Soldiers in the Army of Uncle Jam George Clinton (Right) cues some of the P-Funk Guitar Army; (From L - R) Michael Hampton, Billy 'Bass' Nelson, DeWayne McKnight, and Garrett Shider. (With Michael 'Clip' Payne singing from the riser.)
We were buddying up, said Ron Wright, one of the tag-team drummers, We usually have three busses, but we had to squeeze into two,
It's a commitment -- everybody shows up and does what they've proven they can do - again and again, said Doc, about life spent traveling from venue to venue.
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So this was backstage at a P-Funk show - a combination of laughter and concentration that's been on the road since the late 60's when Billy Bass Nelson started backing up a Doo Wop group called The Parliaments. He teamed up with a mercurial electric guitarist named Eddie Hazel, and named the band Funkadelic. George Clinton was in both groups as a singer and producer, and as time progressed the term P-Funk was used to describe the vast amount of music that was made in association with this ever-expanding, multi-generational group.
(Left Photo) George Clinton, bass-master Lige Curry, and Robert 'P-Nut' Johnson tear up the stage in the free-form 'Parliament' section of the Missoula show. (Right Photo
) 'P-Nut' calmly awaits his turn and plays the Wilma's baby grand piano near the stage door, while out front the Guitar Army totals the audience's ears with Mommy, What's a Funkadelic?
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Earlier that night I'd met Derrick Drisdale, the Road Manager. He had a backstage pass all ready for me, due to their publicist Marcy Gurgossian, and the Internet.
I spoke with McKnight, one of P-Funk's two lead guitarists, as he opened the message from his friend Gabe Gonzales, a former P-Funk drummer, who'd also played with them at Woodstock '99, and thundered behind Blackbyrd's guitar on the instrumental opus Dog Star (Fly On).
I checked out the rapidly-filling theater, but the best place to shoot pictures was in the wings of the stage, so I made sure it was OK, and stayed out of the way as the show unfolded.
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(L to R) Cordell Mosson came on board with Garry Shider, Billy 'Bass' Nelson co-founded the band, Michael Hampton succeeded Eddie Hazel on lead guitar, ex-Headhunter DeWayne McKnight plays second lead, and steps out on 'Dog Star, ' a firestorm solo number. 'Boogie' Mosson sings 'All Your Goodies Are Gone' from Parliament/Funkadelic's earliest days, while Frankie 'Kash' Waddy creates an earthquake on drums. Kash was among Clinton's first recruits from James Brown's band, where the funky rhythmic cue 'On the One' was perfected.
Garry Shider came out in his trademark diaper, plugged in his guitar and Mommy What's A Funkadelic thundered throughout the Wilma -- the heaviest kind of Detroit Rock started assaulting the audience.
All Your Goodies Are Gone featured 29-year veteran Cordell Mosson, Soul Mate featured Sheila Brody. The guitarists started ripping their Jazz licks - McKnight led the way, and Michael Hampton started wailing on top of everything.
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The Guitar Army was in full force when they launched into the powerful Cosmic Slop, dedicated to everybody's mother, and George Clinton strode onstage to make his grand entrance at the screeching climax. Everyone was out of their seats, and surging forward.
George Clinton (Center) greets the crowd at the keening climax of 'Cosmic Slop.' Garry Shider (Right) leads the singing in this Curtis Mayfield-inspired ballad of big-city survival.
It gets deeper and deeper as long as the show goes on, Ron Wright had said, They start in their seats, but they get it on!
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Things got wild - the hits like One Nation Under A Groove, and Knee Deep came early, and a funky free-for-all developed with Belita Woods scat-singing Les Brown's Sentimental Journey. Trumpeter Bennie Cowan split some ears with his super-high notes. Billy Bass Nelson THREW DOWN a ripping solo (on bass) about 2 1/2 hours into the show. (Michael Hampton's cousin, Lige Curry, held down bass chores through most of the performance.)
The heavy hitter of the evening was LaShonda Clinton, who started rapping Something Stank, and I Want Some. George hugged his granddaughter as she finished.
The dust wasn't even beginning to settle when Hampton began Maggot Brain, the famous Blues solo. Michael and the band were changing keys from the normal E-minor, and finding new colors. Blackbyrd took over with Dog Star, and everyone got onstage for the finale -- Atomic Dog -- probably their biggest song, as far as airplay goes. 102 Dalmations even has it in the soundtrack. All the women were encouraged to join the band onstage and dance to the stomping rhythm -- and dance they did!
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P-Funk also boasts a first-rate horn section -- led by trumpeter Bennie Cowan, with Scott Taylor and Greg Thomas (Left), who does a fabulous round of scat-style singing during 'Knee Deep, 'aided & abetted by (L to R) Clip Payne, George Clinton, Garry Shider, and 'Soul Mate' Sheila Brody.
As the Wilma emptied, there were some calls for more, and the Guitar Army even started the mighty Red Hot Mama riff, but too many booties were pointing the wrong way and leaving.
Bravo Productions of Missoula was clearing the stage, and Bravo's crew chief was bellowing orders to the beautiful young women who were still onstage. All you girls OUT through the dressing room! he shouted, I OWN this stage!
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The friendly P-Funk musicians were obviously thinking 'alright, ' but they quietly and politely escorted their fans down the concrete pit of a stairway at the Wilma Theater, and chatted for awhile as they went about their business.
The night was horribly cold, but everyone got the sweat off downstairs, and made it to the cars for next day's trek to Spokane. Michael Hampton came up and had a friendly talk with me. (He later played a solo gig in San Francisco on March 23rd.)
UPSTAIRS during the show, Solana dances to Hampton's 'Maggot Brain, ' Courtney & Jennifer laugh about some dam' thang. Eric McFadden, Chris Ogelsvie, Doc, and Derrick stand in the back.
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DOWNSTAIRS after the show (Left to Right) Garrett Shider, Garry Shider, Detroit Disco Diva Belita Woods, Frankie Kash Waddy, Jennifer Fanning, and 'Soul Mate' Sheila Brody.
Frank Kash Waddy, the first drummer in the 3-man tag team made sure I knew how much he enjoyed playing in Missoula. Damn, I like this place! he said, I've been back here since '94, and I always have a good time!
Eric McFadden, the acoustic player within the Guitar Army, talked about his own critically-acclaimed band in San Francisco, and asked if he could be heard out front when he played mandolin and wooden guitar.
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George is such a Teddy Bear! said Courtney, who'd danced an improvised waltz with the Funk Overlord earlier in the show. She and her friend Solana stuck around to talk with a fully-dressed Garry (Diaperman) Shider, who's been with Parliament/Funkadelic since 1972, and shares the stage with his son Garrett.
Vocalist Michael (Clip) Payne was on hand, along with Carlos McMurray, who'd knocked the audience off their feet with his dancing as Sir Nose.
Carlos was trying to converse with a young lady from South America, but the gulf between her Spanish and his English was pretty wide.
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SHOOT 'EM WITH THE BOP GUN! Carlos McMurray sheds the 'pimp' hat and fur coat of 'Sir Nose' (D'Voidofunk), inspiring the crowd with his athletic dancing, and still wearing his nose! (L to R) S. Boyd, Keyboardist Jerome Rogers, G. Thomas, G. Clinton, Bassist Lige Curry, G. Shider, Drummer Rico Lewis, Carlos, S. Brody, 'P-Nut' Johnson, Eric McFadden, Clip Payne, & Paul Hill.
It's my pleasure to report this - I knew that McMurray had a CD, and was glad to know that it was being heard. He adds a visual dimension to the show with pimp hat, fur coat, and his double-jointed, perfectly-developed body. (The dark-skinned Spanish beauty was also a fine dancer, and the two looked great onstage.)
As the conversation continued, I learned that Garry Shider was not only recording his OWN music, along with Clip, but that his wife Linda Shider had a vocal group named Leggs, that was releasing a CD soon. My next project is my granddaughter, Garry said proudly, She doesn't know it yet, though. She's only two -- but she's got it!
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Acupuncturist Jennifer Fanning, a guest on the West Coat tour, mentioned that Clip and Garry also had a group called Drugz that was booked into New York's Wetlands club later in March. Chuck, the Production Manager, joined in the fun as we talked about trafficking Drugz on the East Coast.
Clip Payne has been with the group since the late 70's. Besides shadowing George Clinton on MC duties, he's a producer/engineer, and gets musical credit for synthesized Man In The Box rhythms. When he's home in Woodstock, New York he does Tripfest webcasts, and runs a company called WEFUNK with others in the band. He made a fabulous CD called Cacaphonic Funk Mob in Paris, France two years ago that was on sale at the souvenir table.
When Garry and
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