It’s no sweat for Prince to play two sets a night, as he does this evening at the 1,700-seat City National Grove of Anaheim California. He tells me that if anything he’s more energized after the second show, not less. Both shows stretch to a delicious two hours, as the crowd, in blowouts and Vegas-style cocktail dresses (it’s worth dressing up for Prince, even in California), screams and sings along with glee. The only tense moment comes when we file into the theater and a security guard says, “No cameras, no cellphones—don’t even take them out of your pocket. Tonight, we’re not asking, we’re just escorting.” I ask her what that means. “If we see you with your phone out, we’re not going to ask what you’re doing—you’re just gone.”

This demand might seem extreme coming from the Purple One—a very young-looking 55, with a tight Afro instead of his usual loose curls, clad in a black bodysuit with white lines that makes him look like a spider—but in fact it’s not out of character.

ou could argue that Prince was an early adopter of phone-text-speak (“I Would Die 4 U” and all that), but he’s eschewed the PR opportunities afforded by the latest tech almost completely, refusing to put his videos on YouTube and offering new music mostly for sale on his websites. And in part by making himself so unavailable, he’s remained as mysterious as ever. Prince has always refused any label the world wants to slap on him. A devout Jehovah’s Witness since 2001, he writes music that is explicit about both Jesus and sexual desire. He’s a black man with light skin who usually dresses in clothes that seem inspired by female icons, from Twiggy to Marie Antoinette. A heterosexual man who deeply worships sexually confident women, he nonetheless wants to dominate them. Prince keeps his private life private: he’s usually either on the road or at Paisley Park, his $10 million compound in the suburbs of his hometown of Minneapolis, with multiple recording studios, wardrobe rooms, a video-editing suite, a sound stage, production offices, rehearsal areas, and “the vault,” which includes his extensive library of unreleased recordings. Read more

In the last week of June, we’re seeing a divide among the on Billboard’s flagship Hot 100 chart. Not pop versus rock, or hip-hop versus dance, or fast versus slow. I’m talking about new versus old.

The major Song of Summer contenders still feel new — they’ve been wafting through the air only a couple of months. For example, current chart-topper “Blurred Lines” by Robin Thicke has spent a total of nine weeks on the Hot 100. Daft Punk’s “Get Lucky” currently No. 2, is also nine weeks old. A bit lower in the Top 10, a pair of starlets have hits of roughly the same vintage — Selena Gomez’s “” (No. 8) is nine weeks old, and Ariana Grande’s “” (No. 9) is at week 11.

By contrast, in the middle of the Top 10, you’ll find a pair of hits that are now positively ancient. At No. 6 is Florida Georgia Line’s 36-week-old country-crossover smash “Cruise”. A couple of weeks ago this song, fueled by , sneaked into the Top 5 in its 34th chart week, setting a record for . Just two weeks after that, the record was broken: Imagine Dragons’ turgid rock hit “,” in its 42nd chart week, just leaped to No. 4, Read more

Buzz Track: Utopia

Toronto indie buzz act Nightbox will release a new album. Upon releasing their debut EP in 2011 on Canada’s Last Gang Entertainment, critical and commercial reaction was noteworthy on a world scale. The music video for single “Pyramid” earned heavy rotation on Canadian music television stations, and the track was selected to appear on the French label Kitsune’s Maison Compilation 11. It was also chosen by NME as a Top-10 download. Check out the new track Utopia from their upcoming release.
Contact: rgentles@wizkidmanagement.com

Country pop newcomer Courtney Rau recently released a track ‘After The Storm‘ which features Jessica Harp, formally of “The Wreckers.” She has been compared to Taylor Swift and Carrie Underwood. She will announce several shows in the upcoming months.
Contact: jarau@aol.com

Buzz Track: Common Gold

Not Tonight Josephine will release a new EP in July which was recorded and produced by James Paul Wisner (Underoath, Paramore, Go Radio, Further Seems Forever). The band will embark on tour in August & September.
Contact: nottonightrock@gmail.com