Episode 24: Starr Cullars [P-FUNK, et al]
/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.
It is also important to remember that becoming an official funkateer is no small feat, as the often underestimated Parliament-Funkadelic songbook is a motha to master. “You’re in the group, so it’s your responsibility to learn this catalog,” she confirms. “You need to know all 50,000 of these songs.” She knew she was being taken to school, so she paid attention, made sure she did her homework, and turned it in right on time. “It is a responsibility that is put upon you to step up to the challenge,” she says. “It’s a university. Straight up.” Her official tenure ended in 2002, but she will always be a member in good standing of the “funk mob.” In fact, she recently attended George’s 80th birthday shindig.
Upon completing this master class, Starr fronted a power trio, opening shows for Bad Brains and her buddy Vernon Reid’s Living Colour. Thanks to her uncle’s AM radio, Cullars has been a hard rocker since her girlhood days in Philly, studying the low-end machinations of cats like Geddy Lee of Rush and Chris Squire of Yes, whom she calls an “underrated, unsung genius.” However, as she tells it, she wasn’t officially accepted into the rock genre until 2011, when she appeared as a cast member in the 2nd season of the VH1 reality show Rock N’ Roll Fantasy Camp. She auditioned by singing and playing “Tom Sawyer,” then was teamed up with Mark Hudson, Grammy-winning producer of Aerosmith and Ozzy Osbourne. She rocked the gig so hard, at one point Paul Stanley of Kiss had to jump on her mic and join her for a duet.
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 motherfunkin 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!
Produced & Hosted by Ace Alan
Cohosted by Jay Stone
Camera by Chris Weldon
Website, Editing, & Art by 3chards
…but we couldn’t have done it without Scott Sheppard
Theme song “I Can Never Be” by The Funkanauts, from the album Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth. Get it where music is sold. RIP Brotha P.
