Think about what it might really feel wish to be complimented by certainly one of your greatest musical heroes – that dream turned a actuality for Cory Wong, who was as soon as given shining reward by none aside from Prince.

Wong has simply launched a brand new album, Misplaced In The Surprise. The trendy funk artist has a reasonably giant discography, however whereas he was nonetheless discovering his toes and taking part in native gigs in Minneapolis, Wong discovered himself taking part in for Prince. The megastar had stopped by to look at Dr. Mambo’s Combo, the band of which Wong was a member on the time, whose skilled members had been mentoring him.

He tells MusicRadar​​, “There’s this membership in downtown Minneapolis known as Bunkers. It was the hold for musicians and to some extent nonetheless is. Every kind of individuals would come to hold and sit in, from Slash and John Mayer to Roy Hargrove and Jonny Lang.

“Prince would are available in on a regular basis to look at the band,” he shares. “Anytime he was hiring new musicians to play with him, he would deliver them to Bunkers and make them take heed to how the musicians would strategy the music, in addition to the repertoire itself…

“Prince despatched certainly one of his individuals to deliver me over. He’d at all times sit within the again nook together with his entourage and safety round as a result of he’s Prince – clearly everybody would need to go and say hello, which is to be anticipated,” he says.

“After I noticed him, I mentioned ‘Hey, how are you doing?’ And he replied ‘Oh, you sound so nice, man… I like what you do since you’ve obtained such a sound, it’s such a factor, preserve doing all your factor as a result of once I hear it, it’s such a sound!’”

Wong says that it was the most important praise one may probably get as a guitarist: “It wasn’t nearly taking part in a fantastic solo, which might have been good sufficient. However from artist to artist and guitar participant to guitar participant, Prince telling me I had an identifiable sound was by far the most important praise I’ve ever gotten.”

He provides: “I knew he meant it when he mentioned it. Generally, once I’m feeling down about myself, I can return and listen to his voice in my head. It’s one thing I’ll always remember.”

Cory Wong’s new album Misplaced In The Surprise is out now.

Rachel started writing for Guitar.com in 2021 whereas ending up her diploma. A proud DIY guitarist, she has been taking part in for over 10 years and has written for the likes of Kerrang!, The Forty-5, and MusicTech. An enjoyer of all issues heavy, you’ll discover her at a pageant or downtuning her guitars when away from her desk.