Pop Quiz: Catching up with S0-and-So.
Prince played with many backing bands during his lifetime, but were any as beloved as the Revolution? The five-piece group that accompanied the singer during his imperial phase, from the recording of 1984’s “Purple Rain” soundtrack through the 1986 tour in support of “Parade,” re-formed after Prince’s death in April 2016 for three sold-out shows at the famed Minneapolis venue, First Avenue. The band’s classic lineup — guitarist Wendy Melvoin, keyboardist Lisa Coleman, bassist Brown Mark, drummer Bobby Z and keyboardist Matt Fink — is now touring in support of the Deluxe Edition reissues of “Purple Rain.” We spoke with Melvoin from her Los Angeles studio.
Q: You guys look like you’re having fun with these reunion shows. Was the original run as much fun, even though you had a very strict boss? A: It’s no different between the band members. We were always very connected. We continually look at each other on stage going, “My God, did 30 years just go by?” It doesn’t feel like it. I think that’s one of the gifts from all this awful time that has slammed everybody over the head. The band is more connected to each other than ever. Q: For a lot of fans like myself, those were the glory years that we kept hoping Prince would go back to, and there was a lot of frustration as it got further away from that. Did you feel that? A: The bittersweet part of this is when he went to compiling this whole release record, there was talk of us going out. There’s a frustration that it didn’t happen. I let go a very long time ago of my frustrations about some of the choices he was making. I couldn’t even presume to say, “You were your best then.” He never felt that way. Every move he made was just his own exploration into what else he could be, or what else he could do. That’s just true expression. He’s a comet. Prince is a f—ing comet. Every one of us — his fans, everyone who worked with him — were just hanging onto the tail of it.
Q: The first set of dates you played in Minneapolis when this was all fresh, you didn’t enjoy it. What made you decide to carry on? A: Well, by day three at First Avenue you could feel a sense of relief. On that last show, there was a different feeling compared to day one and day two. Those were almost impossible to do. Truly. It was absolutely cognitive dissonance, really. But day three had some really nice borders. We all walked offstage and looked at each other and said, “Well, that’s something that can happen again.” Q: How does it work without the guy at the center of it all? A: It doesn’t work without the guy at the center. That’s the whole point. He’s not there. He’ll never be there. No one will ever replace him. And we’re not going to try . ... The only thing we can offer is the authenticity we bring. We make them sing: “You sing! It’s your songs!” Q: How many albums did you make with Prince that are still in the vaults? A: As Prince and the Revolution, there’s probably four albums in the vault from that era. I hope they get to be heard.