It was in Las Vegas. And they honored George
and Nas and Rakim and a lot of other rappers.
Dr. Dre actually came out from the audience and
he was like, you know, while George was doing
the panel, he was like, I just want to let y
'all know, this man right here is the reason
I am who I am. And there would be no Dr. Dre,
which means no G -Funk, no Snoop Dogg, no this,
that, and everything that came from that if it
wasn't for this guy right here. that meant that
meant so much just to we can see it in the music
Welcome to Overeducated and Underemployed. We
got a great show this week. Shonda Clinton from
Parliament Funkadelic. She's a vocalist and the
tour manager for Parliament Funkadelic. Dropped
by to talk about the P -Funk Festival. Let's
take it to the stage. There's a link for tickets
available in the description of this episode.
We also talked about... growing up as the granddaughter
of George Clinton and being the tour manager
and vocalist for Parliament Funkadelic and the
P -Funk All -Stars. So we had a really interesting
talk. I hope to have her back because I feel
like there's way more we can talk about in the
future. But we really wanted to talk about this
upcoming festival because it's the first year
of it and it's a super cool thing to have here
in Tallahassee. I'm sponsoring a show with Danny
Bedrosian of Parliament Funkadelic this Friday
at the Blue Tavern in Tallahassee. He's going
to be doing a solo set of Parliament Funkadelic
songs from 1975 and giving a history lesson talk
from his book, Make My Funk the P -Funk. So come
on out to that. It's P -Funk Week, P -Funk Fest,
April 11th at the Phipps Farm in Tallahassee,
Florida. It's going to be amazing. It's going
to be an all -day fest. George is going to be
there all day. I'm going to be broadcasting live
from the event, doing some interviews, maybe
recording some performances. And so I'll be doing
some live broadcasts and recording some future
episodes at that fest as well. So come say hey.
Lots of cool stuff going on. I've got some shows
coming up myself. March 20th at the Rec Room.
I'll be with Sean Lubin and some other comics.
Carol Hatcher, Caleb Thomas, Leron Josie Jr.
Doing a headlining set with Sean. We're double
billing that show. It's going to be a great one.
Come on out. That's March 20th. Then I'm going
to be up in Athens for a couple days of April.
One of those shows is in Winder. One of those
is at Flickr. Looking forward to those shows,
too. Check out this P -Funk Fest. It's going
to be amazing. It's all day. I think there's
like 14 bands. We get into it without any more
delay. Here's my interview with Shonda Clinton.
Welcome to Overeducated and Underemployed. Thank
you for having me. I'm here with Shonda Clinton.
That's me. The Sativa Diva. That is I. And you're
a member of... Parliament Funkadelic? Yes. A
vocalist and composer? Yes, I have a... Take
the credits, you can get it, right? Yeah, okay,
yeah. Yes, I am. And you're Georgia's granddaughter,
is that correct? Yes, I am. Okay. You are also
the organizer of the upcoming P -Funk Fest here
in Tallahassee. I am that. That is what I would
love to discuss with you today. Yes, the P -Funk
Festival is coming to Tallahassee, Florida, and
it's going to be all the things of the P -Funk
universe. I'm super excited about it. Me too.
I can't wait. It's going to be awesome. I'm going
to start by asking the same question I ask everybody
on this show. Okay. And then we'll go anywhere
from there that you want to go. Let's do it.
What is the first song that you remember loving
as a kid? The first P -Funk song I remember loving.
It's a lot. When I grew up with them all. Maybe
Knee Deep. Okay. Do you remember any memories?
My mother played it to death. My mother played
it to death. It was a household favorite. When
was the first time you started going to the shows?
Oh, I've been going to the shows all my life.
Since you were a baby? Yeah, my mom has pictures
of me when I was like eight months. With her
holding me in the audience. That's awesome. What
was that like? Because I feel like... That's
an experience that not a lot of people have,
right? George is a ham. And he's the same on
and off stage. Awesome, awesome growing up. Yeah.
He's always a fun person. He seems like he would
be a great grandfather. He is. He really is.
And fun. Yeah. And he loves music, all kinds
of music. So I've never had the grandfather that,
that's not good for you to listen to. That's
the kind of music that he likes. That's the kind
of music he makes. Yeah, exactly. That most parents
don't want their kids to listen to. Right, right.
That's when George says, that's what I want to
do. Yeah, yeah. Yes. So when did you decide that
you wanted to be part of it all and not just
like in the audience? Okay. I've been working
with the band for over 30 years. I came out when
I was a teenager. I first started in... 1994,
when I was 15 years old, on the Lollapalooza
tour, I was doing merch for... I was probably
doing merch for about four years or so. I saw
merch as a teenager, too. That was my first job.
See? Exactly. Yes, and then Gary Scheider, rest
his soul, one of the artists that are usually
in the show, she wasn't there that day. So he's...
All the words. And I'm like, maybe, but I don't
want to. And we were in France at the Hot Brass
Club in Paris. And he was like, go ahead, get
on stage and do the show. And I'm like, but what
if I forget the words? And Gary said, in Gary
fashion, they don't know. I said, hey, you know
what? They don't. And that began my rap career.
Especially in France. Yes. Exactly. You definitely
don't know there. Yes. And I rapped for years
and years. Then after a while, I went back and
got a degree and came back and did tour management.
And now I am a festival organizer. So I feel
like George always integrated all types of music
into his music and made it something different.
But I do feel like the 90s, around the time that
you're talking about, is around the time that
he got more and more into hip hop, right? Yes,
yes. Can you talk about that a little bit and
how that came about? Yes. The West Coast is definitely
what brought a lot of George's music to the forefront
in the 90s with all the Snoops and Dr. Dre's
and every Los Angeles cookout, the G -Funk era.
And that's when all of the rappers began to come
to him because it wasn't just the samples. Because,
of course, the samples are cool, but George is
cool. So it was cool to have his samples, but
it was even cooler to have George on the album.
He's like the epitome of cool. Exactly. Yeah,
yeah. So that's when I seen my favorite rappers
calling George their favorite artist. That's
when it was like, wow, mind -blowing. Snoop,
I love Snoop, I love Snoop. And Snoop was like,
no, I love George. And I'm like, George? Oh,
I guess, you know. So did you think he was cool
growing up, or was he just grandpa? He was cool.
He was always cool because he's a cool guy. But
he was just Grandpa. And he always acted like
Grandpa. It was never security. He just wasn't
that type of guy. But when your favorite artists
start telling you that. Then I'm like, oh, he
really is the guy. That makes sense, yeah. Yeah,
all of the Scarface. Legitimize him for you.
My favorite artists from the 90s, Scarface and
Snoop and all of them. I love them and they love
him. So that's awesome. Yeah. Yeah. And then
I can see how like that gave you an outs like
that outsider perspective because you grew up
with it just always being there and maybe maybe
even taking it for granted. Oh, definitely. Definitely.
And then and then all of a sudden you're like,
oh, wait a second. I'm with the man. That's that's
crazy. That's crazy. So you started tour managing
at one point. Yes. I bet that was I bet that
was one of the hardest jobs. It is. I'm still
the tour manager right now. I am the tour manager.
So you've got to manage Danny too? That's got
to be like herding cats. Danny is one of the...
So we've both known Danny a long time. Me and
Danny were actually in a group together. Besides
P -Funk. We were in Children of Production. So
yes, Danny is family. So I carried that record
at Vinyl Fever back in the day. That was one
of the records that Danny had... That's how I
met Danny. Okay, nice. Because I ran the local
section and Danny was bringing the self -titled,
the sweet mother child, the people connection,
all that stuff. Anyway. Yes. So that, yeah, that
connects it all for me too. Yes. And becoming
a tour manager, I was already there. Just learning
the ins and outs. When I first came in and I
was doing the merch, my aunt. And Uncle Barbarella
and Sean were actually working with the tour
managers at the time. So I got a lot of insight
from them. So it wasn't much of a turnover. And
they all loved me. But I wasn't little Shonda
anymore now. Tour manager Shonda. You're the
one that has to make sure that they're where
they're supposed to be when they got to be there.
Exactly. And that's hard to do. How did you handle
that dynamic shift? It wasn't hard. It wasn't
hard. Everybody in the band is my family, and
they all have the utmost respect. And they all
see that I was always a boss. So it wasn't far
-fetched for them to see. And I'm cool. I try
to be. I want the best for them so everybody
understands and appreciates that. It doesn't
seem like I'm being bossy if the end result is
helping us all. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Sometimes people
need to get kicked in the ass. For sure. So how
has that job changed over the years? I can think
of a bunch of things categorically that have
changed, whether it's the technology and the
way that you book things to the costs that are
involved and the insurance and everything. What
are some of the biggest challenges you've faced
over the years that have changed? involved in
the whole industry over the last 30 years, everything
has changed. The way people listen to music,
the way they buy music, the way they record music.
The way artists make music. Exactly. And the
way artists make money. And the way everybody
makes money. And the cost of things. It's all
relative. But the one thing that's the constant
and will always be the constant is live music.
It's going to be there. We can have all of the...
The AI and everything, but getting on that stage
is different. And that's something that P -Funk
has mastered. I've seen at least a dozen P -Funk
shows every year. Probably 20 or more. And this
isn't with a lot of artists. Majority of artists
tour when they have an album or a hit album or
something they're trying to produce. I've been
in a band over 30 years, and we've been on tour.
every year for the last 30 years yeah and that's
only 30 years for me they've been on for a since
atomic i think 50 years before that yeah i think
the only time he took a break it might have been
a couple of years in the early 80s or something
he doesn't stop and then he it seems like that
was when he was starting to get more into doing
film cameos exactly that's when PCU and House
Party. That may have been my first exposure to
George. And you know what's so cool? And that's
what's so cool about George is how he completely
reinvents himself over and over. Harriet the
Spy. Yeah. And I meet so many people. It was
Good Burger. Good Burger. Good Burger, yeah.
And I was going to say, like, throughout the
eras, he completely renovates his... reinvents
himself, is what I'm saying. Yeah, so, you know,
like, from PCU in, what was that, the early 90s?
94, I think it was. Yeah, 94. And I think House
Party was a little later than that. Yeah. And
I think PCU is one of those movies that's actually,
it's like more relevant now than it was. It's
a cult classic. It really is. I love that movie.
And so those were the early 90s, but then you
had the 2000s when he did Good Burger. So he's
completely... And I was a kid when that came
out. Yes, and you have all of these generations.
that are being reintroduced to him over and over
again. And then just look at, as right now, he
just did Trolls. So he's King George. So these
are all new generations. That's why this festival
is going to be so awesome, because this band
is so multi -generational. And he's turning 85
this year. He's turning 85 this year. And what
I love about this fest is it's celebrating his
music, but also all of the music that spawned
from him. The diaspora of... Parliament Funkadelic.
Down to the God Be High marching band, which
my mom taught at God Be for 37 years. I love
that. So she's super excited for that, too. I
love that. Yeah, and to incorporate the community
into it, I think it's going to make a big impact.
It's going to be awesome. Yeah. We've played,
I don't even know how many shows I've done or
even how many festivals I've done, but none like
this. None. Like, where's all P -Funk? All P
-Funk all day. Can you tell me about what was
the original inspiration to do it? Is it something
you've been wanting to do for a long time? Yes,
it is something I've been wanting to do for a
very, very long time. I've been talking about
it for years and beating the band members in
the head. I'm going to put the festival together.
Watch. And actually, I think the reasoning behind
it is I always thought it was so cool. the way
George did the shows in the 70s, and it was Bill
Parliament, Funkadelic, Boosie's Rubber Band,
Parlette, Brides of Dr. Funkastine, and they
were all the same people. Yeah, yeah. And that's
where we are now, to a certain extent. Yeah,
Danny's going to be playing in, like, eight bands
that day. Exactly, and the same with Lodge, and
the same with Benzo. And we have so many fans
that... Each of the bands have their own niche.
You've got a lot of the bands that love Secret
Army, a lot of the bands that love 425 Mob and
Lodge Delic. I know a bunch of people that are
excited to see the Solar System play for the
first time in like 15 years. Like, that's going
to be crazy. So they've never seen them all together.
So that's what it is. It's like the mothership
and all the other ships. I think that's what
makes it different. And with this... Our fans
are like family. They've been fans for longer
than I've been alive. We have fans. And so this
is more like a family reunion. I look online
and I see the different advertisements for the
festival. And I see some fans like a lady that's
in L .A. and somebody that's in New Jersey. They've
been Facebook friends for 15 years. But they're
like, I can't wait until we get to Tallahassee
and have a drink and hug each other at the festival.
I've never heard that sentence before. I can't.
I'm sorry. Funk will do that. Well, P -Funk will
bring the people to Tallahassee. I'm excited
for that. We never get any. We get one or two
cool things a year. Word of South is always cool.
Word of South is awesome. And it's gotten like.
substantially better over the years too and it
just keeps getting better and in most of the
time stuff like that gets like when it's not
cool or like the things that happen to make things
it's usually because of like neighbors complaining
about noise how have you navigated all of that
sort of thing and putting this festival together
at phipps farm which the address is 4300 North
Meridian, where the festival will be. It's actually
private property. Right. So there's that aspect.
But we've definitely tried to navigate and make
sure, even with it being private property, to
make sure everything is going to be great for
the event. Working with a civil planner and just
making sure we have everything covered in all
the areas. Yeah. And making sure people are able
to enjoy themselves And where it's located is
not many neighbors. Yeah, yeah, yeah. So that's
a great thing. So it's not going to be. And they
all get passes. Exactly. We've already established
that. That's what good neighbors do. When you
throw a party, you just invite the neighbors
to the party. Yes. Yes, they get a pass. We're
inviting all the neighbors, and that's the cool
thing, and it's a beautiful, beautiful piece
of land. Yeah, it's gorgeous. It's going to be
awesome. I love going hiking out there. Yeah,
and I can't wait to see all the fun. In that
area, the property itself. Yes. The vest is on.
I don't think I've been to, but there's a park
up there. Yes, that's also their property up
in there. Yeah. So it's going to be awesome.
I can't wait to see all the funk fans with the
P -Funk signs in the air all excited and happy.
It's going to be awesome. What are some of the
things that you have been doing over the last
few years that led to this, do you think? Touring.
Always touring. And managing those tours. And
I also, I'm a realtor and I also do mortgages.
I'm a lender. So just more so than anything,
I think just trying to uphold this legacy of
George's and the whole P -Funk overall. That
is what led me to it because... Luckily, right
now where we are, George is really getting his
flowers from across the board through the industry.
The Walk of Fame and the Grammy, the Lifetime
Achievement Award. Actually, right now, Maggie
Brain has been inducted into the Grammy Museum,
the album Maggie Brain. That's my favorite. Me
too. That's my favorite. I think that's actually
my favorite P -Funk song, Maggie Brain. Yes.
Yeah. All of the accolades. that he's getting
right now, I think is awesome. And it also brought
me to where I am now, thinking that everybody
should be a part of it. The whole P -Funk universe,
the whole diaspora, everyone that has helped
him to be where he is now. And to make everyone
feel that it's just as much theirs as it is his,
because that's how he is. Another Gary Scheider
quote, we are no better than our surroundings.
And George is like that. If you look at the pictures
from back in the day, you'd be like, which one
is George? He purposely did that. He's not the
standout type guy. Yeah, yeah. Fortunately enough,
the media and stuff, they zoom in on him because
he's got that charisma. It's infectious. It's
infectious. It really is. It really is. One thing
that you mentioned earlier that kind of struck
me to something I think that's helped George,
like, preserve his legacy. Somebody, and I could
be totally wrong about this, but I've heard that
Kendrick Lamar reached out to George and was,
like, part of him restoring, like, all right,
I got to really protect my legacy and make sure
that. That might have been, that might have been.
That might have been a part of it because he
loves him and Kendrick. He loves Kendrick and
he loves his music. They've done a few songs.
Kendrick actually came down here to Tallahassee
when he worked on that first song on Kendrick's
album. That definitely might have an effect on
him. I just saw this parallel between back in
the day, your favorite rappers really looking
up to him. That kind of being part of it. I don't
want to say a comeback, but I feel like him really...
Coming back out. Yeah. Protecting his legacy.
Restoring. Yes. And, like, putting this, like,
all the things you're talking about. Yes. The
Walk of Fame. Yes. Being in another movie. Yes.
And all the things that us as the family, family,
his family, and the P -Funk family, just all
of the things that we are trying to do to celebrate
the P -Funk universe. Yeah, exactly. You know,
the festival and... Those Word of South shows
were beautiful, too. Those are awesome. Those
are really, really cool. That one last year was
really spectacular. I really, really enjoyed
it. Yeah. And the one before that was really
good, too, but it got cut short. Yes. So I was
really happy that they were like, all right,
take the main stage. Yes. And there's going to
be some involvement with Word of South this year,
too. I know there's going to be like a Secret
Army show. Oh, definitely Secret Army. I'm not
sure if there's a P -Funk. Is there a P -Funk
show as part of Word of South this year? I'm
not sure. Okay. Then you'll have to come to P
-Funk Fest to see it. That's what you will have
to see. We will let you know at the P -Funk Fest.
There you go. For sure. There you go. Tell me
more about what all is going to be going on in
the P -Funk Fest. I know there's 14 bands, 15
bands. To say the least, yes, we have. It's going
to be 12 hours of fun. And funk. And the perfect
time of year, like the weather. The weather should
be awesome. We're going to have vendors and food
and crafts, and it's all ages. We're looking
into a silent disco with the God Be Marching
Band. We're going to do a ribbon cutting because
this is the first inaugural, and it will happen
every year. Nice. The marching band, high school
marching band, art installations, as well as
different activations from our different sponsors
that are going to be there. We're looking to
have a component of all the archive things that
he's done, like all the different works and stuff.
But yeah, he's an artist, definitely to put a
spotlight on his art. But all of the different
bands, 420 Funk Mob, Tallahassee's own Kendra
Foster. Oh yeah, I love Kendra. Yes, that's my
sister. 420 Funk Mob, Logidelic, Simma Funk is
going to sit in. Norwood Fisher is going to sit
in, as well as a lot of other special guests.
So we're not going to announce everything. You
got to come to see. It's going to be fantastic.
It's going to be awesome. It's going to be awesome,
awesome, awesome, awesome. And as well as 3GP,
which are all of the younger, third generation
of Parliament. We have Peso Paid. He's from here
in Tallahassee. 13 is from Tallahassee. Solar
System we mentioned earlier. Solar System is
here from Tallahassee. Pharaohs of Funk. Oh,
yeah. Pharaohs of Funk is great. They will be
there. Yeah, it's going to be great. Starchild
Jr., God's Weapon, and so many more. We're going
to have a lot of pop -ups and special guests
and things like that. I'm excited. It's going
to be awesome. What are some of the biggest challenges
or maybe something unexpected that came up? That's
coming up with this? Oh, it's a lot. I'm sure
there's a laundry list of things. You know, just
scaling it so it makes sense for us for the first
one. Yeah. Because more so than anything, I want
it to be a celebration. I want it to be intimate.
I want the fans to feel like they're a part of
something special. You go from this big thing,
okay, let's have... Three days and five stages.
Do we really want to even try to do that right
now? Let's let it organically grow. Especially
when there's so many of the same musicians, it
makes it easier to have things backlined on stage.
Exactly. So I think that's great for this first
one, for the foundation of it. I think it will
take legs. And then you don't have to pick who
you go watch. Hello? A fan of festivals, my biggest
frustration. Is choosing which one you want to
watch at one time. And that was the one thing,
like even as we do grow and we have two and three
stages and things, I don't want you to miss one
band to see the other. So anytime we have our
shows, it will definitely be staggered time so
you can get a chance to see all, because everybody
deserves a chance to be seen. Especially when
we're doing it, this is the family, the P -Funk
family. We don't want you to have to choose which
one that you're going to watch. Right. Well,
and plus some of them would have to, the scheduling
would be a nightmare. Exactly. You would need
like the craziest Venn diagram or Excel spreadsheet.
Exactly. To make it make sense. You guys have
played a ton of festivals over the years too.
Tons, really big ones. What are some of the things
that you think you learned by playing festivals
that you've put into organizing festivals? One
thing I learned is not to be the Fyre Festival.
Yeah, like remote locations are always... Yeah,
yeah. That's... Wishy -washy. I've learned that
it's a lot of moving parts to make it make sense
because you can get overwhelmed with the ideas
of things. Making it make sense where it doesn't
fall through or now what are we going to do with
this? And now... And then with us doing it ourselves,
this is not Live Nation or any big promoters
or anything. This is the family that's putting
it together. A lot of people, that's a selling
point, right, in not being Live Nation or something
like that. But that's also not having Live Nation
money also. Yeah, that's true. That's the engine
behind that. It's just coming from another level
of promotions, you know. I think that that becomes
a little difficult. I think there's a reason
that punk and funk rhyme. They run on the same
budget. Yeah, I can agree with that. I definitely
can agree with that, for sure. And I mean that
in an innovative, DIY, creative way. Yes. And
it's one of the things I love about both. And
you see it in the art. Yeah, you do. You see
it in the art. The expression. Kind of like.
almost like folk art kind of aspect of Parliament
Funkadelic. I think that, like when you look
at the mothership, it looks like, you know, like
aliens actually built, but they actually, they
had to use some scrap metal maybe here and there
too. Exactly, exactly. But P -Funk is just different.
P -Funk isn't just funk. No. It encompasses so
many different things. It is... and it's R &B
and it's rock and it's jazz and it's blues and
it's all of the things that, you know, no other
genre. Who says a rock band can't play music?
How about it? How about it? And George is just,
and I just have such a respect for just his ear
of everything. Like, he loves everything. Like,
all kinds of music. And that's what music does.
Music moves and removes. Yeah, yeah. And I think
about over the years just as a fan of all of
them, like the whole collective, the live shows
are always like what it's been about. Even when
you're like portraying it in a movie like PCU
or something like that, it's always the live
show. It's always the party. Yeah, the party.
The party that goes all night. Ain't no party
like a P -Funk party because a P -Funk party
don't stop. Your feet will fall off before they
stop playing. Yes. Yes, I remember doing a show
at Tipitina's in New Orleans in the mid to late
90s. And this was actually, I think it was after,
it might have been after Smoking Grooves, which
was 1997. So we did, when we do festivals at
P -Funk. This is how P -Funk does festivals.
We do a festival in the daytime and we get an
hour or 45 minutes or whatever. And then we do
a full -blown show every night. So we did a show
in New Orleans, wherever we played at the arena
or outside. But then we played at Tipitina. After,
we literally, the show was six and a half hours.
When we came out, the sun was up. The sun was
up. all over all over from all over and decades
and decades of it like the store the stories
the stories behind p -funk are just like priceless
just to hear people and anybody you meet in anybody
i mean i'm like yeah i work with oh my god i
met and it was crazy the stories are awesome
awesome awesome awesome yeah yeah i um i went
to a show with the moon one time I feel like
Scott was probably pissed. He was like, come
on, y 'all. Are y 'all going to stop? He couldn't
serve alcohol anymore. It was after two. So he's
like, I'm not making money anymore, goddammit.
And I'm still having to pay my security guy.
Yes. Yes, I'm sure, because that's what a peafunk
does. If we don't have a curfew, you're going
to have to pull a plug. And he's still that at
85. If those Cascade shows, like, they literally,
like, basically had to pull the plug. Yeah, they
had that clock on the stage. And if you don't
tell him, he's going to be fined if you don't
get off on time. That is speaking George's language.
Now, when you tell him he's going to be fined,
then he's going to get everybody off stage. I'm
a comedian, so I'm used to seeing that clock.
Yes. But a lot of it depends on the audience,
whether that's a good or a bad thing. Because
if it's going well. You don't want that clock
to end, but if it's, if they don't like you.
The clock is not ticking yet. Yes. I got to ask,
what are some of your favorite, do you have any
like favorite shows or fests or anything like
that that you remember playing over the years?
Man, I have a lot of favorite ones. Anything
that sticks out? Definitely that show in Tipitina.
That was one for the history. It sounds like
it. I don't think I've ever done a show that,
literally to the point where. The band is, now
the band is 30. At that time, the band was probably
45 band members. And I don't know if Tipitina's
is a house. Yeah, no, I've been there. Yeah,
yeah. So we literally had to, the band members
had to take turns, clear the stage. And we had
four and five guitar players, four bass players,
three drummers. So it was just like switch all
night long. So that's definitely, definitely
one for the books. I love a place that we play
in Amsterdam. What is it called? I can't remember.
But that's why it's Amsterdam. Right? That's
one of my favorite places. I love Australia.
I love playing there. Sativa's real diva. Oh,
yeah. They love her over there. They love her.
They love Paradiso. That's what it's called.
The Paradiso in Amsterdam. Yeah, I've heard of
that. Yes. That's an awesome venue. I love when
we go to Australia. The notable festivals, we've
played Glastonbury. We've played all of the big,
big giants. We played Sonic in Japan, Central
Park in New York. We've done a lot of big ones.
The Juggalos. Yeah, that's right. And that's
just P -Funk. We can play a jazz fest today.
Tomorrow we're at a rock fest. The next week
we're at a hip -hop fest. And George knows the
audience, and he looks out there, and he's like,
okay, I know exactly what I'm playing. We have
some of the promoters. I need the set list. But
then a P -Funk show, when it's not a fest, is
one of the most diverse shows you'll ever go
to. Anyway. Yeah. Anyway. It's just... It encompasses
all of those things. Yes. Anyway. Exactly. He
got rock songs. He got rap songs. He got blues
songs. He got... He's the guy. And that's why
P -Funk is going to be celebrated. And that's
really why you're putting this festival on. That's
exactly why I'm putting it on. That's exactly
why I'm putting it on. That's the whole mission
behind it is protecting the legacy that is Parliament
Funkadelic, that is P -Funk, that is everything
that Dr. Funkenstein, the maestro, all of these
things that this band has touched and made better.
There's so many things. And what is really cool,
anybody that's a musician, they know Parliament
Funkadelic. They know because they are. I don't
like to toot my own horn or that horn, but it
definitely needs to be. I mean, that's what you're
here to do today. I think they deserve all the
things. They deserve all the flowers. And like
I said, George, he couldn't do it by himself.
So that's why they are named one of the 100 best
bands of all time. And George doesn't play an
instrument. His voice is the instrument, of course,
let's not. And he's like the... The maestro.
Yeah. The master of ceremonies. Yeah, but Mike
Hamptons and... Lodge and the Clip Paint. I mean,
I think about someone like Frank Zappa, who did
play instruments, but he did not, like, often
he would just, he would conduct them, if nothing
else. Yes, conductor. Yeah. And it's dope, like,
we just did a show, George just did a show in
Detroit with symphonic orchestra. Yeah, Danny
was telling me about that. Like, insane, the
things, like. I hope it was a recording made.
Yeah, it was. I think it's probably going to
be released somewhere. But it was the P -Funk
Symphonic Orchestra. It was really cool. There
is a video of the National Symphony Orchestra
playing Nas' Illmatic with him. Ah, yes. That
is one of my all -time favorite concert films.
Like, just period. It's so good. Yeah. But it's
also like... really funny to see some of these
seven -year -old violinists standing right behind
Nas just fucking spitting. And it's cool as hell.
And Rakim was doing something. Now, Rakim is
George's favorite rapper. Oh, okay. Yeah, yeah.
Like, Paid in Full is one of my all -time favorite
albums. George knows all the rock. He loves Rakim.
And we actually did an event, a Paid in Full.
It was called Paid in Full. It was in Las Vegas.
They honored George and Nas and Rakim and a lot
of other rappers and things like that. And it
was really awesome. Dr. Dre came out and he said,
he actually came out from the audience and he
was like, you know, while George was doing the
panel, he was like, I just want to let y 'all
know, this man right here is the reason I am
who I am. And there would be no Dr. Dre, which
means no G -Funk, no Snoop Dogg, no this, that,
and everything that came from that. if it wasn't
for this guy right here. And that meant so much
just to... We can see it in the music, but for
him to... Wait, I'm not going to let this moment
go by without saying what he has meant to me
and what his music is. So I thought that was
really, really awesome. One thing that always
struck me about his music is it's always about
being in the moment. Oh, yeah, for sure. And
being present. Yes. How... One thing that...
Danny talked about when I had him here were some
of these like musical concepts that George had
like the repeatability and it being like so precise
and I think about the presence necessary for
something like that how how when you're playing
with so many people and in such kind of a chaotic
It's psychedelic, chaotic. A beautiful chaos.
Yeah. How do you stay present and focused on
what your part is and what you need to be doing
at any given time on stage? I mean, that's just
it. Having the mindset, because everybody thinks
when you go on the road, it's a party. You're
on tour, you're in these cities, and just understanding
that I'm there for a job. more so than anything.
And I speak to people a lot and they're like,
oh, oh, you're going to Los Angeles or New York
City. Have you ever been here and here? Like,
no, I've been to the venue. I've been to this
hotel and that's it. And the freeway. Exactly.
So not getting a chance to, understanding that
that's a part of the job. Yeah. The fun part
is for the audience and the artists. and the
artists to a certain extent, but it's work for
them too. Yeah. You know, that time on stage
is the only time they really get to have fun.
Everything else is work. I feel like that as
a comedian, just emotionally sometimes too. It's
just like that's the only place sometimes that
I'm like happy. Happy. Yeah. So when something
like that, and I've asked a lot of people this
question, when you're on the road, when it is
a job and it is, I don't want to say it becomes
monotonous, but it does. Oh, yeah, it does. It's
just the same as any other job. Yeah. What do
you do to stay sane and keep your wits? And what
are some of the things that you do on the road
to feel human? Well, working on this festival.
Yeah. That takes a lot of work. Are you a workaholic,
do you think? And like I said, I'm also a realtor.
Yeah. I'm also a lender. I do a lot of other
things, but just trying to, my energy has been
on trying to put this festival together for a
long time. Or just maybe not even the festival
specifically, but just something that's really
cool and great that celebrates the band. Having
those ideas about, I've been dreaming that up
for a long time. But other than that, besides
the music, to get into my own music, get out
of... Funkadelic world sometimes. Do you ever
try, not to repeat the question that you get
all the time from your friends and family, do
you ever try and find a museum or a park? Yes,
I do. Yes, I do, and I have been trying to do
that a lot more within these last few years.
I've actually went to a lot of museums and a
lot of... When I do have the time, I really am
understanding as I'm getting older. I'm not...
18 like I was before. And I've been to all of
these places 50 times and never been anywhere.
So it's, you know what? I'm not going to go take
a nap right now. Let's just walk, let's walk
around for a while before the show starts. So
let's just, so I am actually trying to take in
a lot more and experience a lot more when I am
in town. Like when it's feasible, because sometimes
it's not. Sometimes we straight to the show,
straight. From the show, we out of town. But
if we do get there a little earlier, have a day
off, I do. I do try to experience things now.
What are some of your favorite places to visit
when you're on? When are you like, where are
you like, yeah, I'm definitely booking a show
in this city or this? You know what? When we
just went overseas this last time, we went to
Southeast Asia and we went to Singapore, Malaysia,
Hawaii, Japan. So we actually, as a band, we
went four -wheeler. We went dirt bike. We did
some cool things on it. And we never usually
do it. So I actually like, hey, y 'all. I went
and made the plans. Team building exercises.
And it was really, really dope. We went on the
boat in Hawaii as a band. And we don't usually
do things like that because we usually don't
have time. We were actually in Malaysia for a
few days. So yeah, I went and looked it up. Oh,
my God, it's awesome. It's awesome. And yeah,
we went and rode the ATVs, George, all of us.
That's awesome. It was great. 85 years old. 85,
leading the pack. It was beautiful. But yeah,
doing things like that, and like I said, trying
to make time for it when we can. What is he looking
forward to about this festival? Everything. I
spoke to him last night, and I was just like,
so you know, Granddad, when you get there, Because
your headline, you'll be like, oh, no, I'll be
there all day. I'm going to be there. I'm going
to be on everybody's set. That's what he said.
So look forward to that. Oh, hell yeah. So don't
miss some, because George already said, I'm going
to be there all day. He's going to be dancing
around with God B. Like, he's that kind of guy.
Hell yeah. Like, seriously. Yeah, he's very excited,
though. He's really, really excited. And that
makes me excited. All of the band members are
happy, and they are like. It's something that
we call our own. And I like the Juggalos. We
played a lot. But I think this is, you know,
they... Yeah, they're like the most perplexing
group. But they seem like they're nothing but
fun to be around. Exactly. And that's another...
When they go into their festival and play at
their festival, we need to do some shit like
this. Like, P -Funk is this. Like, why don't
we have... I'll bring the Faygo. That is what
they... Yeah. Okay. I just want to make sure.
But yes, that made me think, damn, we could do
this. We should do this. And they big as hell
now. I remember we did a year, we did it a few
times, maybe not within the last 10 years, but
we did it a long, like when it first, first started.
And to see them grow and it's awesome. But P
-Funk has those same kind of fans. Like that
same type of cult following. You encouraging
people to. Dress up and crazy and everything
for the fest. Oh, yes, please get your Delic
on. We love to see all the best dress. Bring
it on. All of it. All the things. Yes. I am up.
I'm going to get some, like, purple shiny pants.
Please do. Yes. And I'm going to drag you. Come
on out. And, like, sunglasses that have the curtains.
Yes. Pull the curtains back. Right there. Some
fish in the platforms. There we go. Yeah, I love
that. Yeah, yeah. I love that. Goldfish swimming
around in my shoes. Yes. I love it. Yes. Although,
by the end of the night. That fish is going to
be cooked. Yes, literally. It's going to be boiling.
Literally, that fish is going to be cooked. I
love it. I love it. I love it. Shonda, is there
anything else you want to tell us about the fest
or anything else you think I may have missed?
No, but I just want to tell everyone, please
make sure you come out to the P -Funk Festival.
Let's take it to the stage. April 11th at Phipps
Farm, 11 a .m. to 11 p .m. It's going to be food,
fun. Most of all, funk. All ages. All sizes.
All races. Everyone come out. It's going to be
a family reunion. It's not a regular concert.
This is all P -Funk. All day. All the way. Bring
your silly string. Please do. Bring your flashlights.
Bring your chairs and blankets. Gotta have your
flashlight. Please do. Just come and get funky
with the family. Shonda, it's been awesome talking
to you. Thank you so much. I really appreciate
it. I've got a link to the tickets in the description
of this episode, so make sure you grab your tickets
right now. Grab your tickets. And also, make
sure that you say hi to Shonda when you're at
the fest. Please, I will be there. Look for me.
I want to come and say hi to you. I'll be there,
too. We are going to be at the festival, and
we are looking for everybody to be there. We
are looking for all of the happy faces, all of
the smiling people. It's going to be great. Come
dance with us. Come dance with us. I'm ready.
Thank you so much. Thank you so much. I really
enjoyed hanging out with Shonda Clinton, the
Sativa Diva. Man, that was a delight. I hope
to have her back on the show. I'm sure that we'll
talk during the festival. We'll do some interviews
and stuff like that. So look forward to that.
Hit that subscribe button. Hit that bell so you
get notified when I go live from the festival.
Come out to the Blue Tavern Friday and see Danny
play and give a history lesson. We've got a bunch
of cool stuff coming up. Thanks for listening,
y 'all.