CLASSIC ROCK INTERVIEWS: #The Tubes

Showing posts with label #The Tubes. Show all posts

Thursday, August 23, 2018

PRAIRIE PRINCE LEGENDARY DRUMMER SPECIAL GUEST ON THE RAY SHASHO SHOW-BBS RADIO

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

BBS RADIO

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 ARTVisual 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”.

For more information about Prairie Prince visit www.prairieprince.com

www.facebook.com/PrairiePrince

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

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!

Saturday, July 2, 2016

THE RAY SHASHO SHOW WELCOMES FEE WAYBILL LEGENDARY FRONTMAN FOR 'THE TUBES'

FEE WAYBILL OF 'THE TUBES'

IS THE SPECIAL GUEST

ON THE RAY SHASHO RADIO SHOW

Our very special guest today is the legendary frontman for The Tubes … Fee Waybill.

Born John Waldo Waybill in Omaha, Nebraska, the name Fee came by way of a bass player who thought Waybill looked like the King of Fiji, pictured on the cover of a National Geographic magazine, and began calling him “Fiji” which eventually was shortened to Fee.
Fee was raised in Scottsdale, Arizona where he sang and acted in elementary school assemblies which led to musical comedies in high school and then on to Arizona State University as a drama major.
After moving to the mountains of northern Arizona to find his muse and living on brown rice and imagination he was enticed, without much difficulty, into being a roadie for the “Red White and Blues Band” on their way to San Francisco to make it big in the music business. Fee started singing background vocals and eventually the band combined with another Arizona band to become “The Tubes” in 1973 with Fee as frontman and lead singer.

The Tubes recorded ten LPs for A&M and Capitol Records from 1974 to 1985 and were headliners on their first tour, with 8 dancers, 7 band members, 6 onstage TV monitors, wild acts and an entourage of 35 including a pyrotechnic advisor, a video supervisor and two costume mistresses.

-Photo by Stuart Westwood

In 1984, Fee recorded his first solo album “Read My Lips” and collaborated for the first time with Richard Marx. The pair has gone on to co-write over thirty songs for their own projects as well as for other artists.
Fee left The Tubes after the 1985-86 tour to write and act and take a break from 14 years of touring. Moving to Los Angeles in 1986, Fee has since written lyrics for movie soundtracks as well as musical artists such as The Tubes, Richard Marx, Kenny Loggins, Toto, Steve Lukather, Pat Leonard, Vixen, Emerson Drive and others. Since 1991, Fee has won six BMI Performance Popularity Awards in recognition of his outstanding songwriting.

His acting credits include Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventures, Ladies and Gentleman the Fabulous Stains, Private Eye, Bouncers, SCTV, MTV guest VJ appearances, along with three books on tape and various voice-overs on commercials.
1994 brought The Tubes back together with Fee for a long tour of Europe and a welcome reunion. The band has continued to play their unique brand of rock and roll, adding new songs to the mix of the already popular.

“Don’t be Scared by These Hands” was released in 1996, Fee’s second solo CD, followed in 1997 by the eleventh Tubes release, “Genius of America”, the twelfth, Tubes World Tour 2001 and latest CD and DVD release in 2004, The Tubes Wild West Show.

Fee continues to live in Los Angeles. He enjoys scuba diving, water skiing and hiking with his dog. He is also an avid polo player and owns four horses. He supports animal rights causes and participates in a number of celebrity charity events each year including Richard Marxs’ CF charity show, Alice Coopers’ Solid Rock Foundation Golf Tournament and ESPNs’ annual charity golf tournament. His interests also include Mayan ruins, history and art of the American West.

Fee is also a member (aka “Barnie”) of The Barn Theatre in Augusta MI, the oldest for profit summer stock theatre in the US, and has reprised his role as Frank N Furter in The Rocky Horror Show six times.

Since Fee’s first tenure at the Barn Theatre in 1999 he has revived the theatrical presentation of The Tubes show including props and more than ten costume and character changes in the current show. After a busy summer schedule Fee is thrilled to take a break and reprise his role, for the 6th time, as Frank Furter at the Barn. Fee says, “It’s like a vacation for me to come back to The Barn to do Rocky again, it’s so much fun and I feel so welcome. I guess old “Barnies” never die they just start stumbling over their lines, and high heels”.

In July 2015, The Tubes started a 40th anniversary European tour, including dates in Germany, Sweden and the UK. Dates in the U.S. followed.

Some of The Tubes biggest hits include …"Don't Touch Me There" "White Punks
on Dope" "Prime Time" "Don't Want to Wait Anymore" "Talk to Ya Later" "Gonna Get It Next Time" "She's a Beauty" "Tip of My Tongue" "The Monkey Time" and "Piece by Piece."

The Tubes continue touring the U.S and Europe in 2016.

RAY SHASHO INTERVIEWS

FEE WAYBILL OF THE TUBES

ON BBS RADIO 1