What do you get when you combine great musicianship, an affinity for the funk, lots o’ horns, guitars, heavy funky bass, tasty keys and an infectious multi-layered percussive groove fronted by a rotating cast of maestros and mistresses well-versed in funkdom (we can count George Clinton among that number no less!)? We get the labor of love embodied in the form of The Big Ol’ Nasty Getdown Volume 1. due out May 22, 2012. The Getdown was created by John Heintz (Bass/Producer/Founder), John-Paul Miller (multi instrumentalist/producer), & Derrick Johnson (multi instrumentalist and features the aforementioned George Clinton, as well as members of several well know funk bands including members of P-Funk, Blackalicious, Graham Central Station, the Dirty Dozen Brass Band, Dumpstaphunk, Galactic, Warren Haynes Band, Derek Trucks Band, The Lee Boys, Sun Ra Arkestra, Yo Mama’s Big Fat Booty Band, Kool and the Gang and Fishbone, to name a few. The band has a rotating line up of roughly 90 musicians from 50 touring bands. Yes I had to put an emphasis on the collective, the coming together, the oneness because often the beauty of this gift that we have been given called music.

The set clocks in just under an hour and begins in big fashion (with an almost beckoning call from the horn section) and unfolds more like a live experience than a recording. Standout tracks from the release for me are “The Beauty of Pretty”, “Room 2012″ and the single that has been giving the project some well deserved buzz “College Funk”. It is always a pleasurable experience for me when I have an opportunity to review projects that are so much more than “We made some cool new music, wanna buy it?” type projects. What is contained herein The Big Ol’ Nasty Getdown Volume 1. is just as much a social and cultural movement as it is a musical one. A tip of the hat and kudos to all involved because the message is clear that the music here is the fuel for the movement.

From the press release

Born out of a love for an art form that paved the foundation for three decades of popular music, The Big Ol’ Nasty Getdown is a star-studded tribute to the history of American Funk and authentically touches on almost every style of music. The Getdown was created by John Heintz (Bass/Producer/Founder), John-Paul Miller (multi instrumentalist/producer), & Derrick Johnson (multi instrumentalist). Getdown saw its earliest incarnation more than four years ago at a New Orleans gathering that would soon go down in history. What began as an all-star meeting of the minds in the Crescent City quickly gave rise to a collective of musicians working tirelessly to remind the music industry of why funk was such an important part of the American cultural evolution.
Drawing from a reserve of more than one hundred musicians, The Big Ol’ Nasty Getdown has created an avenue for some of the genre’s most influential figures to share the stage with its future stars. Showcasing recorded and live appearances from many of funk’s luminaries and legends – notably George Clinton, Norwood Fisher, Belita Woods, Sidney Barnes, Gift of Gab, Kendra Foster, Patryce “Choc’let” Banks as well as grammy winning artists Kofi Burbridge and Agent 23 Skidoo – The Big Ol’ Nasty Getdown is quickly generating an international reputation for producing some of the heaviest grooves heard in years. (more…)

Well I know I’ve had a blast funkin’ with the one and only George Clinton this month! We hope that it has been a fun and informative experience for everyone and we hope that if George and the Funk Mob will be appearing somewhere near you this season that you make sure to make your way out to support them. As I look at the clock on the wall I am reminded that there’s one question that we weren’t able to address this month and I would be remiss if we didn’t do that right now.

This “story of famous dogs” doesn’t begin with a radio friendly reception upon its release. As a matter of fact, Atomic Dog, probably one of the most revered party songs today, was shunned “like a dog” by radio because of industry hang ups and Clinton’s political standings. Released in 1982, Atomic Dog was birth from a preliminary track from David Spradley, Garry Shider and a loose spontaneity of George Clinton. As fans, we marvel at the groove heavily provoked by a synthesized sound but for Clinton it was just a matter of getting behind the microphone and saying whatever came to mind in the moment. Nothing really premeditated, just having a good night of partying and putting it to wax. With that in mind, especially the notable sexual innuendo of a “dog chasing the cat”, I’m surprised Atomic didn’t contain more explicit content. But when I ponder further, there may be an uncensored version that never found the light of day. One never knows….

While this song has been sampled more than a “freak of the week”, it hasn’t gone without its share of lawsuit infringement issues. Like any song that has a notable line, these elements were taken by R&B group, Public Announcement in 1998. Fortunately, the court ruled in the creator’s favor understanding the brand recognition and importance of these creative elements. The writers were compensated for damages.

As a child I remember trying to figure out what in the world was going on with Sir Nose’s shenanigans in this song… what was going on with Sir Nose period… but I bobbed my head to the beat anyway. I get now that he was being baptized by the funk… “Aqua Boogie (A Psychoalphadiscobetabioaquadoloop)” from the 1978 Parliament album Motor Booty Affair.

“Flash Light” is guaranteed to get a party started. One of the funkiest jams ever, it’s been my experience that this song has been played during at least one party I’ve gone to in each of the four decades of my life. It’s that timeless and tough. “Flash Light” was the first #1 R&B hit for any of the P-Funk groups and it went to #16 on the Pop charts. It’s also the group’s second certified platinum-selling single. “Flash Light”, from the 1977 album Funkentelechy Vs. The Placebo Syndrome.

As the vid description so aptly points out “15 minutes of Funk!!!” what more could you ask for on a Monday? All these years later there are so many of us still funkin’ with Uncle Jam. Can you imagine a song being 15 mins. long these days and keeping your attention? Hell some people have EP’s that long that can’t keep my attention let alone one song. There’s so much in here and the beautiful thing is every part works together to form the whole.

I remember doing an opening set for Garry Shider once and when we came off about two or three songs in the group he was playing with launched into this and my jaw dropped, I was looking at and listening to that voice of that iconic “Oh” that opens this opus six feet away from me. For me it was just something else to be able to be that close to music that you listened to over and over and over as a kid. RIP Garry Shider…

Good to Your Earhole, from Funkadelic’s 1975 album, Let’s Take It to the Stage is a song sure to move you to a happy place. With a mixture of early rock and funk, the “put your hands together…” lyric along with a slice of Bernie Worrell’s keyboard brings a sliver of gospel to the pot as well. Emotionally, this cut can make you long for hot sticky summers, lounging on the beach with your favorite ice cold beer. When you place your ear to the music, it carries an appreciated distorted guitar played by Eddie Hazel and a fun funk sound of the vocals driven by the bass guitar. Overall, Good to Your Earhole playfully displays the relationship of rock and funk that we presently see in Lenny Kravitz , Prince, Red Hot Chili Peppers and even rock group, Queen through the single, Another One Bites the Dust.

Sometimes you have to go there… just to settle things. So we are going to take it to the stage today with the funkiest of the funky and “tighten” everything up with the power of the one!