RENOWNED DRUMMER PRAIRIE PRINCE TO RELEASE FIRST SOLO RECORDINGS, A TRIBUTE TO “WORD JAZZ” CREATOR KEN NORDINE

September 1, 2024

SAN FRANCISCO – September 1, 2024 – After a lifetime in the music business, drummer extraordinaire Prairie Prince will release his debut solo album in 2025, “Colours & Passions,” a tribute to the landmark 1966 album “Colors” by Chicago voiceover artist Ken Nordine.

Prairie was introduced to Ken Nordine at an early age by older sisters who knew Nordine from his beatnik-era spoken word albums “Word Jazz” and “Son of Word Jazz.” As a youth, Prairie was captivated by the wry, whimsical world of Nordine’s vivid imagination and his slow, deep delivery. Nordine’s original “Colors” album featured thirty-four individual tracks, each devoted to a specific color. Prairie’s Colours & Passions concentrates on fourteen shades that spoke directly to the drummer.

An imaginative pastiche of percussion by Prairie Prince and musical contributions from his collaborators, much of the record was improvised on the spot. Each track focuses on a specific color and the emotions that the color evokes, an almost Jungian approach to lyrics drawn from the collective subconscious.

Recorded scrupulously over more than ten years – interrupted by the pandemic – at the historic site of Wally Heider’s Studios in San Francisco where Creedence, Santana, CSNY, and others cut classic records, the album features contributions from members of the Tubes and the Rundgren band – including bandleader Todd Rundgren himself – along with other musical associates such as Jello Biafra of Dead Kennedys, Ross Valory from Journey, and Chris von Sneidern of The Flamin’ Groovies. Gonzo guitarist Buckethead plays bass on one track. The music will be accompanied by drawings of the drums he used, done by Prairie, who is as accomplished a visual artist as he is a musician.

“I started off with drum tracks and then added different percussion,” Prairie said. “I would have other people put some bass or some guitar and tried to follow whatever melodies they made up on top, trying to make songs you could actually sing. Chords and keys I don’t know much about – I’m a drummer.”

In addition to his work with the Tubes and Rundgren, Prairie was the original drummer in Journey, belonged to Jefferson Starship for several years and, as one of Northern California’s top freelance drummers, has recorded with a vast array of accomplished peers including Chris Isaak, Tom Waits, George Harrison, Dick Dale, and many others. With his creative partner Michael Cotten of the Tubes, Prairie and Cotten have designed and built stage sets for Bette Midler, Billy Joel, NSYNC, and others. They worked with choreographer Kenny Ortega on the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Super Bowl XXX halftime show with Diana Ross, Michael Jackon’s “This Is It” show, and a number of lavish Las Vegas spectacles. Their mural of flying record albums hovered over the A&M Records lot in Hollywood for many years.

Prairie Prince’s Colours & Passions will usher in a new era in his illustrious musical career as recording artist.

Email Prairie Prince Studios for more information and visit the website to preview the album.