Mosley: I began working with Prince in 1984, starting with the "Purple Rain" movie, various music videos and joining the NPG in 1989/90 through 1994.

Thompson: '91 to '96.

Q: Where were you when you heard he passed? How did you hear the news?

Bland: Someone woke me up with a phone call. It was almost 9 o'clock in the morning. It was my protege, Petar Janjic, who plays with Cory Wong. He said, "I heard they found a dead body at Paisley Park." I said, "I don't see it." I turned on the television, Channel 11, and they were talking about it. Even now, it's kind of surreal to me. The whole thing felt and still feels strange. I feel his absence.

Mosley: I was at work at my marketing job when I began receiving text messages from friends and confirmed it when I spoke to Kirk Johnson [Prince's aide-de-camp].

Thompson: I was at home. It came on the TV. Then somebody called me. Then I seen JD Steele on television and I knew it was real. Then I started crying. Then I talked to Billy and Ricky Peterson and we ended up in Edina so we could commune. I didn't believe it at first. It was a terrible shock.

Q: What's the biggest lesson you learned from Prince?

Bland: There's nothing to fear. That's it. He taught me a lot of things about life through music.

Mosley: To write music and lyrics for myself. Do not try to write for a certain demographic. When you begin to tailor your thoughts around others, you lose yourself in the process.

Thompson: Just play. Have a great work ethic. His work ethic was phenomenal. We got that from childhood. He used to stay at my house and we used to play all night and all day. We carried that on through. It was like he was on steroids when I got into the band. I never went home for years. That was one of the best things that happened to me because my guitar was in my hand constantly, recording and doing music. It opened my head to all kinds of different things and helped discipline myself to music.

...continued

©2024 StarTribune. Visit startribune.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.