{"id":2122,"date":"2019-10-11T10:55:58","date_gmt":"2019-10-11T17:55:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/prnalumni.org\/members\/?page_id=2122"},"modified":"2019-10-11T11:07:37","modified_gmt":"2019-10-11T18:07:37","slug":"spotlight-susan-rogers","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/prnalumni.org\/members\/spotlight\/spotlight-susan-rogers\/","title":{"rendered":"Spotlight: Susan Rogers"},"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\"Dr.\n\t<\/div>\n\n<\/div><\/div>

Spotlight: Dr. Susan Rogers<\/h3>\n
\n\t

\"A REMARKABLE MAN!\u201d<\/h1>\n

Susan Rogers Reflects upon her Lifelong Journey in Music, What it was Like to Watch a \u2018Genius at Work,\u2019 and Her Personal Vow to lift up Prince\u2019s Legacy at Every Turn <\/h2>\n

By Tony Kiene<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

It was an early summer night in June 1977. As the clock drew closer and closer to 10:30, twenty-year-old Susan Rogers knew that her evening was just about over. Standing with friends from work among 17,000 some odd others inside The Fabulous Forum in Inglewood, California, she was witnessing true rock royalty Led Zeppelin on what would prove to be their final North American tour.<\/p>\n

Although she desperately wanted to stay \u2013 after all Jimmy, John, John Paul, and Robert comprised one of her most beloved bands at the time - if Susan failed to make the curfew that her husband imposed on her, it would result in yet another beating. Thus, she parted ways with her friends and began to stroll toward the exit. However, before she left the building, she turned, stared into the rafters and made a vow to herself, \u201cSomeday I\u2019ll be back here. And when I am, I\u2019m going to be mixing live sound for a band.\"<\/p>\n

For the Love of Music<\/h3>\n

Born and raised in Southern California, Susan was a passionate record collector from the very beginning. \u201cGrowing up, my allowance and later my babysitting money, all went to buying records,\u201d she says. Moreover, it didn\u2019t take long for her to realize that she wanted to be in the record-making business one day. \u201cI was never interested in becoming a singer, songwriter, performer,\u201d explains Susan, \u201cNor did I have any desire to be a record executive. Maybe a disc jockey.\u201d<\/p>\n

Around the age of eight or nine, Susan was gifted Sonny and Cher\u2019s debut album Look at Us. On the back cover \u2013 in addition to the musicians that played on the record \u2013 was a photo of recording engineer Stan Ross, co-founder of Gold Star Studios. Susan instantly took notice. \u201cWhen I saw they included a picture of the engineer, something just clicked in my mind and I thought, \u2018That feels right. That\u2019s for me.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Going Hollywood<\/h3>\n

On the night Susan made a promise that she would one day return to The Forum, next time in a working capacity, it was not lost on her that some things would have to change beforehand. Number one, she would have to become free from an abusive husband. \u201cHe would beat the s#!+ out of me all the time.\u201d <\/p>\n

Plus, at that precise moment, she was working in the Biomedical field. \u201cI didn\u2019t know anyone in the music industry at all,\u201d Susan confesses, \u201cFor me to pledge that I would one day mix live sound at The Forum was implausible. It was akin to saying \u2018I\u2019m going to go to the moon.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Thanks to her tenacity and a desire to map her own destiny in life, it didn\u2019t take long for Susan to extricate herself of that bad marriage. And, by 1978 \u2013 in her quest to pursue her musical passions \u2013 she made a short trek to Hollywood and Audio Industries Corporation (AIC). While she studied audio electronics and basic electronics theory on her own time, AIC trained Susan as an Audio Technician.
\nThe first few years on the job found her primarily repairing recording consoles and tape machines, installing studios, and the like. Then came her first big break. In 1981, Susan was hired as a Maintenance Tech at Rudy Records, owned by Graham Nash and David Crosby (\u201cit was named after one of their dogs\u201d).\n<\/p>\n

\u201cI got to see a lot of famous people come and go back then,\u201d recalls Susan, \u201cOf course, Crosby, Stills & Nash was recording a big album at the time. But then there were others from that sort of soft rock Los Angeles scene; members of The Eagles, Bonnie Raitt, Jackson Browne, and the like.\u201d<\/p>\n

Although she felt that working at Rudy Records was great, it was not where Susan \u201clived musically,\u201d so to speak. Soul music was her love and her favorite artist in the world was Prince.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s My Job!\u201d<\/h3>\n

\nIt was the summer of 1983 when Susan received a call from an old boyfriend John Sacchetti. \u201cSusan,\u201d he shouted excitedly, \u201cPrince is looking for a full-time audio tech from either New York or Los Angeles. That\u2019s your job. Call Glenn now!\u201d <\/p>\n

Glenn, was none other than audio industry pioneer Glenn Phoenix, John\u2019s boss and founder of Westlake Audio, from which Prince had recently purchased a new recording console. Susan immediately made the call and declared, \u201cGlenn. That\u2019s my job! That\u2019s my job! There\u2019s nobody more qualified for this than me.\u201d <\/p>\n

\nWithout hesitation, Susan went to visit Glenn who subsequently arranged for her to interview with Prince\u2019s manager Steve Fargnoli. Prior to that meeting however, Susan and John flew to Minneapolis to deliver the equipment Prince had just ordered from Westlake. Upon her return she met with Fargnoli, who in rather short order decided, \u201cYeah, you\u2019ll do.\u201d <\/p>\n

\n\u201cWe negotiated my contract, salary, everything right there on the spot,\u201d remembers Susan. So, as she hired the moving trucks and made preparations to relocate nearly 2,000 miles from the only home she\u2019d ever known, Susan anxiously contemplated what her future might hold. <\/p>\n

\nOn August 3, 1983 (the day she turned 27), Susan\u2019s friends and co-workers threw her a birthday\/going-away party. That also happened to be the day that Prince performed his (now) legendary benefit concert at First Avenue, which unfortunately, Susan had to miss. Nevertheless, she was fully aware that a lot of adventure must lie ahead.<\/p>\n

A Good Fit<\/h3>\n

Susan\u2019s first responsibility in her new gig was to install the recording console that she previously helped deliver in Prince\u2019s home studio on Kiowa Trail in Chanhassen. \u201cIt was such a small space,\u201d she remarks. \u201cJust a tiny room across the main hallway from his master bedroom. Not your typical studio for sure. And still, he made so much incredible music in there all on his own.\u201d<\/p>\n

Although Susan was hired as an audio technician, and a capable one at that, it didn\u2019t take long for her to realize Prince was looking for more. \u201cHe expected me to be an engineer and I don\u2019t think he really cared if I was trained as such. That\u2019s what he needed.\u201d Thankfully, there were a multitude of things Susan had in her favor. <\/p>\n

First, she was more than up for the challenge noting that \u201cI understood the equipment, I understood signal flows.\u201d Besides, Susan had seen plenty of engineers in action and coveted the opportunity she\u2019d now been given. The one thing she wasn\u2019t sure of at first was \u201cwhich mic to use\u201d when recording Prince, but that would soon prove to be much less of an issue than she first imagined. \u201cWith Prince there was no rule book in the studio,\u201d affirms Susan, \u201cIt was all based on feel. If it felt good to him, then it was right.\u201d<\/p>\n

Another detail Susan had going for her is that she was a female. \u201cPrince enjoyed working with women,\u201d muses Susan, \u201cPerhaps in part due to our collaborative, less competitive natures. The absolute last thing Prince needed at the time were any obstinate males posing a challenge to his authority, to his artistic instincts.\u201d <\/p>\n

It also helped that Susan and Prince grew up on \u201cthe same musical street.\u201d Susan would mention the concerts of his that she\u2019d attended. Not to mention that whenever Prince might reference a particular R&B song or album, Susan was already familiar. \u201cThat\u2019s the music I had listened to my entire life.\u201d <\/p>\n

And finally, Susan was not at all averse to the long days and nights. It didn\u2019t matter if it was 18 hours a day, 24 hours straight, or even longer. \u201cI could hang,\u201d proclaims Susan, \u201cWhich made me a good fit for him.\u201d<\/p>\n

Homeboy<\/h3>\n

While Susan notes that Prince loved to use Sunset Sound, when recording in Minneapolis there were basically only two options; his home studio and the fabled warehouses that he leased including the Highway 7 site in St. Louis Park (where \u201cLet\u2019s Go Crazy\u201d and \u201cComputer Blue\u201d were each recorded) and later, the Flying Cloud Drive address out in Eden Prairie.<\/p>\n

Recording at these locations presented their own set of unique challenges. \u201cWe would truck the console over to the warehouse, which was primarily used for rehearsals,\u201d Susan explains, \u201cThe stage set up included the riser in the back which held Bobby, Lisa, and Matt, while Prince, Wendy, and Mark were up front.\u201d And, while everyone\u2019s position had its own mic, the setup required each mic to feed into a splitter snake, which in turn fed into both the monitor mix console and the recording console. <\/p>\n

The result Susan relates was that the \u201csignal path was not especially good and there was no acoustical isolation.\u201d As such, although Susan may only be standing 20 to 30 feet away from Prince, she wasn\u2019t able hear sounds in isolation. Essentially, Susan concedes that during those warehouse sessions in Eden Prairie she was \u201cpretty much flying blind\u201d the entire time, at least from a sonic perspective. <\/p>\n

And yet in the summer of 1984 \u2013 while standing in the midst of the cultural zeitgeist that was Purple Rain - Prince recorded so much \u201cincredible material\u201d at that little wood-panelled warehouse tucked away in the southwest suburbs. Among the songs recorded there were many of the tracks that would make up Around the World in A Day as well as The Family\u2019s debut album. \u201cPrince seemed really happy then,\u201d says Susan, \u201cThe volume and quality of his musical output at that time was off the charts.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cLet\u2019s Get One Thing Straight\u2026\u201d<\/h3>\n

The monotony and methodology of the recording process can easily blur or even erase certain memories. Says Susan, \u201cIt could be such a grind, day in and day out. And most of the time you were operating on such little sleep.\u201d Not that it wasn\u2019t an amazing experience. <\/p>\n

Susan continues, \u201cTo see Prince move from the drums to the keys. Then on to the bass and ultimately the guitar before putting down these amazing vocals. I thought this must be what it\u2019s like to observe a painter. I was literally watching a genius at work. And it was never lost on me how truly fortunate I was.\u201d <\/p>\n

\nThat said, she loves to take stock of those ordinary, everyday moments in time when Prince was simply being Prince. One such occasion took place at the Flying Cloud Drive warehouse where she was hanging out with \u201cCubby\u201d Colby (Prince\u2019s live engineer), drum technician Brad Marsh, and a few others.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe guys were talking about someone on the crew they thought was an a$$hole,\u201d states Susan. Unbeknownst to any of them Prince had sauntered into the room and overheard their conversation. \u201cWait, who\u2019s an a$$hole,\u201d he asked. The crew, not wanting to throw anyone under the bus before the boss said nothing. In response to their silence, Prince, unabashedly proclaimed, \u201cLet\u2019s get one thing straight right now. There\u2019s only one a$$hole around here and it\u2019s me!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cPrince was 100 percent right to say that,\u201d Susan reflects, \u201cEveryone that worked for him had to recognize that he was the boss.\u201d Be that as it may, Prince wasn\u2019t looking for \u201cyes-men\u201d (or yes-women for that matter). \u201cThat wouldn\u2019t work,\u201d she says, \u201cYou had to tell him the truth, even if it was bad news he generally took it in stride. But above all, Prince was the captain of the ship and I believe we were all at ease because of it.\u201d<\/p>\n

In November of 1984 - following the massive success of Purple Rain and its indelible soundtrack (which remained atop the Billboard 200 Chart for six months) \u2013 the Purple Rain Tour opened at Detroit\u2019s Joe Louis Arena. And, Susan was along for the ride carrying the official title of Electronic Technician. But her engineering duties were still required. \u201cI was with Prince nearly every day for four years,\u201d she notes, \u201cThat\u2019s because he recorded almost every day even when he was on tour.\u201d <\/p>\n

As the tour crisscrossed the country, ultimately visiting 33 cities (and a total of 98 shows), it finally made its way to Susan\u2019s native soil in February for a sold-out, six-night stand at The Forum. During one of the concerts, Saturday the 23rd, both Bruce Springsteen and Madonna would grace Prince\u2019s stage. Yet it would be that first LA show, February 18, 1985, that would live in Susan\u2019s memory forever.<\/p>\n

Dreams<\/h3>\n

In late June of 1977 \u2013 the very same week she saw Led Zeppelin play The Forum - there is no way Susan could have ever known that a nineteen-year-old Prince Rogers Nelson was in the process of signing his first professional recording contract with Warner Bros. Records. Had she been aware, the serendipity of that particular reality would have come in a distant second to an even greater truth. Susan Rogers, as she swore she would be, was back at The Forum. <\/p>\n

She wouldn\u2019t be mixing live sound, but to her mind Susan was doing something even more gratifying. \u201cMy job was to record the shows from a mobile truck outside of the building,\u201d reveals Susan, \u201cFrom an engineer\u2019s perspective nothing could be better.\u201d <\/p>\n

After the soundcheck preceding that first show in Los Angeles, Susan made her way into The Forum and then into Prince\u2019s dressing room. Per usual, she was there to provide him with a cassette of what she\u2019d just recorded. <\/p>\n

\nWith just the two of them in the room, Susan, while mindful that she didn\u2019t want to take up too much of his time, decided to tell Prince a story. The story about the violent ex-husband, a preposterous curfew, and the seemingly impractical promise she\u2019d made to herself some seven-and-a-half years earlier.<\/p>\n

\n\u201cMore than anything,\u201d recognizes Susan, \u201cI wanted to thank Prince for enabling me to fulfil that very promise.\u201d Though she doesn\u2019t recall whether or not Prince said anything in response (\u201che might have uttered something\u201d), she\u2019ll never forget how they looked at one another in that moment. \u201cThis was one of those times where you saw who Prince was at his very core\u2026 saw his empathy, his essence, his humanity.\u201d
\nSusan continues, \u201cHere we were, two people who had grown up without privilege, without opportunity. And, what I saw in his eyes as they reflected back at me was confirmation that he understood my story on a visceral level and had to overcome so many obstacles himself. But we both worked our asses off and we made it!\u201d <\/p>\n

\nWhat is more, is that not only did Prince and Susan realize their own ambition, but Prince\u2019s vision for his career thoroughly empowered countless others in successfully establishing their own. Adds Susan, \u201cIn achieving his own dreams, Prince allowed the dreams and aspirations of so many people to come true.\u201d<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve Been to the Mountaintop<\/h3>\n

It was April 1985. After 22-weeks on the road the Purple Rain Tour was over and Prince\u2019s follow-up, Around the World in A Day, was about to hit the record stores. Always a step ahead, Prince was already planning what would become the Parade album. But things were a little different now. Once they had returned to Minneapolis, Susan began to notice what she refers to as a \u201csea change\u201d in Prince\u2019s universe.\n<\/p>\n

\u201cHis world had gotten so much bigger,\u201d observes Susan, \u201cHe was more serious. Problems were more urgent. With Purple Rain, Prince achieved a pinnacle. Now the world wanted to see what was next. Could he climb that mountain again?\u201d\n<\/p>\n

The initial response to Around the World in a Day suggested a number of critics (and perhaps some fans) were bewildered by Prince\u2019s latest effort. But to his eternal credit, as Susan relates, \u201cPrince was astute enough to hang in there, to stay the course.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\u201cCritics like to make predictions about where an artist will go next,\u201d says Susan, \u201cBut Prince was as wise as he was intelligent.\u201d And, although sales may have suffered and others may have not understood, \u201cPrince always kept a cool head. There was always a vision, a big picture, which is one of the things that made him such a joy to work with.\u201d<\/p>\n

Fun with Prince<\/h3>\n

Notwithstanding such platitudes, Susan admits that Prince could be difficult. \u201cSometimes he was mean. He could be cold. He might embarrass you. He could even be a brat. Yet none of these things are unpardonable sins.\u201d <\/p>\n

\nSusan speaks to occasions where she was operating on little or no sleep to which Prince might say, \u201cI know you\u2019ve been up 24 hours, but I\u2019ve got another song so we\u2019re gonna go around again.\u201d For Susan\u2019s part, she always recognized that was what she\u2019d signed up for. It was part of the job. In other words, she says simply, \u201cWe were there to make Prince records.\u201d<\/p>\n

\nSo, if Prince was in a dark mood, Susan comments, \u201cYou just let him be. However, during the time I was with him, he was usually in a pretty good mood.\u201d Likewise, in spite of the arduous and oftentimes tedious work, there was always time for fun. And, perhaps no one could be more fun (or funnier) than Prince.<\/p>\n

\nFor example, there was a day at Sunset Sound where Prince was reading an article about himself out loud to anyone who was within earshot. \u201cHe was in the control room with Wendy and Lisa,\u201d recalls Susan, \u201cThere may have been a few others around. I believe it was one of the bigger magazines, maybe Time.\u201d As Prince read on he came across phrase that rankled him; \u201cthe diminutive singer.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy do they always call me diminutive,\u201d Prince wondered aloud. He soon took umbrage at another untruth when the author of the piece commented that Prince stood 5 foot, 2 inches tall. \u201cThere they go again,\u201d he implored, I\u2019m not 5\u2019 2.\u201d \u201cWell, asked Wendy, \u201cHow tall are you?\u201d Prince\u2019s response, \u201cI\u2019m 5\u2019 3!\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\u201cEveryone had a good laugh over that one,\u201d Susan remembers, \u201cStill. Prince was completely serious. He wanted to let the record show that he was indeed 5\u2019 3\u201d.<\/p>\n

\nAnother time, as was often the case, it was just Prince and Susan in the studio. \u201cWe were at Sunset Sound and we\u2019d just finished recording a new song. Prince was really excited to listen to the playback so I made a cassette and we jumped in his car.\u201d The car was no ordinary vehicle, but rather a cream colored convertible Rolls Royce with slate blue and teak interior. \u201cIt was so beautiful,\u201d lauds Susan.<\/p>\n

\nWith Prince at the wheel and Susan in the passenger\u2019s seat, the duo first made their way up and down Sunset before crossing over to Santa Monica Boulevard. On the way back to the studio, to Susan\u2019s considerable surprise, Prince pulled into a 7-Eleven. \u201cHe reached into the glove compartment, pulled out a wallet, and asked me if I wanted anything,\u201d Susan laughs, \u201cI told him I was fine.\u201d <\/p>\n

\nAmazed by the moment, Susan kept an eye on Prince through the glass exterior of the store as he made his way to the checkout line. \u201cHe was wearing this pale lavender chiffon tunic, with matching bell bottoms and his trademark boots,\u201d she says, \u201cNaturally his hair and make-up were flawless.\u201d<\/p>\n

\nThen, as Prince waited for his turn to pay, the gentleman in front of him kept turning, staring at the purple-clad superstar. Susan saw that this guy eventually said something to Prince, who politely smiled. The expression on Prince\u2019s face grew wider as he returned to the car. Visibly amused, Prince said to Susan, \u201cYou won\u2019t believe what that guy just said to me.\u201d \u201cWhat,\u201d Susan eagerly asked to which Prince replied, \u201cHe said, \u2018Yo man. You look a lot like Prince, only shorter.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\u201cIt was so hilarious,\u201d Susan giggles, \u201cWe laughed and laughed.\u201d She reminds us that Prince had a really good sense of humor about such things. In her mind however, with regard to the poor guy in the 7-Eleven, there was only one thing on her mind. \u201cDude,\u201d she pondered to herself, \u201cWho could you have thought this possibly was rolling through Hollywood in a convertible Rolls decked out in perfectly in this pale lavender. I mean really?\u201d\n<\/p>\n

Unlocking The Vault<\/h3>\n

\nIn lieu of Prince\u2019s prolific nature, Susan made the suggestion early on in her tenure that Prince catalogue and store all the treasures he was creating. Thus, the legendary vault was born. \u201cAt Sunset Sound, songs were easy to document,\u201d Susan explains, \u201cIt was a professional studio with a labeling system and a filing system.\u201d But at home in Minneapolis, there were no assistant engineers. More often than not, it was just Prince and Susan flying through session after session in his home studio along the shores of Lake Riley.\n<\/p>\n

As she has repeated in numerous interviews, Susan was always nostalgic about gems like \u201cWally\u201d and \u201cMoonbeam Levels,\u201d the latter of which received its first official release on the November 2016 collection Prince 4Ever. Yet there are so many others. Songs like \u201cSplash,\u201d \u201cData Bank,\u201d and \u201cCrucial\u201d immediately come to mind. \u201cAnd, I just loved \u201cSexual Suicide,\u201d she adds.\n<\/p>\n

To this day, Susan marvels at Prince\u2019s accelerated output. \u201cHe worked so much faster than anyone I\u2019ve ever seen. Prince could do in mere days what it to other months to complete. And rarely, did he leave any song unfinished. He took it across the finish line.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dr. Rogers<\/h3>\n

Although Susan left Prince\u2019s full-time employ in 1987, she continued on a number of related projects. Over the years, in addition to a multitude of artists on the Paisley Park roster (like Sheila E., The Family, Madhouse, Jill Jones, Eric Leeds, and Dale Bozzio), Susan\u2019s engineering and technical credits include a who\u2019s who of Prince associated artists such as Andr\u00e9 Cymone, Sue Ann Carwell, Jesse Johnson, Mavis Staples, Patti LaBelle, Candy Dulfer, Sheena Easton, Tevin Campbell, and of course, Wendy and Lisa.<\/p>\n

That said, her talents took her well beyond the purple cosmos. Among Susan\u2019s first gigs post-Prince was The Jackson\u2019s 1989 release 2300 Jackson Street, an ode to the family\u2019s famous home in Gary, Indiana. Additionally, Susan went on to work with the likes of Queen, India Arie, David Byrne, Barenaked Ladies, British trip hop innovator Tricky, and noted Twin Cities icon in his own right, Paul Westerberg.<\/p>\n

Having spent more than two decades in the music industry, Susan decided to leave the business and set her sights on another goal. In 2000, she started her academic career at the University of Minnesota before moving on to earn her Ph.D. in psychology from Montreal\u2019s McGill University where she studied the sciences of psychoacoustics and music cognition. <\/p>\n

Today, she is a tenured professor in Music Production and Engineering (MPE) at the renowned Berklee College of Music in Boston where she also serves as director of the school\u2019s Music Perception and Cognition Laboratory. This, as some may know, is the same college where Prince endowed a memorial scholarship in the name of Frederick Cameron Weber, a young Berklee student who was killed in 1988 after being struck by an automobile as he waited in line to purchase Prince tickets during the Lovesexy Tour.<\/p>\n

Following Prince\u2019s own legacy of giving, Susan, along with one of her own prot\u00e9g\u00e9\u2019s (Berklee graduate Matthew McArthur), established the City of Boston\u2019s first nonprofit recording studio, The Record Company. The studio\u2019s mission is to \u201cremove the technical and social barriers between Boston\u2019s music makers and their creative visions through truly affordable music workspace and professional development programs.\u201d And, in what would certainly warm Prince\u2019s heart, The Record Company sets its designs on our most precious generations by offering free music technology courses to local youth.\n<\/p>\n

\u201cHe was So Easy to Love\u201d<\/h3>\n

For the spring semester of 2016, Susan took a sabbatical from teaching. Life was good. In fact, she\u2019d just been able to catch up with Wendy and Lisa as they\u2019d been at Berklee as artists-in-residence in the MPE department. Susan even moderated the musical duos ASCAP (American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers) Day Event on April 7.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was so great to see them,\u201d says Susan, \u201cIt had been more than 20 years since we were together. To sit and swap Prince stories, while reminiscing about the old days was so much fun.\u201d<\/p>\n

A week or so after Wendy and Lisa left campus, Susan was working in her cognition laboratory where she was testing a participant. It was Thursday morning, April 21. <\/p>\n

\u201cAll of a sudden my phone started to blow up,\u201d reflects Susan, \u201cThen, almost immediately, a call came in from the Media Relations department at the school. I was receiving several requests for interviews. Prince had just passed away.\u201d <\/p>\n

In the wake of her utter shock and sadness, Susan came to realize something profound. That she and so many more from the Prince orbit had a complicated question to answer; \u201cWould she talk about her former boss publicly? And if so, to whom?\u201d<\/p>\n

When Prince was alive, Susan deliberates \u201cIt was not our job to talk about him. He was more than capable of talking about himself.\u201d Still, after a great deal of thought, she personally decided \u201cyes,\u201d she would speak about him. More to the point, she would talk to just about everyone that asked.<\/p>\n

The reason? \u201cBecause I feel an obligation to tell the truth and let the world know who and what this man truly was,\u201d declares Susan. And who was he? \u201cPrince was a very good man, a remarkable man!\u201d<\/p>\n

Susan acknowledges that she\u2019s not out to canonize Prince. Nevertheless, she thinks it critically important for those who want to, to continue spreading the word about his life, his legacy, and his love for the world. \u201cThe more we collectively talk about him, the better we can create a narrative. It\u2019s not about controlling the narrative, mind you. But allowing a narrative to exist.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\u201cI cannot help but to remember how seriously Prince took his responsibilities to his employees,\u201d shares Susan, \u201cHe did so much for all of us who were lucky enough to be part of his life. This is the least we can possibly do for him.\u201d To Susan\u2019s credit, she is doing that and more (along with many of her colleagues), by serving on the PRN Alumni Foundation\u2019s Board of Directors and helping to further Prince\u2019s enduring commitment to philanthropy, music education, and social justice. <\/p>\n

Susan\u2019s final thoughts about her late boss? \u201cHe was so easy to love. I loved him then and I love him now. And, I am so, so proud to have worked for him.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n***<\/p>\n

\u00a9 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. We are musicians, engineers, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":1581,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":[],"yoast_head":"\nSpotlight: Susan Rogers - PRN Alumni Foundation<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The PRN Alumni \u201cStories From The Park\u201d Spotlight series continues with this interview with Kimberly Arland\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/prnalumni.org\/members\/spotlight\/spotlight-susan-rogers\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Spotlight: Susan Rogers - PRN Alumni Foundation\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The PRN Alumni \u201cStories From The Park\u201d Spotlight series continues with this interview with Kimberly Arland\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/prnalumni.org\/members\/spotlight\/spotlight-susan-rogers\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"PRN Alumni Foundation\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/PRNalumniFDN\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2019-10-11T18:07:37+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/prnalumni.org\/members\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/prnalumni-share.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"951\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"499\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@PrnAlumniFDN\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"23 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/prnalumni.org\/members\/spotlight\/spotlight-susan-rogers\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/prnalumni.org\/members\/spotlight\/spotlight-susan-rogers\/\",\"name\":\"Spotlight: Susan Rogers - 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