TIR 38: Paul Peterson on Prince, fDeluxe and Other Family Matters

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Brought to you by FUNKNSTUFF.NET and hosted by Scott Goldfine — musicologist and author of “Everything Is on THE ONE: The First Guide of Funk” ― “TRUTH IN RHYTHM” is the interview show that gets DEEP into the pocket with contemporary music’s foremost masters of the groove.

Featured in this episode: Minneapolis-based singer/songwriter/producer and multi-instrumentalist Paul Peterson, one-time Prince protege who spent time in The Time, co-fronted its successor The Family, today known as fDeluxe, recorded as a solo act, and been a busy and in-demand session player. The youngest son of a highly musical family, Peterson got his big break when, leading up to filming the Purple Rain movie, personnel changes allowed him to step in as a member of Prince’s legendary protege funk band The Time. He appeared in that movie phenomenon and The Time’s hit album Ice Cream Castles that included the smashes “Jungle Love” and “The Bird.” In 1985, The Family’s album included the first commercially released version of “Nothing Compares 2 U,” sung by Peterson, and funk gems like “Mutiny,” “High Fashion” and “The Screams of Passion.”

He then pursued solo success, and also worked and recorded with some of the industry’s top names. Those include Steve Miller, Peter Frampton, Kenny Loggins, Donny Osmond, Oleta Adams, Anita Baker, George Benson, Phil Upchurch, Les McCann and Victor Wooten, a renowned bass player who has called Peterson one of his favorite artists and bass players. Among the many projects St. Paul, as he is often called as a reference to the Twin Cities, is presently involved include fDeluxe; LP, an fDeluxe offshoot with longtime collaborating sax player Eric Leeds; and the Minneapolis Funk All-Stars.

That band includes a dozen or so musicians familiar to Prince fans, with performances that run the gamut of the Purple One’s song catalog as well as those of The Time, other protege acts and purveyors of the MPLS Sound like Alexander O’Neal and Janet Jackson. Aside from recording, Paul also runs the consulting service Peterson Music and Events, which was started by his father Willie Peterson in the 1940s.

Recorded January 2018

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Scott Goldfine

As a fervid lifelong music & film enthusiast / student, I grew up in and around the Los Angeles entertainment industry. I have worked and held many positions in various media realms, since 1998 serving as Editor-in-Chief and now Associate Publisher for Security Sales & Integration, a trade publication serving the electronic security industry. I love several genres of music & film. The former includes funk (Parliament-Funkadelic, Prince, Ohio Players, etc.); blues (Stevie Ray Vaughan, Buddy Guy, Eric Gales, etc.); rock (Jack White, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Neil Young, etc.); hard rock (AC/DC, Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, etc.); jazz (Herbie Hancock, Bob James, Crusaders, etc.); R&B (Stevie Wonder, Chaka Khan, Gil Scott-Heron, etc.); and more. I was a club disc jockey and ran a mobile DJ company (Musical Moods) for more than 15 years, which is where the name Dr. GX originates (Doctor Good Times). Fave film genres include horror (Dawn of the Dead, Evil Dead, Nightmare on Elm Street, etc.); science fiction (Aliens, Terminator, 2001, etc.); action (Warriors, Road Warrior, Die Hard); westerns (Outlaw Josey Wales, Showdown at OK Corral; Wild Bunch, etc.); suspense (Jaws, Inception, Silence of the Lambs, etc.); drama (Apocalypse Now, Goodfellas, Pulp Fiction, etc.); and comedies (Life of Brian, Superbad, Ruthless People, etc.). I have attended many hundreds of concerts and movies (in theaters or screenings). I may as well also throw in a few favorite TV shows to give an even broader taste of my sensibilities. A handful would be Breaking Bad, Walking Dead, Lost, Justified, Fargo, Seinfeld, Sopranos, South Park, Brooklyn Nine Nine, Key & Peele, Monty Python, Inside Amy Schumer, Louie, Modern Family, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Last Man on Earth, Bob Newhart Show, All in the Family and The Office. Fave authors are Stephen King, Clive Barker and Michael Crichton. I am also a big sports fan and lifelong supporter of the Dallas Cowboys (NFL), Los Angeles Lakers (NBA) and Pittsburgh Pirates (MLB). Also enjoy my family of course, electronics/computers/AV gear, and animals, nature and outdoor activities. Graduate of Santa Monica High School, Santa Monica College and California State University Northridge (Radio-TV-Film, Psychology minor). Also studied at UCLA for kinesiology/psychology and earned post-grad Certificate in Accounting from Santa Monica College. Present main occupation is as Associate Publisher and Editor-in-Chief of Security Sales & Integration (SSI), which I joined in 1998. I am responsible for overseeing all editorial content in print. online, electronic, in-person and any other media or products for the electronic security industry's leading business-to-business trade publication. SSI is part of Framingham, Mass.-based Emerald Expositions.