We catch up with Morris Hayes to talk about his incredible career to date, including not only his amazing time with Prince, but his diverse production career and great insights on touring and playing. In this first part we cover Morris’ development as musician, his entry into the orbit of Prince and his approach to becoming an effective musical director and collaborator for the New Power Generation.

To listen / watch:

Discussion topics covered during the show (links will open in new tab):  

It’s been a busy year: Morris’ projects during 2023

Growing up in Jefferson, Arkansas USA

‘Faking’ one’s way into a first band

The Moog Satellite

An early gig with (Gubernatorial candidate) Bill Clinton

The Bizness band

BrownMark’s YouTube channel

Jerome Benton

Meeting The Time

George Clinton scene in Graffiti Bridge

Working as a production assistant at Paisley Park

Mazarati – 100 MPH

Forming and playing with G Sharp & The Edge: Prince’s house band at Glam Slam

Morris catching Prince’s attention with his synth tech

Morris’ first (and very short) face-to-face meeting with Prince

First conversations with Prince

Morris in Brownmark’s Bang Bang

Playing at Glam Slam with Prince in the audience

Touring with Carmen Electra as support on Prince’s Diamonds and Pearls Tour

Learning from Prince on structuring a great performance

On joining New Power Generation

Wood-shedding Prince’s songs on short notice

Keyboards used in NPG and programming a Roland D50

Being inspired by Eric Persing and Spectrasonics, Marcus Ryle, Michael Boddicker, Bo Tomlyn

Developing a collaborative relationship with Prince as musical director

Rehearsal process with Prince and NPG

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The post Morris Hayes, Prince / New Power Generation (Part 1) appeared first on The Keyboard Chronicles.