All aboard!

Another newsflash from the Dr.'s funkbook:

George has been released from the Hospital and is getting ready to board the Mothership for Tour.

So, prepare to get on board everybody, and catch the funk live!

2011-05-31 B.B. King Blues Club, New York City, NY

2011-06-02 BAM Rhythm & Blues Series @ Metrotech, Brooklyn, NY

2011-06-03 Mohegan Sun, Uncasville, CT

2011-06-04 Maine State Pier, Portland, ME

2011-06-10 DTE Energy Music Theatre Detroit, MI

2011-06-11 Smokey Hill River Festival, Salina, KS

2011-06-13 Recher Theatre, Towson / Baltimore, MD

2011-06-16 Prairie Des Filtres, Toulouse, France

2011-06-17 Riverenhof Amphitheater, Antwerp, BE

2011-06-18 HMV Forum, London, UK

2011-06-19 The Hague Jazz Festival @ Kyocera Stadion, Hague, NL

2011-06-20 Rockefeller, Oslo, Norway

2011-06-22 Prague, Czech

2011-06-23 La Machine, Paris, France

2011-06-24 Festival Med, Faro, Portugal

2011-06-25 Casa da Música, Porto, Portugal

2011-06-26 Festival Jazz à la Defense, Paris, France

R.I.P. Gil Scott Heron

These are sad times. We just lost another great musician, an innovator and a true legend. Gil Scott-Heron, poet, musician, singer, songwriter, spoken-word pioneer, political thinker and author, passed on Friday afternoon, aged 62. 

All his famous creations will probably (well, hopefully) be heared on the radio today, on your home stereo, on the TV and the Woo Tube: The Bottle, Johannesburg, The Revolution Will Not Be Televised, Winter In America, and many more... But since we're writing "funk" with a capital "P" over here, here's a track in his honour that was released in 1984, showing just another side of GSH: "Re-Ron", recorded with Bernie Worrell and the Laswell/Material syndicate.

Rest in Peace, GSH!

The FUNK will survive, just like it always does...

UPDATE! Here's the latest post from Bootsy:

Yep! it's official Captain George of the P-Funk Enterprise is in full control of the ship, all shields are up and armed, so nothing will harm him! Do not, I Repeat, do not be alarmed, we will steady the course and continue to Funk U-Up with the Good News about the Funk!

 And here's another update, posted by GC's Funkprobosci blog, Saturday morning:

 

GC UPDATE - George is doing really well, he is in great spirits and he will be released this weekend. Many Thank Yous to all Funkateers, Fans and Family.

Dr. Funkenstein hospitalized!

I'll stick to re-posting two messages from Bootsy's Facebook for now.
This was posted 10 hours ago:

Okay funkateers, our Captain of the Mothership has been hospitalized. Ineed yall to send up smoke signals, love vibes, prayer's whatever you got, because our great Dr.Funkisien needs us all right now, so stop whatyour doing and lay your hands on the radio and let the vibes flow through. The funk not only moves it Re-Moves, Dig! Thanks! Bootsy!!!

And this is the update we got 4 hours ago:

Funk ALERT, Funk ALERT! I just got off the phone with our Capitain of the Mothership, I must say that your love vibes and prayer's are workin'. Our Capitain is a Warrior, and want to take it straight to the people from where it came and some parts of the system don't like how the funk endures. Funkateers together we stand, devided we fail! Medi-Really-Don't-Care, so we have too. Hold him up yall! Bootsy!!!

Please send some strong 

{{{{{{{{HEALING VIBES}}}}}}}} 

y'all. We need everyone on the one now...

"THE FUNK WILL SURVIVE, JUST LIKE IT ALWAYS DOES.... 
FLY AWAY.... FLY AWAY...."

 

Happy Birthday Tiki!

Happy Birthday to Ramon "Tiki" Fulwood, 
who would have turned 67 today.

   

Ramon "Tiki" Fulwood

May 23, 1944 – October 29, 1979

Born in Philadelphia, PA on May 23, 1944, Ramon "Tiki" Fulwood was one of the original members of Funkadelic. He played on most of their early recordings, and is generally considered the original core drummer of the band. For reasons of drug abuse, financial disputes and possibly other quarrels, Tiki left and re-joined the band several times, and even after he was fired again in 1975, he still took part in some of the funk mob's activities.

In 1978, Tiki was diagnosed with cancer. He died of stomach cancer on October 29, 1979, only 35 years old. In 1997, he was posthumously inducted into the Rock and Rock Hall of Fame. 

Here are three Funkadelic songs that prominently feature his ingenious drumming, showcasing the major impact he had on the group's sound at various stages of their career: "I'll Bet You" from the 1970 debut album "Funkadelic", "Nappy Dugout" from 1973's "Cosmic Slop" LP (marking his comeback to the mob after a two-year absence), and "Clone Communicado", an outtake from 1976 that was released on George Clinton's "Family Series" in the early 90s. While being totally different songs style-wise, they share a common feature, and that is Tiki keeping the groove together. Funk on...

Some promo stuff...

Collectors' alert! If you're into rare promo items, you might wanna watch out for some stuff accompanying Bootsy's new album "The Funk Capital Of The World". Here's some stuff i managed to get a hold of so far...

Album promo poster:

Full album promo CD (USA) w/ cardboard sleeve & press info:

(Mascot Records USA - M PROMO 310)

Full album promo CD-R (Japan):

(Victor Entertainment, Inc., Japan - VICP-64944)

Don't Take My Funk CD-R promo single w/ sticker:

(Mascot Records USA - No Cat.-No.)

Hip Hop @ Funk You CD-R promo single:

(Mascot Records USA - No Cat.-No.)

HAPPY HUNTING!

HALLELUJAH!

Some release news here, and yes, they are awesome! FINALLY, the classic series of Bootsy's 1970s live videos sees a proper release on a 3DVD set by P-Vine (Japan) (I've seen both April 20 and May 3 2011 as the release date). Circulating amongst collectors since ages, these three shows from 1976 (1x) and 1978 (2x) document the Rubber Band at its absolute peak. And it was about time! The 1976 show and the first one of the 1978 gigs were already out on P-Vine VHS before (and rare collectors' items), but the other show from 1978 was overdue to be released, as were regular DVDs of all three...

I haven't had an opportunity yet to watch these, but with regard to P-Vine's usual quality standards and the astounding releases we got from these guys over the years, these discs are probably major upgrades to what's out there so far, and definitely a must-have. Downside is: Of course the set isn't cheap. I've seen the box sold for around $125, and this is probably what you will have to put on the table, more or less. Here are some pictures i found, showing the box set in all its glory:

And now for the details...

DVD 1:

STRETCHIN' OUT LIVE 1976

(PVDV-63)

Live at The Summit, Houston, TX

October 31, 1976

1. Ahh... The Name Is Bootsy, Baby!

2. Psychoticbumpschool

3. Another Point Of View

4. Physical Love

5. I'd Rather Be With You

6. Medley: Ahh, The Name Is Bootsy Baby / Disco To Go

7. Vanish In Our Sleep

8. Strechin' Out(In A Rubber Band) 

Total Running Time: 58 minutes

DVD 2:

PLAYER OF THE YEAR 1978

(PVDV-64)

Live at the Capitol Center, Landover, MD

April 7, 1978 *

1. Bootsy? (What's The Name Of This Town?)

2. Psychoticbumpschool

3. The Pinocchio Theory

4. Hollywood Squares

5. Roto-Rooter

6. Very Yes

7. Can't Stay Away

8. Stretchin' Out

9. I'd Rather Be With You

10. Bootzilla

11. Ahh... The Name Is Bootsy, Baby!

12. Bootzilla (Wind Me Up Faster)

Total Running Time: 75 minutes

* This show usually circulates as Washington, DC, April 7. 
I strongly believe it is actually Landover, MD,  April 8, but that's another story...

DVD 3:

HOUSTON SUMMIT 1978

(PVDV-65)

Live at The Summit, Houston, TX

May 20, 1978

1. Bootsy? (What's The Name Of This Town)

2. Psychticbumpschool

3. The Pinocchio Theory

4. Hollywood Squares

5. Roto-Rooter

6. Very Yes

7. Can't Stay Away

8. Stretchin' Out (In A Rubber Band)

9. I'd Rather Be With You

10. Bootzilla 

Total Running Time: 81 minutes

Now GO and GRAB THEM!

Another Brick In The Flash Light...

OK, since it's Friday, and since i just discovered some really amazing stuff i'd like to share with others, and since this place is still lacking content anyway, here's another clip from the woo tube... This guy is DJ Scratch Bastid, and what he's doing with one of our favourite Parliament cuts is simply awesome. Check it out!

Erm, yes... Indeed he has that Pink Floyd 7" stuck unto the Parliament 12". That's right, 3 discs spinning on only 2 turntables. Not bad, uh? Also, here's some kind of a making-of, and a bit of showing-off with his P-Funk vinyl collection...

OK, that's it for today. But don't think this will be just another youtube channel... There's much more to come, and it's gonna be funky, for sure! 

Check back during the next days for a detailed track-by-track review of Bootsy's new album, pics of some cool promo items that made their way to my home, and various other stuff that will keep your funky heads boppin'. OK, bye!

FUNKY WOMAN!

Here's some incredibly rare footage of Funkadelic, performing in a studio, probably in 1971. It's taken from the 2006 documentary "Tales Of Dr. Funkenstein". Thanks to "short" for puttin' this on the tube.

George Clinton (vocals)
Tawl Ross (guitar)
Grady Thomas (organ)
Billy "Bass" Nelson (bass)
Calvin Simon (congas)
Clarence "Fuzzy" Haskins (drums)

If you happen to have more of that footage, PLEASE drop us a note! 

Fly on, Star Child!

To get things goin' over here, let's start with the immortal Garry Shider (R.I.P.), as featured on DJ Quik's latest album, "The Book Of David" (Mad Science / Fontana, 2011). Listen to his simply beautiful acapella on the beginning of "The End?", and try to keep your goosebumps under control... We're funkin' at street level, y'all!

Mothership Connection...

Swing down, sweet chariot, we're ON!