Week of June 1st: The Austinites Formerly Known as
If you know me, you know I love the musician Prince. My closet is overflowing with purple, my birthday gift was a deluxe Purple Rain album, and each yoga class I teach has at least one Prince song. It’s something I try to keep to myself, but every year during the first week of June it leaps out .
Prince was born on June 7th, 1958 and while he never celebrated his own birthday that never stopped his fans from going all out with celebrations of their own.
I went to three Prince parties over the week, each time meeting a person that greatly enriched my experience. For Prince, it’s not just the music, it’s the people.
Ricardo:
At Antone’s Purple People Party on Tuesday, I went alone. Instead of hitting the dance floor immediately, I scanned the room for an empty seat. The only one left was a bar seat near the front.
Next to me sat a purple man no younger than 65 years old, head to toe in sparkles. We were exchanging Prince pleasantries when I noticed the purple pouch he boasted, with fake coins spilling out. I naturally inquired about his faux monies, when he snatched the pouch and said:
“I am wearing women’s pants tonight. No pockets. My pouch has every single valuable thing of mine.”
I responded:
“Right! So these coins are your most valuable items?”
“No,” he said.
He escorted me to the dance floor and proclaimed: “You are my woman of the night, Kate!”
His name was Ricardo He had driven an hour and a half from Killeen on a Tuesday night for this. When he danced, he just glided across the ground and never straightened his knees.
Leilani:
Once Ricardo got tired of dancing and headed back to his pouch of mysteries, a young woman tapped me on the shoulder.
“I love your jacket!”
“Thank you,” I responded. “It’s vintage and from a store I frequent and when I saw this jacket I knew I needed it so my amazing friends surprised me with it for my birthday and now I wear it when I…” I realized I was boring them with the details. I tried to save the conversation:
“And what’s your name?”
Leilani is a 21 year old artist who lives in Round Rock. Her love for Prince is rooted in her hometown pride for Minneapolis. We danced together all night – with Ricardo intermittently interjecting himself. I walked her to her car at the end of the night as she returned to Round Rock. I offered for her to come to play the drums at my house – she actually took me up on it.
Adam:
The Central Machine Works Prince Birthday party is the pinnacle of Austin’s Prince festivities. If you’re not there you might as well say aloud you prefer Michael Jackson. Adam and I are regulars at this event, but I actually recognized him from another facet of my life. He is a community organizer who mobilizes for change in transportation, car-dependency, housing, and more. He’s a micro-celebrity. Who knew there were two people that loved urbanism and Prince? I saw him standing alone across the patio, which never bodes well. My empathetic outlook to strangers disallows me from seeing someone alone.
Henry walked over to Adam, eager to talk urbanism while I grabbed a couple of purple beers for us.
[Enter] Derrick + Vince:
As I stood in line to buy our highly themed drinks, I encountered Derrick and Vince. The Prince set had yet to start, Adam and Henry were chatting outside and the energy was high. I overheard two men speaking about what they hoped would be included in the setlist. I added my opinions and we went our separate ways, but not for long.
Adam:
I came back and intruded on Henry and Adam. The conversation flowed from our favorite bike lanes in the city to the most underrated Prince singles. What felt like 5 minutes was actually 2 hours of talking with Adam. The conversation had me thinking: no, but seriously, how the hell are there two people who have innate passions for both Prince and housing policy?
The set started, we migrated to the front of the crowd and let the music take us.
The People Come Together:
Like converging rivers my rotating cast of characters from the week joined together in an ocean of Prince fandom. Adam spent the rest of the night with us. Dancing, singing, and laughing, he felt like a best friend. My best friends surprised me at the party dressed immaculately for theme, and quickly welcomed Adam into our circle.
The Gang With Adam (far, top right)
The costume contest followed, and Leilani , all the way from Round Rock joined me on stage.
Me (middle) with Leilani cheering me on (left)
The winnings, a $100 bar tab, got Derrick and Vince’s attention, drawing them back into the mix. Derrick picked up a round all on his own, we commandeered a big and, with drinks flowing, the rest was history.
Just a small portion of the lore between Derrick and Vince
I probably won’t see Leilani, Adam, Vince, or Derrick again until next year. But when I do, they will not be strangers.