Marshall Charloff, frontman of the Prince tribute group Purple Xperience which plays at 7:30 p.m. Monday at the WVU Creative Arts Center, met the man he pays homage to on stage at a young age.
Like Prince, Charloff grew up in Minneapolis and was friends with the renowned musician’s cousin.
“I knew Prince through Frank Collier,” he said, adding that in terms of “musicianship, there’s none higher.”
And, Charloff said, “not me, not anybody” is going to be able to fully step into those shoes.
But after getting the endorsement of Matt Fink — better known as Dr. Fink, keyboardist, producer and songwriter from Prince and the Revolution — Charloff felt confident he could take on his current position at the helm of the five-piece.
“I set out to do this on a respectful, high level of musicianship and in the right spirit,” he said.
And, since 2011, that’s what the artist has done.
“I’m creating music every night,” he said. “I didn’t write the songs, but I am creating. I don’t sing the song the same way twice. I don’t play the solos the same, unless it’s a signature solo. But the rest of the night I’m stretching out, bringing out my own artistry, singing in my own style to a catalogue we all love.”
The crowd Monday can expect to hear hits such as “When Doves Cry,” “Purple Rain,” “Little Red Corvette” and “Let’s Go Crazy.” And, Charloff said, “I can take the temperature of the audience in different ways during a show” to figure out if they’d appreciate some of Prince’s deeper cuts. For instance, during a part of the show, he clears the band off stage, sits at a piano by himself and plays a medley of songs to see what reaction he gets.
“That way, I can find out where they’re at,” he said.
He’s also sure to engage with the people sitting in front of him.
“For one thing, my background is that for 10 years I was a dueling piano player. It’s muscle memory,” he said of getting the crowd involved. “The energy during a show is cyclical, you don’t just take, it’s a give and take. They give energy to me and I give it back. It’s our party.”
In the years he’s been part of Purple Xperience, he’s gained a following of fans who’ve come for Prince but returned to learn more about Charloff.
“It’s fun,” he said. “Obviously they love Prince, but the second, third or 15th time they’re there it becomes more about the artist on stage and there is a hunger for what I have to offer.”
In fact, Charloff is getting ready to release a second album of original songs, including one he worked on with Prince’s sibling Sharon Nelson, titled “Colours.”
“She moved back from New York when her brother passed away to take of his affairs and estate,” he said. “She purchased a home in Twin Cities and started coming to our shows. I didn’t know about it. Then I learned she was tweeting, endorsing what I was doing. She came to a show and we spoke and connected. … We stayed in touch on the phone and she invited me to her house.”
There, she explained that their father, John, would hear melodies in his sleep, which he gave to Prince and the artist used, crediting his father for his contributions.
Nelson, said that she, too, hears melodies in her sleep and, after plucking an eight-note melody on the piano, asked Charloff to play it back.
“It was kind of a test,” he said.
So he did, then after she requested it, he harmonized it, added lyrics and spent time at home creating.
“Within 24 hours I had a song,” he said.
“The record is done,” he added. “I’m working with management on the launch. It’s exciting.”
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