Hello Cruel Ghost Chapel: PRINCE TRIBUTE SHOW

I have so many memories around Prince. "Controversy" was the song that made me a fan. In the summer of my 17th year, Purple Rain came out in theaters, and I paid to see it 3 times, each with different sets of friends. The performances were riveting, and my friend Jaie and I knew all the lines by heart.

His b-sides were some of my favorites, I would catch them late at night on "The Quake" KQAK in San Francisco when I was in high school -- songs like "Irresistible Bitch" and "Erotic City". I bought a lot of the 12" singles, that was the only way to hear the b-sides for the longest time.

The "1999" and "Purple Rain" albums drew me in and cemented my fandom, but my favorite period of Prince is between "Parade" and "Lovesexy" - 1986 to 1988. So creative, so prolific, so experimental. He was right in the pocket. "Sign O' The Times" was the only official thing that ever came from that period, but I think that's only about half of what was supposed to come out during that time. (See "Dream Factory", see also "Crystal Ball"). I hope that stuff makes it to the light of day. I hope we see the contents of the rumored "Vault" in the coming years.

I still can't believe he is gone, it hasn't fully hit me yet. It turned my day around to show up and play requests for 2 hours. Thanks to Amy for letting me crash her show. You can hear hour two of the tribute on her page, OVER HERE.