It's been a most interesting coupla months......a brief flurry of activity during the usually moribund months of February and March, much of it in local area studios (pretty lite on the live work, especially after pulling out of 2 of my bands)....I was actually looking forward to a little down time around taxtime, getting ducks in rows for my and Jamaine's next collaboration: a local music & arts mag/guide. Then, innocently enough, an email...

Stoney Clove Lane is a loosely Woodstock-based band, as well a studio out closer to Phoenicia. When I first saw them at a CD release party at Utopia, they sported a lineup of 4 guitars, 2 keyboards, bass, and 2 drummers. Fortunately, all of the musicians were great, so it wasn't quite as cacophonous as that size ensemble may suggest (though it was pretty loud). I have had occasion to fill in on a date later at the Colony, and became friends with 2 of the head inmates, Adam and Jeremy. They also have another band called Drugs with Clip and Gary from PFunk, both of whom are also local guys....lots of talent in these here woods, y'all...

Anyhow, I got a nice email from Jeremy of the long-time-no-see variety, with a question attached: was I available for a gig/rehearsals that weekend.....playing with 4/20 Funk Mob featuring George Clinton? A brief peek at the tumbleweeds blowing across my April calendar confirmed availability. Phone calls, introductions, plans made...

George Clinton. Man Oh Man. The Head Shaman of Funk. Most audiences know him as the benevolent bestower of Good Times, his presence alone an excuse to get down wit yo bad self. Most musicians know of him as the inventor of an entire genre. Those who are a little more in the know hear and tell stories about the Full Chaos Effect that is the Funkadelic world, peopled by enormously talented individuals of questionable sanity. There are quite possibly THOUSANDS of people who have been part of that population at one time or another. Anyone who has had a seminal role in the classic lineup of the 70's seems to be able to assemble funk acolytes, and create new versions of the Franchise....this certainly seems, at least on the surface, to be the case with 4/20 Funk Mob...

This particular gig, however, is as hodgepodgey as it gets. Adam and Jeremy on guitars, plus Joey Eppard (also guitar and vocals) and Chris Gartman from local favorites 3, yours truly, Ted Orr (also longtime Funk Mobster...on guitar) and his daughter Alanna (20 yr old bass phenom, toured w/ Van Hunt), also Fred Cash on bass, and on the frontline: Clip on vocals/percussion box, Gary Shider on guitar, and Ray on stunt vocals. I got in 6 hours of rehearsals with Ted/Alanna/Chris...then the big get-together with everyone (but George) in a teeny-weeny studio outside of Woodstock. Gary immediately took control of the rehearsal.....felt like I was at Uncle Gary's Funk Camp! He did a nice job of tightening things up though, particularly the spaces we were NOT to play in (very important w/ 5 guitars and 2 bass players). Gary is definitely showing some signs of mental wear-n-tear from 30 years of service to the madness.....pretty gruff and exacting, but also with a sweet side. Clip is the man in control, though. Cool guy, has his shit together.....the proton to Gary's electron. We managed to cover 5 of the 14 songs we worked on, vowed to cover the rest in soundcheck...

Soundcheck at the Bearsville Theatre: surely you are not expecting anything CLOSE to a plan? Everyone kinda showed up around 4, got their stuff packed into their stage niches, got line check with the (very pro.....Rundgren's) FOH, monitors. Next thing I know, I'm learning 6 more tunes in the Drugs repertoire. Obvious weirdness between the 4/20 folks and the venue...the Full Chaos Effect is on. Through most of our rehearsal/soundcheck, George himself in hanging out front in a new cherry red SUV......he never steps out, or comes in, just kicks it out front with some of his immediate entourage. Setlist? Fugeddabout it. Not even a loose notion. We just have to know these 20 some-odd tunes, just in case. A lot of the stuff they gave me was unfamiliar....I think they're culling through the back catalog for unusual gems (Qualified To Satisfy, March To The Witches Castle, Let Me Be)....no Flashlight or One Nation though.

Showtime! We work through the Drugs tunes, then it's time to fire up the 4/20. Good full party house at Bearsville, a really good sounding room, especially when full up. We start out pretty mellow, for @ 10 minutes, then start building it up. Everyone's playing great together (with the possible exception of one of the guitarists, who shall be nameless here, but is sorta notorious for overdoing it..). George obviously is liking what we're cooking, coz he comes out quite a bit earlier than usual (or so I'm told). The vibe in the room changes noticibly.....George is here, so it's OK to get freaky! He gives em red meat right off the bat (to the windows! to the walls! til the sweat rolls offa my BALLS!), and we're off. Of course, we don't even get near playing more than 1/2 of what we learned, and tunes are called only one or two of know, but we plow through regardless. It's fun being Bernie for a day (as the only keyboard on stage), lotsa wah wah clavinet, hi synth strings, phaser wurli. I realized I had a stupid grin on my face the whole time, which ended up being altogether too short.

And then it was over.....rolling cords, packing gear, trying to get credit card back from the bar.....full charge for drinks, they even charged me for water! When I protested, the bar manager got all huffy, and slammed 4 dollars on the bar, saying something about "the deal with Gary" and "you weren't supposed to be getting water over here", blah blah. Whatever......Full Chaos Effect indeed. Still, everyone at the bar made money (well, I haven't been payed yet.......this story may have a sad ending after all), and if they did not I personally can't be blamed. Looks like we do this again next week in the City for a Darfur benefit.....already grumbling about gas money and carpooling. Glamour? Fugeddabout it.