Dywane Thomas Jr., aka MonoNeon, has risen to the upper echelons of viral bassists. With his penchant for meme-worthy content that still highlights his bass talent, MonoNeon has managed to grab the attention of music industry icons like George Clinton and Mavis Staples, earn the approval of Red Hot Chili Peppers' Flea, and perform at prestigious festivals like the Newport Jazz Festival.
However, without a doubt, one of his biggest flexes is playing with Prince.
In a recent interview with Premier Guitar, MonoNeon talks about the way the High Priest of Pop changed his rig. “I started using the Whammy when I was playing with Prince, because I saw how he was using it and stuff, and I just saw his swag with it, so I just kind of adapted it.
“But I've always had one when I was playing with David Fiuczynski. But when I started playing with Prince, he put the Whammy on my pedalboard they built me at Paisley Park, and I just started to embrace it a lot more being around him. So yeah, my use of the Whammy pedal came from David Fiuczynski and Prince.”
Elsewhere in the interview, MonoNeon reveals how he got recruited by Prince in the first place. “I think he saw some of my videos on YouTube. I'm pretty sure he did. And his manager contacted me through email, and told me, ‘Prince wants you to come to Paisley Park.’ And when I first got there, I was hired to play with Judith Hill, one of his proteges.”
MonoNeon then moved on to Prince’s new band, which comprised musicians like Adrian Crutchfield, the last horn man to perform and record with Prince, guitarist Donna Grantis from his backing band 3RDEYEGIRL, and longtime drummer Kirk Johnson.
“It still hurts me that it was so short, because he passed on and I just started playing with him,” MonoNeon adds. “But I'm using that inspiration and that fire and that time with him right now."
In a recent Guitar World interview, MonoNeon referred to his time with Prince as “life-changing” and said it was the reason why he eventually started writing his own music.
