The Mothership has landed, and I was there to jump on board for the fantastic journey. I was so excited to speak with George Clinton after P-Funk's show in Middletown, NY. Thanks to amazing musician and Parliament-Funkadelic guitarist Shaunna Hall, co-founder of 4 Non Blondes, for making our meeting possible. What follows is part of our conversation.


Touring throughout the year and bringing his groove to cities large and small, Clinton has built a diverse following with hits like “I Wanna Testify,” “Flashlight,” “Atomic Dog” and “One Nation Under a Groove.” One of the most sampled artists of all time, he has been covered by De La Soul, Run-D.M.C. and Coolio, and has worked with Prince and the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Clinton and Parliament-Funkadelic were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1997. At a concert, one can expect to see 30 amazing performers grooving and playing characters on stage in costumes in an event that takes hold of the imagination while remaining innovative, celebratory and political.

George, how do you do it?
I got funk Viagra. Hard-core funk. The more you do it, the harder it gets.

So, how is it doing this music right now, where we are, in the world today and the state that America finds itself in?
It makes you have to do it harder. Right now, it’s almost like ’68. It’s so close to something that you don’t want to come face-to-face with. It makes it real worthwhile doing... you don’t want to get too preachy, but it’s scary right through here, so try to stimulate the people to think. What if this is missing? What if we’re not able to do this anymore?

What’s incredible is being in the audience and hearing and watching you do really a cover of your own song and to see how it’s changed and this dialogue and to feel how it’s kind of passed through time to where we are now.
Feels good, too. Feels right. I started looking at some people’s faces... probably some of them were teenagers back in 1968, when they went through this before. So, they kind of feel, once again, maybe we’re too quick to jump to conclusions about right and wrong... we’re not trying to find out nothing about who did what or what. It’s blatant now, too.


How are you finding that your music is changing because of where we are now politically?
Well, I try not to be reactionary, and I try not to think about it... just let it happen... whatever happens, because you think out loud, you can be tempted to get mad, and if you get mad, you do the same thing that’s being done already. But I trust the One, I trust whatever it is funk comes from... I’ve always trusted. Never followed no causes or nothing openly... I just let it... wherever it takes us. And it feels right. I can trust the funk... it’s the force.

Where do you find the people you work with? I know you’ve worked with many of them for years.
They find me. All I do is look up, and they’re in the group. I don’t know where they come from.

So, no auditions?
Very few. They just wiggle their way in, and eventually I know they’re in the group.

[laughter] And that’s the end of their career? Is that what you just said?
They’re in, and that’s the beginning. They’re in, right there, they stay there.

I’m wondering how the reason you do what you do has changed from... you’ve mentioned 1968 to now.
Reason? The reason’s always been the same – because I like it. And it’s friendly to me. And the reason is that it’s still good to me. I have to have a job, so I might as well do something I like doing.


To listen to the whole program please go to Trailer Talk. To jump on board the Mothership, check out their current tour. Thank you P-Funk for celebrating the power of the collective groove. Do you funk too?