Moving Music

PG RATED It was the summer of 1984, I was 13 and MTV was King. Miami Vice had not yet made its place on a Friday night TV schedule. Music videos were coming into their own as “mini movies”. An artist like none other kept peeking through and blurring the lines of Rock’n’Roll. Prince had written a story that was tailor made for a hungry MTV audience; He boldly presented a full length autobiographical film that played like a long form music video. The public ate it up and “Purple Rain” won an academy award for his effort. We all know how Prince made his way to stardom, and sadly, how he died last year. What remained hidden in plain sight is just how this affected other future artists like Wade Barnett. Wade is a blues guitarist who showed up on the local music scene, seemingly out of nowhere, and maintains a strong presence.  I met Wade a few years ago in a cigar shop. For cigar lovers, it’s in part the conversation that occurs while smoking together that endears us to the shop. Wade and I began a dialog that to