Thieves in the Temple: A Prequel to Purple Rain

CH. 32 With You, I'm Born Again- Billy Preston

Kid's afro had been cut too low. They all looked like Otis Redding instead of the Sylvers. They piled in the van bickering about whose afro looked worse. Schroeder did not care. Alex only complained about it until they reached a bus stop where he noticed a girl staring at him with a flirtatious smile. Morris did not like the new short afro but he still patted it in the mirror perfecting his smile.

Kid's hair had not been cut so low since he was a kid. He felt air on his ears. Kid focused on his guitar solo and let the visions of his hair looking stupid float off his head like smoke. He heard the solo, each note, combination, pick and strum over and over. He held it in his mind in parenthesis. The rest of song came naturally. He hoped the rest of the band would take over and play without much guidance.

They held hands in the van while Sunny led them in a short prayer that ended in the MCP Chant, "MCP!MCP!MCP! Mid City Players!"

Handcock Studio was the only sound studio in Minneapolis. Every group who wanted to record a demo did it there for over twenty years. The boys rocked from side to side, hands in pockets, milling around the waiting room in circles, each getting their turn at Sunny Day fidgeting with their collars. The green shag carpet had black gum stuck in it. Sunny told them not to sit on the yellow toned couch. Little black foot prints littered the crushed velvet or what may have been velvet at one time. The baby who made all those scuff marks probably left some pee stains behind too but they could not tell so they remained standing.

Sunny Day wore a smart striped scarf around her neck beneath a white buttoned blouse. She wore a beige blazer with tissue filled pockets. Her A-line plaid skirt went well below her knee just touching the top of her chocolate brown block heeled boots. She had pressed her hair out so it looked longer than usual, cascading across on her shoulders. She was all about business today but still stunning. She kept wiping sheen spray off Jesse's forehead with her arsenal of pocket tissue.

Mr. Northe, a portly White man came out of the Studio A door.  There was no Studio B or C. "Mrs. Brake, so nice to see you again," he said extending his hand for a shake. "Nice to see you as well," Sunny said in her best American Standard English.

"And the boys," he said looking them over. Another younger Black man followed him. "This is my associate, music producer, Bobby Lowe." Bobby was friendly, shaking all the boys hands with a "Right On."

Bobby gave the directions. "Here's what we're going to do today, Guys. You'll go into the studio and setup your instruments. Then you can tell me what you want to play, we'll record it and see how it sounds after. Okay?"

"I already wrote down what they are going to play," Sunny said handing Bobby the paper. Jesse cut his eyes toward Kid. Kid took a deep breath, picked up his guitar,avoided Morris' eyes and followed Bobby back to the studio as instructed. 

After they plugged in, sound checked and warmed up their voices, they gave each other a quick solid glance. After weeks of endless practice, they knew they would nail each song and they did. They did not stop playing. They just kept going as they had practiced. They saw Bobby waving at them to stop through the sound booth glass but Sunny Day's folded arms told them to hold steady. "You have them well trained, Sister," Bobby said. Sunny beamed. 

After the first two songs, Mr. Northe said, "See Bobby, I told you they were fantastic."

"They are definitely good for a kid's group," Bobby said enthusiastically.

Mr. Northe sat down on yet another dirty couch and made a phone call.

They played another song, performing their dance steps perfectly in front of the microphone stands. Then came the end of "Benny and Jets." Immediately, actually a little too soon, Morris counted off "The Funk's Still in It." They all looked straight head and Alex started singing, "If you came to groove, the groove is right here... the funk's still in it..."