Morris Day makes up for lost time

By Joel Francis
The Kansas City Star

The original members of the ‘80s funk band the Time, including Morris Day, Jimmy Jam, Terry Lewis, and Jesse Johnson, will have an album of new material out within the next year if Day has his way.

“The original members get together when we can,” Day said. “It’s getting to the point where we can put something new out within the next year.”

After dropping three classic albums in the early ‘80s, the band briefly reunited in 1990. A group appearance at the 2008 Grammys kicked off the latest reconvening, Day said.

“What happened was we’ve been getting together and doing tracks for fun,” Day said. “It so happens Jimmy Jam is chairman of NARAS (National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences), the company that does the Grammys. They found out he was an original member of the Time and thought we needed to come out together. So we did that, which lead to a string (of shows) in Vegas at the Flamingo, then we decided to keep on going.”

Just don’t expect Jam, Lewis, Johnson or any new cuts on Morris Day and the Time’s current tour.

“We’re holding up on that (playing new cuts). We’re going to launch it in a way that makes sense at the time,” Day said. “I do know we sound even better than the old records. You’ll be surprised how good everybody looks and sounds. There are still a few original members. We still have Jellybean (Johnson) on drums and Monte (Moir) on keyboards. “

In 1980, Prince culled the best musicians from local Minneapolis bands Flyte Time, the Family and Grand Central to be in his pet side project, the Time. Although the Time’s 1981 debut album featured Prince on most of the instruments, the other musicians gradually had more input.

“On the first record, Prince played a lot of the instruments, but I played drums,” Day said. “Every time he was in the studio, I was down there with him working just as much. We cut the tracks together. With each album, the musicians played larger roles. You can see it from all the spin-off careers. Everyone became very efficient in the studio.”

Jam and Lewis made their name as producers working with Janet Jackson. The pair brought in Jellybean Johnson to help produce Jackson’s 1989 hit “Black Cat.” Jesse Johnson also worked with Jackson and has written music for several movies, including “The Breakfast Club,” in addition to recording as a solo artist.

“I knew we had something special right away from the first song the band had to learn,” Day said. “When we played our first big show at the 20 Grand in

Detroit, I started out with my back to the crowd and I could hear the people going nuts. Then after the show I saw the response from the musicians and people into music and knew we had something special.”

The Time found their biggest success after appearing in “Purple Rain,” which celebrates its 25^th anniversary this year.

“When we made ‘Purple Rain’ we weren’t thinking the movie would be a blockbuster, we were just having fun,” Day said. “I’ve only seen once in its entirety and that was at the premier. That said, I think it’s held up well because I always end up running into people who can quote my lines like they wrote the script.”

Unfortunately, the band was no longer intact to enjoy the results.

“What happened was Jimmy and Terry missed a show in Atlanta. They were somewhere producing for S.O.S. Band, missed their flight and because of bad weather couldn’t get out,” Day said. “Because we were signed to Prince’s production company, he fired them. The band never felt the same to me after that. I wasn’t feeling it any more so I decided to start a solo career.”

Day continued to work with Prince, though, appearing in the film “Graffiti Bridge.” Eventually Day realized he liked music more than movies.

“Acting is not an easy gig. It takes a special talent that not just anyone can do it,” Day said. “It takes a lot of memory and concentration, things that don’t come easy to me. I like to work an hour, hour and a half, and be able to go into the studio at my leisure.  The musician has more control over life than an actor.”

After a lengthy absence, Day returned to the big screen for the “Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back” in 2001.

“That’s an interesting scenario, because apparently (director) Kevin (Smith) wrote the script with us in mind before he contacted us,” Day said. “It was a good experience. I had teenage kids at the time, and they just thought of me as the guy who dropped them off at school. But after ‘Jay and Silent Bob’ so many kids were coming up to me. It set young eyes hip to what I do.”

(Note: This article was written in advance of a scheduled concert by Morris Day and the Time on Nov. 6, 2009, at the Midland Theater in Kansas City, Mo. Unfortunately, Day cancelled the concert hours after the piece was submitted. It is published on The Daily Record for the first time.)