Music
Press
"The fans, mostly below 30, went fully into ecstasy. Everyone in the Castle Courtyard was dancing.People were jumping up and down, throwing thier hands in the air with the funk sign salute.The driving sound of the Funk Mob with special guest Fred Wesley, had the entire crowd swaying to the Seductive Psychedelic Funky Rhythms." ..... Heidelberg Press - Heidelberg Press
The Clinton that Did Inhale: Funk Festival at Haunt Brings Legend to Ithaca
By Andrew Gilman
Last Thursday night, over 500 people gathered for a sold-out funk festival at the Haunt, put on by Parliament-Funkadelic off-shoots DRUGS, Kidd Funkadelic, and 420 FM with special guest George Clinton. Throughout the night, concert-goers packed shoulder to shoulder and shook the small, hot, upstate-backward space of the Haunt as they got down to each of the three conglomerate bands' slightly different take on the classic P-Funk style.
The mighty father of all Funkadelia, George Clinton, presided over the celebrations and performed with the headlining act, 420 FM. Although Clinton's electric and legendary stage presence was the high point of the concert, DRUGS and Kidd Funkadelic played their individual blends of earthy jam-rock, also inciting a fury of dance from the audience. From about 9:30 until past 2:00 in the morning, the three bands played glorious funk, which inspired a tremendous amount of energy from the audience.
Taking the stage first, DRUGS set a high standard of funkability for the other two bands to follow. After a few minutes of asking the house DJ to turn down the lights and the background music, DRUGS began their set with their personal introductions and a gradually building jam that led into the boisterous groove of the song "Deep Down in the Dumps," from their only album, The Prescription for Mis-America (www.420Tripfest.com). DRUGS consists of three P-Funk members -- Clip Payne (vocals), Lige Curry (bass), and the often diaper-clad Gary "Star Child" Shider (rhythm guitar) -- and four Woodstock musicians -- Adam Widoff (lead guitar), Robert "Chicken" Burke (drums), and Jeremy Bernstein (guitar). To top it off, the Philadelphia-born Stephanie McKay provided her proud, sweet voice as the hook on most the songs. From the mellow lows of sweet funk jams, such as "Strung Out," to the excited highs of boastful funk-rock ("Never Ever"), this mix of Parliament-Funkadelic members and upstate New York talent played with great cohesion and skill. As DRUGS left the stage, the sweating guy with the eccentric dance behind me exclaimed, "Man, if that's just the opening band, I can't wait to hear the rest!"
Next, Kidd Funkadelic took the stage. A three-man ensemble, they fused metal and funk in a rock-out performance. Michael Hampton, a.k.a. Kidd Funkadelic, played blazing guitar riffs in his personal amalgam of psychedelic, Hendrix-influenced rock and the early, heavy funk of Funkadelic. Gabe Gonzalez (drums) and Eli Ward (bass) joined Hampton in funk-metal jams, including "Maggot Brain" and a compelling cover of Hendrix's "Machine Gun." While Ward played bass and sang into a Frampton-like voice modifier, and Gonzalez aggressively beat hard-rock rhythms, Hampton shook his long, braided hair in time with his guitar solos. Although Kidd Funkadelic funked hard, they did not play for long, and 420FM with George Clinton would take the stage soon.
As a small mob of musicians and roadies prepared for the performance of 420 FM, the audience eagerly awaited George Clinton's appearance. Minutes later, 420 FM ran onstage to begin their first song "Nuthin' Before Me But Thang." As a massive group, including members of DRUGS and Kidd Funkadelic, 420 FM quickly created a deeply woven fabric of funk layers. Clip Payne (the MC/vocalist) explained that "this [420] is the off-days from touring with Parliament-Funkadelic, these days are the days we play with out friends." The band is fleshed out by Lige Curry, Kidd Funkadelic, Gabe Gonzalez, Amp Fiddler (keyboard), and Gary Shider just, to name a few. Just when 420 settled into their first groove, George Clinton emerged onstage with an overwhelming, ecstatic explosion from the audience. Clinton, surrounded in his aura of pure, unadulterated funk, held the audience in the palm of his hand through call and response jams, P-Funk cheers, and ridiculous dances.
The concert-goers went wild to Clinton's voice and constant gestures, as 420 funked through the ages of Parliament-Funkadelic songs. Singing along with George Clinton and Clip Payne, through the choruses of "Dr. Funkenstein," "Swing Down Sweet Chariot," and "P-Funk (Wants to Get Funked Up)," the audience poured out their energy to the 420 grooves. George Clinton walked hurriedly about the stage, encouraging the 420 performers and the audience alike with his cheers of "Shit! God Damn! Get off your ass and Jam!" and "If you ain't gonna get it on, take your dead ass home!"
Stepping off-stage for a soulful, 420 song, George soon returned, wearing a purplish blue robe to sing a virtual encore of an all-out bluesy funk epic. Clinton had captivated the hearts of the entire audience with his every move. Clinton and 420 FM played glorious funk that brought the audience into frenzied dance late into night. The 420FM, Kidd Funkadelic, and DRUGS skillfully brought the audience into an all-consuming orgy of funk. - Cornell Daily Sun
To view this feature story use the link below:
http://www.wefunk.com/University of Miami article for epk.htm - University of Miami Hurricane
Discography
420 Funk Mob "Live on the Off Days" (2001) 2cd set
420 Funk Mob "Alive in Spain" (2005) 3 cd set
The Search for T & A (2004) Video Compilation
420 Funk Mob: What Time is It? DVD (2004)
Photos
Bio
Led by Mike Clip Payne, the 420 Funk Mob features a revolving cast of past and present members from the Parliament/Funkadelic camp and an all star cast supporting musicians. Past band members include; Garry Starchild Shider, Mike Kidd Funkadelic Hampton, Billy Bass Nelson, Skeet Curtis, Boogie Mosson, Lige Curry and drummer Gabe Gonzalez from Pfunk. The Mobs hometown Woodstock NY posse include, Zach Alford (Gwen Stefani), Adam Widoff and Chicken Burke (Big Lovely), Peter Keys (James Otto,SeepeopleS), Joey Eppard (3), Stephanie McKay (McKay,Mos Def), The Wefunk Horns Paul Henderson, Shane Kirsch, and Dean Jones.
You never know whats gonna happen or just who may show up as part of the 420FM, the band has been everything from a 6 piece Psychedelic Funk Rock Band to an 18 piece Funkestra. Complete with a line up of guest artists that reads like a Whose Who list of legendary performers and up and coming artists. George Clinton, Fred Wesley from the JB's, Jazzman Stanley Jordan, the Bad Brains founders Dr. Know and Daryl Jenifer, Stokholm Syndrome's Eric McFadden, Violinist Lili Haydn, Kendra Foster, Sativa, DJ Logic, and the Muzik Mafia's Jon Nicholson, James Otto and Jerry Navarro all mobbed up on different occasions.
The 420 Funk Mob has a history apart from the Pfunk world since the bands first sold out shows at TRAMPS in New York City in 1997 and again in 1999. In 2000 the 420FM live streamed the audio and VIDEO of the first 420FM Super Meltdown TripFest and the rehearsals leading up to it over the internet. That gave birth to TripFest TV, an internet TV Variety show hosted by Clip Payne and GPace from the short lived radiowoodstock.com studios in upstate New York.
It wasnt until 2001 that George Clinton had his first 420 experience. The band did two shows at the legendary Wetlands, then followed it up with sold out shows at the Stone Pony and the Haunt. A two show day at Bard and Vasser colleges in upstate New York, and then finished off the weekend with an appearance by George Clinton and Clip Payne at the High Times Stoney Awards in New York City where they presented rapper Snoop Dog with the Stoner of the Year Award. When the Press asked George about his first appearance with the 420 Funk Mob. It was like 1969 all over again. he said with a smile. Since that day 420FM became Georges Other Band that he sits in with regularly and gets to just let it all go and have some straight up fun.
420FMs sold out performances at colleges, festivals and clubs on the east coast gave way to appearances overseas. The bands European debut in 2005 was simulcast on radio and television as part of the 25 year anniversary party for Spanish Radio 3. The resulting 3 cd Concert set entitled Alive in Spain reviews said it all, "The 420FM are a band determined to build on the legacy of George Clinton... if not the full blown return to the Pedro Bell era of Funkadelic glory!
In 2006 the lists of internet firsts continued. 420 Funk Mob and their counterpart DRUGS were the first bands to perform live on Sirius Satellite Radio's first day of WORLD WIDE INTER NET WEB Casting. Doing a special Halloween broadcast with DJ Stef Scarmado. Later on that week the C MusicGroup/Wefunk and Pfunk management team took part in different panels at the famed CMJ College Music Symposium held in Lincoln Center. 420FM finished up the week performing a sold out CMJ Music Conference showcase at Crash Mansion. The crowd went down the block and around the corner to catch the 420 Funk Mob with special guests Kendra Foster, DRUGS, and George Clinton.
The 420 FM quickly created a deeply woven fabric of funk layers that brought the audience into frenzied dance late into the night,stated a review in the Times.
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