We couldn’t imagine leaving the area without visiting
Prince’s Paisley Park Studios at 7801 Audubon Road in Chanhassen. We managed to
score some VIP tickets on a day when we were pretty sure we wouldn’t be totally
embroiled in estate stuff. It turned out that we worked around the time we
booked, still got everything handled, and had a great time immersing ourselves
in all things Prince.
Paisley Park was both a massive audio and video recording
studio, as well as Prince’s home for over two decades. We got to roam through
the entire building except for the private bedrooms of the icon. The bulk of
the 65,000 square-foot facility is just the way Prince left it when he died
last April. However, some of the rooms, like his old basketball court, now
display tons of Prince memorabilia, such as his purple chopper from Purple
Rain.
We got to spend time in his office, his kitchen, his private
club where he often held impromptu concerts for the locals, as well as the
recording studios. In Studio B where he recorded many of his 39 released
albums, the Woman and I got to actually record a trio with Prince, Raspberry
Barret. While he outclassed us, we kept up with the lyrics and the beat, if not
quite the same quality. The Woman and I had a rousing game of ping pong on the actual
table Prince played on to relax between intense recording sessions. While we
felt like the icon was looking over us in the studio, we would have preferred
if he had been there in more than spirit.
Sadly they allow no photography in Paisley Park, other than
the bonus photo you can buy at $10 that they take in Studio B. So, we weren’t
able to document our day through pictures like we usually do. We surely would
have photographed his ashes that are still in the main lobby in an urn that is
a miniature Paisley Park replica. Over Prince’s ashes are the white dove cages
he cherished, as well as the doves he cared for up until his untimely death.
But we will just have to hang onto the memories we have from this magical
outing.
Bonus again!
Talk to you soon!
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