(continued from page one )

George Clinton ` King of Funk

by Michael the "K"

Clinton who has been crowned the "King of Funk' has had an  incredible carrier in the music industry introducing and reigning over the style  of music he created known as "Funk!"  With over 40 yrs of writing, recording, touring, and bringing joy and happiness to his audiences... George is also a fine artist, as well as a sought after music producer, arranger and performer.  His style of music along with James Brown has enticed and inspired  countless musicians over the years .

One of the most well known performers and creators he's mentored is "Prince!" If you listen closely you will hear Georges' style of music as the basic track sound of the famous purple hero we know and love.  Prince acknowledges this fact and consequently has led to George joining him in several show performances over the years. They played  together at the 2000 Millennium show at New Years  eve in Las Vegas as the century made its transition at midnight  to January 1st 2000.

This is the third appearance at the Mateel for George and his entourage which consists of about fifteen members arriving in tour busses that filled the parking lot at the Mateel! As I arrived early to get a feel for the event, by 'show time', the lines had formed consisting of wide eyed  groups in flamboyant costumes, crying out  chants of "P funk!" George hit the stage about 10 pm.

The man has reinvented himself once more. The crowd waiting to see him as they are used to, with multicolored hair an exotic dress,were amazed to see George dressed like a modern Hip Hop star?

His 69 yrs of age was not evident at all.  I have worked with George on a few projects in the past and was also fooled by his new look.   He looked like a man of forty and his energy was extremely youthful .

From opening to the dramatic ending George and the P funk all stars  rocked and funked the audience into mass frenzies  Screams reminiscent of Beatle days filled the rafters of the Mateel. This grand venue always presents great shows and goes out of it's way to thrill it's attendees. From "We love the Funk to Atomic Dawg his music  rang through the forests and valleys, surrounding the Mateel for more than three hours . This was a shorter show for the group, who's performances have been clocked at up to eleven hrs . 

I was the Lighting  Director for one show in San Francisco,  where the drummer went into leg spasms from the long sets and had to be replaced by a local drummer (Mike Friedman) to finish the show .  We are hoping George and the groups he leads "Funkadelic/ Parliament/P Funk"etc..,keeps funking the world through the hard times we are experiencing today!

Thanks  again to the  Mateel for bringing this shining light to our wonderful community !

www.parliamentfunkadelic.georgeclinton.com

back to main page_