When singer/musician/songwriter LINDA SHIDER met the folks in Parliament-Funkadelic, she was working as a stewardess for Pan Am. A friend of hers had just moved to San Francisco, so she invited Linda to come visit. That friend in turn introduced her to a woman who was dating Bernie Worrell, wizard of the boards, and from there she became acquainted with the rest of the funk family, including GARRY SHIDER, whom she wound up hanging out with at a party in L.A. Linda “Legz” had a boyfriend at the time, but she had already been an admirer of the band. “To me, they were like the black Rolling Stones,” she says. “Their aura… their vibe… They were just so intense, and you know they were real sexy onstage.”

She and Garry decided to become a couple soon after. She went on the road with him–following the tour bus in her car, or flying in for certain gigs. Then she joined them onstage for the first time–at Madison Square Garden. She even wound up on the cover of Rock & Soul magazine. But she wasn’t just some random hanger-on in the entourage. She was a leader with a deep background in civil rights advocacy who had fronted her own band, Legz, belting out heavy rock tunes like “Back in Black” by AC/DC. They also released the epic single “It Don’t Come Easy,” a impressively intricate and gooey deep cut which exhibits her complex compositional chops.

Indeed, this particular skill led to her becoming one of the very few credited woman songwriters in P-Funk history. It all started with a baby grand which lived in a hallway at United Sound in Detroit, where most of the P-Funk stuff was recorded. A gifted pianist, she just sat down and started playing. Somebody’s ears perked up. “George came by and he said ‘Hm, I like that,’” she recalls. “And he said, ‘Garry… figure out the chords and stuff and let’s go record that bad boy… I think Ima use that for Parlet.’” The song was called “Are You Dreaming?” and arrived to the world as part of Parlet’s classic debut, the Pleasure Principle.

Nowadays, since Funk doesn’t really have a retirement fund, Ms. Linda still keeps busy. She paints, makes jewelry and is part of annual the Funkateer’s Ball in Bethesda, MD every September. She also continues to write, going so far as to create the funky comic book, DIAPERMAN, featuring Garry as the far-out titular superhero. “I always remembered when Garry was floating on that thin wire over the stadiums and coliseums and stuff, how scary it was,” she says, explaining how she came up with the concept. “I felt like, since he was the one that volunteered to do it, that he earned some credit for that… And it was his 70th birthday in July, so I figured it was a good time to do it.”

In this wide-ranging and extremely candid interview, Mrs. Shider talks about her days as a preferred extra in Robocop and other Hollywood movies, her work with Stokely Carmichael and run-ins with the Klan, and how much she loved to sing “Red Hot Mama” onstage. She also reveals details about her husband’s final days, her efforts to preserve his legacy, why ladies have always been important to P-Funk, and how badly George ruined that one song they did.

When DAWN SILVA – (Brides of Funkenstein, P-Funk, GAP Band, All My Funky Friends] – shopped her autobiography, The FUNK QUEEN to book publishers, they didn’t exactly grasp the entire vision. “Everybody said the same thing,” she says. “‘You can’t do it.’” This is because the OG funkateer had created something you don’t see on shelves every day. “Mine is not only a table book with classic photos,” she explains. “It also has an autobiography, and there‘s about maybe five books within that one book.” Gathering the photos was a tale unto itself, starting with a man by the name of Steve Labelle, an ex-police officer turned photographer who traveled with Parliament Funkadelic from 1976 to 1981. “He was a fanatic,” she recalls. “So he went out on the road with us for all those years and he took all these photos… His health took a turn for the worse and he had been sitting on those photos for about 30 years… So he asked me to make him a promise that, if he sent those photos to me to me, I would put them in my book.”

So she raised the capital and had it manufactured herself—a seven pound (!) hardcover masterpiece in the form of a beautifully printed, glossy package containing over 500 pages of rich funk history, way more than knee deep with amazing and tragic tales, as well as brushes with funk and soul greatness that will inspire ladies young and old while imbuing the fellas with a greater respective for Dawn’s legacy. And just like everything else in her storied career, she had done exactly what the powers that be had said she couldn’t do. “I took a chance because everyone said I couldn’t do it and it wouldn’t work,” she confirms. “And it’s working.”

Taking chances is what made Dawn a professional singer in the first place. As a young lady, her first major singing gig was as a member of a latterday version of Sly & the Family Stone. Then she jumped ship—mothership that is—and, along with other funk queens whom Dawn calls “thoroughbreds”—she appeared across all P-Funk platforms, from Parliament’s Motor Booty Affair and Funkentelechy vs the Placebo Syndrome, to Funkadelic’s One Nation Under Groove and Uncle Jam Wants You. Her voice can also be heard all over such essential, stanky classics as Eddie Hazel’s beloved solo album Game, Dames & Guitar Thangs, and the Sweat Band and Horny Horns albums. Even more importantly, she took center stage to co-lead the BRIDES OF FUNKENSTEIN, whose funktastic albums Funk or Walk and Never Buy Texas from a Cowboy are still much admired today.

Dawn did eventually break away, however, recording and touring with artists such as Ice Cube, Roy Ayers, the GAP Band, and even the Platters. But her best work was not behind her. She decided to put the album out herself on her own independent label. She also expanded her reach by being an early adopter of online forums—where a million plus fans could follow her directly—and entered into indie licensing deals in places like Holland, Germany, France, Japan, China, Thailand, and Sierra Leone. “I ended up selling over a quarter of a million CDs out of my kitchen,” she says, “from a ‘dead’ market, supposedly.” If all that weren’t impressive enough for a woman in funk, her promotional activity overseas led to a headlining gig (!) at the mammoth North Sea Jazz Festival in the Netherlands alongside Chaka Khan, Herbie Hancock, and the Yellowjackets. And by the way: Funky Friends is still selling today. “I proved to the naysayers, to corporate record companies in the states that here was a very viable market for the funk,” Dawn surmises proudly. “Actually, it’s even bigger today than it was then. That’s why I continue on.”

In this thoughtful, revealing, and illuminating interview, Dawn promotes the legacy of other fem funk legends, from Malia Franklin to Gail Muldrow, and how they were instrumental in pushing P-Funk to the top of the heap despite not getting the recognition they are still due.  She also reveals how the Sly Stone Fam paid more and was better organized than the Clinton camp, and recalls how the late, great Glenn Goins taught her to sing funky lyrics with character. On top of all that, Dawn discusses why her friend James Baker’s New Birth was one of the most influential self-contained Black bands in funk history, exciting news about her plans to finally put out certain unreleased material, and the importance of her African-Indigenous-European lineage.

As an undergrad at Cal Berkeley in the early 80s, RICKEY VINCENT— (History of Funk show and book/ Party Music/ Phool 4 the Funk)— stumbled into a music history course. It was quite dense with Black culture, but on the very last day of the 2nd semester, the teacher came to class with his scratchy James Brown 45s, including “Superbad.” Young Rickey found this to be exciting yet problematic. “‘If I taught a class like that,’ he thought to himself, ‘I would start with James Brown!”

This proved to be a good call, because there seemed to be a certain point on the timeline where all pontification on Black culture inexplicably stopped. “There’s all this writing about blues and soul and the 60s and civil rights,” explains Rickey. “I got no problems with that.” But the 1970s brought a new priority that had yet to be expounded upon. “It’s about the Bomb!” he declares. “It’s about the funk… Where’s the chapter about putting it on the One? Where’s the chapter on James Brown changing the language and the rhythm and putting it all down? No one had written about that.”

 Ultimately, what we got was a lot: the HISTORY OF FUNK radio show — a celebration of all things stanky which is still going strong every Friday on KPFA.org — and FUNK: The Music, The People, and the Rhythm of the ONE — an essential tome which should be required reading in any self-respecting household. Indeed, thanks to Rick’s reflections, interviews, and vinyl archeology, we learn about the Five Dynasties of Funk — beginning with the Period of Unification — the Tendencies of Funk, the “heterogenous sound ideal,” and how James Brown invented extended play, changing our expectations of what a song could do. Overall, the professor found that the Funk is not just a look or a sound, but also a particular approach that nobody had really spoken on yet. “Cuz there’s ways to say it,” explains Rick in regards to describing the music, which is more like a movement, organically unifying elements of rock, jazz, blues and gospel. “You can say it from an ethnomusicological point of view… [or] you can look at it as a Black Power thing… These folks were saying ‘All of this is ours.’” 

We are honored to have Rickey Vincent grace us with his essence, and can’t wait to hang with him some more in the future. In this wide-ranging, thought-provoking interview, Rickey talks about how funk artists “arranged the rage,” the importance of visual artists such as Pedro Bell and Overton Lloyd, and why Jimi Hendrix was a fully formed, fully realized Black man who changed the sound of the Isley Brothers forever. Rick also discusses the rise and importance of Sly Stone, how funk artists of today are decentralized and resigned to a life of playing off the grid, and why we need a new Don Cornelius. If all that weren’t enough, we also have two performances by the FUNKANAUTS with emcees DUB ESQUIRE, MWNSTR and MEL YEL. Funky New Year to all!

“I remember I got paid $20 for a gig, man,” says RUSTEE ALLEN, funk bassist extraordinaire, first introduced to the world via the transcendent soul staple FRESH by none other than Sly & the Family Stone. “I thought I made a ton of money!” he laughs. “I didn’t even know you even got paid for playing,” agrees his good friend and fellow Bay Area legend LEVI SEACER JR., a guitarist who went from playing hardcore jazz in local clubs to touring the world with PRINCE and his New Power Generation. “That’s how innocent I was about it… When I got my first check I’m like ‘What’s this?’”

Rustee was first spotted by the Sly camp as a youngster playing in support of local legend Johnny Talbot, much admired by all the top Bay Area funkateers at the time. Along with drummer WILLIE WILD, (who would later be part of the original lineup of Graham Central Station), Rustee was chosen to back up LITTLE SISTER, an offshoot of Sly’s Fam featuring Vet Stone and piloted by Freddie Stone. Next thing Rustee knew, he was “auditioning” to join the Fam as a full-fledged member—in front of 30,000 people in Virginia! Soon after that, Rustee was in the studio for the Fresh sessions, laying down tunes in basically one take each. “The first takes are the best ones anyway,” says Rustee.

As for Levi, he spent his youth gigging at spots like Earl’s Solano Club in the East Bay, playing jazz with ladies such as Rosie Gaines and Sheila Escovedo. “Playing was like taking a glass of water,” says Levi. “Just natural.” His confidence and skill got him noticed by Don Cornelius of Soul Train fame, who put him to work. Then one day Levi stopped by an audition that Escovedo — now known as Sheila E — was holding for bass players. Though Levi was a guitar man, she asked him to take the gig once she had heard him play “A Love Bizarre” on the four-string. This of course put him in the same orbit as PRINCE himself— who would eventually bring him into the fold not only as a player, but also as writer and producer. Like Rustee, Levi had found himself thrust into the spotlight, breathing the rarefied air of an internationally acclaimed artist with a new band.

Rustee’s return to Aced Out is a pivotal moment for us, as he was our very first guest for our pilot episode just a little over four years ago. In this inspirational interview, Rustee and Levi describe what made Sly and Prince amazing bandleaders, and what it was really like within those soul circles. As well, Rustee describes why his mother told him he was her most adventurous child, and what it was like onstage and off during Sly’s Lifetime Achievement Award performance at the 2006 Grammys, while Levi breaks down how Prince was like a “cool computer” and why every musician in Minneapolis hated the New Power Generation—at first, that is. If all that weren’t enough, the purple brothas also bring a band in the studio to perform Rustee’s single “You’re the One!”

At just age 20, STEVIE PANNELL, then strictly a bassist, wrote a song in his grandmother’s basement. He thought it was kinda special, so he went to Detroit and managed to present the tune to a man by the name of George Clinton. “It was right after ‘Knee Deep’” Stevie recalls. The funk doctor dug what Stevie had come up with, so he told the kid to cut a demo. He fulfilled this request, including Jerome Ali on guitar. When George heard that version, he gave it the green light. “He said, ‘Go ahead and cut it for real,’” says Stevie.

So they did just that— at Superdisc studios. Ron Dunbar was enlisted to produce the track, vocalist Jeanette Washington helped Stevie work out some lyrics, and the Horny Horns — featuring Fred Wesley, Maceo Parker, Richard “Kush” Griffith, and Rick Gardner – were brought in to enhance the mix with that bona fide P-Funk flavor. “Being almost like a teenager and you got the Horny Horns playing on your stuff,” says Stevie, “I felt pretty good.” The song became “FUNK UNTIL THE EDGE OF TIME,” an ooey gooey stank classic featured on the album Play Me Or Trade Me (1980) by PARLET, (and deemed worthy of inclusion on the Best of Parlet compilation). And that’s how Stevie officially got pulled into the Parliament Funkadelic Thang. He felt like family almost immediately. “It was fun,” he reports. “Too much fun sometimes.”

Throughout these years and beyond, Stevie — who had been playing bass since he got a Sears model at age 15 — started getting more and more into playing the guitar. For him, the transition was natural. “You know, you’re playing with a band and you put your instrument down and everybody kinda switches up at halftime, so to speak,” he explains. “The bass player will go get on the drums; the guitar player will go get on the bass … There was always a guitar just laying around… You just kinda start playin it.” And the man plays it well — just check out the three funktastic live performances from this very episode for living proof! And keep an eye out for his upcoming EP, simply entitled STEVIE P, which also features his brother, accomplished player Chris Bruce.

And though the man prefers to let the music do the talking, he did rap with us a bit as well. In this down-to-earth and jam-filled episode, Stevie recalls watching Bootsy Collins lay bass tracks for “Getting to Know You” from the Clones of Dr. Funkenstein, explains why his younger brother Chris Bruce is his teacher, and describes being mentored by such heavyweights as Garry Shider, Lige Curry, and Billy “Bass” Nelson. Pannell also talks about his favorite gear, his friendship with Kevin Goins — (Quazar, brother to the late Glenn Goins) — and that time Bernie Worrell’s freaky keyboard lines scared his mom out of the studio during the recording of Tales of Kid Funkadelic.

On October 16, 2021, RICHARD SEGOVIA — Mayor of the Mission District, San Francisco — put on an all-day show at La Raza Park to commemorate the unveiling of a new mural added to his home, CASA BANDIDO, a vibrant tribute to Latin Rock and the Bay Area. Jay Stone and Ace Alan of the Funkanauts were there to help represent. A couple weeks later, they visited Segovia at his casa to provide some mural support and reflect on the event.

This special features performances by Mayor Segovia, guitarist Johnny Gunn and their group PURO BANDIDO, as well as MALO (Arcelio Garcia Legacy), John Montuno Band and Midtown Soul. You will also see a rare interview with art icon MICHAEL V. RIOS, a living legend best known for his album covers for Carlos Santana, including the Grammy-winning Supernatural.

Speaking of Santana, percussionist Karl Perrazo makes an appearance, as does Gibby Ross. If that weren’t enough, JUAN ESCOVEDO of the illustrious Escovedo Family performs and chats with Jay and Ace, as do Texas-based rapper Ricky Versetti and his road dawg JT Campos, the actor/stuntman known as “Boaz” in the hit Netflix series, Queen of the South. But perhaps most importantly, this doc features the community, here to bring the Bay side worldwide! Enjoy.

“Keepin that funk alive, to me, there’s no more of an important mission.” So declares PATRYCE “CHOC’LET” BANKS, cofounder of one of the most important bands in all of funk history: Graham Central Station. “That’s my mission,” she promises. “To keep the funk alive until the wheels fall off.” And she has been doing just that ever since the formation of the band’s classic lineup with her former boo, uber innovative Sly & the Fam bassist Larry Graham, along with drummer Willie Wild, keyboardist Hershall Happiness, organist Robert “Butch” Sam, & guitarist David Dynamite. Together they hit the ground running from the jump. Word got out immediately that the band was superbad—folks would even get dressed up just to check out their rehearsals! Their constant practicing and performing at spots like the Orphanage in San Francisco led to the creation of their groundbreaking self-titled debut—(Choc’let’s personal favorite).

Yet even the most diehard funkateers might not realize that, before it was called Graham Central Station, the band was originally called HOT CHOC’LET, formed as a project for her to get down with while Larry was on the road. But after Graham had finally decided to relinquish his Family Stone membership, he joined the group, which then became his namesake. Choc’let wasn’t mad about the new moniker, though. “I was with it because… how could you go wrong with Larry Graham in the group?” she says. “I think it was even my idea maybe a little bit.”

Graham’s breaking away from the Sly camp meant GCS could seriously get to work. “We would rehearse all the time,” remembers Choc’let. “Almost every night… And we were just getting tighter and tighter.” And audiences were easily falling in love with the band’s celebratory intensity. “The music that we played was deeply infused with gospel music,” she confirms. “So that gave it the feeling of a revival… because of the way that it makes you feel and the way it gets you caught up.” In fact, audience members from San Francisco to Philly to D.C. would bring tambourines, whistles, and whatever percussion instrument they could find so they could get in on the action. “They’d be playing along with us,” she says.

Choc’let’s latest appearance on Aced Out—her third—is a superfunk extravaganza. In addition to another great interview, she performs not one, but TWO Bay Area funk classics live in the studio with Jay, Ace and other members of the Funkanauts fam. And in case you were wondering, the answer is yes—she brought her Rhythm King aka F-U-N-K Box. In this back-to-to school, in-person interview, Choc talks about why she thinks Sly was a better bandleader than Larry, the highs and lows of her reunion tour with GCS in the mid-90s, and why she dislikes the album version of “I Can’t Stand the Rain.” She also reveals how Willie and Hershall originally came up with “The Jam” at rehearsal, how she recruited her old friend Butch to join the group, and why the Bay Area brand of funk has never been duplicated.

“As long as you’re consistent, things can happen.” So says solo artist JAY DOUBLE YOU!—who began his funk career as a pro drummer in the late 70s at Don Davis’ legendary United Sound Studios in Detroit. His golden opportunity came in the form of a session with none other than OG Parliament vocalist Fuzzy Haskins, who had landed his own solo deal at Westbound. “Fuzzy, he gave me my first major session,” says Jay Dub, then known as Jim Wright. “He lived not too far from my mom’s house.” Indeed, for young Jim, Parliament-Funkadelic had been a family affair ever since grade school, when he first got to know Bernie Worrell, George Clinton and the rest of the P-Funk camp through his big sister, vocalist Debbie Wright.

Word spread to George C about what went down. “Fuzzy gave me that shot, and from there I guess George heard it,” recalls Jay Dub. “And next thing I knew, I was called down to the studio.” Significantly, Dr. Funkenstein wound up pulling Jay Dub into a marathon session with the nimble-fingered bassist Rodney “Skeet” Curtis, recording songs that were turned into funky headwreckers which wound up on such classic records as Parlet’s Pleasure Principle and Bernie Worrell’s All the Woo in the World. All of this established Jay Dub’s reputation as a pocket drummer, and some serious heads within the camp were starting to take notice.

Yet, by the time the 1980s came along, the wind was starting to blow in a different direction. The drum machine, once a novelty, was becoming more significant in the music industry by the day, predicting a cruel fate for live drummers. A still quite young Mr. Wright saw the writing on the studio wall and decided it was time to expand his skills. Enter Don Davis, owner of United Sound and mentor to local talent. “He was great to me,” Dub remembers of Don. “Anyone that had enough confidence, he would give you a shot.” And when Jay Dub found out producers got paid double scale, he really got inspired. So he improved his keyboard skills, grabbed the mic, and began to record his own ideas instead of someone else’s. “It’s a growth thing until the end, basically,” he says of his evolution toward becoming a singer/songwriter. “You’re always learning. You’re always trying to adjust if you choose to move forward.”

For this second appearance on Aced Out, Jay Dub traveled all the way from Suwanee, GA to join us in the Bay Area. In this intimate, in-person interview, Dub describes his transition from player to producer, explains how his subconscious guides his songwriting process, and reveals the secret to Tiki Fulwood’s high-hat technique. Jay Dub also raps about why Junie Morrison loved singing over his drum tracks, learning rudiments from Tyrone Lampkin, and that time he made George Clinton bacon and eggs for breakfast. If all that weren’t enough, Jay Stone & Ace Alan and a buncha Bay Area heavy hitters (listed below) help Jay Dub perform the title track to his funktastic solo joint, I’ll See You Soon (2001)!

In the early 1980s, when percussionist extraordinaire JUAN ESCOVEDO was in his early 20s, he was working for his cousin as a landscaper at different homes around the Bay Area, CA. However, he also just so happened to be in heavy rotation on the then-very-popular MTV, appearing as part of his sister Sheila E’s band in the video for her smash hit “Glamorous Life” along with their siblings Zina and Peter Michael. The song got played so much that people started to recognize Juan while he was mowing lawns, though he felt too awkward to admit that it was him. It got to the point where he called his sis, talking bout: “Sheila, everybody’s noticing me now because of the video. You gotta hire me.”

As it turned out, the request wasn’t unwarranted. In fact, Sheila’s mentor and co-producer PRINCE had already been scratching his chin regarding her live show, trying to figure how he could get her to step out from behind the timbales and take the mic center stage. Having another percussionist who could recreate her patterns onstage would be ideal. So Juan got the gig! And like a true Escovedo, he not only knew how to navigate life as a hired gun, but also how to keep getting called back. “You never want to overplay to where they tell you ‘Shut up,’” he explains. “Or ‘Be quiet’ or ‘You’re playing too much.’ I’d rather somebody say ‘Can you give me more?’”

Of course, the Escovedo home was the perfect place for a future musician to grow up. Because of papa Pete Escovedo, examples of the best musicians in music history—many of them still struggling themselves—were constantly stopping by to hang out. Just imagine coming home from school and seeing folks like George Duke, percussionist Bill Summers, Carlos Santana, Uncle Coke Escovedo, Bill Cobham, members of Tower of Power, a very young Prince, and the almighty Tito Puente laughing and jamming in your living room!

These days, Juan’s musical journey has reached its apotheosis with the release of his first solo album, The J, a crowning achievement that has been a long time coming. Co-written with Michael “Angel” Alverado, the album features Martin Kember of Color Me Badd, Andy Vargas of Santana, Juan’s longtime pal El DeBarge, and of course the “E” Family. In this engaging and heart-filled interview, Juan recounts his early love for the trumpet, explains why he used to be called “Goldie,” and describes how they put together those amazing outfits he wore while touring with Prince. Juan also reveals his thoughts on recording with a click track, explains why he has a standing invitation to play with El DeBarge any time he comes to town, and discusses working with kids through Elevate Oakland, a program intended to bring music back to public schools.

In the late 80s, when wonder woman of funk and rock bass STARR CULLARS was in her senior year in college, Prince—who was then in the midst of working on the Lovesexy album—offered her a spot with his crew. This was after a grueling audition process, in which Starr muscled her way into Paisley Park, bum-rushed the legendary Alan Leeds with her demo, then finally got the chance to jam in B flat with Sheila E., Dr. Fink and the Purple One himself. Starr was young, hungry and had been waiting for this opportunity for a long time, so you might not believe what she told Prince when he finally made the offer. “I got more respect by saying ‘No,’” she says. She had seen the writing on the wall, that she would wind up as some kind of concubine like Vanity or Apollonia. Thus, Starr said she’d catch him on the flipside.

Fast forward just a little bit later, and Starr had become “AllStarr”— a P-Funk Allstar that is. Indeed, Cullars had been swooped up by the George Clinton camp. Funny thing was, George was signed to the Paisley Park label at the time! So when Prince saw her with his hero Dr. Funkenstein, he tripped out. Suddenly, the grass had gotten a helluva lot greener. “George and Prince actually started a war over me,” she recalls. “Prince wanted myself, Michael Hampton, and Belita Woods to come over, and George was like ‘Hell no. She’s Funkadelic. She ain’t goin’ nowhere!’” Well, actually Starr went a lot of places—the Lollapalooza tour for starters—with the late Garry Shider as band director, guitarist Blackbyrd McKnight as conductor, and bassist Lige Curry as mentor.

Starr’s latest solo joint, LIVING GALAXY proves her rock royalty status, with positive power anthems that stretch out like “Let Your Star Shine” and “I’ll Kick Your Motha Funkin Ass.” Her lyrics certainly reflect her superhero stage persona, with advice and affirmations distilled in a cold can of whoop-ass. And this femme fatale of the 5-string has a lot of wisdom to share. To young ladies considering a career in the music biz, she says: “Do not let anyone try to manipulate or convince you to do something that you know is adversely wrong to your being.”

And to musicians in general, she advises: “Stay true to your vison. Stay true to your path… And always remember: the Amazon warrior is there to protect and defend you and your vison of music. And I will kick somebody’s mothafunkin ass if they say different.”

Ms. Starr came up to the Bay from San Diego to grace us with her presence—and she brought her bass! In this entertaining and inspiring interview, Starr talks about what P-Funk drummers she’s worked with, how Rodney “Skeet” Curtis and Lige Curry encouraged her to start playing 5-string, and what it was like to play “Red Hot Mama” onstage with Buddy Miles. She also discusses being hated on by “jealous” Duff McKagan of Guns & Roses, working on an upcoming documentary about the women of P-Funk with Malia Franklin’s son Seth, and that time she met Jack Bruce of Cream and he gave her “permission” to play “Sunshine of Your Love.” As if all that weren’t enough, she also performs a couple songs LIVE!

“The funk is the stench that you smell after you work really hard.” So says MURGA BOOKER, drummer, percussionist, shaman & card-carrying funkateer. And he would know. After all, from 1980 to ‘85, Booker was deeply embedded in the P-Funk camp, working with George Clinton and everyone else around Disc Ltd. Studios in Detroit. He was snatched up by Rubber Band drummer Frankie “Cash” Waddy and Bootsy Collins himself after they had heard him play the Moroccan clay drums at his pad. They were also impressed by Booker’s work with Weather Report, bassist Michael Henderson, and Detroit soul group the Fantastic Four. By then, Muruga had figured out how to make himself indispensable to producers and bandleaders alike. “I saw everybody in Detroit at Motown playing congas and bongos and maybe some timbales.” He explains. “So I went to Israeli and Greek doumbek and Moroccan clay drums… By having those instruments, I was not in any direct competition.”

This explains the sounds of albums like the Electric Spanking of War Babies, which you might have noticed has a lot more varied and freaky percussion in the mix than Funkadelic records previous. Muruga’s funky hands are also busy on Clinton solo joints such as Computer Games (1982) and You Shouldn’t Nuf Bit Fish (1983), the P-Funk AllStars’ Urban Dance Floor Guerillas (1983), and the lesser known gem, a Bootsy project called GodMama (1981).

But that’s not all. Being around George during this period also put Murugua in direct proximity to Sly Stone, whom Booker was able to entice to play bass (!) on his project, Muruga and the Soda Jerks, a quirky, New Wave-sounding version of the P signed and produced by Clinton. But Muruga’s contribution to Parliament-Funkadelic was not only musical but also medicinal. He served as the group’s masseuse and yoga instructor, teaching Bernie Worrell, George, Sly, et al breathing techniques in between bites of Booker’s mother’s Serbian paprikash.

Today, Muruga lives in Ann Arbor and is as jovial and active as ever, an orthodox priest and patented inventor of the Nada drum with a catalog of music that is deep and wide. In this expansive, inspiring and often hilarious interview, Muruga talks about how he used to add wah-wah’s and phasers to his cymbals in order to “wake people up” by reenacting the then-ongoing Vietnam War onstage—causing half an audience in the South to give him a standing ovation, and the other half to walk out. Muruga also talks about why the rhythmic concept of “the push and drag” is the essence of life, mistakes drummers tend to make when playing the blues, and why he got scared the first time he heard the drum machine. As if that weren’t enough, Muruga also describes being made fun of by Don Rickles for 20 minutes straight, the magic of Sly Stone’s recording techniques, why Richie Havens is an “illuminary” and that time he jammed one-on-one with JIMI HENDRIX on bass.

The powerpack West Coast hip hop duo GOOCH GANG began out of necessity. Just over 10 years ago, LA-raised, longtime Bay Area Cali resident MWNSTR recorded a single with WAES, “Brutalizin.” When they realized the cut needed another verse, they instantly thought of KALIBAN, whom Mwnstr had known since the late 90s. That’s when he would see the dude cutting his teeth at open mics at spots like Leimert Park, South Central, and Inglewood.

Then it came time to take it to the stage. But there was a catch. “I’d always been in a group,” says Mwnstr. “I was in a group with P.E.A.C.E. of Freestyle Fellowship, and my other homey Dranged. I’d always be on someone else’s stuff… So I said ‘man I ‘m shouldering this whole shit. I need a capable other rapper with me.” So he commissioned Kal to ride with him on the Vans Warped Tour.

Now it was on. And before they made it back home, they had already come up with the group concept: they named themselves after “The Gooch,” an unseen but often spoken about schoolyard bully from the classic 80s sitcom Different Strokes starring Gary Coleman. Immediately afterward, they went into the studio and recorded what is still one of their dopest cuts: “Gin Rummy.” Fast forward to 2021 and you got Gooch’s latest album, SWRVD, a banger that sounds like it was designed for live shows instead of a pair of headphones.

In this candid and occasionally off-the-rails interview, Mwnstr and Ace discuss how they first met and became friends over 20 years ago, and Kaliban speaks on what it’s like having a brand new baby girl, aka “Super Poops.” The fellas also discuss the lack of diversity in today’s music industry, a future Gooch Gang/Funkanauts collaboration, how hipsters played out beards and face tattoos, and why Mwnstr wants to kick Adam Levine in the small of his back.

Lifetime Achievement Grammy winner, Rock and Roll Hall of Famer, and Original P-Funkateer GRADY THOMAS’ first job in the music biz wasn’t all that glamorous. “I had a job working at a record plant,” he explains. “I used to drive a truck around to all the stores delivering records and stuff.” One day, something amazing snuck up on him. “I was driving” he remembers, “and all of a sudden, I heard our record on the radio.” That song was “(I Wanna) Testify” by the PARLIAMENTS, a little doo wop group he had with his barbershop buddies Calvin Simon, Fuzzy Haskins, Ray Davis, and George Clinton. Grady was so shocked he almost ran off the road. “I liked to have an accident,” he laughs. At a stop, he discovered that the single was among the records he was about to carry into the store. “That was the start of us going from local yokels to a respectable group,” he says.

Most P-Funk fans know how the tale goes from there. The group’s humble vocal quintet origins began to blend with then give way to a whole new sound that was more about rockin FUNK. “I was just enjoying myself, making people happy… and dropping acid,” he says. “I wasn’t thinkin about no business. I was out there — sex, drugs, and rock and roll. I didn’t have to work at General Motors… We were ridin around the country… That was such a wonderful time.” But by the time the late 70s came around, things stopped feeling so wonderful. George had brought in so many band members and inter-related musical entities that the OGs felt pushed to the side, with little financial reward to show for it. So Fuzzy, Calvin, and Grady put together a group, got a deal, and released Connections & Disconnections in 1980, co-produced with Greg Errico, drummer for Sly & the Family Stone and producer of Betty Davis. (The album has since been reissued under the name Who’s a Funkadelic?)

Grady would wind up going back to sing with the P-Funk All-Stars here and there, but eventually he broke off to start a group with the other fellas again. This time they brought Ray Davis along and dubbed the conglomerate Original P — all the Parliaments except GC. They did an album for Westbound, What Dat Shakin’ (1998), and took the act on the road. Grady still talks about these times favorably today. “As much as I loved being a member of Parliament-Funkadelic,” he says, “this was really the best time of my life because now we was in control of our own destiny.” Today Grady lives in Stone Mountain, GA, and after surviving eye surgery, a stroke, and congenital heart failure, he’s managed to push any hard feelings toward GC to the side. “Me personally, I wish them the best,” he says. “I wasn’t tryin to outdo them. We was just tryin to do it… The good times outweigh the bad times regardless.”

In this rare gem of an interview, Grady raps about riding with the Parliaments from New Jersey to Chicago to audition for Motown—where Martha Reeves was a secretary at the time—and the group’s transition from doo woppers to psychedelic hippie flower children. Grady also talks about how he got his personal purple style, being mistaken for George by journalists, how Tiki Fulwood became the drummer for Funkadelic, and why Ray Davis was the best bass singer ever.

2021 is the year that MARSHALL THOMPSON—driving force and choreographer for Chicago hitmakers the CHI-LITES—shimmies from star to superstar status. Specifically, his group has been selected for inclusion among this year’s additions to the Hollywood Walk of Fame. And it’s been a long time coming. Between 1969 and 1974, the Chi-Lites sold millions of copies of their 11 top ten hits, including their eternal crowning achievements, “Have You Seen Her” (from [For God’s Sake] Give More Power to the People, 1971) and “Oh Girl” (from A Lonely Man, 1972).

Along the way, Marshall made some amazing contributions to music history outside of the group as well. In this rare gem of an interview, Marshall talks about being managed by Muhammad Ali in the early years, how he started Soul Train with his good friend Don Cornelius, and helping Joe Jackson and the Jackson Five get their start, introducing them to Bobby Taylor. Thompson also raps about being the Chi-Lite’s official hairdresser, why engineer Bruce Vadim built a special microphone for each member, and how they developed their dance moves and harmonies.

By the time guitar hero ANDRE FOXXE (P-Funk/Jimmy G and the Tackheads/Incorporated Thang Band/Psychedelic Ghetto Pimpz) was in his early 20s, he had a production deal with the legendary Don Davis at United Sound, the funk pride of Detroit. Amazingly, that gave him free reign in a place where Johnnie Taylor and Aretha Franklin were also actively laying tracks. And of course, George Clinton was there as well. Andre still had much to learn, but he was so glad he wasn’t working some job or back out on the street ducking bullets, he just acted like he knew while soaking everything up. “All I did was watch George Clinton… and took notes in my mind,” he explains, “I just imitated what I saw them do… And I never told nobody I didn’t know what the fuck I was doin.”

A very young Andre was initially offered a job by Clinton and songwriter/producer Ron Dunbar as a driver. “Everybody that was within Parliament-Funkadelic from ‘79 to like ‘81 I drove around in this green van,” says Foxxe. At first, Andre kept his skills as a multi-instrumentalist quiet for the most part. But after a while, Clinton and Davis were starting to take notice of Andre’s musical acumen. He was pulled into George’s little brother’s project, Jimmy G and the Tackheads, who put out the fantastic and underrated Federation of Tackheads (1985). Then Andre found himself in the driver’s seat of the Incorporated Thang Band’s Lifestyles of the Roach and Famous (1988). Throughout, Andre was also writing and recording with serious cats like the almighty Junie Morrison and Blackbyrd McKnight, contributing cuts to Clinton solo albums. But receiving credit and money for this valuable work wasn’t always in the cards. So it’s good that Foxxe further solidified his contributions to the P with his classic solo joint, I’m Funk and I’m Proud (P-Vine, 1994)—featuring a who’s who of funkateers—as well as releases from his Psychedelic Ghetto Pimpz.

Andre was given a job as guitarist for the P-Funk AllStars in the mid 80s, and from then to 2014 he sharedthe stage with cats like Blackbyrd, Garry Shider, Mike Hampton, and Billy Bass. But life as a funk soldier wasn’t always what it was cracked up to be, and Andre was constantly in and out of the lineup. “I think I’ve been fired more than anybody in the whole P-Funk organization,” he quips. But nowadays the wisdom of hindsight has overruled any ill will he’s had toward George Clinton in the past. “I’ve said some bad things about that cat, and I’m sure he said some bad things about me too,” he admits, “But I realized I really love the dude… He was like Dad.”

In this unique, insightful hangout session, Foxxe talks about first wanting to play bass because of his love for Jermaine Jackson, becoming a guitar player while high on mescaline at Garry and Linda Shider’s house, and what P-Funk songs he helped create but never got credit for. He also talks about touring in Africa with afrobeat drummer/innovator Tony Allen, working as an A&R guy for Japan’s P-Vine records, his lifelong friendship with Amp Fiddler, and what it was like having EDDIE “Maggot Brain” HAZEL as a mentor and roommate for four years.

“When you think of Motown, you think of Detroit,” explains timbale player RICHARD SEGOVIA, celebrating his 42nd year with his band PURO BANDIDO. “When you think of LATIN ROCK, it’s right there in the MISSION”—the Mission District that is, the legendary San Francisco neighborhood where the genre was born. And a very young Segovia—now affectionately known to the community as the “Mayor of the Mission”—was right there to see the birth of this new sound, when a young CARLOS SANTANA saw a band called the Aliens at a club. Santana was inspired—it occurred to him that he needed lots of percussion to give his blues that special fire. “Everybody wanted to play music after that,” remembers Richard. “We went from the battle of the barrios to the battle of the bands.” For his part, he joined his first band, Dungeon Sounds, on timbales because the drummer and conga positions had already been taken. They played everywhere they could, doing songs by Santana, Malo, and Azteca. “That was our top 40,” he says.

The band broke up after a couple years, but Richard kept going, joining Por Vida and then Mbuhai, the latter band produced by Brent Dangerfield for CBS Records. “These guys were way over my head,” he says. “The conga player didn’t want to play with me because I didn’t know shit!” Super funk blaster Larry Graham offered Mbuhai an opening slot, which led to Don Cornelius asking the group to be his house band at the Soul Train club on Broadway. Next thing they knew, they were supporting acts like Minnie Riperton, Stevie Wonder, Isaac Hayes, the Bar Kays, and Eddie Kendricks. All of this experience taught Richard how to be a leader himself. From 1979 to today, he has presided over his badass band PURO BANDIDO—with guitarist Johnny Gunn as his “co-jefe” since ’85.

But music is just a portion of what Segovia brings to Latin Rock culture. He is also a major producer and promoter of its artistic aesthetic, a drive that culminates into his crowning achievement: CASA BANDIDO, his home on the corner of York & 25th, entirely covered with a beautiful mural of almost 100 Latin Rock Legends, including Carlos’ late brother Jorge Santana, great friend to Segovia and co-creator of the Mission anthem, Malo’s “Suavecito.” As Richard explains, “I decided to preserve what we have left—because all the techies are coming into the neighborhood buying up all our stuff and I wanted the neighborhood to know I aint’ goin nowhere, man. I’m sticking here. I’m gonna die here.”

In this energetic, educational, and laughter-filled interview, the Mayor discusses the African roots of the clave, why he loved Bill Graham, and playing for Eddie Money from ‘85 until his passing. Richard also talks about how his uncle Michael V. Rios designed the cover for Santana’s Grammy-winning Supernatural album at Casa Bandido, what it’s like hanging out with Al Hendrix, father to Jimi, and what the lyrics to “La Cucaracha” are really about.

If you’ve hit up a GEORGE CLINTON & the P-FUNK ALL-STARS show anytime over the last 30 years, then you’ve seen a whole lotta STEVE BOYD, the golden-voiced Detroit doo-wop master originally of the vocal group FIVE SPECIAL, best known for their hit “Why Leave Us Alone.” But when Boyd first toured with the Funkensteins, it was as an opening act. It was the early 90s. Boyd had recently signed a solo deal with iconic funk label Westbound Records, (Funkadelic/Ohio Players/et al), and it was time to promote his album Even Steven. So he went out on the road with the P, whom he’d already known going back to the late 70s, when they shared Detroit’s United Sound as home base. That’s why Steve wasn’t exactly shocked when, once the six-month campaign was over, George turned to him and said, “You might as well stay on with me and be in the group.”

Next thing Boyd knew, dope dawg Michael “Clip” Payne was pulling his coat and showing him how to P-form like an All-Star. And from then to right about now, Boyd has been a major part of each and every P-Funk performance, averaging about 200 dates a year, five hours per show, doin the damn thing and regularly steppin in to swing down for the late, great Glenn Goins on stank standards like “Funkin’ for Fun” and “Bop Gun.”

Steve is also a highly sought-after commodity in the studio, shining like a dogstar as writer and performer on P-Funk albums like Dope Dogs (1994), The Awesome Power of a Fully Operational Mothership (1996) and How Late Do U Have 2BB4UR Absent? (2005). But you’re missing out if you sleep on Boyd’s solo joints, well-written and produced releases like The Lost Tapes Vol. 1 (2008) and 4:20 Drive Time (2001). His latest 5-song EP, Live in Austin Texas (2019), is especially funktastic, featuring Clip Payne, Mike “Kidd Funkadelic” Hampton, and Kendra Foster from D’Angelo’s crew.

In this super laid back hangout session, Steve explains what a “40-minute Funkadelic” is, recalls his days as a Golden Gloves welterweight boxer, runs down why it’s fun singing with George Clinton, and describes helping Anthony Keidis with his vocals throughout the Red Hot Chili Peppers’ Freaky Styley sessions. Boyd also talks about getting personal compliments and singing advice from Aretha Franklin, helping out El DeBarge in a street fight before a recording session in San Francisco, the strong possibility of a Five Special reunion going down in the near future, and that time Prince served him purple rice at Paisley Park.

FUNK FAM:

This is your boy Ace. Like the rest of you, last year brought us our share of heartbreak. Specifically, on Nov 6, 2020, we lost a member of the FUNKANAUTS—guitar wizard, bassologist, soul rock encyclopedia, and Bay Area CA legend PATRICK OWENS, whom many of us knew as BROTHA P. We dedicate this special episode to him and humbly submit it to help heal the heart and soul of the devoted family he left behind as well as the multitude of musicians who loved him.

Pat knew more about funk than anyone else in the room at any given time, quick to clown us for lacking knowledge about this or that with the quip: “You didn’t know that?” But he was also a roots reggae master, highly respected and sought out by expert practitioners of the craft. All told, he played with a lot of players, rocked many a crowd, and taught us a lot about anything we needed to know.

Patrick hardly told anyone how sick he was until it was too late, so his passing was a shock to all of us. Indeed, we’re still trying to process this, looking for a little closure. That’s why we wanted to take some time to regroup and make sure we did this right. A big part of that is gathering the people to represent for our Brotha P properly. And you are a big part of Pat’s legacy too. So get ready to sit back, dig, and lend us your ears.

First of all, joining Jay Stone and I in the studio, we are pleased to welcome the almighty-bigfoot-Funkanaut-OG-drummer John “MACFAB” Flaherty. He and Jay set the stage by telling us how the Nauts came to be and how Patrick became an essential ingredient in the stanky stew. Next we check in with P’s mom Dorothy, then chop it up with P’s cousin Theresa, who loved him like a sister. After that, we holla at Richard Lindsey, whose P-Funk tribute band Purifiedment Funkensurance Patrick had been musical director for a spell. Then we speak with some cats who also gigged with Brotha P a lot and loved him like a brother: Trinidadian bad azz drummer Tony D Drumologist, guitarist and studio engineer Ron van Leeuwaarde, and roots reggae bassist Densfield Alexander. Finally, P’s cousin Jackie Owens helps us send him off with a final tribute.

“I have literally danced my entire life,” says SWEET LD, OG member of MC HAMMER and the POSSE and its pioneering, all-women offshoot OAKTOWN 357. And as a young lady living in the East Bay, CA in the 80s, that was just about all LD aka Suhayla Sabir and her friends ever wanted to do. She especially loved to frequent a place called Silk’s in Emeryville because it had three floors, each with its own jams to get down to. It was there one night that she noticed MC Hammer, who was just trying to get his feet wet as an artist/performer at the time. He was killing the cabbage patch, a dance she had just learned herself—but not like that! She became so fixated that afterwards she and her friends followed him to a gas station. Hammer, paying himself the compliment that she was trying to flirt, was caught off guard when she simply asked: “Can you teach me to do the cabbage patch?”

Weeks later, she was part of his core clique. Then one night Hammer asked Suhayla and a friend if they wanted to be in a music video. Excited at first, they found themselves at long, rigorous rehearsals, running choreography and sweating from mid-afternoon till midnight. “It became like ‘Do we have to keep showing up?’” she recalls. Meanwhile, two key sistas entered the scene as well: Phyllis Charles and Tabitha Zee King-Brooks. Eventually, Hammer clued the ladies in: he wanted them to be backup dancers for his whole show. They performed everywhere they could as MC Hammer and the Posse, and the ladies—aka Sweet LD, Lil P, and Terrible T—brought their high-voltage, superhype dance style to classic videos like “Let’s Get It Started,” “Pump It Up,” and “Turn This Mutha Out.”

Things began to build so fast that Hammer began formulating a plan to produce a female rapper. He approached P about becoming a solo artist. She agreed—but only if her homegirls Terrible T and Sweet LD would rap with her. Oaktown 357 was born, and their debut Wild & Loose (1989) was a smash. Now the ladies were busier than ever—on the road opening for Hammer and then doing his set, all while training new dancers as they came into the fold. Then Lil P left, leaving Terrible T and LD to regroup amongst themselves. The sistas soldiered on without missing a step, enjoying hit singles/videos for remixes of “We Like It” and the smash “Juicy Gotcha Crazy.” They also appeared on the West Coast classic antiviolence cut “We’re All in the Same Gang” alongside N.W.A., Tone Loc, and Ice T. And the ladies stepped up their game for their follow-up album Fully Loaded (1991), a crowning achievement and one of the most underrated gems of the era.

Today, as a mom, fitness instructor, and published poet, Sweet LD remains proud of Oaktown 357’s legacy. “We did the damn thing—period,” she asserts. “We invested in ourselves to show up and do the work and then we created something and shared it with everybody in this world. And today they still look at us as someone who changed the dynamic for women in hip hop.” Indeed! In this inspiring, behind-the-scenes interview, Sweet LD raps about growing up watching her cousin Choc’let get down with Graham Central Station, how Hammer taught her how to “build” a dance in order to tell a story, and why the deceptive nature of the music industry means you need to ask questions. She also talks about how 357 songs were created in the studio, her recent comeback performances alongside acts like Lady of Rage and 702, and that time Prince personally gave her a tour of Paisley Park and kissed her hand.

When SHIRLEY HAYDEN [PARLET/P-FUNK] auditioned for Parliament-Funkadelic in singer Malia Franklin’s family basement, she was scared. It was the late 70s and, like every other artist raised in Detroit, she had already been a fan of George Clinton’s clan, then in the midst of recording the stank staple One Nation Under a Groove. “It was a hell of an audition,” she remembers. “The band was hot as hell and I had to show them what I had.” But Hayden was a triple threat—with the look, ability, and charisma to get it done. “It was natural,” she says.

It was so natural in fact that Shirley found herself recording, rehearsing and touring for such classics as Motor Booty Affair (1978), Gloryhallastoopid (1979), and Trombipulation (1980) —all while learning to navigate the waters without getting wet. “Each opportunity I was given to sing, to perform, I pushed myself into taking it because I was somewhat shy,” she explains. “I was trying to fit in… How do I fit in?” Evidently, Shirley fit in just right, as she was chosen to join a “second phase“ version of sister group PARLET, appearing on Invasion of the Booty Snatchers (1979) and Play Me Or Trade Me (1980). Hayden recalls it as a fun, beautiful, creative time. “The female energy,” she says. “We were all young and learning… I was an empty vessel just willing to soak it all in.”

Shirley still lives in Detroit, making always-on-the-one jams with a crew called Black Planet, which includes Danny “Blackman” Harris and Sean “Papa” Franklin. But she never knew how important what she took to the stage back then would still be right now. “To look back and see the growth and the evolution is just mesmerizing,” she says. “To see how far I’ve come in my life… There was a lot of beautiful creative energy flowing at that time. So I am very appreciative of being chosen to be part of the sister group Parlet... I really do thank George Clinton for the opportunity. Had no idea that it would be part of my life today. I’m very proud of the work that we did.”

In this chillaxed, edutaining interview, Ms. Hayden describes the hidden meanings behind P-Funk lyrics, her love for jazz vocalists like Sarah Vaughn and “auntie” Billie Holiday, and what it was like working with Kid Rock during his rise to fame — (earning herself gold, platinum, and diamond albums with residuals that still provide for her family today). Shirley also talks about that time Jeanette Washington screamed at her over the phone, why she thinks Trombipulation is underrated, and her deep personal relationship with her big bother and role model Garry Shider.