subjectiveexperience

"Hi everyone, I want to introduce the idea for Afrofunk Alchemy this Saturday, it is sooo exciting, and very dear to my heart: Legendary players Frankie "Kash" Waddy, Blackbyrd McKnight, and Lige Curry are going to be performing as NuPhound Nation, giving us On the One Funk and then merging forces with master drummer/dancer Aziz Faye from Senegal and his crew. Evolving into an articulate improvisational jam at midnight, I welcome all musicians to come down and experience this. The band will be acting as musical directors, extending invitation to the wonderful players in our midst to join in the improvisational magic, in a "whatever the party calls for" sense, as they see fit. The idea is to create new forms in music, by drawing from the incredible wealth and variety of talent among us, in a spontaneous but organized and articulate way, so we avoid a "free for all" kind thing, and keep the musical integrity in tact. I want everyone to be a part of this, as the audience is as important in this experience as the players, exchanging in our active/receptive parts and collectively ROCKING THE HOUSE! I really would love to see all of you, I have been so busy with this club, and this is my night to celebrate with all the partypeople in the place to be! If anybody needs love at the door, just call me, its a night for folks to just have fun, no worries. See you there! Fais Do Do 5257 W. Adams blvd LA 90016 (323) 931-4636 ext11 love-Sarah PS. PLEASE PASS THIS ON.... THANKS!"

this was a very very special night. house full of los angeles' funkiest musicians. and we had a very good time. it definitely went next level. i got there early to setup recording equipment. finally formally met sarah and she introduced me to erica who was the sound person who did a VERY good job. 

setup my hi-8 video camera upstairs on a tripod on the balcony and streamed  via usb to my laptop. the laptop had an external mic connected directly to it so i got a higher quality audio exactly matched with the video feed. i captured video and audio at the highest quality (2.1Mbps) while also recording it to hi-8 tape. did a test during nu phound nations soundcheck. i decided it was to much work to capture with the laptop especially since i had my cassette deck recording audio right from the sound board. it got crowded up there and star cullers i believe was like sittin in the way and it was cool i just didnt wanna bother folx during the show messing with equipment. anyways soundcheck had me groovin and i ran out to check the tapes and they were good. when i got home the laptop footage i got was good and the audio was better, just a little loud. 

talley on beat, i grooved with him. lauren and her mother in the house. lonnie of weapon of choice, overton in the place. 

dubistry was a full band with dj beats and a black female lead singer. vibey music, not quite funk and not quite pop, not quite neo soul, but funky and soulful. good grooves and catchy vocals. 

niloo may have been a more mainstream type attractive singer chick. not so much real and funky (though she seemed "realer" than most), she seemed to me to be the packaged product type. her band was good, maybe better than her. but she was good, dont get me wrong. 

greasy beats was a bunch of white boys playin a funky funky jazz. they have been touted as hard funk funky, but they were way way too jazz oriented. most of their music seemed to be played on the real one, and not the one and three. or a jazzy groove that had nothing on the one at all.  deep deep funky jazzy groove with sophisticated beats.

shake everything you got was soooooo good. maceo and crew are the tightest funkiest things 

good groove music kinda leaning toward hip-hop but not the top 40 hip hop stuff. more sophisticated and complicated grooves with rap. and this is what i wanted. i danced for like hours either vibin myself or others off to the side or on the dancefloor gettin it with others.

i thought to myself for somebody so old, big and black that i get my vibe on pretty good. like for an old man like i was in that place i was able to get groovy with more than a few young attractive girls (mostly white) and have a good time. and even be aroused even. i like clubs like this where people dont come overdressed, they come to groove. sure they look nice and some do dress, it doesnt seem to be about mackin or gettin some, though we all know thats probably the bottomline

and when im in a groove with all these young white girls around me i think of my 50 sumn white male supposedly conservative christian cubicle neighbor at work. i almost always wonder what he would do if he had all these young sexy thangs dancin and vibin around him so sensually. then i tried to picture him in this situation and i couldnt. it was the "moves" or the groove i couldnt picture him gettin that would "attract" these girls around him. then i thought, maybe its my groove and a vibe that i put out that has almost always has me surrounded by sexy girls dancin in a club. cause i was not dressed at all, but i was confident and relaxed. i dance and vibe with a relaxed confidence and happiness. this may be attractive to females and others who also are gettin there groove. 

as now i notice when in clubs and groove situations i look for somebody hittin a groove and focus on their rhythm. i am also attracted to it. this night i thought to myself that if i vibe somebody hittin a compatible groove that there would be an undeniable attraction. like a vibe between us that would be hard to resist. i had confidence that i could vibe and interact with any female in the place with my groove. 

im hanging around almost bored when norwood approaches calling a soldier to transportation duty and the next thing you know im headed towards downtown los angeles to scoop up overton. the nba allstar weekend was happening so i figured traffic would have been too too bad but it wasnt. i get him and we chill on the way back and it was cool.

cattywompus played and they were good. ok, let me clarify. they were MUCH MUCH better than the last time i saw them. their music had direction and a deliberateness that i thought wasnt there last time. it also seemed to be more on the one, or a more funk based movement and groove. but it still had a most refreshing hint of whiteboy in it while being played with a hard funkiness.

i cant help but cop to how cool i feel hanging out with norwood, sarah, lonnie and overton and them. its not like im in awe of them or nothing, but i do LOVE being around people who have a talent that i respect and enjoy. these people have done things that have impressed me musically, rhythmically and spiritually. and maybe to be close to the makers of the music itself.  the music and groove is most dear to me and these people all but live to create that music and groove. so i say this to be sure the point that just hanging out is a special part of the evening for me.

trulio played p-funk music all night allowing anybody in the crowd to join in. truly trulio. lamar got the cookie jar groove going. the buffalo boys got to get at it. i got video and norwood had a mac connected and got a real good audio copy he wants to snippet on the internet.

Warming up off that Funkentelechy riff Posted by PFunkJazz on 2/15/2004, 3:08 pm, in reply to "buffalo boys finally unwrapped axes and take stage..." Afterr we kinda figgered the PFUNK-component wasn't gonna in the house, we actually debated if there would be any "worthwhile funk". Yea it was pretty damn fon-kay. Sure glad I came out!!
They had 4 or 5 local guitar axes up there and BASSically one low-end axe with molesters switchin' off; like a low-end gangbang. We had Mike from BUFFALO, Lonnie of WEAPON and Norwood of F'BONE. Some drum support from one bro and also Lonnie. On the mikes, were Parliamentary sketch-artist Overton Lloyd, real-deal P-Funk vocalist Kim Manning, Lonnie (souled-out with a deep growlin' vibe) , Norwood and almost anybody who grabbed the mike. Our very own Lamar bent a mike stand over, which to him gettin' pulled up on stage bu Overton. Lamar layin' out al pantherish with the big boys! (Good goin' playa; glad to see you up there! Now, I wanna see you open a night at Fais Dodo!).

There were funk classics and some orignals from Lonnie, Overton or whomever. It was most definitely a funk jam with axe-molesters flexing their muscles. Unfortunately the vox were poorly miked, so we lived off lip-reading and our own funkentelechy. 

Oh yeah, Moon, Evangelis dropped a bit of "Maggot Brain" and got them other cats to chime in. Later, when houselights went dark, he rushed thru some Jimmy Page-type Led Zeppelinisms. Also, Mike was holdin' the bottom on bass and rocked the mike when Lonnie and Norwood gave it a go (nice rhythm section Lonnie on drums and Norwood on bass).

IMO, I think the major axe-molester up there was F'Bone's Rocky George. He was runnin' the neck and crankin' out funk-distorted leads. (Damn! Along with Torri Rufin, F'BONE 3.x's guitar firepower is kinda mind-boggling!). Norwood was saying new stuff gonna be out soon and Lonnie got new funk that's gettin' out with some FUNK TO THE MAX assist. 

Nice night of $10 funk in da 'hood. Glad I didn't have to go into West LA last night cuz traffic was reported to be at a total blockade cuz of NBA ALL-STAR parties.

OH YEAH. Big ups to CattyWompus who led off the night and brought their crowd in. They're a nice soundin' lil' ol' funk band from the Westside. Definitely worth checkin' out. 

hairy ape bmx seems to play an eclectic jazz alternative percussionny type music. and i liked it. they were keyboard synth, drums, keyboard-percusiionist, bass player and maybe a guitar. an olderish white dude seemed to be lead and he had good energy and vibe. thing i kinda liked about it was that he maintained an older white guy vibe while being modernly funky. this gave the music a not quite hip-hop, not quite jazz, not quite etc sound. very, very good grooves. OH YEAH!!! they played some trouble funk!! lets get small and a version of drob the bomb!! i was like dammmmmn. the sound is very hard to categorize and that in itself i find most intriguing.

but what made the night for me was a female. i was sittin in the back in the cut when this white girl who seemed to want to move ended up standin by me. the music came on and she was gettin it in a better than normal white girl dancin very close to the beat type way. i mean i was vibin her and felt her on the beat but she was doing them white people moves that had her body movin in all kinds of directions. she was a white girl dancin like a white girl with white girl energy on beat and i was feelin it. 

so as she is gettin it im feelin the music and her so i indirectly send groove and beat her way. no direct acknowledgement, i was just hittin the beat and groove really "hard" and i knew she had to feel this as i felt i was in her vision. later in the evening we danced side by side for a bit and exchanged a directly acknowledged smile.

i was relaxed and feeling really really good as i left when i saw her outside. i walked and continued toward her in a way like i knew her. she responded accordingly and i extended to her and said something like "you were good tonight, i enjoyed your energy." she responded warmly and we shared a very warm and open and long handshake. her hands were warm and soft. her grip was good. i looked in her eyes and she was the kinda cute enough i like. we talked sorta small but openly and a warmly it seemed for a few minutes. i was relaxed and enjoying everything in life and the evening and meeting her as i felt a little sumn sumn between us. even if it was just 2am club closing lonelys i felt it and i waded in it.

we talked and smiled and she was deliberately relaxed and attractively spacey and i enjoyed it. i was open and she felt open and i enjoyed it. we exchanged names and had another long warm handshake that we both seemed to not want to let go of. as all this was going on i thought about the give/get phone number thing and creating the possibilty of seeing her again as from what i could tell i would like her. but i was too relaxed and lazy so i just made myself obviously open to the idea of future exchanges. i should have "made the move" and i know it but i didnt and i knew i should have the whole time that i didnt. i wasnt scared or nervous about it as i was more complacent and lazy about it. still, looking back i should have created the possibility of continued relationship with her.

the peak show opened with flow. holland greco's voice and the music moved me so deeply i couldnt look at them, i turned and had my back to them for the first few minutes of the show. this girl has the kind of voice a man can worship and the groove and vibe of this band touches me sumn good. now i dont want to say that she or the band was holding back or coasting because the crowd was fairly light and standing rigidly still and  they had another gig later this night, but as soon as flow began i was welled up with tears. my emotional energy was so up i was prepared to let the cry out and the tears flow (excuse the pun). but maybe cause this was the first song (and it could be my fave) they and she went easy with it. or let me say ive heard them sing it with more intensity. if this song would have went where it has before i would have been crying like one of the stereotypical white girls that this room seemed to be full of. and even still i was more than deeply moved and i absolutely love that i was. 

another cool note: i seem to like their new stuff too. well the songs they played that i hadnt heard before i liked. i love the fact that i like the vibe and groove of this band in combination with what ms greco's voice does to me. i mean to be so old and black and to be able to get it with this young (pussy and beer cheering, and why did you guys go on about farting for 3 minutes last night LOL) band i totally digs. having such a magical voice is one thing, but to have that voice express itself with this vibe and band goes to a whole nother level.

and in my mind as i walked to the front where most of this young white cant move to the music or dance crowd could see me i was gettin, knowing and feeling every beat and break. i mean i just love what the peak show music does to me and to have love like this in my life is the best feeling a human being can have.  

(its a few days after i wrote the above and for whatever reason i dont like the way i wrote this experience. reading it, it seems i dont even like my own writing style.  and the main point may have been missed. the sentences are too long and wordy or sumn. feel like i need to get back to shorter sentencing.)

the theater had a nice crowd, but wasnt crowded. overwhelmingly hispanic, very little english being spoken. 

to christians: if you place your faith, beliefs, philosophy and live your life based on a story of such suffering, pain, evil, martyrdom and that one mans horrible death is saving you, that will be your reward in life. how can a motivation or zeal for life come from such suffrage and death. 

how healthy is it for such a dismal story to be the focus of your life? the symbol is a dead man on a stick. why "celebrate" something of so much pain and death. this is a religion based on suffering, evil and sin. 

one thing i did come out of this with is a deeper understanding of the idea that christians believed that jesus died and suffered for all our sins. that his pain and suffering is the new covenant with god that saves humanity. i think i realized that people ACTUALLY LITERALLY believe that.

in the movie there was an unacknowledged spooky character that was obviously the devil. it hit me that people actually believe that there is a devil. seeing biblical  characters in biblical events in a movie that was made to seem realistic made the whole bible story even more unbelievable to me.  

there were emotional beggings in this movie. there were scary parts put in to startle and scare the viewer. theatrics maybe. jesus also fell too many times. his suffering was way over the top

i can understand the idea of a people placing faith in a man conquering death for humanity. like if he was god or not, faith works just having belief that this man created a covenant with god for us. in the movie i got the idea that jesus may have known that he was a sacrificial offering to god for the people.

jesus' teachings were positive and good for humanity. he preached the way, eventually accumulated a following and became a and "pivotal" famous figure. this gave him power and put him in a position to be recognized as a person who could sacrifice himself for our sins. 

i understand how having hope and faith in this event could pacify humanity. give them a sense of security.

i also more realize how sin and evil are created and/or sensationalized in the very story which jesus is delivering us from. to get more impact in what jesus did, you need for evil to be this powerful deadly thing. evil MUST be prevalent and around us in everyday life. there must be sin and man MUST be weak and need saving. so to make the story of jesus have more impact, a fear of evil and sin must come first. the deeper our fear of an evil, the more we have a need for god and jesus. 

STAR CULLARS gaddamn gaddamn

winstons
san diego, ca
march 16, 2004

i wasnt in the aware
so i was surprised when he was so good

then after the show he explained
him and mr mike hampton use to hang out
and mr eddie hazel was the next level to them

he's happy. he said it and i saw it. i feel like im reporting.
i feel like a messenger. after the show we chatted and he said
he's gettin to do something he's always wanted.

what i got
mr clinton and mgmt aint mad and i think encourages "projects" like this.
he mentioned the maybe positive effect on other members seeing him do this.

and the STARR CULLARS BAND was good too. and will be better just from
playing together. star on bass, lige on guitar and a
drummer from brazil who didnt sound brazillian.
they got a sound and a groove

mr curry said there is a vibe between the members of the mob
when they are on stage. and its strong. he said he vibes
well with mr cordell boogie mossoon. the line up changes
effect the vibe. but the changes aint no biggie.

STARR CULLARS BAND management was there. i thought they
were from santa monica or sum'n. definitely young entertainment
industry types. eager, youthful.

and ms cullars aint fakin it on bass. she aint just got body-
she can play. i was video zoomin in on her fingering and her lower
hand was on her waist (she wearing low ridin spandex) and her
upper hand was breast level. i may have been a perv but this
pervert was on beat. she was getting it. well worth 4+
hours drivin on a school night.

they gonna be doin stuff with CARLOS WASHINGTON
who i have heard before and distinctly remember
for his nigga & trumpet. first time i saw him
he was crashing folx sets at a funkyard festival
and turning them out. then the next time i saw him
was at mi fave hang out and he came in on trumpet
in a way that ONLY a black person could have. it was
so nasty and lazy and smooth. it had a vibe and a groove
that everybody cant get too. ill never forget that.

video at 11

i had a gooooood time!!!!! LOL
well worth the air fare just to see blackbyrd
take his shit off and sit down!!!

they got it going good more than once. and it seems
the best times it was correcting a miscue that turned
to groove. oh i was talking shit,
boooing, givin the thumbs down and groovin
my ass off the whole time.

"i came all the way from california for this shit??"
LOL

it was bad and sooooo good

when blackbyrd split i had been clownin the
show cause it just wasnt right. after he did
that it confirmed to me something was wrong (for whatever
reason) and thats when i REALLY started talkin
shit. wavin off beat on purpose. standin with
my arms folded lookin up at the ceiling. fake
yawnin. LOL.

but when they got it going i was right with them
givin it up. and there was a couple of real
good grooves this night

and even they would "crash" to an ending LOL

crowd was mostly young white kids
they and we and everybody seemed to have fun

there were notes and changes that made me cringe LOL

bernie stepped to the mic during the stoppings
of maggot brain and said- "hell i can play the whole thing myself"
and sumn about removing the
negativity.

lily hayden was not good this night
but her voice sounded good on her song-
but i believe they messed that up too!

kendra was perfect. i think i love her. lol

damn i feel good.
cream soda is good.
cheese popcorn and pizza at 4am

saw my kids today too

im in heaven

yeah, the show im talking bout is CLEVELAND
Posted by PFUNK1 on 3/28/2004, 3:09 pm , 
in reply to "Fair question, Jeffrey -- What's the name of this town?"

mr mcknight returned late in the show. he sat and played, very obviously not happy. i think mr nelson disappeared too. and i also think mr hampton was all but alone on maggot brain. then mr shider came out and pick up a guitar

hampton, shider, worrell maggot brain?

Posted by jeffery on 3/29/2004, 2:28 pm , 
in reply to "yeah, the show im talking bout is CLEVELAND"

thinkin about it again

it wasnt perfect, there were bumps in it

but think how funkadelic the whole situation was

and to end up with hampton, shider and worrell?

i admit i was caught up and distracted by the "drama"
but i think i can almost feel a couple of really good
maggot brain moments. i was standing right in
front of the speaker. my ears are still ringing

yeah i can remember mr hampton maybe almost gettin there
even with this impromptu line up

yeah

Posted by jeffery on 3/29/2004, 2:36 pm , 
in reply to "show stops twice, blackbyrd walks off stage..."

i was impressed.

i asked the ticket guy was there re-entry.
he said no.
i asked was there a smoking area?
he said the whole place is a smoking area.
he then added "and ya can smoke anything you want"

and folx did

i had been here earlier as i had time to kill before driving to cleveland so i let jeffery joy drive around some. he used my cell and called anthony and we picked him up. we cruised by a playground as they talked about people and made plans for now and later this evening. i watched him and jeffery play high school football together as seniors last season so i asked him what college he was going to. he said he was going to whatever college jeffery was going to. anthony was 2nd team all state and had schools wanting him. later back at the house the phone rings and its isiah, jeffery's life long best friend. i said whattup and asked him what college he was going to. he reminded me he was just a junior, i was like oh yeah thats right. 

me, jeffery and anthony discussed college and i found out the 3rd of the amigos, christian (also on jeffery's football team and i watched all last season), was gonna walk on at ysu. we talked a bit and it seemed we convinced jeffery who wants to go to a smaller college to kinda agree to the ysu thing. he felt he would have to work hard and would not get much playing time his first year. i left going to cleveland feeling really good about something that was heavy on my mind; jeffery's college direction.

i have been affected by this. i havent danced, sang or really laughed since the hours i spent at the hospital. terri was "impressive" for lack of better wording. she stepped up and really helped as families arrived and information was sketchy. i couldnt and didnt try to say anything to jeffery or kimberly. i felt there was nothing i could say that hadnt been or needed to be said.but i was not going to leave them. i just wanted them to know that i was there for them. 

i am continuously impressed by humans and the human spirit. to see people in action in this time of tragedy was inspiring. i cant stop thinking about my son and his future and the impact this will have on him. 

i cannot stop thinking about jeffery. probably why im writing this. i have a sense of helplessness and rightfully so. no life was lost in my family. as much as im affected i have to remember i am not a parent who has lost a child. that is where the real tragedy and pain is. i am fairly removed from the situation but cannot stop thinking about it. my children are ok and safe yet im still shaken and worried about them. i almost feel guilty writing this subjectively about this subject. the affect on me or what im going thru is nothing compared to the principals. 

when we left i kissed and hugged my children like i never have before. 

i worked half a day today mar 29. im home now. im thinking things that i feel too sensitive to be written here at this time. they are all good things in my mind. but things that i know could offend or upset people experiencing this sensitive time. 

san francisco
april 10, 2004
fillmore

man them f#ckers took me to a new highest level.
saturday night i went higher than i ever have before.

i love GEORGE CLINTON AND THE P-FUNK ALLSTARS.
i love PARLIAMENT / FUNKADELIC. but i dont think
at this stage of the game that they can or will
or intend to take me higher. i dont think they are
designed to push "it" to go higher. but they got me
here. without PARLIAMENT FUNKADELIC i wouldnt
have the basic understanding that puts me in a position
to go higher.

i mean we was gettin it. we was gettin good and intense.
SOULIVE, MACEO, PRINCE, TOWER OF POWER- these are bands
that i have personally experienced who seem to
be trying or capable or intend to take it to a higher level. the intensity
of these groups is NOT matched by the P-FUNK ALLSTARS.
and i think im better off realizing that. the
P-FUNK ALLSTARS are my heart and soul musically.
my philosophy is more than just a little P-FUNK based,
but if i want to keep going higher and higher and
deeper and deeper i need more and more intensity and energy.

i mean them niggas is old and maybe shouldnt be looked
to to lead a culture that is much younger and has
much more of a different kind of energy. i dont know.
its sumn

SOULIVE with MAKTUB lead singer went after hours across
the street from the fillmore and we (band and crowd)
took it next level.

CARLOS WASHINGTON (dat nigga) was in the house- crashin folx
sets as usual and adding his own kind of energy on trumpet.

neal evans keyboard was set up left of stage facing
straight out. so for the first time in my SOULIVE
experiences i was able to get it with him good. i
was standing 3 feet from him and i knew he was well
within my energy range. and i put it out there and
on him. he is one of mi faves and i was able to go
off and get lost in his groove knowing he was feeling me.
oh we was gettin it. i was close enough to
see and feel his fingering. i was close enough to watch
when he hit the key and then feel the sounds
he created. (i was also close enough to see and feel
when he slightly missed). i was able to vibe him
the way ive wanted to for a long time.

highlight for me was once after the many "peaks"
in the groove, he reached out and shook my hand.
i mean i know i was gettin it. i had on my PFUNK1
steeler jersey and i knew i was represettin. i know
that i can boost the energy of the band and the room.
and i knew i was bringing it this night. so allow me
to ego play and say it again this way-
he reached out to shake my hand, not i his.
and i was touched by this, and still am.

Posted by jeffery on 4/12/2004, 2:02 pm , in reply to "SOULIVE after hours..."

i stated years ago on this board that i noticed
that the overwhelming majority of the crowds are
young and white. this may mean something years from now.

saturday night SOULIVE at the fillmore was no different.
what is different is how i handle it. i have learned
to find the white girls who got the best rhythm and
groove and groove with them. like saturday im gettin
it and there are young white girls in my area,
and im within theirs. there was this
one girl gettin it with the groove, on rhythm but
maybe not on the "right" beat. so what i do is i angle
myself so that she is in my peripheral vision-
i can see her motion and feel her energy without making
direct eye contact. now i stay in my groove and on
my rhythm and on my beat. i hope that she stays on hers
and we usually get into a groove with each other that
is in rhythm but on different beats (or sumn). she still got
them "natural" white girl moves and groove, but
its in rhythm with my groove. so this goes on for a
few minutes and what i do is repeat the whole
process with another young white female. so after awhile
i have maybe 3 or 4 people (its not always girls,
though usually cause white boys dont dance) in a
groove around me. i have enough rhythm ability that i
can vibe and be "in sync" with all of them at the same
time effortlessy. i need 3 or 4 of them to satisfy my
desire for intense rhythm like this.

i was telling my buddy this and he made a comment
somewhere along the lines that i needed 3 or 4 white
girls to get the rhythm one black girl could bring. LOL
and he may be right.

at the after hours set after the fillmore there
was one black female in the whole place-
and she was my buddy's girlfriend and she came with us!!

also the absence of the black audience may be
signifigant in the future. the best music- (in my opinion)
live-funk-jamband-groove-intense music is not being
heard or experienced by black people.

these young kids may be a signifigant part of the country one day.
there is a "mentality" and spirituality at these shows
that these white kids are getting. they are wanting- shit
they may be producing this!!! the musicians on the stage are
black but the crowds are young and white. looking at it
as i type, maybe the white kids are creating this culture-
it is there dollars that ultimately drive this thing...

what are the black kids getting? where are the black kids?
are black people missing this music???? if you ask me,
r&b is dysfunctional (preaches too much love and pain).
rap's philosophy is questionable to put it mildly.

i love the jamband or whatever music scene. i love
the mentality that is at these shows. i like the attitude
of the white kids at these shows. they are open and out
to have a good time. what they lack in rhythm and coordination
they make up for with energy and enthusuiasm. and they love
my jersey and they aint shy about telling the big black
man that they do. that in itself, that they aint "afraid"
to approach and compliment a big black man means something
that will be with them as they get older and raise kids and
have jobs.

thats just my opinion

MULE music is almost spiritless
too plain, structured

sanitized or sumn

the sound was good, but the groove-
if there was one was lazy at best

which is cool if thats your vibe-
it just aint mine

and the few times GOVT MULE got a real good groove
going it lasted for like 10 seconds. it seemed the
music was intensely concentrated to be mid tempo energy-
like they was trying REALLY hard to be medium! LOL

and the few times the MULE groove did get good-
like 3 times for maybe 10-15 seconds each-
the energy level attained was less than or equal to cosmic slop
when george comes out. the P-FUNK ALLSTARS's have
more funk or whatever on a bad night cruising.
let alone later in the show when shit is reall rollin

and we wont even compare them to SOULIVE

MULE banging? no. funkin it up? no
that shit wasnt funk or funky at all-
it was a different kinda thing,
and thats cool if its for you

i bet i dont pay no $30 again to see them

i was so bored i was gonna leave early

Posted by jeffery on 4/23/2004, 6:06 pm , in reply to "ease it on down babybubba"

but it has a soul / spirit

just not the black american soul we associate "soul" with

it has a white american soul maybe-
and the spirit / vibe of a white american
(please insert racial disclaimers here)

its got groove, its got meaning
grease is the time, its the place, its the moment
grease is the way we are feeling

we take the pressure and we go away
conventionality belongs to yesterday

trulio was trulio, what can i say. they played a version of mr wiggles. seems in the open jam format of trulio disgracias with norwood at the helm, the musicians sitting in can start songs on their own. and it seemed they all wanted to play parliament/ funkadelic. and i admit i didnt even wanna hear any p-funk. one or musicans tried to start cosmic numerous times. one time i even said outloud "its too early for that!" they started the funkentelechy bass line and it lulled and then norwood stopped it and said "play sumn else" before it got going again. hell norwood even stopped the show and said "no p-funk, no funkadlelic." LOL funny thing is i kinda agreed. i would have enjoyed hearing p-funk buts its nice to hear sumn else every now and then. trulio hit a few good grooves and got it going though and thats all that counts.

i had one of the best times ive ever had in my life-
spiritually once again i went to a higher place.

the crowd, the vibe, the 420

the music, conversation, food (chicken legs), weather, on the roadtrip-
airbody was on time, nobody was slackin and airbody was packin-
we was rollin with some of the best funk music out!
(weapon of choice's colour me funky is like modern old style funk. i been sleepin on that)

the vibe and energy of the crowd was exceptional-
still mostly youngish white, but there was a touch bit
more older black males givin it up in the crowd. and
there were black females there, like about 7 maybe
and thats a lot more than usual!! LOL

the heat, crowdedness, smoke and whatever made the room
close and intimate and seem to concentrate the spirit and vibe.

i think the defining moment was the crowd singing
acapella for like 5+ minutes in the middle of the show-
we had this "thank you for letting me be myself again"
chant going on over "one nation under a groove" with
george clinton singing the dah dah dah doo, dat dat dada ...
over the top of all that with nothing but handclaps
and no music being played. the spirit, vibe and
rhythm of that crowd during that time all but brought
tears to my eyes. we kept 2 different chants going over
the top of each other for a long time that eventually
morphed into "thank you for lettin me be myself...
just for the funk of it"

and i was gettin it. the place was too crowded
but this made for a concentration of energy or sumn
cause it was hot and thick in there.

i met rickey vincent. i had been groovin all over
the place and one time for a good 15 minutes or so
i was gettin it with him standin right next to me. and
i knew it too so i let it go all thru my body and
that heightened my groove. i went away more than
once havin my body hittin like 5 or 6 different beats
of the groove. and having been in an intense groove for
like an hour. call it trance or whatever, i was gone
and gettin lost in it.

anyways later in the back after noticing him numerous
times but not saying anything to him- (thats sumn
i tend to do for some reason. i will vibe and
smile at somebody for years like i know them and
never actually say hi or talk to them). so mr vincent
comes up to me and says something about my jersey
and how he has been seeing it for years. the first
words out of my mouth was "chapter 18 the metaphysics
of p-funk should be gospel." i told him it articulated
something i had been trying to say for years. this
was after an already incredible show that had me in a heaven.

i had a really really really really goood time. a great day
culminated in deep groove. good vibe and energy.

this was all but a NO FUNKADELIC show. the music was
kept upbeat and spirited. even atomic dog had an
upbeat kinda kick to it. the night was all lively.
no maggot brain and i dont remember any "dark"
funkadelic slow heavy music. this was a happy spirited set,
and a happy spirited crowd.

zootzilla was barely ok. not from lack of talent,
but prolly from lack of preparation and practice.
he got the groove going more than once and if you ask me
thats all that counts. they seem to have the idea of
what groove and groovin is and with practice and experience
they should get there.

star cullars band is just good. starr was angry as hell
pre-show and she may have played like it and it didnt hurt-
it may even have given their set a nice kinda hard rough egde.
and lige curry is just cool. he has an easy going personailty,
very easy to conversate with and is always up beat and quick.
very good showman and musican. they were good as expected.

atomic dawg was backstage chillin with everybody. much love
to everybody involved in this, for whatever reason. they passed
out a flyer explaining the reasons behind this show and i wish
the best for miss gina hall in her endeavor.

and i aint even gonna go into coming out of a deep
deep "trance" like groove to find kendra less than
a foot away from me vibrating on the exact same beat
and groove i was. shit was so good and i was gettin so
deep into it that i put my tshirt over my head and went away.
i went so far away i "forgot" she was there to begin
with so when i "came back" it was a surprise to see her
there. and it was almost overwhelming to see that we
were vibrating on the same beat and at the same frequency. man it was goooooood!!!

this night, along with my last SOULIVE experience
in san francisco apr 10, ranks among my top ten funikest moments

higher and higher

i had been on beat and in a groove all day long. hours and
hours of conscious vibe and dance "meditation" culminating
with the heightened spirit of an energetic crowd

and that p-funk music i love so much

higher and higher is the key
i dont want to shoot to the top,
i wanna climb slowly but deliberately to my zenith
i imagine my climb at a 45 degree angle to

higher and higher

Re: studio z - may 11 - san francisco
Posted by gh on 5/16/2004, 5:00 pm , in reply to "studio z - may 11 - san francisco"

That was a beautiful show indeed. George told me it was one of his all time favorites and everyone involved had a meaningful experience.
thank you for coming.
gh

99% WHITE CROWD and i saw NOBODY OFF BEAT!!! 
Posted by PFUNK1.COM on 6/24/2004, 7:41 pm  

PA POTLUCK FESTIVAL
THE UNIVERSAL CHURCH OF LOVE AND MUSIC
june 5, 2004

up in the hills of pennsylvania
you could see hundreds of stars so clearly
had maybe the best chicken i ever had in my life
folx walking around comparin buds

first i noticed country hippie boy was on a beat.
his movement was in a kinda country whiteboy way,
but he was consistently hittin the beat

dj logic was playin upbeat beats and folx was vibin
so i drifted and without ever directly acknowledging
i got into a groove with him as i drifted around

then i noticed another one!! LOL his "dance moves"
once again were not the point. it was how he was hittin
the beat. and i mean hittin it like he was pounding on it.
like he knew where the beat was and was loading up
and comin down hard on it.

and then i seen A WHITE GIRL WITH GROOVE. the key to
this is that she was not trying to be on beat. she wasnt
even tryin to dance. it was almost effortless for her.
she did the little shoulder shake on the beat
as she walked while she danced and it looked like
she was gliding. it was obvious she had groove.
i was truly moved to see and feel this.
(she had more groove than pfunkjazz! LOL)

thats when i looked around and noticed ALOT of folx
was on beat. now there maybe a couple hundred? people and
the only black folx i seen was on stage or cookin chicken.
and these white folx with them big ole tame country
dogs burnin huge tree log fires on the side of a hill
groovin under hundreds of stars.

drugs was cool. they had sound problems i think they
couldnt hear each other but they sounded damn good out
the pa. in fact the best parts were when they were
freestylin doing a soundcheck. that music had energy
and we young white kids wanted energy. when they
went into mis america (any other way would be too good for true)
it sounded good but it kinda brought the energy down.

drugs music is heavy. i knew this years ago but it
was really evident after a upbeat dj set.

and then here come mr clinton with all this funkadelic.
mr nelson, mr shider, mr payne was gettin it-
but we young 20 sumn wanna groove. no compute was fun.
but a big chuck of it was heavy funkadelic.

im straight parliament. gimme the hits and lets sing
one nation and funkentelechy all night.

and one thing i think i noticed. groovin and scannin
the crowd there were loose groups of people groovin.
i saw nobody off beat. i openly vibed this.

then mr payne asked the crowd to move in closer to
stage and when they did it seemed the crowd lost
the groove or beat it had or sum'n. i wasnt noticing
the rhythm in the people when they were closer together
in a more tighter bigger bunch. sumn.

anyways, this was nineteen days ago june 5 the
day after the first birthday ive
spent in my hometown in 20+ years and i celebrated it
by picking my daughter up from high school and lettin her drive.
i dont get many moments with my children so this was
big for me. and i was sure to enjoy the hell out of it.
(nice 2004 rental, not the PFUNK1 mobile, i got video)

my son's high school graduation was earlier this day
and now im surrounded by wondeful white people who got rhythm and
some of the nicest dogs you'll ever meet
with a bit of funkadelic on stage doin stuff,
having just looked up at hundreds and hundreds of stars
and eaten some of the best chicken i ever had and
gettin it to that p-funk shit with a direct vibe view of kendra.

the rhythm of vision is a dancer
and when she dance...