14 Apr Exclusive! Behind The Scenes With Prince At “Lopez Tonight”

Prince. Photo: Jet Magazine.Mike Ruiz

OK, you all know I am a huge Prince fan.  So yesterday, I was like a kid in a record store as I was able to take in Prince doing sound check at “Lopez Tonight” yesterday..and it was amazing!!

I felt like I was watching “This Is It” the Michael Jackson movie as Prince and the NPG would rehearse and then he would stop to give directions or have someone stand in a different place.

While in rehearsal, Prince was wearing slacks and a grey french coller dress shirt and they started out with rehearsing “Laydown” which they did about 3 times without stopping. 

Next, was “The Beautiful Ones” which Prince stopped to give direction during the song.  He did this at the end of “Laydown” but never during.  It would be about lighting or where to have Misty go when dancing.  He would pick up the song from where he left off, never starting from the beginning. 

3rd, they did “Ur’e The 1 4 Me, a D-Train cover.  That took longer but with Sheila E. on stage and the Twin dancers and Shelby J. leading the other female singers.  Prince was playful throughout the rehearsal of this song n playing air drums for a bit til he got his marching band gear on.

The rehearsal was about 90 minutes long with the fans standing outside waiting to get in.

Things That Did Not Air On Lopez Tonight

They cut out pieces of Prince’s interview where he talked about bands he had seen at the Forum including the Jacksons and then George threw out some names he saw there.  They took a few digs at Staple Center as being too new.  Prince also stated he tried to do 21 nights at Madison Square Garden but they would not allow him to do that, as certain records can’t be touched.  Prince added that the first band he saw at the Forum was “Fleetwood Mac” and I found that interesting as Stevie Nicks is in town performing at the Hollywood Bowl Saturday night.

After Prince said “21 Nights” starts now, they went into “D.M.S.R.” after the show went off the air.  It was a a funky full version with Prince playing the Hohner towards the end of the song.  He then gave it to the crowd and they began to fight over it.  I swear, it’s amazing to me how that thing is still in one piece.

To me, the music did not come through as loud and as powerful as it was when we were there.  It seemed like it was turned down or something.  Can’t put my finger on it but it was much better live than it appeared on TV.

Before the show, they let us know that 2,500 other people tried to get tickets to the show tonight n were denied.  When they were throwing out shirts, a guy in the back caught it.  It was none other than Eric Stonestreet from the ABC comedy “Modern Family” who caught the shirt.  Hmm.  Guess when you have the number 1 comedy on TV, you can get in to anything.

All in all, a very fun and memorable experience and I want to thank 2 ladies that looked out for me to get me in.  Very much appreciated.

BTW, how amazingly hot and beautiful did The Twinz look?  Can I please have 2 just like them?  Hey!  You never know unless you ask.  Also, thank you to Shelby J. for help.  I appreciate it.-Dr.FB

Diagnosis:  This Isn’t It

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