📰 Experience the New Generation – Drummer Magazine: Jul. 2003

Ten‑page feature with centrespread

A major Drummer Magazine feature published in July 2003, spotlighting John Blackwell Jr. at the height of his tenure with Prince. The ten‑page spread — including a full centrespread — presents Blackwell as the heartbeat of Prince’s early‑2000s sound, blending technical mastery, spiritual grounding, and emotional expression.

📰 Excerpt

“Whenever I come to the drums, I always play from my heart, I always play from my soul.”

Blackwell speaks openly about faith, emotion, and the deep musical intuition that shaped his work with Prince — from The Rainbow Children to the One Nite Alone era and beyond.

📰 Overview

This expansive feature positions John Blackwell Jr. as one of the defining drummers of his generation. The article explores:

• his spiritual foundation

• his emotional approach to performance

• his improvisational instincts

• his ability to translate Prince’s musical visions into living, breathing rhythm

The piece highlights Blackwell’s unique capacity to channel joy, grief, anger, and transcendence through the kit — a quality Prince relied on heavily during the Rainbow Children and One Nite Alone periods.

The centrespread showcases Blackwell in full performance mode, capturing the physicality, precision, and elegance of his playing.

📰 Source Details

Publication: Drummer Magazine

Issue Date: July 2003

Format: Ten‑page feature + centrespread

Provenance Notes: Australian publication DRUMscene often reprinted or shared content with Drummer Magazine; this entry reflects the UK‑circulated edition.

📰 The Story

The feature dives into Blackwell’s philosophy and technique:

• Faith as foundation — Blackwell credits God for his talent, balance, and emotional clarity.

• Emotion as technique — he describes crying, laughing, and releasing anger through the drums.

• Imagery as inspiration — he visualises keys, colours, and scenes (e.g., A‑minor as “night”) to shape his playing.

• Prince’s direction — Blackwell recounts how Prince laid out parts, encouraged intuition, and trusted him to “feel the song come alive.”

• The bass connection — he praises Larry Graham and Rhonda Smith as the pillars of funk, describing moments when Prince would stop the band just to let the bass groove breathe.

The article also explores Blackwell’s views on what makes a bass player “funky,” emphasising restraint, pocket, and body‑led expression.

The closing section paints a domestic scene: Blackwell playing James Brown to his baby daughter at 11am — a reminder that funk, for him, is a way of life.

📰 Key Highlights

• Ten‑page feature with full centrespread

• Deep interview exploring faith, emotion, and technique

• Insight into Blackwell’s work with Prince on The Rainbow Children and One Nite Alone

• Praise for Larry Graham and Rhonda Smith

• Reflections on funk, pocket, and musical chemistry

• A rare, intimate portrait of one of Prince’s most important drummers

📰

Drummer Magazine — Ten‑page feature with centrespread, July 2003.

📰 Article Text

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📰 Related Material

• Explore the tags below for connected eras and themes.

📰 Closing Notes

This Drummer Magazine feature stands as one of the most comprehensive portraits of John Blackwell Jr. — a musician whose emotional depth, spiritual grounding, and technical brilliance helped define Prince’s early‑2000s sound.

📰 Tags

#GlamSlamChronicles #MusicEphemera #Prince #JohnBlackwellJr #DrummerMagazine #RainbowChildrenEra #GlamSlamEscape