industry and do something similar myself, or at the very least, I can learn something tangible about the creative process that I can adapt for my own life.