Paisley Reflections
Posted this on my tumblr, but important to be here too! This is my blog after all!
My experience at Paisley Park….
So we pull up on the place like THIS IS IT. Was a little antsy because we were a bit late. Got to the bus 20 minutes before our time but had to wait for it to fill up. Ended up getting put with the group just behind the one we were scheduled for but it was fine. We went in, got a wrist band…purchased a zip drive for the picture for later, got our phones locked up in a pouch so we couldn’t take pictures and things.
They line you up, VIP on one side (what we had), general admission on the other. A loud person welcomed us to Paisley asked where people were from, etc. General tour is self guided where you can walk around at your leisure and they’d have some people to answer questions or explain big tour stops. VIP tour had a “guide” but it was mostly him bringing you to different areas.
So Tour starts in the atrium area. His urn is there and the guide there explains it, but I didn’t want to hear all that. There are two themed rooms off the atrium, DIAMONDS AND PEARLS WAS ONE. THE YELLOW SUIT, PEARL CAGE OUTFIT, AND A BEAUTIFUL EMBOIRDERED PEARL COAT WAS THERE.
Biggest shock that we knew but also didn’t was how small he was. The mannequin with the yellow suit was T.I.N.Y. To give you an idea I’m Five One and 90 pounds on a heavy day.
He wasn’t much bigger than me.
I would be very surprised if he was really five two.
Other room was for SOTT. THE PEACH OUTFIT, PEACH CLOUD GUITAR AND FUR COAT WAS THERE! Also another example of how tiny he was. Cloud guitars are TINY also, or really just Prince sized.
Lovesexy room was there, but the door was closed.
On the other side of the atrium room was a dinner/kitchenette area. There was a TV/sitting area there also where he allegedly went to watch tv and hang out. A blanket was draped over the back of the couch.
Next we went into the video editing bay. Another thing of note, his actual WORK areas had a vibe. They were all super comfortable and sensual in the “senses” sense. Decadent fabrics for the furniture. Low lighting, candles. Candles everywhere. There was a “tech” in there claiming to show rare clips which were actually just clips from the Life of the Party Musicology.
Cassandra O’Neal was in our tour group and told us stories about boyfriend. Summary : he was a COMPLETE gentleman of the “hold your hand when walking down stairs” type. He was also stern and obvs a genius. For the time she was with NPG, he’d as usual, teach them all their parts and they’d play it and he’d say “that sounds better than how it sounded in my head!”
Real tears.
Next we went into his office. Again vibe. Candles, books, decadent purple fabrics on the furniture. Sensual room. Modern looking desk. Suitcase by his desk.
Next we went to Studio B. On the way in there, there was a meditation room of some sort. Room was lit with a blacklight with constellations projected on the walls…also his symbol was found there but it was backwards. There was also a couch and a tv in this room….
And…well…let’s just say this room had a really warm/comfortable/sexy vibe.
Moving on….
Studio B the studio. The control room was where A Million Days was filmed. Wall had Afro Prince and 3rd eye girl. Piano from Piano and a Microphone tour was there (photo op) as well as a ping pong table. Guide kept referring to it as “Prince’s Ping Pong Table” not just ping pong table. “a lot of people had fun on Prince’s Ping Pong Table” “No one could beat him on Prince’s Ping Pong Table.“
Took our pictures here. Atlanta Piano and a Microphone show was playing over the speakers….on an iphone…plugged into the wall.
….
Moving on….
Wall of influence. Protégées to his right. Influencers to his left.
On to Studio A.
This studio has the granite sound room with a piano and maybe guitar can’t remember. Special significance for me because this is where he did One Night Alone (studio version) my fav. Also noted that there was potpourri in all the working rooms…and again candles…and scarves….everywhere.
They also played us snippets from a jazz album he was working on this year. Jammy jams!
Next Purple Rain room. Mostly lame tbh…Outfit there, script, Oscar, snippets of the movie on the wall. Next UTCM/Graffiti Bridge room. We saw the outfit he wears during the “CABBAGE HEAD” part of UTCM. Again tiny and I swear waist like mine. (I’m 22 inches around…the parade tour pants…even more of a conundrum. HOW. DID. THEY. STAY. UP?!?!). Graffiti Bridge side of the room had the Elephants and Flowers top.
Next wall of history, 1996 and back. Pictures of himself through the eras…all ones we’ve seen BUT BIG! AND THIS WAS HERE BEFORE HE LEFT FOR YEARS! THIS BEAUTIFULLY VAIN MASTERPIECE OF A MAN!!!!
Next Piano room with a piano that cost him 100k. It’s the one he poses by for the Rainbow Children week. The room used to be an arcade. Video games. Pool table etc.
Next soundstage. Graffiti Bridge was mostly filmed here. For now, there were stages set up for different eras. 1999, Emancipation, Jam of the Year, Piano & a Microphone, 3rd Eye Girl. The BEAUTIFUL guitar he was so proud of that got made this year but he didn’t get to play was on the Piano & a Microphone stage. IT IS INCREDIBLY STUNNING!!!!
They also had footage from the concerts projected on the wall. The “COOL” clip with the gray shrug was played. I wanted to do the dance right but the way my coat was set up….
There was also Piano & a Microphone footage which makes me think…
Next room was the NPG Music club room. Aftershows here and he’d walk among the crowd like a regular person. Someone told a story where he was standing next to her just normally and she tried to be cool. He was of course gone before she knew it. We were allowed to take a seat on those couches. Sat by the Rainbow Children mural because of course. Second favorite album!
Next the fake fence…meh. No comment.
Then it exited into the Merch tent where we spent about 500 bucks between us.
AND DAS IT!
Overall impression :
Def. Rag tag. Too many people in there at once. You could probably come in as general admission and just jump into the VIP group since they weren’t checking bands after you got in. VIP isn’t really worth it tbh…the only advantage was the picture. To me the whole thing felt REALLY impersonal and “looky loo”. The tour itself did not have a vibe and felt cold…especially seeing the way the vibe was obvs important with the way the studios and working areas were set up.
It could all be just the rush of getting things together, but I am a little worried about that…
I didn’t really learn anything new during the visit…a lot of stuff I’ve gleaned before. Biggest surprises was seeing for my own eyes how small he was…and how we legit could have shared clothes.
As far as “the spirit” it wasn’t really heavy overall….except that Studio B meditiation room…and if you take a moment away from the group. If you do that and just kind of be quiet…you can feel him. For me it was kind of like….I imagine to be wrapped in a mist or cloud or something that’s very comfortable and warm. Felt it in his office, in the Studio B Room, in the NPG music club…
Def go, but wait until sometime next year once things are running smoother.
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