{"id":1820,"date":"2019-03-08T06:00:59","date_gmt":"2019-03-08T06:00:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/prnalumni.org\/members\/?page_id=1820"},"modified":"2019-03-15T18:55:40","modified_gmt":"2019-03-15T18:55:40","slug":"spotlight-sam-jennings-2","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/prnalumni.org\/members\/spotlight\/spotlight-sam-jennings-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Spotlight: Sam Jennings (Pt. 2)"},"content":{"rendered":"

STORIES FROM THE PARK<\/h3>\n
\n\t

PRN Alumni Foundation is comprised of the former employees of Prince, Paisley Park, Paisley Park Records, PRN Productions, NPG Records, Love4OneAnother, any and all of Prince\u2019s companies spanning his impressive nearly 40 year career.<\/p>\n

There have been, quite literally hundreds of us in Prince\u2019s employ. The Foundation represents our collective voice.<\/p>\n

We are musicians, engineers, managers, lighting directors, wardrobe designers, stylists, makeup artists, drivers, bodyguards, admin staff, valets, drivers (and more!)<\/p>\n

This \u2018Stories From The Park\u2019 chronicle is a way for our colleagues of all tenures and job types to share a little bit of Prince\u2019s magic with you through our individual voices.<\/p>\n

We hope you enjoy getting to know us\u2026we feel as if we\u2019ve known you, Prince\u2019s fans (fam) forever <3<\/p>\n

With love and gratitude,
\nPRN Alumni Foundation<\/strong><\/p>\n

Read More Spotlights<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>

\n\n
\n\t\t\"Sam\n\t<\/div>\n\n<\/div><\/div>

Spotlight: Sam Jennings (Pt. 2)<\/h3>\n
\n\t

\"THIS IS WHAT FREEDOM SOUNDS LIKE\"<\/em><\/h1>\n

SAM JENNINGS RECALLS HOW PRINCE\u2019S HI-TECH VISION HELPED REMAKE THE INDUSTRY AND BETTER CONNECT ARTISTS AND FANS<\/h3>\n

Interviewed by writer: Tony Kiene <\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Part 2:<\/strong><\/h3>\n

\"You Got 2 Join The Club\"<\/h2>\n

By the time Prince was ready to take The Rainbow Children<\/em> out on the road as part of the One Nite Alone<\/em> Tour, the NPG Music Club was elevated to yet another level. Not only were club members able to access the best seats in the house, but were invited to sit in on Prince\u2019s soundchecks and granted early admission to the aftershows. And, during the actual concert, Prince would often announce from the stage, that if you want these seats up front, \u201cYou got to join the club.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was a brilliant marketing strategy,\u201d acknowledges Sam, \u201cBut it meant a lot more than that to Prince. He loved his fans and loved the idea that club members were dedicated and understood what it was all about.\u201d <\/p>\n

With all the new artistic and business apparatus the NPG Music Club afforded Prince and his fans, it also enhanced Sam\u2019s role at Paisley Park. Now, in addition to his design duties, he was coordinating with concert promoters, venue staff, public relations professionals, and a litany of vendors. The extra responsibility was fine with Sam. After all, as Prince often provided those under his employ, such opportunities gave Sam the chance to spread his wings.<\/p>\n

After 3\u00bd months touring the US and Canada, Prince returned home for \u201cXenophobia: Celebration 2002,\u201d before taking the tour to Europe and Japan to close out the year. Comparatively, 2003 would be relatively quiet for Prince, at least in the public eye. Behind the scenes however, Prince and Sam would start to reshape the NPG Music Club yet again.<\/p>\n

New Xpectations<\/h2>\n

Per Prince\u2019s new vision, the music club underwent a major redesign, at least from a layout standpoint. As Sam describes it, \u201cThe whole experience was built around the idea of the club as a big mansion that you had to maneuver around to find what you were looking for,\u201d be it music, merchandise, or other experiences. The way the site distributed music also changed around 2003, with Prince instead opting to release several CD\u2019s of music as opposed to monthly audio shows.<\/p>\n

As a result, Sam was now able to try his hand at creating album art, which included the One Nite Alone\u2026 Live<\/em> box set. A brief tour at the end of the year, that included dates in Hong Kong, Australia, and Hawaii, allowed Sam to stretch even further as he partnered with photographer Afshin Shahidi to create the accompanying tour book and an exclusive coffee table book Prince in Hawaii: An Intimate Portrait of an Artist<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Toward the end of the year, Prince, who was always wanting to add new features to the site, called upon Sam to make even more tweaks. Still, 2004 would see the club again utilize one of its most successful tools from the past. And, similar to how he did in 1984, Prince once again took the music world by storm.<\/p>\n

Real Music by Real Musicians<\/h2>\n

Although his true fans will tell you he never went anywhere, for the first few years of the 21st century, Prince essentially operated as an underground artist. All that changed in March 2004 when Prince was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, offering a pair of performances that are still raved about today.<\/p>\n

Prince then hit the road for the most talked about tour of that year, Musicology Live 2004ever<\/em>. NPG Music Club members again had the chance to secure premium seats online and Prince upped his game again. His first major label release (Columbia) since 1999, Musicology (the artwork to which Sam co-designed), was included in the price of the concert ticket. Always the trendsetter, Prince found yet another way to get music directly to his fans, a revolutionary premise was soon mirrored by others such as U2 and Duran Duran.<\/p>\n

Prince\u2019s next album, 3121<\/em> debuted at number one on the Billboard chart, sustaining the momentum of Musicology. Sam, who designed the cover and promotional materials, confesses, \u201c3121 was absolutely my favorite Prince project to work on.\u201d In addition to his artistry, Sam coordinated everything with Universal Music\u2019s production team and travelled to New York to approve the final packaging.<\/p>\n

This was a period where Prince was spending a lot of time in Los Angeles, where he famously hosted his 3121 concerts for a \u201cWho\u2019s Who\u201d of Hollywood. \u201cPrince was renting this mansion in Beverly Hills,\u201d recounts Sam, \u201cAnd when I was working on some of these projects he\u2019d have me stay in the guest house.\u201d<\/p>\n

Prince came by to chat about the music business, what Sam was working on at the moment, and often just everyday things. Sam says, \u201cPrince seemed to be in a pretty good place then, a happy place. We\u2019d listen to some of music off my ipod, things like Fleetwood Mac, Steely Dan, old Chicago records. Or, we\u2019d just talk. Those are some of the best memories of my career.\u201d <\/p>\n

The Webby<\/h2>\n

In the summer of 2006, the work that Sam had done both with and for Prince, paid off in a big way when the NPG Music Club received The Webby Award for \u201cBest Celebrity\/Fan Site\u201d from the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences. Sam, who was there to accept the award called it a \u201creal validation.\u201d <\/p>\n

Not to be outdone that evening, was of course Prince himself, who received the Webby Lifetime Achievement Award. The inscription on the award, in part cites how Prince \u201cforever altered the landscape of musical distribution\u201d and \u201creshaped the relationship between artist and fan.\u201d<\/p>\n

Soon after his recognition as an online pioneer, much to Sam\u2019s dismay, Prince decided to shut down the NPG Music Club. \u201cIn Prince\u2019s view the club had gone as far as it could and we should go out \u2018on a high note.\u2019\u201d Nevertheless, this wasn\u2019t the end of Sam\u2019s time with Prince. There was still work to do.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s Where the Party Be\u2026 3121<\/h2>\n

In November 2006, Prince took up an extended residency at the Rio Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. Club 3121 as it was dubbed, continued through April 2017 with a few short breaks including one to accommodate Prince\u2019s legendary half-time performance at Super Bowl XLI in Miami.<\/p>\n

In support of Prince\u2019s stay in Vegas, Sam worked overtime designing all promotional and collateral materials. This involved, but was not limited to: the club logo; billboards; bus wraps; hotel room keycards; food and drink menus; show tickets; print ads, flyers and posters; merchandise; the club newsletter; and signage at the venue which included a display rising nearly 40 stories high on the fa\u00e7ade of the Rio itself.<\/p>\n

Among the final projects Sam worked on was the artwork for 2007\u2019s Planet Earth<\/em>. The album\u2019s theme, coupled with some of Sam\u2019s more recent designs and Afshin\u2019s photography provided seamless visuals to promote Prince\u2019s biggest events of the year; Minneapolis 07\/07\/07 (punctuated by Prince\u2019s long-awaited return to First Avenue) and his 21-night stand at London\u2019s O2 Arena. These designs concluded Sam\u2019s time working for Prince. <\/p>\n

Remembrance<\/h2>\n

Sam is eternally grateful for the near-decade he spent working for Prince. Now headquartered in LA, Sam has designed projects for other iconic artist including David Bowie and Pearl Jam, while also spending several years as a UX Designer for the Microsoft Corporation. Today, Sam is a Senior Designer and Art Director for Ebony Magazine.<\/p>\n

In July 2016, Sam, with the help of some former colleagues, created the Prince Online Museum<\/a>. It is an invaluable gift to fans, students, aspiring artists, and others who can now (re)visit 16 of the independently owned websites that empowered Prince to transform and transcend the industry.<\/p>\n

When Sam reflects on Prince\u2019s passing, his thoughts are analogous to his peers in the PRN family; he thought Prince would outlive us all. \u201cI pictured him in his late eighties still playing guitar and complaining about the record industry.\u201d Sam imagined someday he might cross paths with Prince again and pick up where they left off. To know that will never occur, is not only a loss for Sam, but for the world. After absorbing the initial shock and lasting sorrow, Sam is just honored to be part of it all. \u201cPrince,\u201d he notes \u201cwas one in a million.\u201d <\/p>\n

***<\/p>\n

For more from Sam Jennings, visit samjennings.com<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

Read Part 1<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a9 Tony Kiene & PRN Alumni Foundation<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

PRN Alumni Foundation is comprised of the former employees of Prince, Paisley Park, Paisley Park Records, PRN Productions, NPG Records, Love4OneAnother, any and all of Prince\u2019s companies spanning his impressive nearly 40 year career. There have been, quite literally hundreds of us in Prince\u2019s employ. The Foundation represents our collective voice. 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