Three of a kind: Prince's new winning hand

May 17, 2013 at 7:42PM
3rd Eye Girl NPG Records
3rdEyeGirl: Hannah Ford Welton, Donna Grantis and Ida Nielsen. (The Minnesota Star Tribune)

They've only been together since November. But they've become a tight unit, showing up in matching black boots and jeans, finishing each other's sentences and giggling at in-jokes.

We asked the 3rdEyeGirls to describe each other.

Hannah Ford Welton

Vitals: 22, drummer, Louisville, married to Joshua Welton, a singer/producer/former reality TV star.

"Smiley, fun, powerhouse, focused, energetic," said Donna Grantis.

"A sweetheart, very talented, how can you say 'bad ass' in a nice way?" Ida Nielsen said. "My vocabulary is not good. There's a contrast between being a good-looking, pretty, sweet smiley girl and then she's surprising [makes gesture like an explosion]."

Donna Grantis

Vitals: 30ish, guitarist, from Toronto, married to Trevor Guy, a record-label VP.

"She's sweet, for sure," said Ford Welton. "Quiet, fierce, shocking, explosive."

"Donna is cute and sweet," Niel­sen said, "and she has that same contrast in her personality that Hannah has in that she can sit here and talk about chocolate and stuff and just be a little girl and then just play distorted guitar."

Ida Nielsen

Vitals: Mid-30s, bassist, Denmark. "EE-dah" is how you say her first name.

"Hilarious, humble, loving, compassionate and funky," said Ford Welton.

"Groovy, funny, kind, very helpful and, like, laid back," said Grantis.

How they describe Prince

"The most important thing is he is very sweet," Ford Welton said. "He is a good guy. As deeply as he is musically, he can still sit down with you and laugh and joke around and watch funny skits and movies and be your friend away from the music."

"He's an incredibly smart person," Grantis said. "Great sense of humor. Really fun to be around."

"I think I expected him to be fantastic. I think he's even greater," Nielsen said. "I keep being surprised at how good he is at …"

"… at life," Ford Welton said.

Jon Bream

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