You Can't Fake Funk

Whether your preferred method of funking is the pelvic bump, the neck sway or the soulful snarl (or hell, all three), one thing is for sure: You can't fake funk. This revelation came to me at the George Clinton & Parliment Funkadelic show at Yoshi's last week. I have never been so inspired by the common love of grooving in one room.

George isn't a single man show by any means. He's got a family of ladies, gents, and ladygents (if you know what I mean) all up on stage and contributing to the show in some way. One guy in particular caught my eye – a white guy in his mid-30's, wearing khaki pants and a collared shirt. (You can see him in the photo here.) I thought he was from the audience and just weaseled his way up onto the stage somehow. I won't lie... jealousy ran over me. But after the show, we got backstage and chatted with this fellow, and SURPRISE! Homeboy has been touring with George for over 17 years. Now that is precisely the kind of love for music that inspires me – doesn't matter what you look like, where you've come from or how you got here. As long as you're proud to funk, George welcomes all to his funky nation.

Take a look at this rad video of George & P Funk from 1976. God I wish teleportation was possible.