The Time Return With Original Lineup, New Material

The Time -- funky purveyors of '80s hits 'Jungle Love', 'Gigolos Get Lonely Too' and 'The Walk' -- are making a few rounds this summer with their original lineup. That means original guitarist Jesse Johnson's along for the five dates, which kick off May 28 and 29 at the Las Vegas Hilton. From there, they'll head to Chicago's Arie Crown Theater on June 10, Detroit's Fox Theater on June 11 and Washington, D.C.'s Constitution Hall on June 12. The band's most recent reformation was in 2008 for a string of shows at the Flamingo in Las Vegas. These dates mark their first multi-city run in over 20 years.

And is Johnson excited about getting back on stage with his old band? "Not really," he tells Spinner. "I'm mean [the gigs are] cool but I'm more excited about the new Time record that we've been completing over the last couple of months. It's hard to get excited about playing songs that we've already played before, but I'm excited about the new stuff."

With Prince backing their first few releases, the Time were poised to be one of pop's next big thing, but squabbles with the Purple One over control and Johnson's pursuit of a solo career left the group floundering. "For lack of a better term, I was someone else's pawn," Johnson says. "The labels wanted us to repeat the same thing over and over. The control of the original Time, it was really under control of Prince. He really dictated the play and how things went down. I wouldn't necessarily label him a bad person, but any situation where you work under someone, it's their rules that apply."

With Johnson recently been putting the final touches on the new Time album, he says he's hoping a fall release will give fans new music, this time in a way that leaves him and the band with much more control than before. Johnson's also currently promoting his new album, 'Verbal Penetration,' which he's also self-released. It's a two-disc collection that shows off his mastering of a myriad of funk, jazz and blues guitar styles on creative song titles such as 'In the Key of Nudity,' '100 Watts of Funky' and 'U & I R We R Us.' He'll also break away from the Time during this tour for a mid-set showcase of his solo material, which dates back to the mid '80s.