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Prince Is Delicious w/ Craig Mitchell · The Delicious Culture with Jon Francois

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delicious, grab a plate and feast on the delicious
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culture. I'm your host, John Francois, a meal
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that we're having this week. uh, is processing
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the heartbreaking situation in Minneapolis, but
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in a different way, uh, you obviously know everything
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in the news at this point. You don't need me
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or our guests to really explain that to you,
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but I was just thinking over the past few weeks,
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seeing what's happening in that city and just
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being very heartbroken because I have visited
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and have had some kind of connection to Minneapolis.
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for the past, I don't know, decade. And even
0:41
though I've never like literally lived there
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as a resident in a full -time regular capacity,
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just through my experiences there, it almost
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feels like you're seeing a... I don't know, a
0:53
relative or a close friend being hurt, being
0:56
in a very, I don't know, unfortunate situation
1:00
and you want to reach out and help, but you know
1:02
you can't, you can only just kind of witness
1:05
and be sad. And I don't know, I think this could
1:09
be a cathartic episode, it could be a strange
1:12
episode, who knows, but joining me for that is
1:15
someone who is also coming from personal experiences
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with the city of Minneapolis and it's my good
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friend. Craig Mitchell, a very talented DJ musician.
1:27
Is that a fair way to describe you, Craig? Cause
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I don't want to, I want to make sure I'm not
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like incorrectly describing. That's perfect.
1:33
I'll take that. Awesome. So I'm based here in
1:36
Vermont. I have been for the past seven going
1:38
on eight years. Craig is also currently based
1:41
here in Vermont, but according to VT Digger,
1:43
Craig, uh, do you not want me to mention your
1:49
credits on VT Digger? Okay. Uh, yeah. No, you've
1:52
had quite the career. I mean, you've been to
1:55
New York, Boston, Jamaica, Canada. You've been
1:57
all over. You've worked with some pretty big
1:59
names in the music world from the likes of two
2:01
or three. Maybe two or three. I mean, here's
2:04
your chance to brag. Can you tell us some of
2:06
the names that you've worked with? Well, I mean,
2:08
from, uh, from Yoko Ono to, uh, Moby to the Strokes
2:12
recording their first album in my living room.
2:15
Um, Uh, Wu -Tang, um, yeah, it did. Janet Jackson,
2:20
Backstreet Boys. Is that correct? Yeah. Again,
2:25
this is, I was looking at you up on VT Digger
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and I'm like, damn, cause I remember you and
2:31
I, Craig, the first time I met you was early
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on in the pandemic. We were both associated with
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a community radio outlet called Big Heavy World
2:39
based in the Burlington area of Vermont, which
2:41
you are prominent. And I remember interviewing
2:44
you at that outlet and just getting like the
2:48
most insane in a good way career ever. Like just
2:52
the names that you've worked. with the type of
2:54
music you produced. It's just, it was breathtaking.
2:58
And on top of that, some nobody like me, you
3:01
were kind enough to be a DJ at my wedding a couple
3:03
of years ago. So thank you for that. What a great
3:06
wedding it was. Oh my God. So much fun with great
3:09
people. Yes. Aside from the fact that I think
3:12
we had a couple of people that were a little
3:16
bit too buzzed that you spilled some liquids
3:18
on your DJ equipment and you appropriately got
3:20
nervous. Okay. Okay. Having a good time. And
3:24
I'm used to it. So awesome. Awesome. All right.
3:27
And I remember you texted me saying, Hey, the
3:29
equipment's all good. Fantastic. Awesome. I love
3:31
it. I love it. So yeah, so thank you for coming
3:35
on. I love that we can share our individual experiences
3:39
with the city of Minneapolis during this very
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heartbreaking time for the city. I'm just going
3:44
to quickly state my experiences because they're
3:47
certainly going to be trivial compared to what
3:49
you have experienced with the city. Cause I really
3:52
want to leave room for that. I remember. I used
3:56
to, I don't know if I told you this, Craig, but
3:57
I lived in a town called Decora, Iowa for a radio
4:01
job almost a decade ago. And one of the selling
4:04
points for moving to Decora for radio was that
4:07
it was just three hours from Minneapolis. So
4:11
it's kind of like the relationship between Connecticut
4:13
and New York city. Like, oh, you can just take
4:15
a bus and go three hours to New York city. So
4:17
I remember my first, I think my first trip to
4:19
Minneapolis was on a hot August summer day going
4:22
to the Renaissance fair. renaissance era style
4:26
characters, the wigs, the fancy Shakespearean
4:29
clothes. And my God, I mean, these people were
4:31
particularly hot and sweaty that day in their
4:34
clothes. So I'm surprised that they were able
4:37
to be so friendly and engaging and character
4:39
like. But I remember going there on behalf of
4:41
my radio station and working there with an intern
4:44
for the entire day and just interviewing people.
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And I think there's still like picture and video
4:48
evidence of that on my Facebook page if you want
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to look it up at Jean Francois. So that was wonderful.
4:53
I got to see a fabulous production of Phantom
4:57
of the Opera at the Orpheum Theater. That was
5:00
great. Just the chandelier, like, coming down
5:04
in the beginning of that show. And then, of course,
5:05
the fabulous music just taking me throughout.
5:08
It was really, really great. And I remember during
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a holiday break when I had to go home to Connecticut
5:13
from Iowa, when I had to, like, fly to Connecticut,
5:17
I had to, like, the night before, just get everything
5:20
together. And my girlfriend decided to, like,
5:23
tell me... at the time that she wasn't sure if
5:25
she loved me the same way that I loved her. So
5:28
it was that weird thing of like, oh crap, you
5:30
told me this big news and I can't sleep and I'm
5:33
doing laundry at like midnight. And I'm just
5:36
literally just going from that to like driving
5:38
to the Minneapolis airport at like three, four
5:40
in the morning, working on no sleep somehow,
5:43
somehow not getting into an accident. I tried
5:45
Chick -fil -A for the first time at the Minneapolis
5:48
airport. And that was something that did not
5:50
impress me at all. So that I don't know. if you're
5:52
a big fan of Chick -fil -A at all, Craig. Oh,
5:54
that's good. I mean, I have my issues with Chick
5:57
-fil -A. Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah, of course. Of course.
6:01
There's a religious association with Chick -fil
6:03
-A that is quite controversial. And lastly, maybe
6:06
you're familiar, are you familiar with the alternative
6:08
radio station, The Current in Minneapolis? Yes.
6:11
Yeah. So there was a period early on in my time
6:14
here in Vermont where I was looking for like
6:17
the next radio opportunity, because as you probably
6:19
know, Craig, when you're in radio, you kind of
6:20
move anywhere where the job. is, and I seriously
6:24
got interviewed for a minute from The Current
6:26
in Minneapolis for like an on air position and
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they have sort of a respective gravitas, a nice
6:32
reputation down there for the music that they
6:35
play. So yeah, just in a nutshell, those were
6:38
my several experiences with Minneapolis. And
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I don't know, it's just so bizarre to like have
6:43
those experiences, have those memories, have
6:45
a certain sentiment about my relationship to
6:49
that city and then just Pretty much just going
6:52
back to the pandemic with the George Floyd situation
6:55
and then working through the unfortunate assassination
6:58
of that Minnesota Congress person. And then now
7:01
we have today with the sort of ICE situation
7:05
happening there. It's just, I don't know. It
7:07
just has a surreal quality because I'm witnessing
7:11
the sort of war zone that's happening in Minneapolis.
7:14
And I'm just kind of comparing it to my pleasant,
7:17
very Midwestern hospitality -like experiences
7:20
of this. city and it just doesn't quite match
7:22
up. So it's been pretty bizarre to process all
7:24
this. And for you, Craig, I was wondering if
7:28
you could share your experience with the city.
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I, I knew first up that, you know, part of, part
7:33
of your music repertoire is you do, do you still
7:37
do the Prince tribute show in the Burlington
7:39
area? Oh, of course. Yeah, we still do that.
7:41
We just did New Year's Eve and I'm going to keep
7:44
that rolling. I mean, it's still working. We're
7:47
still. I think it's five years we've been voted
7:51
the best tribute band in the state. So, yeah.
7:55
I love that. And for those listening and watching
7:59
who may not know, I mean, and please correct
8:01
me if I'm wrong on this, it's basically a set
8:04
list of... Prince songs, I'm assuming ones that
8:06
you love a lot and you're performing them. Um,
8:10
and I know, and I remember I went to your 50th
8:12
birthday celebration and you did, uh, and you
8:15
did a nice taste of that Prince tribute and you
8:18
did a really great impression of Prince at one
8:20
point. I think you did the, I think you were
8:21
like, like you were, you were doing like that
8:23
famous scream that Prince does. Yeah. So yeah,
8:29
just walk me through, walk me through your relationship
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with Minneapolis. I know part of it is, is friends
8:34
and it's associated with that. I got you there.
8:36
But really quickly that night that my 50th birthday
8:39
to high ground, um, after set at the, after the
8:43
first set, we take a break and I was not feeling
8:46
so well. Really? And then we get to the second
8:49
song of the second set and the room went white.
8:52
Look at a bass player and he said, Whoa, you
8:55
don't look okay. I'm like, I'll be right back.
8:57
I just need to go sit down for a second. As I'm
8:59
going down the stairs, my keyboard players look
9:01
at me like, oh my God, I get upstairs, barely
9:04
made it to the bathroom, and started vomiting
9:06
blood everywhere. Oh no. Yeah. So that, yeah,
9:10
me trying to clean it up so no one knew, hopefully
9:12
a band would keep playing, and I hear them stop.
9:14
I'm like, no. Wow. And then one member of the
9:19
band comes upstairs and says, hey, Craig, is
9:21
everything okay? Oh yeah. Meanwhile, I'm trying
9:23
to like block the doors of the bathroom, but
9:25
I couldn't clean up everything in time. And so
9:27
I tell them like, well, I'm not sure what's going
9:30
on. Um, I just threw up a bunch of blood, but
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we have to finish this show. There's still much
9:34
going on. He goes, okay. All the band members
9:37
come up and, uh, my drummer like slowly sneaked
9:41
into the bathroom and goes, that's a lot of blood.
9:44
That's a lot of blood. Well, but just, uh, in
9:46
the hospital, I died twice, um, maybe like 12
9:49
hours in the ER and, uh, then they did surgery.
9:52
Finally, it was a bleeding ulcer that I didn't
9:54
know that I had for years. that eventually like
9:57
popped that night on my birthday. Wow. So that
10:00
is, I damn. And you, cause I was there at your
10:04
50th birthday celebration and you, I didn't get
10:07
that impression, man. You, you hit that very
10:11
well. We're good. So with that said, Minneapolis.
10:16
Yes, please. Yeah. Talk about it. No, I'm sorry.
10:18
I'm just, I, I'm all over first time. And what
10:23
an amazing place. I'll just start there. I had
10:26
no idea what to expect. It was my first time
10:27
there. Unlike you, Lucky, you got to go there
10:31
a bunch of times. But friends of mine, as a birthday
10:38
gift, got me the VIP package to go see Prince's
10:42
studio and where he lived upstairs and all that
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stuff. But also to spend some time in Minneapolis.
10:48
And I'm sorry, he lived in a place called something
10:51
Park? Paisy Park. Okay. Yeah. Paisy Park in Shanhassen,
10:56
which is maybe like 25 minutes outside of Minneapolis
10:59
or downtown Minneapolis. Got it. So these friends,
11:02
these friends that you got you this whole VIP
11:03
package to see Prince's place was, or were these
11:06
friends of yours in the music industry or like,
11:08
how did you get that? Yeah, we had their DJs,
11:10
producers, their folks who, I mean, it was, they
11:13
set it all up when things looked really bad as
11:17
far as my health. So they were thinking, oh,
11:19
let's make sure he gets the stuff he needs just
11:22
in case. Cause things were a little dicey, forget
11:25
that. But we're good now. So we'll bring it back
11:28
to light. So like I'm getting off the plane,
11:33
get to the hotel and take a little walk. And
11:36
I mean, it's pristine. It's clean. Like it's
11:40
like nothing on the ground as far as like, you
11:42
know, cigarette butt, gum or whatever. And it's
11:45
beautiful. And people were so diverse. So beautiful
11:50
and warm. And, and I mean, the first day I was
11:53
spent in an Irish restaurant slash bar. Um, and
11:58
the diversity there, even then there were so
12:00
many, and this is going to become poignant with
12:03
our possible later conversation, but, um, so
12:06
many people that were Somali that either worked
12:08
there or were just there eating in an Irish pub
12:10
because everyone supports each other. It seems
12:13
like out there. Um, so there's a picture of.
12:17
this unrest that they're painting is not true.
12:22
It's not real. As far as I can know. It felt
12:28
like, it's very few places that I get off a plane
12:31
and immediately feel at home. I felt at home.
12:34
I really did. And I find this guy, Randy, I believe
12:38
his name is, I'll look it up in a second, but
12:40
I believe his name is Randy, who does private
12:42
print stores. And he took us on a on a private
12:46
Prince tour the next day. And he said, normally
12:48
we only do like full bus tours, but I'm all sold
12:51
out. But he kept like beating me with questions
12:53
about Prince and what Prince was about. And he's
12:57
like, all right, your stuff. I'm going to give
12:59
you guys a private tour, which is normally X
13:02
amount of dollars. I'm going to give it to you
13:03
for this month. I'm like, whoa, great. It's a
13:05
three hour tour and I'll drop you off at Tasty
13:07
Park. So we're seeing all this stuff all around
13:11
Minneapolis that is like... Whoa, that's that
13:14
street that Prince mentions in that song. Here's
13:17
that park that Prince talks about. The city is
13:21
a frequent, frequent mention in his music. Oh
13:23
yeah. Oh yeah. It's like, whoa, okay. So this
13:25
was, they weren't not made up places. It was
13:27
all stuff that he lived around. And so at one
13:31
point the guy pulls over and he says, um, so
13:34
I don't normally do this with my tours. Um, because
13:38
most of the time it's kind of disrespectful,
13:40
but we're two blocks away from The George Floyd
13:43
model. Yeah. You have to cut out some print stuff.
13:46
Would you like to go see it? Wow. I mean, I'm
13:48
getting teared up right now. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
13:51
Um, no, I know. I know. Yeah. Because it was,
13:54
uh, so we, we get there. Sorry. I'll pull it
13:56
together in a second. No, no, no, you're fine.
13:58
No, no, no. Go ahead, man. So we get there and
14:01
then we get out of the vehicle and immediately
14:06
all of us started buying. It's called George
14:08
Floyd, Floyd square. They've changed the names
14:10
to everything that's around it. And they have
14:12
this art exhibit right up front of the store
14:14
that he had gone in before they killed him. And
14:21
we go over across the street and we're walking
14:24
through what is like this art museum of sorts
14:26
with plants and paintings and it's beautiful.
14:29
And then we sit down, we're reading this proclamation
14:34
that's right by where X marks his spot, so to
14:38
speak. This guy comes over to one of my friends
14:42
and says hey, it's my first time being here here
14:44
and it's so easy and I want to give a sermon
14:47
because I'm a pastor and I forget exactly where
14:49
he said it was from but Would you tell me so
14:52
he gave my friend his phone and he did a sermon
14:54
for us Wow Wow, I mean I was blown away. It was
14:57
incredible To feel that energy positive and negative
15:01
with people coming together to celebrate just
15:04
being a human on this earth and That's what it
15:07
felt like it was all people of all races, all
15:12
genders, people just being people. Even some
15:14
of the stuff inside the art space. It was all
15:18
trans lives matter. It was all black lives matter.
15:22
It was all about the marginalized folks that
15:26
don't get the love that sometimes we all need
15:29
once in a while. So by the time I got to Prince's
15:31
studio late at night, or that afternoon I should
15:33
say, I was all cried out. I was going through
15:37
the studio. and not getting emotional because
15:39
it really was. But I remember a quote that Prince
15:43
said, like, why do you live in Minneapolis? Why
15:45
do you keep coming back here? You'll move for
15:47
a little bit and come back and say, I live in
15:49
Minneapolis because it's cold and it keeps all
15:51
the bad people out. Would he say the same thing
15:53
after George Floyd? Would he say the same thing
15:55
after what's just happened recently? Iced, like,
15:59
you know, invading neighborhoods and whatever.
16:01
I mean, when, because he died in like, I think,
16:04
I think he died in like 2016, 2017 before, before.
16:07
before all the stuff happened. Yeah. Strangely
16:09
enough, died technically on my birthday in 2016.
16:13
Wow. He put himself in the elevator with his
16:16
clothes backwards after taking fentanyl for the
16:18
very first time because it was all a plan. He
16:20
kicked everyone out because he knew the drug
16:23
counselor was coming the next day. So he's like,
16:25
no, I'm not doing this. So he went out like an
16:29
artist and he put himself like, the let's go
16:32
crazy is all about once the higher floor, don't
16:34
let the elevator bring you down. The elevator
16:36
is the devil. Once a higher floor for God. That
16:38
was, it was really a big gospel song, but it's
16:40
kind of interesting. So you died around your
16:42
birthday. Oh yeah. And how do you feel like knowing
16:47
that, knowing what role he plays in your life?
16:49
Do you feel a closer connection to him? Do you
16:50
feel depressed by that? Like, how do you feel
16:52
about that? Friends did a lot of, without him
16:55
knowing, did a lot for saving my life as a young,
16:58
youngster, a young musician slash weird kid,
17:01
going up, not black enough in a black neighborhood.
17:05
in being not man enough in a black neighbor.
17:09
So that was, you know, going to Prince concerts
17:11
when I was, you know, 12 years old. And here's
17:14
this guy on stage with panties on and makeup
17:16
and this crazy hair and doing really wild things
17:19
on stage. And the same folks that make fun of
17:21
me are in front like screaming and yelling and
17:26
cheering for him. For a long time when I was
17:29
a younger person, I became Prince. And so I grew
17:32
my hair out and would perm it all the time. where
17:36
trench coats and underwear did the whole thing
17:38
and people left me alone on that profile. So
17:41
for him when he passed, it was almost like, okay,
17:43
we have to do this tribute. It's sort of like
17:45
a full circle. He saved my life and now I have
17:48
to keep his legacy going as much as I can. And
17:51
that stems from, going back to Minneapolis, it
17:54
stems from what I felt there. It felt like this
17:57
place is, I don't know, it was magical. It felt
18:01
like everyone had each other's back. Right near
18:05
this wreckage or electro fetus was the Somali
18:08
neighborhood. There was predominantly Somali
18:10
folks. And the food was amazing. The people were
18:13
amazing. I mean, it was, and again, the people
18:16
that were coming to get the food or hang out
18:19
and just have a people was so diverse. It wasn't
18:21
just cookie cutter. Have you ever done the Prince
18:24
tribute show in Minneapolis? Has it only been
18:25
a Vermont based thing? Would you ever think about
18:29
going out? We have not done it in Minneapolis.
18:34
We've done pretty much everywhere in Vermont.
18:36
We've done some stuff in New York state and New
18:39
Hampshire. We did Mass in Maine, but we've kind
18:42
of kept it to the New England area. I'd be a
18:45
little scared to do it in Minneapolis. That's
18:47
Prince's home. I don't know what would not want
18:50
to taint that or come off wrong in Prince's hometown.
18:56
Can you tell me about, because I look to you
18:59
as my Prince encyclopedia, what was Because he
19:05
was born and raised in Minneapolis. He grew up
19:07
there. So what was it like growing up? Because
19:11
I have this picture of Minneapolis in Prince's
19:14
time being maybe sort of like, all right, this
19:17
is a place where more normal -seeming people,
19:21
you know, if you want to define it that way.
19:26
How did Prince fit into that picture? Like, the
19:28
Prince that we've seen in concerts, challenging
19:31
these sort of stereotypes of masculinity. Like,
19:33
was he always that way, or was he kind of a different
19:36
guy that maybe sort of fit into that so -called
19:38
normal structure of Midwestern -ness? Like, what
19:41
was it like for him growing up? Well, I think,
19:43
sort of going back to my situation, being grown
19:47
up in Michigan, with the whole Prince thing,
19:49
and me all of a sudden, you know what? I don't
19:51
want to be picked on anymore. I'm just gonna
19:52
become that guy. He's the one who had the guts
19:54
to walk around with his high heels when he was,
19:57
you know, a younger kid. And, you know, wear
20:00
his makeup and do his thing. And it freed up
20:02
a bunch of people. It's this one album that's
20:06
a bootleg record called Loring Park, which is
20:09
all instrumental. And it's Prince, I believe,
20:11
Andre Simone and maybe Moore's Day, but it's
20:14
a beautiful disco kind of jam bandy kind of album.
20:19
And that was, Loring Park was an area that Prince
20:22
used to have in. Well, a side note, Phish, they
20:25
did a show in Minneapolis. This guy who owned
20:29
a studio in Minneapolis said, Hey, you guys want
20:32
to come back to my studio and hear some unreleased
20:34
print stuff? Yeah, go back to the Loring Park
20:39
studio. And Phish went, Oh my God, this is incredible.
20:44
Can we possibly release this? Meaning bootleg
20:47
it. And they did, and it became one of his highest
20:50
downloads for any bootleg he's ever done. But
20:53
Fish, they do covers of some of the jams that
20:55
are on that record or that unreleased album,
20:59
Loring Park. But I went to Loring Park. I inadvertently
21:02
didn't realize the hotel I was staying in was
21:04
literally right around the corner from Loring
21:07
Park. And I'll explain a little bit what Loring
21:09
Park is. As I'm getting to the corner, before
21:12
I go into the park, there's a Presbyterian church.
21:15
Huge, beautiful. And they have the scrolling
21:19
sign of different ads going on. And it had, um,
21:24
and happy pride. And I'm like, huh, interesting.
21:27
But it's July, pride's over. Like you guys had
21:30
your pride come up, you're going to the park
21:33
and whoa, this is a gayborhood. Cause there's
21:38
rainbow flags everywhere and, you know, uh, couples
21:41
walking around holding hands. Again, not today,
21:45
I didn't see that anywhere else, but it was like,
21:48
interesting. So. The reason why I bring up Loring
21:51
Park, and I don't know if Fish was really cognizant
21:54
of, um, you know, why you record it there or
21:59
hung out there in that park. That's probably
22:01
just open to everyone, just being free. But to
22:03
call it Loring Park was like, wow, this is really
22:06
special. And gave some tribute to the diversity
22:09
that's there in Minneapolis. And I walked down
22:13
the stairs to go back to my hotel from the park.
22:16
And as I'm leaving, I see this sign. these women
22:19
that were singing on the steps of the church.
22:22
And it said, we're the lesbian breastfeeding
22:24
choir. And so I stood there and like, wow, that's
22:28
amazing. I mean, it was unbelievable. So jump
22:31
ahead for a second, the guy that gave us the
22:33
tour, I said, what's up with them? And every
22:35
stadium we could be Travis by has happy pride,
22:37
happy pride everywhere. It's like Craig, it's
22:40
Minneapolis. Every day is pride in Minneapolis.
22:42
Wow. Which was beautiful. But it saddens me that
22:45
what's happening there. And I don't know, because
22:47
it's so diverse and so free that most people
22:52
don't even realize it until they go there, that
22:55
that's why they're being targeted. If Prince
22:57
were alive, how do you think he would react to
22:58
everything going on right now? Oh man. Well,
23:03
he did a thing when Freddie Gray died in Baltimore.
23:07
And he immediately put together this like show.
23:11
Well, he put out a song first, but recorded it
23:13
like immediately. It was called Baltimore and
23:15
did a video for it that Ava DuVernay directed.
23:18
And then he went to Baltimore and did a series
23:21
of shows to donate to all the charities that
23:24
needed some love. So he was good that way. So
23:27
with that said, in his hometown, with all the
23:30
stuff that he mentions about Minneapolis in his
23:32
songs and the reason why, and the fact that he
23:35
said, it's cold here and it keeps all the bad
23:37
people out. And now the bad people are there.
23:40
Ooh, man, can you imagine the concert he put
23:43
on? You think he would still be living there?
23:47
And the people that come and celebrate and try
23:49
to bring some love back to the city, you know,
23:52
and that being on the St. Paul, that whole area.
23:54
Yeah. Yeah. So you could easily imagine him like
23:56
still living there and protesting amongst everyone
24:00
else and doing what he can to give back. He was
24:03
not one to shut up and dribble. I did get to
24:06
see the basketball court. Basketball court? He
24:09
was not a basketball player, but I got to see
24:11
the court. Wait, talk to me more about that.
24:13
What's the story behind the court? So Prince,
24:15
he was a little dude. I forget what his nickname
24:18
was, but he was only like five, two. But before
24:21
that, I mean, he was like four, four foot 11
24:25
or something in high school, but he was like
24:27
a killer basketball player. He was like, he was
24:29
like a Scottie Pippen, you know, shorter and
24:31
he would kill it. And so we invite people to
24:35
the studio to play and this whole like, uh, Charlie
24:38
Murphy story of Prince inviting him to come back
24:41
and play basketball and Prince making pancakes.
24:43
All true, all true. Here's another funny story.
24:47
So there's a ping pong table in Studio B. Well,
24:51
Prince was at a Michael Jackson concert in the
24:54
eighties at some point that was in Minneapolis.
24:56
And Prince let someone say, Hey, Prince wants
24:59
you to come back and hang out in Paisley Park.
25:02
So Michael comes over with all his crew and he
25:04
goes into Studio B, or he brings him to Studio
25:06
B without pretty much saying anything to him.
25:09
And says, that's your paddle. This is mine. Let's
25:11
go. And Michael's like, okay. So they played
25:15
three rounds. Prince whooped. I mean, just like.
25:20
Michael, without saying a word, turned around
25:22
and walked out with his crew and never came back.
25:26
I've seen Prince in interviews and he's a very
25:29
low -key guy. He doesn't give me the impression
25:32
of somebody who would be into, say, the comedy
25:36
of someone like a Charlie Murphy. Was he into
25:39
comedy? Was he a big fan of it? Yeah, there's
25:42
a few songs that are out there. Some bootlegs,
25:44
some not. But of him just being like, oh no,
25:46
good God. And he did, he did. Jay Leno, him and
25:53
Jay Leno had this back and forth that was hilarious.
25:56
And whenever he'd go on the show, Jay would like
25:58
dress the costume and try to like full prints
26:00
and then prints would do the same thing. And
26:02
he did it with, um, he used to be on the today
26:05
show. Yeah, I was going to say for, for Bryant
26:08
Gumbel's last show, he jokingly dressed up as,
26:11
as Brian Gumbel and, and Bryant was pleasantly
26:13
surprised by that. And there was the one time
26:15
he walked out and he still had the tag on the
26:17
suit, on the suit jacket. But the other side,
26:21
other side of him really quickly is it depended
26:23
on the day and the moment you caught him because,
26:26
um, they finally can talk about all this stuff
26:28
with his, you know, mental issues and he was
26:33
multiple personality and he had all these different
26:35
characters kind of like mask the fact that sometimes
26:38
he was not himself and they had the book that
26:41
just read by this guy Toure I can't think of
26:44
the name of it, but He got for whatever reason
26:48
French said you can't release this stuff until
26:50
I'm gone, but you can hang around and so for
26:52
years He would just record and write sound stuff
26:55
and he was sort of just a man of sorts as far
26:59
as documenting everything But they had names
27:01
for each person within Prince's head. And there
27:05
was one guy named Steve. And they could always
27:07
tell when Steve came in the room because Steve
27:09
was very violent. Steve was not a nice dude.
27:11
Okay. And it's always the creatives that are
27:14
a little bit off. Unfortunately. Yeah. Unfortunately.
27:18
And again, looking at you as the Prince expert,
27:22
anything from his upbringing in Minneapolis that
27:25
might suggest that there was something that a
27:27
little bit off about him that just carried him.
27:29
through his career, like anything tying back
27:32
to his time growing up there. Yeah, I think he
27:37
was raised on the north side of Minneapolis,
27:39
which is more, it's more diverse than other parts
27:43
of Minneapolis, and maybe a little bit more racism.
27:47
But again, you had this short dude who's mixed
27:50
race who was probably getting picked on by both
27:52
sides because he wasn't black enough and he wasn't
27:55
white enough. And that happened for, I mean,
27:56
for me and my neighborhood in Michigan. There
27:58
was a white side of town and a black side of
28:00
town. And you had to, you know, either toughen
28:03
up or be as effeminate as you want to be. Because
28:07
either way, you're a target. I mean, if you're
28:10
right at the middle, I should say. So, either
28:12
own what you're doing. If you're going to be
28:13
effeminate, be effeminate. If you're going to
28:15
be masculine, be the toughest guy in the room.
28:17
Otherwise, you're done. And that's kind of where
28:19
Prince grew up and maybe that's where he got
28:20
his, his split split. And again, going back to
28:24
Minneapolis itself, people were just free to
28:26
be free and to be themselves. As far as my estimation,
28:32
from what I saw. So the fact that what's going
28:34
on now, and this whole political unrest, I mean,
28:36
even the folks that were killed, I believe she
28:39
was a senator, or she was in government of some
28:43
point, her and her. You're talking about the,
28:45
yeah, yeah, the assassination of the Minnesota
28:47
Congresswoman. Which is, I mean. Yeah, around
28:50
the No King's protest time, yeah. It's so out
28:52
of character from what I saw. in that space.
28:56
And it's like that Brittenhouse guy. He's from
29:01
Wisconsin, but it's the same kind of thing. Like,
29:03
are these just anomalies? And again, this is
29:08
rhetorical, but are they being paid to go out
29:10
and do this crazy stuff, like start some riots?
29:13
It feels like they're trying to start World War
29:15
III, or the next Civil War. It feels that way.
29:18
And the writing's on the wall. And, um, not to
29:21
say to the folks that voted for this, this is
29:24
not political comment at all. Um, because I'm,
29:28
I don't like labels. Labels are for soup cans.
29:31
Um, put that on a bumper sticker. But, um, it's,
29:38
it's, um, I'm not the best person for the job,
29:41
but as soon as you put all your eggs in one basket
29:43
and because I'm I blame it myself this to avoid
29:47
embarrassment. I'm just going to go with whatever
29:48
they say is okay. And that's really scary. Because
29:53
then you end up what we have in this beautiful
29:56
city called Minneapolis that people are in the
30:00
streets fighting for their rights, just like
30:02
they did in 2000 for George Floyd. And I think
30:08
it's really scary stuff to see that people are
30:13
taking advantage of Let's show you some pictures
30:16
of what happened, you know, five, six years ago
30:18
in Minneapolis, Minneapolis, Minneapolis. I mean,
30:21
it was happening everywhere. I mean, even here
30:23
in Burlington, Vermont, there were, you know,
30:25
the people standing up and speaking out, but
30:28
also people that were agitating and, you know,
30:31
painting, you know, spray painting things and
30:33
breaking things in order to bring attention to,
30:35
oh, these people are violent. Oh, the reason
30:38
why they sent them there because, you know, are
30:41
unfortunate in my opinion. Um, president is he
30:45
wants to start martial law or create it so that
30:48
he can stay in office. That's why he's knocking
30:50
down the white house and rebuilding it because
30:53
he thinks he's going to be there forever. Meanwhile,
30:55
he's on his way out. Like dude's like one Big
30:57
Mac from fuck, oh, excuse me. It's pretty clear.
31:06
I'm biting my tongue with my language this whole
31:08
time, by the way. No, it's fine. It's fine. It's
31:10
fine. I mean, his own health and human services
31:13
secretary was caught on tape saying like, he
31:15
just eats poison, drinks poison every day. Even
31:19
RFK is surprised that Trump has lived this long
31:21
with how... Secret service, I mean, granted they
31:24
have an oath to the president, sure. But some
31:27
folks around that don't have that oath. You know,
31:29
I mean, a little drop in a dad coke would be
31:32
fun. I guess my question, yeah, I guess, I don't
31:36
know. I mean, and this could be to close us out
31:40
here during this wonderful conversation. Where
31:44
does Minneapolis go from here? I mean, we've
31:50
obviously described it as other than what the
31:54
right describes it as. They seem to paint a picture
31:57
very negatively. And we have this experience,
31:59
you and I, Craig, as it being a very diverse,
32:02
safe, fun, welcoming, arts -friendly city. And
32:05
they've been very much in the news for this entire
32:09
month with the ice of it all. And the residents,
32:13
good for them. I mean, a lot of them are fighting.
32:18
They're protesting. They're using their First
32:19
Amendment rights. And it's not like... the Trump
32:22
administration is on their way out, like, tomorrow.
32:25
Like, Minneapolis, they still have a lot of fight
32:29
that they have to give. So I just kind of wonder
32:32
where this city goes over the course of this
32:37
year, beyond the Trump administration's takeover
32:42
of it. Like, where do you see it going? I mean,
32:45
do you see it becoming stronger? Do you, you
32:47
know, go ahead. No, I think if for some reason
32:51
we could you know, have a magic erase board and
32:54
kit a bunch of other folks in the office immediately
32:57
and get ice out of there and stop, you know,
32:59
agitating what's the goal of the president and
33:03
his cabinet. And well, it's not even necessarily
33:06
him. It feels like there's some other folks that
33:08
are, you know, pulling the strings. He feels
33:10
like a puppet on that whole project 2025 stuff.
33:14
Yeah. So there's been a plan for a very long
33:15
time, like when Rogan Wade got overturned. this
33:18
woman, Mary Miller, who is one of the heads of
33:22
Right to Life. As soon as they got overturned,
33:25
she was on NPR and was like, oh my God, we finally
33:28
found our guy who can overturn Roe v. Wade. We
33:31
found him. We've been waiting 40 years. We've
33:33
been training and grooming different people,
33:35
and he was the one. So it's like, this has been
33:37
a plan for a very long time. And that whole projecting
33:41
thing, it's like, oh, the Democrats have a plan.
33:44
It's only because they're trying to take the
33:46
attention away from the fact that they're the
33:47
ones who have been planning all this stuff for
33:49
a very long time. And again, this is not about
33:53
Republican, Democrat, liberal, whatever, conservative,
33:57
it's about turd versus non -turd. Yeah. And so
34:01
how simple was that? If you're someone who doesn't
34:05
care about the, you know, other human beings,
34:07
you're turd. If you're someone who cares... who
34:10
doesn't care that people are losing their rights.
34:13
Some people don't deserve rights. Your turn.
34:18
Some of my best friends are Republicans. That
34:21
sounds weird. It's sort of like a white guy going,
34:23
some of my best friends are black. I get what
34:27
you mean though. I'm not judging folks. I'll
34:32
just call it financial. That's really what it
34:34
comes down to because everything else, it's all
34:37
up in there. But as far as Minneapolis, I don't
34:39
know, man. If the regime changes quickly, get
34:43
all those folks out of there who are all the
34:46
Proud Boys and all those guys and get them off
34:49
vice and leave Minneapolis alone. Because after
34:52
George Floyd, when I was in Minneapolis, I was
34:54
expecting to see, you know, people still protesting
34:58
and unrest and things burnt down. It's a beautiful,
35:02
beautiful city with beautiful people. And maybe
35:05
that's The issue, maybe that's why they're being
35:08
targeted because they're nice middle, Midwestern
35:11
folks who don't expect this to happen in their
35:14
neighborhood. And I say that with a grain of
35:16
salt because when people say this is not supposed
35:17
to happen here, it can happen anywhere. Especially
35:20
when the government agitates it makes it happen
35:22
because they want to make an example of a place
35:24
that actually is peaceful and loving and everyone
35:28
just lets everyone be. Yeah. I think it started
35:31
because when, when the whole childcare fraud
35:34
situation came out, the childcare center that
35:37
happens to be Somali run, didn't they kind of
35:40
build up to like, oh, like the Trump administration
35:43
saying that means all Somalis are bad. And that
35:46
means we have to go into Minneapolis and cause
35:48
hell and take them out with ice. And that might've
35:52
been the starting point, if not one of the starting
35:54
points. Yeah, it's like that whole fake thing
35:59
of they're trapping children out of the basement
36:02
of this pizza place that didn't have a basement.
36:05
Right, right. Like what the heck are you talking
36:07
about? And then people are buying into it, you
36:10
know? Meanwhile, on the other side, I mean, look
36:14
at the records of all the people that are on
36:16
part of his cabinet. They're all protecting each
36:18
other and because they're all in the same club.
36:21
In my opinion, I don't want to put out there
36:22
the facts because I don't know that. But the
36:25
feeling they're giving off is that they're all
36:26
in the same club and they're protecting each
36:28
other and they want to keep each other close.
36:30
It's like a frat or the military. There are all
36:36
these rules to get in and hazing and most of
36:41
it is stuff that you wouldn't necessarily do
36:44
in your real life. But now I own you because
36:46
you don't want anyone to know about this. So
36:48
everyone's got a video, a piece of paper or a
36:52
story about each other. And that way they keep
36:54
each other insular. Unfortunately, we, we take
36:58
the brunt of that because they're trying to get
37:00
rich and keep each other safe. Yeah. And also,
37:04
and most of us, especially people of color, they
37:06
don't want to surround. They, they want a white
37:08
nation. They do? Yep. And Minneapolis is not
37:11
that. I mean, it is, it is one of the most, it's
37:13
sort of like a very, a very large, when you scheme
37:16
them up. And Winooski is the most diverse state,
37:19
oh city in the state. It felt like that. It was,
37:21
but everyone got along and I don't mean but,
37:23
everyone got along, everyone was happy, got great
37:26
diverse food everywhere. And everyone had great
37:28
stories to tell. It was, I don't know, I can't
37:31
wait to go back. Go see it again after all this
37:35
stuff, or maybe, you know, I'd bite the bullet
37:37
and go check out what's happening now. Do you
37:40
think the administration is going to severely
37:43
affect Minneapolis tourism because of what we're
37:46
seeing on the news? Are there going to be those
37:50
who are reading the news and saying, oh my God,
37:53
all of this unrest happening in Minneapolis,
37:56
I don't know if I should go there because, especially
37:58
if I'm a person of color going there, Lord knows
38:01
something could happen to me. Do you think the
38:02
administration is affecting the tourism? It's
38:06
definitely going to affect their economy. I'm
38:07
sure it is already. Trump, you know, starting
38:11
issues with Canada and then China. Vegas is dying
38:15
because a lot of their tourists were from Canada
38:17
and from China. Vegas is like, you know, hanging
38:20
on by a thread. But it's going to be the same
38:22
kind of thing. I mean, granted, people that are
38:24
there will support and, you know, do their best
38:28
to keep it alive. But, you know, tourism is the
38:30
big, big deal everywhere. You know, when you
38:33
have so many sports teams there. you know, places
38:39
that are destinations and people stop coming.
38:42
That's a problem. There's jobs on the line. You
38:44
know, the food supply of people needing, you
38:46
know, stuff to sell at concession stands and
38:50
whatever. It's like the prices go up and, you
38:52
know, it's, I don't know. Is it short -sighted
38:55
or is it a plan? Good for thought. Yeah. I don't
39:00
know. I don't know. Because, you know, again,
39:02
the city that I saw and the city that In all
39:05
quite, in all honesty, for the first time, I
39:08
went, you know what? I, I don't, I'd never thought
39:12
about really, really fully moving away from Vermont,
39:16
but being in Minneapolis for a week, literally,
39:19
it was like, I'm home. I want to be here. I want
39:22
to be here. This is, I love this energy. I love
39:27
the peacefulness. Even I've walked from the hotel
39:29
through what's supposed to be the, the tough
39:32
part of town. And never an issue. Like, it was
39:37
like, everyone gave a hello. It's like, if you're
39:40
not in my way, just keep on your way. Do your
39:43
thing. And to have that safety taken away if
39:49
that's what's happening or what they're trying
39:51
to do. And the vision that they're trying to
39:55
create around us keeps happening. Man, cities
39:59
like Minneapolis will unfortunately fade away,
40:02
I think. At least what they were. become something
40:04
different. Well, this was a great conversation.
40:08
I really appreciate you taking the time to talk
40:10
about your experience, Craig. If anybody from
40:13
Minneapolis is listening and watching, please
40:15
reach out and tell us what you're going through
40:18
and we're pulling for you. Yeah, I hope they
40:21
do. I hope they reach out. I mean, and even if
40:23
you, well, there's some folks who live in Minneapolis,
40:26
you've not gone to Paisley Park, go check it
40:29
out. That's like, it's in the match of those
40:32
parents. Um, and, and the way that I'm going
40:35
off track for a second here, but not, you know,
40:40
walking in the summertime, there's like these
40:42
walkways in downtown that take you from building
40:45
to building. And from what I understand, there
40:47
are all these tunnels underneath the downtown
40:50
corridor so that when it's really cold outside,
40:53
you don't really have to go outside. You can
40:56
walk from building to building on the ground
40:58
or uptown. Why doesn't every city get a tunnel
41:03
through this? And so it's like, it feels like
41:06
there was love and magic in that. Yeah. Correct
41:12
me if I'm wrong. Cause I'm a big fan of the Mary
41:14
Tyler Moore show. Wasn't that show set in Minneapolis?
41:17
Didn't she move there after her divorce for happiness
41:21
and contentment and freedom. Oh God. And that
41:26
was the seventies. Oh my God. I love that. Yeah.
41:29
So many examples, as we've stated in this past
41:32
hour of Minneapolis being anything but what the
41:35
administration is describing it as. Thank you
41:38
so much, Craig, for talking with me about this,
41:41
for having this very cathartic conversation.
41:44
I really appreciate it. As a newbie, it feels
41:47
I'm honored to be able to talk about Minneapolis,
41:49
a place I went to once. And it still feels like
41:52
home a month later. Yeah. Yeah. Oh, God. Yeah,
41:55
between your ones and me visiting there several
41:57
times, it just, I don't know. I just feel like
41:59
there's, there's just a nice, uh, bond ship with
42:02
the city that I really appreciate for both of
42:03
us. Um, do you mind telling people how they can
42:06
keep up with what, what you're doing career wise?
42:09
Like how, how can people find you? What am I
42:10
doing? So my band's called Purple. Okay. Appropriate,
42:13
sell appropriately. Um, it's, uh, purple on Facebook
42:17
is purple attribute to, uh, Prince. Um, you could
42:20
find that pretty easily. DJing, it depends on
42:23
the week and where and how. Um, I am doing radio.
42:27
I'm doing a Friday night show on, uh, WNBC FM.
42:31
It's like a remix and refix show. Yeah. So it's
42:34
like, they're, they're like a 70s, 80s station,
42:37
retro station. Then I take those songs and remix
42:40
them and refix them and make it a dance party
42:43
every Friday night from seven to 11. So that's
42:45
a lot of fun. So beyond that, um, this is more
42:49
my busier season. Yeah, strangely enough. So
42:52
I'm, I'm doing a lot of stuff in, in Mad River
42:54
Valley. That stuff is Sugarbush and this place,
42:57
after thoughts and water, you know, Wheatfield
42:58
and Zen Barn and Waterbury and that whole area
43:01
is like my, you know, my home these days in the
43:04
winter time. So, and the band's more free. Obviously
43:08
we do a lot more shows in the winter because
43:11
everyone's in different bands and there's, there's
43:13
seven of us. So it's, it's a lot to coordinate.
43:17
Yeah. God. So whether you're in the Burlington
43:19
area in Vermont or you're listening to WNBCFM
43:23
in New York City, which I'm first hearing now
43:25
that you're doing this awesome show on Friday
43:27
night. Yeah, look out for Craig Mitchell. He's
43:30
quite a talent. And yeah, again, for any Minneapolis
43:34
citizens that might be listening and watching
43:35
and want to give us their experience of what
43:38
they're going through, you can certainly email
43:40
the deliciousculture at gmail .com. Again, that's
43:43
the deliciousculture at gmail .com. You can find
43:46
us wherever you get your podcasts, Apple, Spotify,
43:48
SiriusXM, Amazon, wherever, and on social media.
43:51
at The Delicious Culture on Instagram, TikTok,
43:53
YouTube. Find us there, at The Delicious Culture.
43:56
You can follow me personally on TikTok, at John
43:58
François Presents. And thank you again, Craig,
44:02
and all the best to you and all the beautiful
44:05
art that you create. And thank you all for listening
44:09
and consuming this. Let deliciousness ring.