and i dont mean just the chant, the real bassline played live!

im sittin around actin like i may go out and do something
besides fall into my usual weekend coma when i gets
a call from a major evangelist who says kimmanning.com
is playing at the viper room on sunset blvd- (name droppin').

so i say ok then the phone rings again and i dont usually
pick it up when during peak hours but the area code
is unfamiliar so i say hello. its lll who is in from
chicago and he and the boys gonna kick it at mi fave spot
the templebar and i say oh shit i guess the pizza,
fried chicken, cookies and jackin off gotta wait.

so i get to the place i just stood outside of 5 days
ago shootin video for my book promo cd about how much
i love this joint and the first act that comes up is
billy miles who is kinda like a american sade from new york
complete with the stereotypical nasel sounding tone.
lll had sent me a e-mail from chicago about awhile back
simply because her name translated is his or sumn.
anyhow she is a very erotic sexual playful sade almost look
alike with a little more physical sturdiness and booty.

and between sets she walks by me and i get to greet her
and shake her hand and believe me i remembered which
hand i used...

i meet lll and them and its been ahwile since we all hung
out by our cars in the parking lot between sets like this
and its good and we eventually end up back in there for medusa's set.

i hear the bassline and i immediatley recognize it. im
very assured in my funkmanship and old age so i aint ashamed
to say that i couldnt place the song at first but knew
where it came from. the bassline was played faster
than the record and live but it was the one. ofcourse
i had on a parliament-funkadelic bootleg t-shirt and when i
did get it i sang it as loud as i could. and i ####in meant it.

thats my ####in fave place and im there on humbug and to have
the headliner come off like this? i went off.

i think i may have even sang the whole thang again even
louder before medusa's back up singers sang it fist.
it was soooooo good to hear strong female backing vocals
sing the anthem like that. sure they worded the words
a little wrong but the integrity was still there:

make my funk the p-funk
i wants to get funked up
make my funk the p-funk
i wants to get funked up
i want the bomb, i want the p-funk
i wants to get funked up
make my funk the p-funk
i wants to get funked up

or sumn like that as i said the point remained
intact as medusa did her own raps in between the
choruses. and there were A LOT of choruses!!
they may have sang that ####in song for 5-7 minutes.
it was good and i went off. hearing sistas almost
screaming it loud sanging it with power and not
drowned out by the band but leading the band
and crowd with confident strong voice.

after i settled i seent arik the freek in there
so i said whattup and copped his cd pleasures of
the funky and dont think the freak wasnt on the
dancefloor as i was till the end of the night...

medusa turned me out. lyricly her content had me scream
GODDAMN very more than once. she said thangs and pushed
the scope way beyond. it was humorus, strong, witty,
intelligent, semi-silly, it was everything and respectful.
it was proud and it was funky.

when them girls sang this pussy is a gangsta i had
tears in my eyes from the vocal power. it was like it
church. the had a harmony with power and grace. they
screamed it and it was good. i felt it very deeply

i was completely impressed with medusa, very completely.

and it wasnt that cause all we had was stress

another guy in the audience said he had just talked to bootsy a
couple of days ago and that bootsy once told him that
it got to be too much and too big for bootsy. the crowds,
the pressure, the limelight, spotlight whatever...

i followed up a bootsy answer with my only questioned "will there ever
be a reunion with bootsy, george, maceo and all yall?"
he said yeah it will be on film or movie. he said they still
got the motherships and the big sneaker and all that stuff
i believe he indicated that all this is in the works

ofcourse i joked back that mothership/reunion rumors come around annually...

mr wesley is very very personable.

einstien was an atheist. so how da hell was he jewish? can you be jewish and not believe in god? i felt the jews may be jumpin on the einstein bandwagon by claiming him. i aint mad at them though, if i could i would too. and they didnt avoid the issue, in the "einstein and god" space they said he did not believe in god but then smoothly connected him to the jewish faith with examples of his actions and quotes.

the exhibit was good. they touched on the man, they touched on his work and it got a little deep on the science side. good installations and they had people there talking about physics and explaining light and time and stuff. so you know i had to hang around and talk to somebody. i talked to a early 20 sumn very confident white male and i asked him. "why is light the constant and time relative?" it got to him showing me the michael morley experiment and i said that doesnt show light is constant, it shows light is not effected by the momentum of the earth. we went back and forth some and it was good. i got really really excited but i kept my voice down as much as i could. 

at one point when we got into it i looked him in his eyes and said i dont believe that the speed of light is constant and that im gonna prove it. i indicated that was my theory and im standing strongly behind it. this was major for me as it was the first time ive been able to test my theory and my ability to communicate and understand when discussing that theory. he explained things to me and i had to focus a little to keep up, but i feel i was able to stand my ground in support of a theory that goes against the ultimate foundation of the way we understand physics. 

he described the experiments and the reasons he believes light is the constant. at one point, teenager like, he said "it is cause it just is." and that i think came from the fact that this belief is so deeply  fundamentally embedded in him that he got frustrated having to explain something so matter of fact. but as i said i am most happy in that i was able to have an exchange on this level. i very very very graciously thanked him and he me. he used the word "debate" where it kinda was but i was more or less challenging him to show me how he is right so i could understand.

this one guy who was conversating earlier with the physics kid brought up a topic and scenario and i very quickly and emotionlessly dismissed it as irrelevant and resumed my dialogue with physics boy. i was cold and quick cause i wanted to send a message to all listening and not to waste this precious time i had.

so we there and i know that ms manning has a gig up in santa rosa like 1 hour away and now its like 9 sumn and im wondering if anyone is aware. aint none of my business but hell im human and im thinking she gonna miss this thang. but eventually things come around and i notice she is preparing to make an exit and the image i have that i think special is of her rehearsing her part with the band in full groove with all her stuff in her hands. she left the mic and walked right out the door and thats when it was confirmed to me that she was now a part of a we and us was going to santa rosa together.

we load in the truck and she squeezes in the back with her female dancer friend (ilaya?) and pulls out her guitar to tune and we are on our way. ms manning was in spirit and her energy was beautiful and it was a joy to be enclosed like that with her for the ride and i told her this in an e-mail i sent to her after this wonderful weekend. anyways she is singing and tuning and obviously riding some kind of spiritual  high she has as she is expressing creativity all over the place and clearly enjoying it. maybe most special for me was because we were "enclosed" it was very intimate in a sensory sense. so she didnt have to be louder than the band behind her or loud enough for a room. she was able to express at low softer toned volumes and since i was so close i could feel and experience every bit of how pretty and beautiful her voice really is. i also was able to hear her "do things" with her voice and play with melodies and vocal acrobatics as she vibed and played. it was really good and i grooved and smiled the whole time and wished i had got my video camera out and all of that. in her playings she made a song about people in the car but i was left out but when she did me a part she said i was "documenting" and goddamn she was write and im writing this here now just like the fake keyboard typing i did when she sang my name in the song.

so we hit the sonoma county fairgrounds and the north bay music awards and its like getting close to 11 and im thinking to myself how can i help out cause i know folx gonna be late and i think maybe i could park the car while my buddy (kims bassplayer) and kim hit the set. sure enough as we jump out and she gets in motion she suggests this and its beautiful as the whole time she was relaxed and playful about being late or not being late but you get a certain sense of assuredness about the whole thing. it was smooth, beautiful and efficient.

so we get there and are accomodated with passes and proper treatment and they scurry in and i park the car and run in with my camera to the backstage tent where kim and mike maggot are preparing to hit the stage. i dont digs being backstage i much prefer the energy of the crowd so im outta there and groovin to the bands playin and diggin the fresh style of the white rappers as they were not the typical and had a good groove and vibe.

to speed up the story ms manning joins them on stage and does some of the stuff she was singing in the car and it felt good. she went on to do a version of flashlight that was at least interesting and we hung out a bit and enjoyed the music. i got video and then it was back to the vehicle for the 1 hour ride back to san francisco and studio z where truliodisgracias.com  was doing an afterhours set till 4am. now trulio is norwood fisher and they be puttin that funk down like they should and they did and it was good and kim joined in as 419 opened the set. john steward was on drums with trulio. 

so now its morning i think, wait i forgot we drove an hour to santa rosa after trulio at 5am to the hotel and thats how it was daylight. so we get there and ofcourse im not totally clear headed so the hotel guy confused me but basically said he wasnt gonna charge us for the night we just missed and i was like ok cool. we get in get, some sleep then its up and out to the HARMONY FESTIVAL. me and mike maggot hit the scene say 4ish, i cant really remember but we get there and get all access passes which was cool as hell can be. this was a big festival too. not too much food that i saw, cause it was a health and fitness and ecology type event. the people of this area also seemed "different" as they were a more sophisticated type of hippie maybe. i saw ricky williams the football player there thats what kind of party it was if you know what i mean. but the 

tribal trance dance

topless lady

i left the game at the begining of the 3rd quarter cause after all it is still preseason and the starters were done and drove back to cleveland to pick up my daughter who called to ask if she could go to an afterparty. i considered it till i found it was not in the area by the gund and we met about an hour and a half later as i was still on the ohio turnpike. 

rock and roll hall of fame
movie mystery train addressed directly the part race played in the creation of rock and roll. it was race music that came up from the south possibly via train jumping. asked what would america be without rock and roll and then showed sterile white caucasian tv and suburban life. then a quick switch to heavy soul spiritual music and the days of slavery. showed black men workin as a railroad gang so rhythmicly it all but brought tears to my eyes. they was gettin it and then actually accentuated to lift the track on a beat that made me yell.

made the statement that rock is irreverent. it is anti- establishment but has changed the world. started in ohio cleveland, youngstown area. race music, black music as it evolved into white culture.

first rock and roll show in cleveland coronation ball 20,000 black folks showed up and rioted cause it was oversold. first times whites and blacks mixed and danced. white kids in the suburbs did not hear the black race music until alan freed in ohio. 

as i watched the movies i was very proud of the lifestyle they portrayed as "rock and roll." it is a lifestyle i live and in which i believe. i watched this in a room of tourists who appeared so conservative or whatever that they were just 

P-FUNK
Posted by PFUNK1.COM on 9/16/2005, 1:33 pm

sativa
kendra
belita
poo poo man
kabbabie
paul hill
 

THIS IS NOT P-FUNK
AND POSSIBLY NOT EVEN FUNK

i love them all and they are all talented and funky in their own right,
but the pledge that was delivered to me 30 years ago was

FUNK, PURE FUNK AND NOTHING BUT THE FUNK

and when you get the above artists at a
"P-FUNK NATION CELEBRATION" and NOT knee deep,
or one nation or maggot brain, thats blasphemous!


kim manning (she aint funk either) at least did
never gonna tell it so the band got to p-funk fly a bit.
think about it, kim manning being the funk high point!
-cause she and the band pushed the energy up and higher.
(once again i loves me some kim, but she is not funk-
her talents are not best suited to play in front of PARLIAMENT FUNKADELIC-
you cant even hear her over the band!)


BOOTSY did better in san francisco, but he would have been dissed
had this been a "lets take it to the stage" thing.
he came out and was riding lige curry's groove!!

i love bootsy and i was pulling for him but to
see a two members of PARLIAMENT FUNKADELIC playing and
dancing in unison like was disturbing. LOL
and very uncool. they looked like a 1950s
kiddie band movin as a dance team like that

the crowd was screaming "we want bootsy"
and the band and stage was set perfect for a
solo. bootsy unstraps his bass!!! he took that
shit off and did his thing in the crowd-
he did not play...



THAT IS NOT PURE FUNK
THAT IS NOT TAKING IT TO THE STAGE




blackbyrd's solo in san francisco when to me it
seemed he hijacked the show was the highlight of
both shows cause it was the highest P-FUNK moment


it was like the band was castrated. you the baddest
mother####as in the world playin ballads and doo wops
at a P-FUNK nation celebration


the RED HOT CHILLI PEPPERS were more p-funky than the allstars
cause they brought that energy and tried to push it over the top


CHILDREN OF PRODUCTION was like a refined deep funky
and their version of testify moved me.
they played funk and strived toward a pure funk.


the allstars played funk but seemed to strive backwards for r&b



the crowd and the P-FUNK family and the love of all
of us coming together carried that show, not the non-
P-FUNK music on stage. i was ready to party to almost
anything at the greek and i did have a good time.


in san francisco i playfully booed belita my own damn
self cause IT WAS NOT P-FUNK. a freakin love ballad
in the middle of the show? and no knee deep?

blasphemous!



i love airbody and i had a wonderful p-funky weekend.
its sooooo good seeing all the funky folks from
all around cause it really is family. i dont think
im hatin or bitter, but i got to call it as i see it.


MAKE MY FUNK THE P-FUNK

MACEO wore my ass out!!!!!!
Posted by jeffery on 9/22/2005, 5:16 pm

you know at like going on hour 3
and your feet and muscles start to
ache from groovin for so long but you
cant stop cause the beat and groove is
hittin that spot and you got white girls
and folks all around you spacin out and
vibin and you know what else is cool is
when they leave the lights on just enough
so the crowd can see each other and we
can feel each others energy...

hardly no 420 in the air and not a totally
sold out show with a 99% white audience.
but towards the end of the evening when
the hardcore was left and we had room to
space out maceo and bruno and skeet and greg
and the rest i dont know they names did not
let us down.

greg thomas turned it out also. that ####er
be showin up, grabbin the mic and goin at it!!
scattin with such strength, confidence and groove.
then he come out with a horn bigger than he was-
turnt it out!!

greg thomas told PFUNK1.COM he got new music
and is ready to move on http://www.gatsax.com

keyboard player was goooood aslo. he was allowed
to take us to church and was featured more than a little.

i dont think skeet's bass was coming out of the
house speakers, it wasnt thumpin enough.

i love maceo paker's band. they seem more funky
this time around also, but still with that tight, disciplined groovin...

they wore my ass out, but i couldnt stop
and i was not gonna stop till the music did either!!

i may have to go home take a nap and go see
corey parker tonight at mi fave hangout...

and go to work late again

hooters
me, rick (r-dub of poor man studios and the san francisco band 650 connection) and miss monica cruised and hit this spot after i met them at the biltmore hotel downtown los angeles. this fuckin hotel was so nice that i instinctively took my hat off when i walked in. this is the 2nd time running around with these folks where i sat in a euphoria from the hotel they were in! anyways we hook up and i drive and we end up on the santa monica 3rd street promenade and we park and we walk thru one of them hooka thingys to get to the promenade. miss monica says "lets try it" and this stuns the hell out of me. i was already in a good headspace and for some reason the idea shocked me and i stood stunned for a moment. i mean we were just walking thru to get to the promemnade and the next thing you know we getting buzzed off of tobacco in a smoke house. it was soooooo cool to have ideas and spontaneity like that. i mean there was no reason why we shouldnt and it hit me that my thinking should be naturally open to that. i think thats what stunned me. i literally paused and felt kinda pleasurably confused. anyhows smoking tobacco like that gave me a kinda cool buzz and a smooth kinda rush. i can see why folks would do this recreationally at a party or sumn.

but the night belonged to "coco." as we walked into hooters me and rick surveyed the scene and he notices a girl who was mixed and jokingly named her. i was peepin others and as the night went on coco more and more had our attentions. i think it was the black in her that we noticed. that way she moved and her energy as opposed to the other (white) girls. she had just a little bit more booty, not alot, but more than the other hooter girls. she danced and played with a certain vigor and rhythm that the others didnt seem to have. she wasnt no sista, but she had sumn the others aint. and i think im figuring out this whole hooters-sex-girls "service" and tips thing. maybe the girls are meant to be flirty for tips and everybody knows that but me. cause the girls are all touchy feely and bouncy for sure. anyways the girls gather together to do a birthday celebration dance thingy for a customer and coco is there. so they take the guy and they put balloons in his shirt like tits and they sing and clown him amd stuff. so we sittin there and im watching the girls do their thing and checkin out the rhythm, groove and enegry of it all. coco is gettin it and then i see her look dead at rick and do a little sumn extra on the groove that made me go yeah! then she looked me dead in the face and did another move on the groove and i was like damn!!!!! i may have shouted. i was touched by her confidence and groove. i felt like i should have tipped her. like i wanted to go back the next day and thank her for that. i was impressed and continued to talk about it for the next couple of days. she must have known what she was doing. she must have recognized she had our attentions. she did it with such confidence on the beat. we was the only big black brothas in the place. if you ask me, we were the ballers in the joint and she aint back away from that.

soulive, ledesi
ledesi was down to earth and leaned towards funky in her delievery and style. she has a slight edge and thats funky. i was vibin her then i seen miss monica in the crowd givin it up. i danced over there by her and we got down together. her music is sharp and crisp and modern and interesting, though she didnt blow me away. rick said she has had better more energetic shows, but she was still cool.

soulive rocked it as usual and i was gettin it good as usual with every dancing white girl i could. sometimes i could dance and vibe 2 or 3 girls at once in rhythm. anyways one of the girls remembered me from the maceo show a week or so before and that was cool. me and r-dub stepped out on the patio and it was 4:20 o'clock right there off the sunset strip. r-dub had some music he needed to get to neal of soulive so i got to ride the elevator upstairs as we went to the backstage after party. not really my scene, but i may can get use to it. folks just kinda hanging out talkin in multiple rooms with multiple vibes and different musics.

steelers vs chargers
me jesse, goldie and jb took an rv down to the stadium. i got sick right before the game from eating ice cream the night before cause we had an adventure getting the rv so we crashed in riverside at goldie's crib so i had a food party that consisted of spicy cheese quesideas and ben and jerrys chocolate chip sumn or another. thank god we took the rv cause i was camped on the toliet with 3 different forms and textures and episodes of diarehea. oh yeah lets not forget the 2 orders of wingstop french fries i had earlier in the day. i aint never cramped up and sweated so bad in my life. there was a pool of sweat... ok enough details but it all came out and i was ok in time for the game.

lots of steeler fans in the house. rick met us at the game and our seats were so bad they were good! we were in the last row at the top of the corner of the endzone so we could stand up on the walkway behind our seats and had room to move and be excited. i dont like sittin down anyways during a game. heavy steeler section as maybe 40% (if not more) of the fans in the packed stadium were steelers.

very very good exciting game and very festive evening. monday night football on a beautiful san diego day and evening. lots of good music in the parking lot that i just danced and wandered and waded around in. this one group of mexican (cholos?) charger fans had some really good mid tempo hip hop boomin! they played good stuff and one of them i remember was digital under grounds freaks of the industry. and ofcourse as i was gettin it, folks was callin out the name on my back "GO P-FUNK!!" get inside the stadium way before game time and got close down low while the teams warmed up. steeler levon haynes (#34) was just plain flat out dancin to the house music which was some really groove. i positioned myself up a few rows so i could see over the folks gathered at the rail and where i had room and i just danced like i was in my living room. one time a charger fan ran up on me and was getting it and said he didnt want me to be the only one dancin. it was cool and my vibe was on full.

walking thru the parking lot with my energy on high and being able to express at that wide scale is something i love and maybe need. lots of cool people and food and drink and smoke and everything. i had a really good time.

coming back and going down the 215 freeway by riverside there is homebuilding and development on a scale that is so impressive its scary. for miles and miles they are developing so many new homes that it has to go bust. the traffic is already horrendous cause there is no jobs out there, they all commute to los angeles. commuter traffic which we got caught in returning fromt he game cause we got back to riverside and crashed in the rv until the morning. the traffic was incredible and people do this everyday for years? it took us 3 hours and it may be not healthy for a society to think this is ok. the building boom, the traffic and etc lead me to believe that this all will have to crash at one point. its like it almost has too.

las vegas
me and mommy and remi went to vegas without lauire. this was an idea i had in jest to separate my sis and her daughter for the first time ever for kicks. laurie liked the idea and ran with it makin calls to mommy settin it up. mommy is always ready to go to vegas and she got a suite (room 1848 & 1846) comped. it was a nice room, though soiled a bit from use. it was so spacious and comfortable that it made me rethink my hotel experiences cause it put me in a whole different mind set while in the room. it had a dining room table, leather couches that rolled out into a bed, love seats, etc etc. anyways my sis and her daughter did good as my niece really didnt even whine once. i was the designated babysitter for this trip and i did well also. we went to circus circus cause they advertise free midway acts throughout the day. the acts were cool though a bit put together i think as the ones we saw werent really for kids kinda. every 45 minutes or so an act happens and the ones we saw were like cirque acts. my neice was even kinda scared of one LOL.

between acts me and remi played in the arcade and i took my sisters advice and let her "play" video games without putting any money in. the arcade also had games you could win stuffed animals and there was one "roll a ball onto a hole and watch your horse run" game that was cool. it was so cool cause my 3 yr old neice actually beat me in it! AND with just 2 dollars and 2 of use playing we were gauranteed a win and a pretty nice prize! hell we played a few times and people joined and the prizes got bigger and so dod the competition.

watched the steeler game in the golden nugget casino sitting at a video poker machine with a full view of a flat screen in the cocktail waitress path. not that i drink or nothing but the orange juice and ginger ale mix and  bottled waters were nice as i watched the steeler back up quarterback loose the game for us. there were 2 big accidents on the drive up which really slowed us and but we still got there around midnight i think or 1am. mommy hit a video poker machine for 4 grand so its all good. i put $50 on the steelers but lost. sleeping with a toddlers foot in your back is fun. LOL but i cant complain at all, she was no problem at all. in fact, my niece may be one of the most well mannered toddlers ive ever known. smart, articulate, playful, easy going. we had a good time. and i must add i had my mothers help.

bet 25th anniversary
new edition turnt it out, bobby brown did my perogative and though it seemed he struggled a bit, them boys was groovin. mc hammer got the crowd going doing a dance to a beat, not as an act i dont think. it was good he was getting it. r kelly was good, he got his groove across to the crowd. earth wind and fire was the opening act. ronkat was standing next to donnie simpson during the final performance while ewf performed with only show primary people on stage (i thought he snuck on). black people looking good. 95% of the crowd on beat and on groove. every where you looked somebody was head bobbin or gettin it in rhythm. whitney houston's voice was gone, she tried to sing a few luther phrases and it was bad. john legend sang luther and he was light. he wasnt heavy enough, ithought he was weak. alicia keys performed. mary j blige, method man also performed.

pfunk and snoop was too much. too loud, not understandable. couldnt feel the groove. it sounded like a mess. i was shouting "we want the funk" during the quietness between the set change before p-funk and snoop. seemed like carlos heard me and there was some reaction from the stage. didnt hear george's voice at all, though he was out there doing his thing for the crowd. maybe his thing works when there is a good groove behind you, but there wasnt. it was not crisp enough to grab you, you had to search for the beat and even then it was drowned out and hard to feel. where you could feel other acts whose music is maybe designed for this situation.

my initial thoughts are p-funk may never reach this black audience. there was music that moved me and the crowd and it was not a "p-funk" huge band sound. the set was way to sloppy and sluggish and loud. the whole crowd was on there feet though they werent partyin and enthuisastic as they were for new edition or r kelly, i think cause of the sound. the beat may come across more easily in rap cause its not complicated or stripped down. the acts that made me and the crowd move had prominent sharp dance movements to accent the beat. they had strong human voice that drove other human's emotion (singing or rap, but clear and strong emotional vocal). and maybe, just maybe p-funk music like flashlight and atomic dog doesnt have the energy to "excite" in the year 2005. i dont know. im trying to think what p-funk could have played...knee deep. knee deep would have done it. it has a sharp energetic recognizable start. from where i was in the balcony, flashlight had no crisp beat or start or "jolt."

i got the feeling p-funk may never capture the black audience. and or may not be suited for 7 minute tv segments. it may take 30 minutes to an hour for a band the size of p-funk to entrance an audience and/ or get them in groove. where as with a rap beat or hip hop, from the first bass boom beat we are trained to be on it or have learned to recognize it.

they started with snoop's "whats my name" and it was so loud it was confusing from where i was. it clanged and collided and was noisy and i could barely make out what snoop was sayin. everybody was on their feet though for the first time this evening in anticipation. then the orchestrated stop and start of atomic dog. horrible i couldnt feel it and struggled to even hear the music. everybody seemed like they were playing at once. then into gin and juice which was almost pure noise by now but the crowd was still singing the refrain to all the snoop songs. stop that song and start of flashlight.  sound was confusing from the balcony seats. then they went into drop it like its hot and by that time they lost me.

kim manning kinda fell once on her roller skates. from the distance i saw kendra at i couldnt understand her space silvery outfit though it was prolly sexy based on the amount of skin i did see between what looked like seperate pieces. definitely dont remember hearing her or kim or anybody singing though she was at a mic shit, i dont think i heard clip either and i always hear him.

they showed clips of past BET shows on big screens and they was getting it. crowd was into it. crowd LOVED bill clinton. they showed his pic and a taped congratulations and the crowd went nuts.

kirk franklin was getting it with his little left handed self. bobby jones came out and asked who loves the lord- 95% of the crowd stood up. black folx love bill clinton and jesus. yolanda adams sang over a very funky riff that sounded like horns and was sooo funky and just enough "off" i thought it may not have been deliberate. it was that deeply good.

nelly got down shirtless, ll cool j rocked it (vocal power and a string beat). steve harvey, arsenio hall. serena wiliams kept messing up. black people lookin sooooo good. beautiful beautiful woman dressed up so sexy sophisticated. there were very few hoochies. i had on what would be dressy clothes for me so i felt i looked good so i stood

gorgeous gorgeous gorgeous black females, everybody looked soooo good and when black folks get together there is a certain kind of vibe and rhythm and groove in the air (no people are not the same). the shrine auditorium is a magnificient building. the set was beautiful and laid out really nice.

funk may very well be a non profit organization.

orgone w/fanny franklin
diane gordon who hangs out with frankie "kash waddy of nu-phound nation sang backup for the opening act kandace lindsey. lindsey was cool, band was cool. nothing i remember special, just cool. more cool seeing diane gordon fill out them jeans. hilsyde is a whiteboy who grew up in the hood and his band seems to reflect that. his band was blacker and seemed "bigger" than he was in physical size, quality and experience. dont know how to say it but it felt like this whiteboy with true feeling for this music and ambition went out and built himself a pretty good black band, complete with horns. and they were funky and vibey and hip hoppish and r&b. very solid performance and hilsyde is good and has the look but maybe its cause he was so young and inexperienced appearing compared to his band which seemed seasoned experienced and way more older and blacker and "deeper" than he cause of his age appearance. they were entertaining and tried to hit that groove more than once. horns, strong backup vocals, full band.

orgone is funky cause at some point in the show they just groove and try to take you there. the percussionist is a maniac and may be the focal point. fanny was ok, seen her do better. orgone's guitar player tries to make his eyes roll back in his head via locking on to a groove and came close more than once.

all in all though it was a flat night, crowd wise and all. goooooooood looking females there though, very good looking. shows started later than usual and that may have something to do with it. i feel like im writing too much for this ordinary night but i did have a good time i guess. saw a very special sista that i have video of dancing with RAW SUGAR (sarah f was there working) in the house. i named her video "girl finest" as she was one of the finest soft brown and round females i had ever seen, well at least she struck me as that the night i saw her. once ya get a good good look at them the fantasy dulls, but she was still cute as hell. not fine as hell as i was able to see how young she is, but still she had body and was devastatingly cute and had my attention the whole night. also saw and hollered at  www.themasterfader.com there a keyboardist who played with mallia franklin and i got video of. before the headliner orgone came on dj rashida played flashlight and then we want the funk. house was fairly packed and i acted out flashlight expressively and felt a slight reaction from the crowd, but it died and settled and even i went flat towards the end flashlight. then when we want the funk came on i reacted but that subsided quickly also. i was late as orgone may have hit the stage close to 1am.

carson daly taping
gorgeous gorgeous day. rode up to burbank and the first thing i notice is all the goodlooking females. normal ordinary people but damn they looked good and as i rode by i made eye contact with one and she was sharp and responsive to the point it impressed me. she said she was in line for ellen. i thought cool. the studio grounds is like a campus kind in that there are people and lines and things going on all around. pretty cool.

i meet talley and we hang and then we walk in and i see lige hanging outback. that was cool.

usher is young and confident. he didnt shy away from the fact that he is single and there is alot of female opportunity for him. he was like basically like "man c'mon there are so many woman i got my choice" and it came off honest and confident without disrespecting. carson daly was kinda sharp and witty and the whole taping moved along well. no long delays or standing around, fun and festive and not a grueling experience. saw clip and danny make their way into the studio before the show.

george and them came out and did the new version of bounce to this and it was good. started very sloppy but they found and  got the groove. it is just good seeing airbody and also i ran into darryl mccane of placebo pictures who had very interesting business news. it was good hanging out and doing it in that setting. getting it to that P-FUNK shit in a studio and in that setting with that kind of audience. to be able to experience a small dose of FUNK like that in the middle of and under the regulations of a tv studio. i was able to show out like that as i watched from the crowd and i was getting it. i love it. i just love all of it. california, tv, p-funk, the girls, the people, the life. i love the life. i love this life. i love my life. sum'n. its just all sooooooo good. i may be gushing cause i cant think of nothing too much editorial to say. i love the life.

jay leno
got up there around 3pm i think and got a ticket and got in line. wait didnt seem that long and i ran into nicole who was also hanging out at carson daly yesterday. goregous weather and we get into the studio once again its all in how you carry yourself how you are treated. 2 of the outside ushers were from cleveland and akron respectively. diane gordon was in the house. the angle and attitude of jay leno was much less conservative and "safe" as i thought. they and he was baggin on the audience and that surprised me. the way they made fun of the audience memebrs to get laughs was more "negative" than i expected. also alot of the subject matter was adult. sex, race, homosexuality, politics, etc. he seemed definitely on the left politically and more raunchy and "condesending?" than i thought he would be as this is an american institution.

anyways george and the mob did bounce to this and it was good, well as good as it could get on tv i believe. everything seemed so in place and regulated and rehearsed that the band though they were getting it, was being very disciplined or something. it was tv and it felt to me like there was a constraint on it all. other than that they was gettin it and i was in the balcony above and to the side of the band and when it got going i went to the balcony rail to give it up.

slapbak
for whatever reason, this is the second time ive been at my fave placed and was not moved as deeply as i usually am by the music and the experience. i thought last night maybe it was the sound and the mix, specifically i felt the rhythm guitar could have been louder. but when mr jara harris played his bass in that certain way, the sound was there and i felt the energy. i say that to say that it could have been the song selection or the band's choice of groove. seemed like they could have played funkier music. like they were playing the next step for them and it wasnt really "on the one" like i like it. cause im trying to feel it and none of the songs really grabbed me and then they did "too black for black radio" and i swear it was a metal song! it wasnt "black" at all to me. they even had this almost if not white girl come up to sing it who was definitely not black in many ways but especially in the dancin and groovin area. this really struck me as strange in that the song lyrics talked of them being too black but the music wasnt black at all! mr harris did a name that song and played bootsy's stretchin out. they played no other P-FUNK like the usually always do. not sure if it was them or me or a technical thing, but things just aint move me like they have though other folks in the place seemed pleased. lots of black people in there this night, prolly cause of the opening acts. more than a few attractive black females in there and for that places that is special.

blowfly, explogasm
this was weird cause the knitting factory is like all ages or something and everything that happened on stage this evening was so sexually explicit that sexually explicit is much too mild of a term. the audience was very young, im wondering if they were even legal and every other word from the mics were either vagina, pussy or fuck. rudy ray moore was an old black pimp who obviously was very very talented at one time, but... blowfly was so, so...that i left.

now explogasm was so sexaully outrageous it was impressive! they showed a movie before their show and it was funny as hell. it was so far out there that i all but stood in awe of the youth today. it made me think that to be able to be that free thinking and crazy creative that you HAVE to be young. its like there is no way us old folks can out do the youth as far as that kind of creativity. explogasm was so young looking it made me wonder if they were legal. the crowd was so young it made me uncomfortable.

familyhood nextexperience

this shit was good. norwood fisher, john steward, rocky george, angelo moore and i think a keyboard player and maybe a horn? i cant remember.  from the very first song i was intrigued by this music. it wasn't FISHBONE music (thank god) and it leaned towards a funk music, but it wasn't your normal everyday funk music, though it was funky as hell. the beat and the groove was there in what felt like a modern,  "intelligent" clean but funky way. it wasnt sloppy as funk can be and it was tight, but it had that groove. it hit that nerve that drew me to the stage. i really dont know how to describe it yet but i know it had me all night till the end.

mr angelo moore is just plain wonderful doing what he does, on and off stage. he brought energetic vocals over this music that drove it deeper and higher. i hope they got a recording of this set and mr fisher says it may happen again depending on the usual things that this kind of situation brings. i want to see it go down just to verify what i experienced cause this music felt fresh and new and exciting. there was a lot of no singing instrumental groovin too that made it good. the knitting factory has one of the best sound systems ive heard in a very long time. it was so good it was noticable.

there was this time which may have been improv'ed where the music was so weird but groovy and funky that i had to get as close to the stage as i could just to see what the hell was goin on. it was like some "next shit" it was so strange. ive seen lots of bands and lots of shows so when im intrigued and captured by the music like i was it has to mean something.

im not totally sure what that was but i want moore!
 

(from http://lamarslounge.net/)
famiLyhood nextperience, knitting factory LA 12.23.05

LLL figured he shouLd post
this review here,
not just on 'the List':

a very merry xmas
to friends and familyhoodLums,
past, present and future!

HoLLy würst buLLy vard is especiaLLy respLendent
at christmas time, Lots of extra eLectricity everywhere.
Doctor madd vibe was hanging posters hawking his new joint
when i waLked into the knitting factory, aLL three rooms for one price
on this evening. (sometimes it's spLit up) the opening band in the main room
were playing Who/MC5 infLuenzed power chord cock rock. a rockabilly/swing combo
complete with washboard bass was playing in the front room, and a twangy, girl in santa hat
band was in the aLter-knit Lounge.

"The Fishbone Familyhood Nextperience (featuring all current members)"
as it was biLLed, hit the stage about 11pm; maddvibe reciting LinkoLgies
oLd and new untiL Mr. John Steward grabbed the mic and said,
"sounds Like buLLshit to me..."

This show was Loose, Like a handfuL of rubber bands.
one couLd say this was not a "Fishbone" show,
in that none of the cLassic nuttsactor anthems
were pLayed, and the most frenetic moments were
during an extended noise vamp on Freddie's Dead.
a sLow rocksteady "what Have I Done"
got coupLes dancing.
(don't think i've heard that one live before)

the first number was a funky free form jam,
heLd down by Rocky and Norwood.
with more than a nickLe bag of so Lows,
aLL around. i didn't catch homeboy's name
on the trumpet (not the pastor), but eye gotta say:
McNutt is a baaddassss motherbrother on the 'bone,
and a damn good guitarist (stiLL missed Tori though)...
oh, and he's got the tasty keyboard Licks too (no dre gipson either)

the whoLe set was very Laid back, Low key,
and heavy emphasis on dubwise instrumentaL sections.
i especiaLLy enjoyed the new sLow skanking version
of Cheyenne Star Forever Moore. i've said before, here and eLsewhere,
'that this is one of AngeLo's catchiest meLodic hooks ever,
and every time i've heard him sing it, it gives me goose bumps
because i can feeL the Love he feeLs for his daughter.

They pLayed other new songs, ones i haven't heard before,
but dug, and aLso Jackass Brigade, which i kept expecting to
acceLerate above the uptempo skank, it started out as.
Dub was the order of the day. KF has an exceLLent PA
system; 'Wood's bass rumbLed through
the soLar pLexus, and wet daddy's toms and kick feLt Like thunder.
AngeLo conducted the horns into
some wicked echo fadeouts and buildup/breakdowns.

I don't think any other List members were there,
but i did see this one taLL redhead i used to aLways
see at the nutsack. I spoke to one of our favorite members,
but i guess she didn't break away from her xmas party.
P-Funk artist Overton Loyd was in the house,
sketching the band onto a tabLet hooked up to his new powerbook.
Gina HaLL of atomicdawg.com fame and Ronkat the funkLectic
were aLso present, aLong with Jeffery, aka PFUNK1 from wefunkwest.com

the maybe 100 peopLe or so who were there
had a good time,
and shaked their ass.

anyway,
i need some more egg nog.
you mugs be cooL,
stay happy and heaLthy,
drive safeLy and Love your neighbors,
their dogs, and the gingerbread man.
remember Lamar Loves you,
and no amount of scenty mentaL reaLity
can stop nuttin'...


paz, amor, y masa,


LLL thee fromunda mentaList...
 

joi

im rollin with mr curry and ms cullars and we have to get to the templebar for soundcheck, which is like around 6:30pm. this is like 5 hours before the headliner hits the stage and arriving this early is all new to me. ive never seen my favorite venue without its make-up on. the house lights were up and you could clearly see things ive never seen before in the room ive worshiped in many times. it was no longer a holy sanctuary, it was just a room. no incense was burning and the bathroom hadnt been deordorized. i may be slowly entering into a whole new life, and it was noted and commented on during the evening.

entering via backstage door, parking cars, moving equipment, staying out of the way of the stage techs, shaking hands and sound check. i love sound check. i love the music in any form and its always good to hear it on a venues system. anyways im hanging backstage upstairs in the main dressing room with the band as the diva joi hit the spot with her management (in a late model big ass cadillac) did the soundcheck and bolted. the hours went by fairly fast as i observed   

PRINCE in audience, CLINTON briefly joins JOI on stage

rumored prince was in the house. i was told i couldnt setup my camera in a certain area cause "prince" was comin. i heard the name and just figured it was somebody else.

darryl mccane
blackbyrd
starr cullars
barberella bishop
rob bacon
tony highttower (drums)
lige curry
george clinton
mike maggot

joi had a wardrobe malfunction, asked for scissors and cut parts of her dress off then went on to expound not understanding the reasoning for why they put that part of the dress there anyways.

templebar my favorite place to party

lots of black female. the upper middle-classish mixed and assimilated types. as i think about it they were girl fans of PRINCE types.

dancin to mothership connection with youthful black females. song is older than most of them i was gettin it with. it was good. dj rashida played knee deep also

drummer was black and from the south. not use to seeing a younger hip drummer who is still black and with soul. most drummers are so regimented maybe they loose their ethnicity.

she didnt need george clinton on stage to do it, but his presence took it to a whole higher level
just from his appearance.