lthough he’s been residing in
New Orleans for the past 15
years, Soul Asylum frontman
Dave Pirner is still closely tied to his old
hometown of Minneapolis. But he didn’t
Murphy chose to leave the group in 2012.
Pirner’s main co-conspirator now is former Prince drummer Michael Bland, and
– via their respective home studios,
Bland’s in his office and Pirner’s in his
spacious back yard – the duo pingponged ideas back and forth for the
group’s rollicking new Change of Fortune
set, its 11th overall. But over the years,
Pirner says, the two could often be
found recording at Paisley Park,
although never, he stresses, in the same
room with Prince himself. They would
only pass each other in the labyrinthine
halls and nod politely, with mutual
respect.
Pirner does happen to possess one of
the gruffest, most charismatic singing
realize just how deep those roots ran
until quite recently, when the Paisley
Park vaults of late R&B legend Prince
were opened to reportedly reveal –
among countless other archived recordings – not one -- but four Prince/Pirner
collaborations, labeled PXP (hardcore),
P2P (slow jam), PnP242 (industrial), and
the Chuck Berry tribute PP. Trouble is, the
singer sighs, “I have no idea what all that
is – I just hope I get to hear it some day.”
Soul Asylum is no longer the
same punk-edged outfit it was when it
formed in Minneapolis 35 years ago;
founding bassist Karl Mueller died of
cancer in 2005, and co-bandleader Dan
voices in modern rock. Were his existing
vocals spliced with Purple genetics, mad
scientist style? Your guess is as good as
his, he swears. “But I do know that Prince
recorded one of my songs, and Michael
played on it,” he admits. “Through
Michael, he asked me for my blessing so
he could record “Stand Up and Be
Strong,” and I was so excited, like, ‘Hell,
yeah! Prince can have my blessing!
Whatever he wants, man!’ He didn’t really even have to ask.” Officially, Pirner
and his benefactor finally met backstage
at a Sheryl Crow concert. “So I had a
moment to tell him how important I
thought he was in Minnesota music, and
Dave
A
08•2016
10 illinoisentertainer.com augu