Austin Radio Icon, BOOKER, interviewing Marshall Charloff

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Posted Thursday, March 5, 2020 

Marshall Charloff & the Purple Xperience, a high-energy, five-piece Prince tribute, will be coming to Austin’s One World Theatre on Saturday, March 14. The Purple Xperience is the only tribute band licensed by The Prince Estate. 

“It’s truly a celebration of Prince,” Charloff said. “It’s his catalog, honoring my mentor and everybody’s musical hero.” 

Charloff said attendees will witness iconic Prince costumes while listening to Prince’s songs and seeing world-class musicians. 

Though Charloff’s favorite Prince song (at least right now) is the deep cut “The Ballad of Dorothy Parker,” he said he most enjoys playing the very, very famous “Purple Rain.” 

“It’s an anthem,” he said. “The emotions in that song bring a sense of community to the show. People are dealing with their own stuff, mourning Prince and they’re celebrating. It’s almost religious for me when I play that song.” 

The band of course plays all the hits Prince is known for, but Charloff said every show is unique as it’s never the same exact set list or experience.

“There’s a segment of the show where the band leaves and it’s just me and the piano,” he said. “That’s where I kind of feel out what to play.”

After nine years of touring and performing, Charloff said some audiences want those deep cut tracks while others want mainly the hits. He said he feeds off of the energy of the audience, and creates the set list around each individual crowd. 

“When you can experience a shared, live experience, it’s only going to happen in a fleeting moment," he said. "It’s never going to happen again. Whatever show performed in that room is only happening once with that group of people and with the energy they’re bringing.”

Charloff said paying tribute to Prince by performing his songs is important. 

“I feel like there’s some purpose representing the greatest showman of all-time, the greatest musician of all-time, and to be in a room with that spirit - I feel it’s important,” he said. “Get off your cellphone at least for a couple of hours, get in a room, sing along, celebrate with me, just escape for a couple of hours with other people.” 

Charloff said he first met Prince when he was 17 years old, outside of a warehouse in Minneapolis.

“Do you lie?” Prince asked Charloff. 

“No, I try not to,” Charloff responded. 

“That’s good. You should never lie,” Prince said. 

Charloff said he then asked for his autograph, to which Prince responded, “No, I don’t give autographs," quickly followed by “I’m just kidding. I’ll give you an autograph.” Charloff, however, did not have a pen, so he had to run and get one. 

“He waited there outside this warehouse in Minneapolis,” Charloff said. “He waited for me to go get a pen - just stood there.” 

Prince transcended, Charloff said. 

“When you were in his presence, you knew you were in the presence of somebody just a little higher up than anybody else,” he said.

Charloff said he is still learning from Prince. 

When he met him, Charloff said his whole world outlook changed. 

“To walk away with that feeling of ‘Man, that dude is the alpha male of all alpha males and he’s tiny,' that kind of changed my whole outlook on the world,” he said. “I didn’t feel like I was less than ever again because I was short.”

Prince’s music teaches Charloff to this day, especially his work ethic and musicianship. Like Prince, Charloff learned to play every instrument at shows, as does the rest of the band.

“As a writer, a composer and a producer, he would write a song a day - produced, finished, in the vault, done,” he said. “Don’t look at the song like it’s your baby. You’re going to have a thousand babies if you channel that source Prince was on. Just get it out, birth it, get on to the next one.” 

Prior to seeing Prince do it, Charloff said he did not know it was possible to play every instrument. 

“I play every instrument because he played every instrument, and I realized it was possible,” he said. 

Not only is Charloff the frontman for the Purple Xperience, but he has also worked with Prince, written for The Commodores, worked with Dr. Fink of The Revolution, played keys for the Atlanta Rhythm Section and has written, composed and produced solo music.

Charloff recently collaborated with Sharon Nelson, Prince’s sister, for a track titled “Colours.” He has also released the single “2 Chords,” also off of his second solo album. Charloff said his first album came out one month prior to Prince’s death in 2016, so it did not receive his attention nor time for promotion or tours. With his new album, he also worked with legendary producer John Fields on a couple of tracks. Fields produces music for many high-profile artists including Andrew W. K., Pink, Miley Cyrus, the Jonas Brothers and Demi Lovato. 

Charloff said his solo work stems from all of his major musical influences, stating that it is as if Prince, Sade and Steely Dan had a lovechild. 

For more information on Marshall Charloff & The Purple Xperience and to buy tickets, visit purplexperience.com. For more on Charloff, visit mashallcharloff.com.