Subjective Experiences: December 29, 2004

jul 9, 2004 – alien chatter, wicked wisdom, the jane does, (dj rashida) for some reason this is the first time im moved to include the dj in the listing. i hope i aint doin it cause she is cute and cause she played aqua boogie as the last song one night. that stuff definitely helped im doing it cause this night the dj between sets played a significant role. and i realize how important the “club dj” or even the house music can be.the 3 live sets were not dance music. wicked wisdom, which is jada pinkett smiths band (yeah, mr smith was there) was rock. alien chatter was alien chatter so not much of the night was danceable. but the biggest chunk of the crowd was black female. and the most and best finest black females ive ever seen in mi fave place. i was in awe and there were white girls too now. but all these cool probably upscale gorgeous black woman got that groove in them and they wanted to dance. and the dj between sets was the only dance and groove music. and there was a bunch of them too out there in a moderate groove but you could tell with the right music they was ready to take it higher. but dj rashida this night kept the music obscure. hardly no recognizable music. and when she did play tupac, the rooms energy went right up. the groove was heightened and tightened up. there were different types of black female too. from the too pretty kind to the geeky. black in skin color but culturally diverse. (white black girls to the ethnic). my two favorites danced with “moderate” energy (compared to what they obviously could do) relatively close to each other so i was able to just about vibe them both at the same time. the skinny brown cute one was the most expressive energy in the dance area. she was brown and cute and dancin like she was at home in her bedroom. and she was like 2 feet from me at first. my other favorite was of the more thick in the jeans variety and she was gettin it too. she had more groove. you could tell she wanted to groove. a couple times she got into it and i could feel her energy as i could tell how much effort it took her to hit the groove that hard. oh it was good.

the white girls was gettin it too now. but the rhythm of the sistas in the place made them seem remedial. but i vibed more than one of them but black american female groove had my attention this night.

saw jada picketts band last night- it was ok. it was groovy rock. very little soul.
rock. mrs pickett-smith aint my type, but when she broke a sweat and her hair loosened up she was distractingly pretty. it overshadowed the music. she was so attractive one pose she did sent a charge through me that made me scream. music was rock with very very little soul. some groove, but no soul and rock!

so my original point is that what dj rashida played had MAJOR impact on the evening. had she brought the energy up with the right music, shit could have gotten downright nasty in there with all them fine females. cause they were dominant in numbers and energy. they were confident and relaxed and the vibe felt like they wanted to party. but as i said, and not faulting her one bit, she played good grooves, but obscure music. and not much of the hard funkier shit.

july 14, 2004 phil-d-fish got a call at 9pm that a show was happening so i got in the shower and was like maybe the first one there. locked my keys in the car but the santa monica night was unusually warm so i didnt mind standing around outside. aaa no problems and i love the zanzibar – templebar feel. the sound is good and the place is cozy. i remembered i turned this place out when it was west end and a 70 retro band had things hot. i love the music and i love the djs. djs roxanne and lomax were good but when lomax started it was a very obvious change in groove. she was playin very cool obscure mid tempo beats and he came in with obscure 70 funk. i say obscure cause the shit was good and a lot of it not me or any of the boys had heard before. jelly bean was gettin it. and elizabeth and homey on rhythm guitar who i met after the show was gettin it too now. and ofcourse lonnie and birthday boy fish are so good im gonna stop even mentioning them. fish was so solid on drums with lonnie on bass just hearing them two was enough this night. just so solid. but jellybean stole the show for me. she had energy and groove just playin around to the house music. when she hit the stage she was in tight hard high rhythm. she was vibrating high frequency and hip shakin to it. it felt so good to see and feel her with the groove. i was feelin her good and gettin it. dont know if i can say vibe cause im not sure how much she could see or feel me. but we was gettin it good.

nobody would start happy birthday so i kept half heartedly trying until it got going good kinda. not a lot of people there but enough and enough girls to make it really nice and one of them thanked me for starting the b-day song. groovin with yummy youngish white girls on a wednesday night. not a bad life at all.

united we funk tour – slapback, zapp, dazz band first of all this was just a gooooood day. the day starts off with me seeing a very bright planet venus out my bedroom window upon awakening. my car is in the shop so i caught the bus to work. nice warm morning

july 30, 2004 roncat the funkletic zootzilla rickey vincent (dj) rented a car and drove up as the forward part of the transmission in my car is stuck in a gear. got a room at the ramada express on 7th street which was cool. studio z is a really cool place and the san francisco area its in is funky also. funk players all in the house. blackbyrd mcknight, greg thomas, lige curry, lonnie marshall, frankie waddy all sat in with ronkat. they opened with cosmic slop. this is my all time fave song performed live but ive heard it so much lately i was all but bored. now them boys was playin and playin it well, specially with greg thomas on vocal and horn but i was like here we go again. when this set opened ms gina hall seemed upset as she rushed the stage flippin ronkat off. i dont know nothing or nobody but it appeared she was not happy with him and he looked away and played her off as if she was right and he wrong. security got between her and the stage and i wish i had my camera. like i said i know nobody or nothing but i entertained the idea that she was upset that they opened the set with the same ole p-funk stuff. i know i was kinda put off by it. i was like here we go with this same ole set. i actually found myself kinda just going thru the motions during cosmic slop maybe for the first time ever.

i cant remember the rest of the setlist, but it was a lot of parliament- funkadelic music. not knee deep or flashlight or atomic dog but standard p-funk stuff with a couple of minor surprises.

i also noted that the music had a laidback kinda energy to it. solid and strong, but not energetic and enthusiastic. i wondered if it was frankie waddy’s “laidback” style on the drums. the music felt heavy, without a snap or bounce. maybe the music was being played the way they would for a large crowd or stadium where the acoustics of the place dont allow for high energy turns and changes in the music. in any case the best music of the night played by ronkat the funkletic was the last song which was one of ronkats and not p-funk. mr lige curry was on rhythm guitar, mr waddy had got up off the kit and this song had a snappy bounce to it.

i think zootzilla seems to have gotten better or worse depending on the angle of experience. it seems his band has gotten tighter and stronger with the music but zootzilla disnt seem to “push” them nowhere. it was cool and i enjoyed it but for some reason it seemed to be lacking something.

same as with ronkat. it seemed without the george clinton figure leading, the energy wasnt focused or pushed or concentrated or sumn.

anyways this night didnt go over the top as it did the last time i was here but i still had a very very good spiritual time. the club and people are funky and way cool and the vibe is always good. i still enjoyed myself immensely even though i may not have been taken to higher level.

dj rickey vincent was good with the p-funk and funk music. very very good choices as they were not the popular faves, but good funk. the music is so dear to me i couldnt leave as long as p-funk music was being played. most of the folx left and the lights came on but i could not leave as long as dj rickey vincent played that music. i think the last song was parliament’s “i been watching you.” i stood by the exit door until the last note of the last song. i could not leave while that p-funk music played.

kim manning, ron wright, lonnie marchall in the house. they were spose to be doing a set at another club with norwood and other folx. i wanted to hit that but didnt. after the show i got food hit the hotel and splept and rested till checkout time- noon. left the hotel and cruised around san francisco and fishermans wharf and over to oakland and jack london’s square to meet rick where his new band 650 connection was doing sumn. get there and find out its a swanky private party for the areas female newscasters. too foo foo so i scattered. but before i did me and the band chilled outside before the show with some pretty good sexual female newscaster comedy. seems i aint the only one with a female newscater fedish.

august 14, 2004 what the bleep do we know? this is a very very good movie. and not just cause i agree with 90% of the philosophy in it. maybe its because of the ideas it has is a more modern philosophy of things. i align so much with this movie i may go see it again and take notes. i took 2 trains to pasadena to see this flick and it was very cool. i love riding the train. http://whatthebleep.com/home/http://whatthebleep.com/scientists/

august 24, 2004 amp fiddler fun night hanging out. amp fiddler’s band and groove is polished. maybe more polished than im use to so it felt kinda weird in a way. LG- i think is a japanese electronics company had a setup and cool free stuff and LG “life is good” projections on the wall and people workin the crowd to get you to sign up for something. standard biz promotion though i dont know what they are promoting. i wondered months ago how mr fiddler was able to seemingly come out with european tours and dates in los angeles with minimal effort. (i dont know anything about anything about this as im not in the biz nor do i know mr fiddler). anyhows his act is clean, sharp and polished and thats i guess when the corporate sponsorship thing rang a bell.dont get me wrong amp fiddler is still good and very soulful. my personal preference is something more ragged and less rehearsed looking. maybe more form the gut. i dont know but everybody loved him and i definitely was entertained and he definitely has a look and style that is masculine but not threatening to other males nor soft and gayish. its fun but soulful and the vibe is a very soulful good.

the soul of john black on the other hand wasn’t hittin it for me. i told my buddies before the show started that this act was “rotten” (i was being overly dramatic) and i was right. they came back with maybe i couldnt get into it cause its a weird kinda country folk soul. i said no cause no matter what kind of music is played i can vibe it if its good. another comeback was that this may be a project he is trying out. i said ive seen this same act like 2 years ago and it hasnt improved. there is another act derek mckeith that i dont be feeling either. i think these are black guys playing mediocre soul music to a crowd of young white kids who dont know better. i aint mad at nobody i just aint feeling it. he had his boy on bass like last time and thats another thing. these guys have been playin together for along time and i think they should be much “better.” john black semi-clowned talley from the stage as my man was wondering around the dancefloor during mr blacks set. he went on to say sumn about funk and p-funk and how the funk is coming later and then he did a p-funk song “color me funky.” it too was mediocre, but i had to give it up for the p-funk.

august 25, 2004 raw sugar the production of this was grossly unorganized and sloppy. but thats not to say it didnt work. i say it to say maybe the mood or vibe that the dancing was spose to express was marred by the inconsistency in the production. like the changes of music and dancers and stuff. the un-coordinated moments jolted you out of the surreal mood the dance put you in. but the energy and spirit was there and i love everybody involved. i love sarah’s energy and her rhythmic dance ability is just plain awesome. kim manning is a freaky kinda artistic eroticism. vaporizer girl was there with her un-ending energy dancing on stage between acts with a hoola-hoop. lauren was there and i even seen her gettin it on stage, and i mean she was gettin into it deep and good when she went up on stage with others in the crowd. lots of good female energy. in fact at first it was too much!!since my car’s xmission is messed up i cant go over 55 so i had a long ride via the streets so when i hit the place it was straight to the bathroom. as soon as i came out, and i mean “i swear to god the very instant” i came out i hear “good evening, do not attempt to adjust your radio…” they was playing make my funk the p-funk. i was like wow. i lok around and it aint nothing but white girly girls in the joint and the dj was a white 20 sumn. no i aint hatin on nobody but IT STLL TRIPS ME OUT to hear these kids playin this music. i took this so personally i was all but embarassed (i know this is all in my head). i had on a homemade PFUNK1.COM shirt on under my jacket so nobody saw it. no matter how or why that went down like that coincidence or planned it means something. what i dont know and may not want to know. i just want to enjoy.

so im dancin around as it is early and relatively empty to “my” music and vibing and i get into it a bit and open my jacket on the deep groove part of the song. im feeling good. then the dj plays “i bet you” by funkadelic. and he played the longerst studio sounding version of this song i ever heard. it went on and on. im looking around at all the young white females in this place listenin to and kinda groovin to old deep dark funkadelic music and i got giddy.

i dont give a fuck about how music is “universal” and “colorless” and it shouldnt matter. ive said this before and ill say it again. to see young white kids groovin to old black music feels strange. to be in a room damn near of nothing but young white girls listening to deep dark funkadelic is different enough to be strange. and it was the old album versions so we got all the pops and clicks and scratches that old LPs have. that authentic turntable sound. by this time im just silly thinking about so much stuff and as the song went off i was almost scared of what they would play next. they played “i misjudged you” by parliament. another deeply obscure darkish kinda song. and to hear this music with the quality and intensity of a club sound system was spiritual. this whole experience was spiritual. with all the good funky things that have been going on with me this little experience was almost overwhelming.

raw sugar seems to support a theme of female. the place was thick with female. so much female that i felt like i was intruding. it didnt seem like a lesbian thing though there was prolly some of that in there. it was just like a girly thing. girls having fun. but things got very erotic and very sexy. the dancin was very very erotic and maybe borderline porn. very very sexual in an almost nasty kinda way. but a good nasty. deeply sexual with a little bit of sensuality.

and thats why that old dark funkadelic felt so weird in a room full of white girly girls.

august 26, 2004 amp fiddler, galatic amp fiddler sounded funkier and looser tonight for whatever reason, maybe cause it wasa bigger place and a bigger stage and the musicians could stretch out with the added room. ran into talley as planned as he got us on the list. crowd was kinda sparse early, but the place filled up later. as i said the music feels polished and smooth but not weak. good soulful grooves and maybe this night more than one moment that turned to jammin. galatic is a jamband i guess and they had good energy and rhythm and seemed to be moving to achieving a good groove. i did not stay to see where this was gonna go. the crowds energy or lack or rhythmic movements was to much for me to bear. the band was bringing energy and rhythm but the crowd was a standstillin heaven. i been gettin so much lately and have so much groove in front of me i wasnt pressed or “needed” this. so i left. funny thing is when i got in the car and put on some music my energy returned and i felt like dancing. i really do believe this large non-dancing standstillin crowd directly affected my groove. also, this was one of the whitest crowds ive seen in a looooong time. even for orange county this shit was white white. me, talley and amps band were the only black folx in the place. and when the place got packed it was ALL white folx. i looked back at maybe 800 people? (i have no idea) and NONE were moving on any kind of sustained rhythm. i mean zero groovers.

sept 19, 2004 – tv: steelers vs ravens
this was a very beautiful pittsburgh steeler black and gold experience. i get there early and am the 2nd one there- the first was the coordinator who was wearing a very cool black and gold brigade t-shirt he had custom made in japan. anyways, a few minutes later another brigade memeber pulls up with his family in a car with steeler bumper stickers, 2 flags, a fan plate in the window and ofcourse a steeler license plate frame. out of this car gets out like 7 kids all dressed in black and gold steeler gear. it was truly beautiful. i was deeply inspired by this as it was also a very beautiful sunny day. the coordinator put up a big steeler banner outside and the inside of this place is big, high and airy, not like a dark closed in low-ceiling bar. windows and sunlight and beautiful steeler stuff all over the place. and also the fans that came to watch the game looked very good. seems everybody had on their steeler gear and represented well. the prices were also very good as i ate crazy for $20 which included a $5 tip. i had a tri-tip and egg sandwich, hot wings (which was in a style that was very good) and chicken tenders and fries. yes, i had 3 things and a root beer. i was very impressed with this black and gold brigade venue. i took pictures.

sept 25, 2004 watts & weapon of choice
i caught the trains (red and blue line) to watts to check out mi fave weapon of choice. my eyes were open to a few things just on the ride down. first the blue line is not underground so i saw parts of the city i dont usually see. i was amazed by the garbage and debris in the parts of the city that i saw on my way to watts (not in watts, on the ride to). what appeared to be poverty: clutter, over crowding, “run down” housing or just old over used housing, disgarded furniture and the amount of debris in the streets. i dont see this stuff in the parts of the city i frequent. now dont get me wrong, i dont think that rich and clean means happy. i saw more jumpers for kids and people outside having parties and get togethers than i usually do. these areas may be “poor” and run down but there is a spirit and a realness that may not be in the neighborhoods im use to seeing. also the nature of the people on the train seemed different. there was this almost 30 year old female on the train with her 2 daughters. these girls were very spirited and playful and aggressive and loud. it wasnt bad, just more than im use to experiencing in public. and their mother just sat close to all this energy like it was nothing. they were playing and accidently touched the hair of the person in front of them and then this became part of the game. so they took turns patting the hair of the stranger in front of them. it was all in the spirit of play. anyways i was impressed by the intensity and creativity and spirit of it all. then after all this, their mother would ask them to read the names of the stations and they could. it was cool that she allowed them to be so free spirited and also that she had the mind to be teaching them also. i wondered what kind of people these kids would grow up to be. educated but not inhibited.

good to see 3 girls pam, jellybean and audra (i love her) all together singing with fish and lonnie and elizabeth and josh and mark as weapon of choice. marc seemed to have a bit of expressive energy this day cause it seemed he wanted to just bust out and play.

sound check was mr wiggles and a makeshift aqua boogie.

i think jellybean had her son there and she may not have been the only one cause this was outside in a shopping center that was setup to be a festival that looked like it turned out not to be too festive. there may have been more than a few kids there from the nutmeg family. anyways, (how do i segway from kids to this?) jellybean’s physical rhythm and groove energy started less expressive than ive seen in the past but towards the end she did a couple of moves and shakes that hit the beat sumn special. they were very interesting in that they were creative, took more than average physical ability, and hit the beat on the groove just right. i’ll say it again when it comes to dance and groove her and sara are at the top in my book.

the moves she did were also a bit erotic. ok. now i am aware of the sexuality of the female in situations like this but it does not dominate or is the focus. though it is a big part. cause hittin the groove creatively is one thing, but when its done by someone sexy in a sexy way it takes it to a whole nother level. and she did. ok. now. she also innocently lifted her shirt to cool off during this groovin and without it being nasty or dirty it was VERY EROTIC to me. the image and the feeling i got is still with me and its 2 days later. i think it is very special to have or to be able to get that kind of feeling from such a “minor” event.

as i said its not nasty and the point is that i dont necessarily want to have her or do this or do that to her. it was a beautifully erotic experience that i have joy from and it was significant enough to be mentioned here.

best, longest, most just play it hyperspice i can remember. just long and ignorant. and by ignorant i mean it seemed lonnie just played it and didnt worry so much about what or how or quality. it was like playful and from the gut. everybody in the band got extended spotlights on this song. im telling you it had to go 20 minutes! since we was in a parking lot and there was hardly nobody i was able to dance and clown and express and look at the sky and clouds in a big way. i was all over that lot dancing and being free within the groove on a much wider scale than i could in a club or bar.

also props to pfunkjazz for coming to pick me up as i went to the wrong festival. who would have thought there was more than one festival in watts on that day! the first fesival was at the watts towers and had a good crowd. it was like a info and propaganda fest where all kinds of different groups had tables set up to get their word out. i was approached by a white man from a communist party. he started talking and had this newspaper and spoke with passion.

another table was for this religious type group called the sons of jacob or sumn. i stopped and talked to them almost knowing that i was 10 times smarter than all of them. i wondered if i was taking advantage. should i engage in discussion knowing i have an obvious information advantage? knowing and effortlessly confusing him with questions on his own subject. i could feel the testosterone build in him with his frustration. i could easily ask him questions that i knew he couldnt answer, even about his own religion. sure i put him on the spot, but aint that what these things are for? or are they for fellowship and to encourage each group even if their message doesnt come correct?

it makes me think with my strength of knowledge and understanding that if i was to set up something like this no one would be able to confuse me. well maybe 95% of the population couldnt and the average person on the street no way. there may be a few physicists and scientists with intimate information on the sciences that could get me, but they would “out wit” me with technical information. and there is a chance that this technical info im not aware of may fit into my philosophy and support my ideas.

the point may be that with my book out i may be ready to put myself out there and see if my ideas and theories can stand up to mass public scrutiny. shit i see all these other groups trying it at grassroots levels with half the knowledge i have. anyways…

showed lonnie my book and the quote on the back
“PURE FUNK is my weapon of choice and i fear no evil”

october 27, 2004 raw sugar
there was more than one moment when it seemed everyone in the room was groovin and in rhythm. i looked around and every next person i saw was hittin a beat that was on rhythm with the groove. not all on the same beat so as i would glance the next person would be hittin a different beat on the prevailing groove. it was like magical. during the dj playing of arrested development’s song everyday people it felt as if the whole room came together on a higher consciousness. everybody was was grooving and it was beautiful. mostly very cute 20 sumn white girls with a few brothers and whiteboys and others and oh yeah a few asianish girls. everybody was gettin it and it felt good to look around and see the whole room opening the evening was kim manning doing her jam improv thing with norwood and mike and the evangelist (boys from buffalo) and another regular guitarist and it started slow and not so coordinated but slowly, very slowly it got to that special groove. the more i see kim manning the more i am impressed with not only her artistic and musical skills but her organizational and “managerial” skills. she has to orchestrate and position musicans and equipment and venues and etc and i know that can be nerve racking at least at times.

also sarah f and vaporizer girl (kasey) and the rest of the people involved in making these things happen i must salute. sarah f had her artwork on display and a movie with norwood and angelo from fishbone on the big screens which she pointed out to me had a little bit of fake porn and craziness in it which was cool. vaporizer girl had hoola hoop competition this night as there were a white dude and girl working the hoops also.

but the night was maybe stolen and set by “niva” or whatever her name was as she sat in on the improv jam with a very very strong and beautiful voice. she also got things going with a good hook using her heavy kinda soulful voice with that had a nice energetic bouncy groove. she looked like a mexican kinda mixed raced and i was feeling her.

to be in a room full of people openly expressing energy with dance. it was like nobody was sitting still. every person i saw was moving to the music and in rhythm (but on different beats). to have so many people uninhibittedly expressing celebratory energy with dance. there was a moment when i felt the room was as one. to be in a room of so many happy people, so much happy energy all around you. it was truly beautiful.

also this night i must add now a week or so later that one of the musicians sitting in on the improv jam started a p-funk riff and ms manning immediately shouted “NO P-FUNK!” and i shouted in aggreement. but the musician kept playing the riff and it morphed into something p-funk like. a few moments later ms manning steps off the stage to handle some business and i hug and greet and say to her “no p-funk” and then she said “yeah, but they kept playin it anyways” and we comment more on this during our under the loud music conversation. then soon as ms manning returns to the stage she grabs a mic and starts singing “make my funk the p-funk, i wants to get funked up.” this surprised and tripped me out something wonderful. i was shocked and perplexed and bewildered and i was stimulated in a new and fresh way.

i mean im under the impression from our under the loud music conversation that we both were in agreement to curb the p-funk and she goes up there and sings maybe the #1 p-funk song!! im not sure if there was a communication miscue or if she was funk creative enough to take it to that level. it was like giving in and flying on something that 30 seconds ago you were against and making it work. this truly got me fired up.

oct 29, 2004 c2b3
i get to the venue at about 9:30ish, parking is at a premium so i pay $20 to get in the closes lot. i go into the venue and the show has already started and the place is packed! every level every nook and cranny has a person in it and that person was a young white male 95% of the time. i overheard it was sold out and it was to the point of being uncomfortable. anyways the show is going on and im in the back and feeling the music and groove a little until i notice the crowd was seriously stand-stillin. very very few people were even moving, let alone having any kind of rhythm or groove. and the few that were moving was doing more or a shake than a dance. kinda like a vibrating rather than hittin any rhythm of the music. this level of over crowdedness and standstillin seriously effected my vibe and energy level. it was like an anchor holding me down.

since i was in the back and taller than most i was able to look over the entire crowd on the main floor. standstillin was most of them. mr claypool had not only a good groove on bass but his “dance moves” were good also. i noticed he was hittin the beat and so was the music but when i looked over the crowd, they was just standin there. down in front there was motion and people moving, but they did not appear to have any sustained rhythm or continuity. more like a bunch of people vibrating independently while the music is playin.

the music and musicians were good. gabby was on stage doing her thing which i didnt quite feel cause i was late prolly. the drummer was very good displaying his skills as did buckethead. bernie was good but i wasnt blown away by him. a guy in a mask came out and was pop locking to the music and that was very rhythmic and good but since nobody in the crowd was on any rhythm it was way too little up against the rooms motionlessness.

seperately each musician is very talented. buckehead did some stuff on guitar that was borderline amazing. so did the drummer and so did mr claypool. but i dont recall any sustained long groovin or jam sessions that make your eyes roll back in your head. this music is funky but not funk. no where near or by any means is it funk. its like its too orchestrated or mechanical or too mathematical or too structured. almost soulless. a mechanical spirit or sum’n. something was missing for me. and that something i get everytime i see george clinton and the p-funk allstars. and i get it everytime no matter what or how they play. c2b3 did some very tight musical acrobatics and one time they locked in at a high frequency complicated groove. i guess you could call it a groove but it was at such a high vibration and complexity it didnt feel like groovin.

c2b3 did riffs of parliament’s do that stuff and lakesides fantastic voyage and they were funky but not funk. they moved and felt good but didnt hit that certain level or nerve. c2b3 is good and very talented. c2b3 is funky but by no means funk. something was- is missing. very creative sounds though. very intellectually stimulating and challenging. maybe like there was too much thinking or over intellectualized. more cerebral than funky maybe. much more “trip” than groove.

then to top my evening off the show was over at 10:30pm. i got like less than an hour of music after paying $20 to park and $5 for a bottled water on top of the $34 ticket. all to be packed in with a bunch of standstillers.