May 2017: George Clinton & Parliament/Funkadelic live in Europe

George Clinton & Parliament/Funkadelic will invade Europe earlier than usual in 2017: Instead of July, they will visit in May already. The following dates have been confirmed to me by George’s European booking agent Georg Leitner Productions:

2017-04-30 De Roma, Antwerp, Belgium
2017-05-01 Paradiso, Amsterdam, NL
2017-05-03 Doornroosje, Nijmegen, NL
2017-05-04 KB, Malmö, Sweden
2017-05-05 DR Koncerhuset, Copenhagen, Denmark
2017-05-06 Rockefeller, Oslo, Norway
2017-05-07 The Circus. Helsinki, Finland
2017-05-08 Göta Lejon, Stockholm, Sweden
2017-05-10 O2 ABC, Glasgow, UK
2017-05-11 O2 Academy, Leeds, UK
2017-05-12 O2 Ritz, Manchester, UK
2017-05-13 O2 Forum Kentish Town, London, UK
2017-05-14 Funk and Soul Weekender, Camber Sands, UK
2017-05-15 O2 Academy, Bristol, UK

George Clinton reveals why he keeps his mouth shut about new music that pisses him off [Video]

Yesterday in Singapore, Parliament/Funkadelic’s George Clinton aka Dr. Funkenstein met classic rap group The Sugarhill Gang („Rapper’s Delight“). He had a nice two-part Periscope chat with them about the origins of P.Funk and rap, touring together, his musical backgropund and collaborators (including Skip McDonald/Bernard Alexander and Doug Wimbish, members of Sugarhill’s house band, plus Philippé Wynne, Bernie Worrell and Bootsy Collins), and the story behind several of P.Funk’s greatest hits:

Funky Shots: George Clinton/Parliament/Funkadelic 1989-1991

I used to publish ‚round 2‘ of the George Clinton/Parliament/Funkadelic newsletter New Funk Times from 1989 to 1991. I can’t find the original photos I took back then, but here are black & white scans from the issues. You can view full-size versions on flickr. If you are interested in the NFT: The P.Funk History Double Issue is available here.

R.I.P., Jack Bruce! (George Clinton on patching up things with Cream)

Jack Bruce (Photo: Christian Sahm / licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license)

John Symon Asher „Jack“ Bruce passed away yesterday (Saturday, October 25, 2014) at age 71. In his just-released autobiography „Brothas Be, Yo, Like George, Ain’t That Funkin‘ Kinda Hard on You?“ Parliament/Funkadelic’s George Clinton (73) remembers running into Cream’s founder member in the spring of 1993 – before and during the band’s induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame:

(…) Cream was inducted, which was a kind of brain twist: I got to watch two of my most important influences [Sly Stone was there as well – PJ] and think about the way that I had built Funkadelic on the intersection between their two bands. Jimi Hendrix had it right when he said that Cream was quitting just as everybody else was getting started. I also got to watch how a band acted when they put old rivalries and infighting behind them.

George Clinton (72) on Quitting Drugs (plus new European Tour Dates)

From the keynote interview at the Ibiza International Music Summit (May 2014)

Craig McLean (at 24:42): Did you get paid for all these samples?
George Clinton: Nooo … that’s what made me stop doing drugs. You can not be fucked up and not expect things to be fucked up, too. I’m saying that it took me 72 years to find that out. Plus: The drugs was no good. Wasn’t even good drugs by the time, you know. Then I realized; Damn, I’m not even high; plus, they done took all my money.

George Clinton & Parliament/Funkadelic on Saturday Night Live (1986)

IMHO, this is one of the best P.Funk performances ever shown on TV:

This video brings back very nice memories:

The Saturday Night Live show took place a few weeks after I did my George Clinton home story (here’s the German version).

The Funky Farmer: George Clinton Home Story (1986)

This is the English translation of a George Clinton home story which I did in 1986 when I was working as a music journalist (original German version):

One morning at 5 a.m. on the funky farm: sputter – sputter – zang – boom – crash. Strange sounds are emanating from the hall. A few minutes later George Clinton stands in the living room: „Damn, not even 4000 points! When I’m that bad, I know that it’s time to quit. Good night!“ A last disappointed look at the Galaxian video game, and Clinton disappears into the bedroom. In the neighborhood the first cocks are crowing.

George Clinton Goes Nashville

Eine Reality-Soap der ganz besonderen Art ist derzeit beim US-Sender CMT zu bestaunen. Mittlerweile zum dritten Mal: Ähnlich wie bei Promi-„Big Brother“ lassen sich sieben „Celebrities“ in einer Villa in Nashville bei dem Versuch filmen, eine Country-Karriere zu starten.

Was mich als Freund des P-Funk (Parliament, Funkadelic & Co.) daran besonders fesselt, ist die Tatsache, dass Dr. Funkenstein alias George Clinton mit von der Partie ist. Zusammen mit der ehemaligen Prince-Kreativkomplizin Sheila E., “Miss USA 2006” Tara Conner, Sängerin Taylor Dayne, Monkees-Schlagzeuger und -Sänger Micky Dolenz, Ex-Soap-Darsteller Richard Grieco und Ex-„American Idol“-Kandidat Justin Guarini.

Funky Farmer George Clinton

George Clinton ist mein absoluter Lieblingsmusiker, und die zahlreichen Formationen seines Parliament/Funkadelic-Kollektivs sind meine absoluten Lieblings-Bands.

Der Mann ist ein Phänomen: Er ist seit über 50 Jahren im Musikgeschäft und hat seitdem den unterschiedlichsten Musikrichtungen seinen individuellen Stempel aufgedrückt; von Doo Wop bis Hip-Hop, von Funk bis Rock.

Two funk giants have left us: R.I.P., Junie Morrison and Clyde „Funky Drummer“ Stubblefield!

Last year’s passing of Prince (blog post in German), Sharon Jones, and Bernie Worrell have been huge blows to funk and soul fans already. The sad news continue: On January 21, 2017, ex-Ohio Player and P.Funk All-Star Junie Morrison died, followed by Clyde Stubblefield (this Saturday, February 18).

One of Junie Morrison’s major claims to fame was the Funkadelic classic „One Nation Under A Groove“: