P R A I R I E
P R I N C E
LEGENDARY DRUMMER
FOR
THE TUBES AND TODD RUNDGREN
EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW
ON THE RAY SHASHO SHOW
During the course of 40+ years, while continuing to
record, perform and tour the world with The Tubes (15 albums and world tours) Prairie
Prince performed and recorded with many of his heroes and fellow artists alike,
and fulfilled many desires to execute various drum techniques in a wide variety
of musical styles.
In the early 70’s Prairie worked with legendary
pianist, Nicky Hopkins, recording two albums with musicians such as George
Harrison, Mick Taylor, Ron Wood, Ray Cooper and Klaus Voormann, among others. Prince
started the band Journey with Neal Schon and Gregg Rollie shortly after and
recorded the demos that got them their first contract. Prince opted not to join
the band on a permanent basis for his dedication in The Tubes. After session
work with Tommy Bolin, Brewer and Shipley and others in the 70’s, the 80s’
brought work with Chris Isaak and he played drums on his first four albums.
The 90’s brought live performances with Tom Waits. Prairie
was the drummer on legendary “King of the Surf Guitar” Dick Dale’s 3 CDs. Then Prince
became the full-time drummer for the re-formed “Jefferson Starship” featuring
original members Paul Kantner, Marty Balin, Jack Casady and Papa John Creach.
After 4 CDs and several world tours he bowed out as their full-time drummer in 1998
but continued to perform as their international gig drummer.
In 2006 Prince toured with The New Cars featuring Todd
Rundgren as the lead singer, bassist Kasim Sulton, and original The Cars
guitarist Elliot Easton and keyboardist Greg Hawkes.
Prince continues to perform and tour with The Tubes
and Todd Rundgren.
VISUAL ART
Visual Art has always been a huge component In Prairie’s life. He’s painted murals, designed stage sets and have a thriving business creating custom finishes on drums, guitars, motorcycles and vehicles.
Visual Art has always been a huge component In Prairie’s life. He’s painted murals, designed stage sets and have a thriving business creating custom finishes on drums, guitars, motorcycles and vehicles.
Early in his career he teamed up with Michael Cotten
(former Tubes member) to create Cotten/Prince, an artistic design partnership. They
combined their art expertise and worked with The Tubes choreographer Kenny
Ortega (Dirty Dancing, High School Musical) to collaborate as the artistic team
responsible for devising the production design and theatrical staging for The
Tubes live shows and videos. They also designed the album covers and graphic
design for the band.
They also came up with a style and air-brush technique
which allowed to design and paint some of the world’s largest murals.
One of their most famous murals was the “Flying
Records” on the exterior of the A&M Records building in Hollywood, Ca. The
mural’s demise was mourned by many in the music community, Jerry Moss, founder
of A & M Records. The destruction
of the mural was documented in a 2012 NPR interview.
Their artistic vision and ability to produce
innovative and artistic projects led to working for the world’s top live
performers, high-end retailers and companies around the world.
Working with longtime collaborator Kenny Ortega they
created set and stage design for some of the world’s biggest musical touring
acts (Michael Jackson, Shania Twain, Bonnie Raitt, Gloria Estefan, Bette
Midler, The Tubes and Todd Rundgren).
They also collaborated on the Closing Ceremonies of
the 1996 Olympic Games and the Super Bowl XXX Half-Time Show, starring Diana
Ross, Michael Jackson’s 1997 “History” tour and “This Is It.”
Prince is also the Artistic Director of MouthMan,
a company founded with Ross Valory, founding member and bassist of Journey. They’ve
designed a line of shirts where graphic designs of jaws and teeth on the
sleeves form a mouth when the wearer “hugs themselves”.
With
the Tubes www.thetubes.com
And
with Todd Rundgren www.todd-rundgren.com
P R A I R I E
P R I N C E
SPECIAL GUEST
ON
THE RAY SHASHO SHOW-BBS RADIO
CLICK BELOW TO LISTEN
And
don’t forget to purchase a copy of my book entitled Check the Gs -the true story
of an eclectic American family and their Wacky family business… available now
at amazon.com. You’ll live it!!!
Have
a great week everybody!
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