Prince Goes home and the Angel Who Saved His Life

"A brain isn't the mind... and the mind isn't a soul... that's why we need the arts." Senator Al Franken in his eulogy on the Senate floor for the Purple one.

"I am so saddened to hear of Prince's passing. Prince was a revolutionary artist, a wonderful musician and composer. He was an original lyricist and a startling guitar player. His talent was limitless. He was one of the most unique and exciting artists of the last 30 years." Mick Jagger

Amazing artist. Purple ray of light. This came to mind for some reason; "Tis a far far better thing i do than i have ever done, tis a far far better place i go than i have ever been..." in a hurry to get somewhere perhaps, or to be with someone... musicians live in their music forever, whenever a note he wrote or played is heard; he's there on a quantum level. RIP

What to say about Prince and the Flipside?

Well, he's headed home.

Wonderful interview that took place in Paisley Park a couple of years ago - and the reporter was chagrined to hear that "no one knew where Prince lived."  The last line of the article was "He's gone home, wherever that is." 

Property of NPG records

Article offers a rare glimpse into the world of Paisley Park with some tasty sidebars into the clever improv he kept up all these years. Oddly enough last sentence was the subject of my appearance on radio in minnesota last night. "I've filmed 30 people claim that home isn't here. It's on the flipside."

Last night, just as a coincidence (there are no coincidences, but this radio show came to me two weeks ago, so I had no idea what I was going to talk about) I appeared on "The Darkness Hour."  It's a bit like "Coast to Coast" and the hosts Dave and Tim will be substituting for George Noory this next weekend.  I haven't heard the show, but I assumed it would be a bit about the flipside.

http://twincitiesnewstalk.iheart.com/media/play/26930097/   your first hour

http://twincitiesnewstalk.iheart.com/media/play/26930137/   your second hour

But I took the opportunity to chat a bit about the Purple One who had just "left the building." I pointed out that the media will talk about his life and loves, his arriving and his departure, and most people will focus on his age (57) and how he died (to be known.)  Why do we focus on age and way of passing?  It's like focusing on how someone tripped off stage after a great performance.

Part of the reason is to make sense of our own lives. 

But as I point out, in the research, it's consistent that people "choose to come here" - choose who they're going to be and what they're going to do while they're here.  And sometimes they sign up for a journey that is shorter than one might expect - but if you allow for a moment that a person "doesn't die" - that they just have left the building - they aren't here any longer, but they still exist - then you get a better handle on where Prince might have gone.

Turns out besides being a terrific musician, he was a humanitarian, and that he donated, help thousands of people, insisting no one would know of his participation.  That unto itself is pretty amazing.

According to Van Jones on CNN, who worked closely with Prince on his projects, the man's generosity was unbounded.  We know that Prince assiduously took down mention of him on youtube - but perhaps this wasn't because of monetary issues or the internet "ripping him off of royalties" (although that has been stated in the past) perhaps there's a spiritual aspect to it.  "Don't focus on me.  Focus on the music."

Perhaps.

Something else I wanted to note about the Purple one.  "Why purple?"  Did anyone ask him?

I found this insightful article from Nancy Dillon in 2009:

Prince reveals he battled epilepsy as a child in rare interview, until 'angel' told him he was well

BY NANCY DILLON 

 

DAILY NEWS WEST COAST BUREAU CHIEF

 

Tuesday, April 28, 2009, 2:09 PM

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MOSENFELDER/GETTY

Prince revealed to Travis Smiley he had epilepsy as a child, until an 'angel' told him he wouldn't be sick anymore.

LOS ANGELES - He's got the look - and a medical secret that helped shape his legendary music career.

Pop icon Prince revealed a childhood struggle with epilepsy during a rare, soul-bearing interview.

"I've never spoken about this before, but I was born epileptic," the Grammy winning singer said on the PBS show Tavis Smiley. "I used to have seizures when I was young. And my mother and father didn't know what to do or how to handle it but they did the best they could with what little they had."

Prince, 50, said the illness helped shape his over-the-top persona.

"From that point on, I've been having to deal with a lot of things, getting teased a lot in school," the Purple Rain singer said Monday night, wearing a high-collared white satin shirt and high-heeled black and white spats. "You know, early in my career I tried to compensate for that by being as flashy as I could and as noisy as I could."

A Jehovah's Witness who weaves spiritual themes through his songs, Prince said his faith also helped him cope.

"My mother told me one day I walked in to her and said 'Mom, I'm not going to be sick anymore.' And she said 'Why?' And I said 'Because an angel told me so.' Now, I don't remember saying it, that's just what she told me," Prince said.

He didn't say whether he grew out of the illness or continues to live with epilepsy, but in a song titled "The Sacrifice of Victor," Prince tells the story of a boy who was "Epileptic 'til the age of seven."

Prince was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2004, the first year he was eligible. He told Smiley that he taught himself to play music after his musician father left his piano at the house when he moved out while Prince was a kid.

"When he left, I was determined to get as good as him," Prince said. "I just stuck with it, and I did it all the time. And sooner or later, people in the neighborhood heard about me, and then they started to talk about me. And it wasn't in a teasing fashion. It was more like, 'Wow, look what he can do.'"

He said the support motivated him to write his own songs.

"Once I got that support from people, then I believed I could do anything," he said.

ndillon@nydailynews.com

Epilepsy! An Angel!

Wow.  Seizures as a child... that he credits with inspiring his onstage persona.  Talk about someone taking what might be construed as a negative and turning into a positive - doesn't get much better than that.

"My mother told me one day I walked in to her and said 'Mom, I'm not going to be sick anymore.' And she said 'Why?' And I said 'Because an angel told me so.' Now, I don't remember saying it, that's just what she told me," Prince said.

If I had a nickel for every time I've heard someone say in my flipside research they were "visited by an angel" that told them everything would be okay... or some variation of getting a visit from someone on the flipside who gives insight into our future... sometimes a "bright light." "Unconditional love." As I'm fond of saying; "He's not gone. He's just not here." No doubt hanging with that angel once again.

In terms of the flipside, many such stories of being "visited by an angel" who tells you that you're going to recover.  Who was that angel? Well, in the research, they're often "spirit guides" coming in disguise to help you through a difficult path.  Sometimes they're literally "angels" - people who don't incarnate, either anymore, or perhaps never had, but serve others from the flipside as avatars and helpers - and sometimes those angels are our "higher selves" - as I mentioned on the show, the research shows that about 2/3rds of our energy is always "back there; back home" keeping an eye on us.

  "He's not gone. He's just not here."

Prince has left the building.

I got to review Prince exactly 23 years ago.  I was a stringer for Variety at the time, and here's what I wrote:

Review: ‘Prince and the New Power Generation’
Rich Martini
  
APRIL 20, 1993 | 12:00AM PT
The King of erotic funk slammed into the Universal Amphitheatre Thursday for the start of a three-day stint. There was plenty of glitz and glam, and when the sparks settled, Prince again proved that, beyond the hype, he's a master showman.

The King of erotic funk slammed into the Universal Amphitheatre Thursday for the start of a three-day stint. There was plenty of glitz and glam, and when the sparks settled, Prince again proved that, beyond the hype, he’s a master showman.

Evening began with Prince reading a copy of the recent Los Angeles Times pan of the San Francisco tour, pretending to urinate on it with lighter fluid, and sending it to oblivion with a match as he launched into “My Name Is Prince.” More flames were to follow.

First act consisted of songs solely from his latest Warners release, which uses a symbol uniting male and female signs that hung like a flaming arrow above the stage, under which the meister of erotica played out his funkadelic fantasies.

The early show was framed around cliche-ridden scenarios; a faux sheik’s daughter, Mayte Garcia, is dragged from the audience and turned into a Power Generation funkette, and dancer Kelly Konno plays a nosy reporter who gets her comeuppance by being stripped on stage. Both sketches seemed more suited to reruns of Dean Martin’s “Golddiggers.”

Nonetheless, the top-notch footwork of Garcia, and Prince’s high voltage performance around and on top of her, served to turn these banalities into amusing sidebars to tunes like “Sexy MF” and “Love 2 the 9s.”

Massive drummer Michael Bland and zoot-suited guitarist Levi Seacer Jr. provided sharp backup when Prince wasn’t soloing on his lavender guitar or plum piano.

The second act was even higher octane, as Prince blasted off with “Let’s Go Crazy,””Kiss” and “Irresistible Bitch,” showing no signs of the flu that caused him to reschedule the first two nights of this stand.

The New Power Generation was top-notch throughout, with kudos to rapper Tony Mosley and fellow hip-hoppers Damon Dickson and Kirk Johnson. Ace tech work included roadies who seemed choreographed, a panoply of clever costumers, and a futuristic light rig, which kept the night full of eye-popping spectacle.

Prince and the New Power Generation
(Universal Ampitheatre; 6,251 seats; $ 42.50 top)
 Reviewed April 15, 1993. Band: Prince, Tony Mosley, Sonny Thompson, Michael Bland, Morris Hayes, Levi Seacer Jr., Tommy Barbarella, Damon Dickson, Kirk Johnson, Mayte Garcia, Kelly Konno.

Where has Prince gone? "He's gone home. Wherever that is."