Alabama Shakes - Another Shooting Star!

What do you get when you take a bit of Led Zeppelin, add some Otis Redding, pinch off a little AC/DC, throw in a dash of Bob Seger, and put it all in a shaker with a splash of cayenne and ice?

You get 

A volatile mixture of Alabama Shakes!

"Hold On- Lyrics"

Bless my heart, bless my soul.
Didn't think I'd make it to 22 years old.
There must be someone up above sayin',
"Come on, Brittany, you got to come on up.
You got to hold on...
Hey, you got to hold on..."

So, bless my heart and bless yours too.
I don't know where I'm gonna go
Don't know what I'm gonna do.
There must be somebody up above sayin',
"Come on, Brittany, you got to come on now!
You got to hold on...
Hey, you got to hold on..."

"Yeah! You got to wait!
Yeah! You got to wait!"
But I don't wanna wait!
No, I don't wanna wait...

So, bless my heart and bless my mind.
I got so much to do, I ain't got much time
So, must be someone up above saying,
"Come on, girl! Yeah, you got to get back up!
You got to hold on...
Yeah, you got to hold on..."

"Yeah! You got to wait!"
I don't wanna wait!
But I don't wanna wait!
No, I don't wanna wait!

You got to hold on...
You got to hold on...
You got to hold on...
You got to hold on...

The band hails from northern Alabama - a town called Athens! If the Greeks only knew!
The band was formed in 2009 when lead singer-guitarist Brittany Howard and bassist Zac Cockrell began meeting after school to write songs.  They subsequently added guitarist Heath Fogg, keyboard player Ben Tanner, and drummer Steve Johnson.  In 2011, Alabama Shakes released the four song EP Alabama Shakes, which gained widespread media attention.  This led to an invitation to play at the CMJ Music Marathon industry showcase in New York which caught the eye of Jon Pareles of the New York Times who praised the singing of Brittany Howard, comparing her to "Janis Joplin.".  The rest has been nothing short of stellar to include three nominations for the 2013 Grammy Awards: Best New Artist, Best Rock Performance for "Hold On."

Expect more from these guys!


Funky!

Undercoverblackman - May the Funk be with you!

If This Picture Scares You - Read No Further! Cause it may get Funky in Here!

Bootsy Collins performing at the Los Angeles Funk Festival-June 1977


Is There Funk After Death? Is 7 -UP?

I'm not sure I really believe it but David Mills, who blogs

(should I now say blogged?)

as "Undercoverblackman," has posted his last post!

See his final post.... Stick a Fork in Me

He's retired from blogging!

Some of you are familiar with UBM - a blog buddy of mine who stops through from time to time. He has compiled an interesting archive of over 2000 posts. To me, that's a monumental number. I look at it this way- if I continue to post at my current rate, It will take me about 10 more years to reach that number! Get my drift? I'm not sure I have that kind of endurance.

His posts are compelling and engaging and his audience is as diverse as his subject matter. He always seemed to have some passionate discussion going on at his blog, or at least some "undercover" tunes kicking up dust. Knowing him as I do, I didn't expect anything less from him. He's a true intellect. His list of accomplishments is very long as well. To highlight a few - He was an executive producer and writer of the HBO miniseries The Corner, for which he won two Emmy Awards. He was the creator, executive producer, and writer of the NBC miniseries Kingpin. He has written several episodes of The Wire, and is currently working with David Simon on what will prove to be an awesome production - Treme. Check it out when it hits the screen and feel free to pick up Kingpin, The Corner, or The Wire on DVD. You won't be disappointed.

Still another one of his unique collaborations and one that is often overshadowed by his screenwriting is: For The Record - George Clinton and P-Funk - An Oral History which he co-wrote with Larry Alexander, Thomas Stanley, and Aris Wilson.

It is in that direction that I will aim my post:

George Clinton and P-Funk

UBM - May The Funk Be With You as you proceed on your journey!

Here's a bit of the new aged Funk!

An interesting piece I discovered a while back. I've been listening to Culbertson for a while but didn't know that he had dabbled in the Funk!

And Here's a bit of the original old school Uncut Funk! Or for you legitimate P-Funksters -The Bomb!

P-Funk (Wants To Get Funked Up) - Parliament

And speaking of Hollywood!

Hollywood Squares - Bootsy Collins



I don't know about the rest of you but "Make my Funk the P-Funk!" Gimmie a shout UBM, let's do the Good Earth when you can!

And get some rest, I got a feeling you'll be working your butt off pretty soon!