COLLECTING MEMORIES
If you have ever had a conversation with anyone about another human being, you know the purest glimpse into someone's life is captured through friends, family, and observers. When stories are not manufactured to fit society's expectations but come from a genuine place of respect and admiration, the final painting of that person's life is more beautiful than you could have ever planned. Although our painting of Prince will never be complete, each memory we collect adds another intricate brushstroke.
Paisley Nights Podcast
As the master of cool, Prince, unlike any pop star of his day would open the doors of Paisley Park to his fans. For close to three decades, he invited fans from near and far to attend shows, to listen to new music, and to dance the night away. Over the years, many became fixtures at the parties as they engrained themselves in the Paisley scene. Returning again and again, these "Paisley Heads" were true blues and their lives have been forever changed by the man, the music, and the community that emerged.
These were "regular" people that experience extraordinary things. These stories have laid dormant until now. This podcast intends to give them life by giving a forum where the memories can be shared. We seek to put these stories on wax so history will know what happened on those beautiful Paisley nights.
Co-Hosted by Mark Bonde, a long-time Paisley Head, and DJ Dudley D (Dustin Meyer) Prince's long-time DJ at Paisley Park.
The aRTISTs
"My oldest dream is to create a place where children can learn and practice art mediums with full support and autonomy - a place where budding artists could learn and work freely. Experiencing Paisley Park let me know a place like that is possible." - Danny L'Amour
"To have been even a small part of Prince’s creative world is something I never imagined. I’ve always said I loved everything he did – I just didn’t expect he’d return the favour." - Martin Homent
The Community
"I just wanna say this for the record: I have the best music-loving supporters in the world!" - Prince R. Nelson
"People tend to underestimate how exceptional and extraordinary he was. He was human, flawed of course, but his talent and his vision made him unique." - Eric Fiszelson
"Prince, a man that was notorious for guarding his privacy and creating an air of mystery around himself spoke so openly. It was amazing to see him at ease with himself, so different from the image the media portrays of him." - Matthew Jeffrey
The Snippets
This section includes shorter anecdotes that take 5 minutes or less to read.
"Like gravy on a biscuit his work soaked into the crevasses of my being and changed me. I now clearly see that I would not be me if he had not been him." - Mark Bonde
"Out of nowhere I smelled lavender perfume and Prince [was standing] next to me." - Corey Tollefson
CREATING MEMORIES
More powerful than each individual impression Prince made on those around him is the lesson he taught us about the importance of community. Without each other, we would all be lonely purple people sitting in a locked room with headphones on, drinking some peppermint tea with honey, and eating a bowl of Cap'n Crunch. (Actually, that doesn't sound too bad.) So while it is important to highlight and capture those memories we have of Prince, it is equally (if not more) important to preserve his legacy by continually connecting with one another, loving one another, and creating new memories.
The EVents
People of Paisley Park is dedicated to curating a list of Prince-related events in Minneapolis, MN. This list includes a variety of events including dance parties, showings for animated films that Prince enjoyed, concerts from Prince-related artists, local record store events, tribute nights, Prince-related conferences, meet & greets, and everything in between. Although locally focused, we make exceptions for national and global events worthy of hopping on a plane.
The Reviews
"This book gave me a new appreciation for the engineers who would show up hours before Prince to set up and then stay hours after to mix what they just recorded. On top of that, the credit they were granted was always at Prince’s discretion…until now." - on Duane Tudahl’s Prince and the Purple Rain Era Studio Sessions: 1983 and 1984
"The audience latched on to Andrea’s authenticity in discussing her journey in her career and in her grief, resulting in numerous moments of applause, shared tears, and many comments labeling her as a 'badass.'" - on Andrea Swensson's lecture on "Death" as part of the Creative Mornings Breakfast Lecture Series
