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George Clinton is nothing less than a national treasure, a genuine original, a musical innovator, and a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame for the past 13 years, which is longer than many music careers.
At 68, perhaps he’d be better appreciated if he would slow down to accept the accolades. But as he prepares to bring his funk juggernaut, Parliament-Funkadelic, to the Westhampton Beach Performing Arts Center on Saturday night, April 10, Mr. Clinton’s dance card is about as full as ever.
The PAC show will be a warmup of sorts for an appearance 13 days later to help kick off the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival. Parliament Funkadelic is currently in the midst of a typical extensive stretch of live shows—the band plays more than 200 a year—and Mr. Clinton is hard at work on the record label he founded in 2005, C Kunspyruhzy, which is nearly ready to follow up various digital download releases with a real-live album, the label’s first.
In fact, a recent midweek telephone interview at the ripe hour of 3 p.m. found the bandleader rubbing the sleep from his eyes, having just arisen. As far as excuses for sleeping in go, his is world-class: He was in the studio all night, until 9 a.m., working on his next solo album, with a variety of his band members and fellow musicians, including a fellow legend, Sly Stone. Making music, it seems, knows no regular hours.
“That’s my motivation. I got nothing else to do,” he said, in a characteristically gruff voice, of the grinding schedule of recording and touring, which would be daunting for a young musician, let alone someone who has been making music professionally for very close to half a century. “That’s what motivates the whole thing. That and fighting lawsuits—it keeps you energized.”
Ah, the lawsuits. They come with Mr. Clinton’s status as one of the most sampled musicians in music history, owing to his extensive catalog blending funk, soul, R&B and acid rock, all with a backbeat that has been one of music’s most reliable natural resources for decades, and which has been recycled by scores of rap and rock musicians. Mr. Clinton—who famously went all the way to federal court after a label reused his memorable refrain, “Bow wow wow, yippie-yo, yippie-yay” from “Atomic Dog” without his permission in another work—says he’s fine with young musicians sampling his music, but he points out that Parliament-Funkadelic has always been a team effort, and much of the music was written by others who deserve the credit, and a share of the profits.
He fights the battles for that reason, he said, including some legal fights on behalf of others, including Sly Stone, whom he helped recover some long-overdue royalties. He acknowledges another reason: “I’m hardheaded.”
Fortunately, he’s not in court so much that his music career has suffered.
Musician, songwriter and producer, his most beloved role is as leader of Parliament-Funkadelic, or P-Funk, the band with roots stretching back to The Parliaments, a late-1950s doo-wop quintet he founded at age 15, continuing through the two bands, Parliament and Funkadelic, which made music separately in the 1960s, then merged for a legendary run through the 1970s and 1980s, staging a musical revue complete with mythology, costumed characters, a giant spaceship that landed on stage, and some of the most incendiary dance music ever made. The stage shows from the band’s prime remain some of the greatest live performances in popular music history, fabled for their outrageousness mixed with impeccable musicianship.
P-Funk and Mr. Clinton, who is the band’s leader and impresario, have been making music almost continuously in the years since, both live and in the studio. More than 100 musicians can count themselves as members of various editions of the ever-evolving band, including all-time greats such as the late guitarist Eddie Hazel, bassist Bootsy Collins, keyboardist Bernie Worrell, and saxophonist Maceo Parker, as well as the aforementioned Sly Stone. But many of the same musicians who will be on the stage at the PAC—such as musical director Garry “Starchild” Shider, and guitarists Michael “Kidd Funkadelic” Hampton and Cardell “Boogie” Mosson—have been part of the band for years.
One thing that keeps P-Funk fresh, the bandleader said, is the regular mixture of new musicians who join the fray. The current edition of P-Funk will test the PAC stage supports with 27 singers, dancers and musicians, including Mr. Clinton’s granddaughter, Shonda, who performs as rapper Sativa Diva. “My band is better than any other band out there, ever,” the elder Clinton says proudly. “There’s nothing compares with this band.”
As for Mr. Clinton, he describes himself as “referee, traffic cop—I direct all the talent I got up there. And they’ll do anything you want them to do.” The bandleader admits that he has a long list of cues he gives his bandmates, and sometimes they ignore them. That can cause some tension, he said, adding with a laugh, “It just looks like part of the show.”
People who come for the Saturday night gig at the PAC should expect a long show, perhaps topping three or four hours, and no sign of the “Mothership Connection” spaceship: the modern P-Funk concert scales back the props to put a greater focus on the music, although Mr. Clinton will have his traditional Technicolor halo of hair, and there still will be an emphasis on costumes, and on showmanship. It wouldn’t be a P-Funk show, after all, without Shider performing in his trademark diaper, a staple of the show since the 1970s. “The show is still what it’s always been, as far as entertainment,” Mr. Clinton said. “We have fun doing it.”
Certainly, nobody should come expecting anything less than a party and a good time—and a little bit of the unexpected. Unpredictability, after all, has been a hallmark of P-Funk for years.
“Rock and roll can be pretty crazy—that’s par for the course,” Mr. Clinton said. “If you have none of that, it might be corny. Crazy is a prerequisite. You can make music out of the crazy.”
George Clinton and Parliament-Funkadelic will perform at the Westhampton Beach Performing Arts Center on Saturday, April 10, at 8 p.m. Tickets are $60, $80, or $100. For more information, call the PAC box office at 288-1500, or visit whbpac.org.
on Mar 30, 2010