Rickey Vincent data file

The brainchild of George Clinton, and all-star band of young R&B veterans came out and did PERFECT renditions of classic Pee Funk hardcore trax like "March to the Witches Castle", "Funkin' For Fun'" and the Clones of Dr. Funkenstein album version of "Children of Production" with the Fred Wesley arrangements down to a delicious tee! It was fantastic! and brought the funk standards UP for the O.G's to handle biz later on! I was served when these folks were finished, and didn't think the Mob was ready for this youth move-ment! but the Mastas handled they bizness that night too! I hear there will be other incarnations of the "Children" but this one featured Raphael Saadiq, Amp Fiddler, Keisha Jackson (Millie Jackson's daughter on vocals) and the incredible Joi! I was blown away! (and who is that guitarist on the left above?)
photos courtesy of William H. Jones Jr

Now where has this Superstar been all my life? Why this bold soul sista isn't a household name is a crime! Do NOT sleep on this fantastic woman, check out The Official Joi website , pick up the lost album Amoeba Cleansing Syndrome (done with Fishbone and featuring a great Betty Davis cover) and you'll be hooked! May I have this swim?

And Don't Forget The Number One Funkateer of All Time Bobba! Oh!

Funkin’ For Fun
Maybe the most rewarding aspect of a lifelong pursuit of The Funk, is the main part of the word: FUN! Yes its true there ain’t no party like a pee Funk party, but basically ANY kind of Funk party is a good start, and I’ve been lucky enough to be a part of my share of funkin’ for fun, from concerts to parties to monster jams at the radio station. Here are a few goodies from over the years.

All My Funky Friends
One of the best aspects of doing radio and having ‘backstage’ access to gigs is the opportunity to meet some of my “Super Funky Heroes” and getting a snapshot with them is an even bigger thrill. Here are some of my favorites:

George Clinton + RV

Finally, after 18 years of radio, George Clinton came to KPFA in October 2003 and got down with us. It was a watershed moment.
The Mob had just played the Paramount Theater in Oakland on Thursday, and cancelled their Friday night show in Sacramento (80 miles away) With Gina Hall helping out, we got the Doctor, and a gang of fools to come along.

Larry Graham + RV

In 1997 Larry Graham played a week long set at Yoshi’s Jazz club in north Oakland. He tore the roof off the sucker, and Yoshi’s moved the next month closer to downtown Oakland, so he really did Turn It Out. I got this shot after one of his shows that week.
Sinbad + RV

I caught up with Sinbad in 1998 after a taping of the Vibe TV show. Y’all remember that? I had to hop a railing and work to the stage, but it’s all good.
Sinbad of course is an important Funkateer. After his first two ‘Soul Music Festivals’ on HBO it was clear to me that Sinbad was playing all his cards to Save The Funk the best he could.

Once I got a hold of his address, I sent him a copy of my book. Homeboy called me one day - from a Burger King! - one day to tell me how much the book spoke to him. I then saw him at the Larry Graham show at Yoshi’s (above) which may indeed have been an ‘audition’ for Larry because a couple of months later, Larry Graham was in Aruba doing Sinbad’s “Soul Music Festival” turning it out I must say.
Maceo Parker + RV

Around 1999 Maceo Parker started touring seriously again, and worked his way up from small dance clubs in the SF Bay Area to the major venues such as the Fillmore today. Maceo was preparing for a gig at the legendary Maritime Hall SF when we hooked up for this shot in 1999.
George Duke + RV

One of my all time favorite artists, I saw George Duke at Yoshi’s – now in Jack London Square in Oakland – in 2003 and it was a dreamy set of soul, jazz and funk. I gave him a book and he gave me a copy of his latest CD.
Brothers Johnson + RV

In March of 2002 the Brothers Johnson came for a weekend and Kimball’s East in Emeryville, right by the Oakland end of the Bay Bridge. For years there were rumors of the group having problems, and fights between George and Louis. Magically, this was one of their best efforts to make the original Brothers Johnson come back on track, and their show was fantastic! Unfortunately, by the end of that weekend, they had broken up again. Dang!

Afrika Bambaataa + RV

BAM came to the Bay Area in October of 2000 to speak at my Hip Hop Class at SF State, and we kicked it at KPFA for a minute as well. Afrika Bambaataa is one of the most interesting and significant ‘Funk Legends” I have ever met, and whether you are into funk or hip hop, you must make your own pilgrimage into his work, to meet him, or connect with the Zulu Nation. He built the ‘code’ that hip hoppers use to understand the culture as we know it.

RV + Paris
P-Dog comes to the radio show often, and I have been a BUGGED OUT fan of Paris ever since ‘Break the Grip of Shame” in 1992. Paris really hooked a brotha up by doing the rap on the intro to my show (listen to KPFA intro) which kicks of the jams every Friday Night!
RV + KRS One
One of the perks of having Davey D’s hip hop show follow mine, is that sometimes I get a hold of a hip hop legend on MY show before Davey comes on! One night Davey brought KRS to KPFA and we got down talking about Sly Stone beats that were the foundations of Bronx hip hop!

RV’s Birthday Party at KPFA
KPFA radio is a state-of-the-art radio station, and many of the music programmers there have connections with the local music scenes they support. Over the years there have been jazz bands, rock bands, folk bands, Salsa bands, reggae bands—all kinds of bands playing at the station, and folks started asking me, ‘The Uhuru Maggot’ when I was going to bring The Funk to the station as a live band broadcast?!
In December 2003 everythang fell into place. The last Friday of 2002 was my birthday, and the station engineer, Dev “Syntax” Ross hooked all the soundz up. I had also hooked up with John Payne, a well connected funk musician who had been around for years but was blowing up just at the right time, and brought his core group of musicians: Adam Lipske on drums, Gabriel Diamond on guitar and John Payne on Bass to make The Jam happen.
Then I asked Kimiko Joy, one of my all time favorite singing talents and homegirls – and former SF State student of mine – if she would emcee the party, and she Got Down On It! All I had to do at that point was to ask some of my favorite local musicians and friends to come to the station, and The Party was on!
The first hour or so we were treated to musical mixes from Megatron, and former student and local deejay, then the Band got down for about three hours nonstop, with a gang of guest stars dropping in and blowing the jams out! And all of the proceedings – hosted by Kimiko Joy were broadcast over the KPFA airwaves!
The cake?
The birthday cake was a combination of Spongebob Squarepants and Motor Booty Affair cut outs! “May I Have This Swim?”
RV + boys

My boys Marcus and Gary got in on the action!
RV + davey d + Tess

Davey D went to Cal with my wife Tess and me back in the 1980’s.
RV + Tess

My lovely wife Tess. Can a guy be any luckier?
Funkyman + Teo + Gabe Diamond

The Funkyman in full effect, leading some of the goings on, with my brother The WEBMASTER and keyboard master Teo Barry Vincent, and guitarist Gabe.
Teo + David Karo-Greene

My brother Teo, his son David Caro-Green, and Spongebob Squarepants get down during the sessions.
Party Host Kimiko Joy in effect!

The multitalented Kimiko Joy belting out one of the great songs she delivered that night, while 8 months pregnant with twins! (Ari and Zoie were born beautiful and healthy in Feb ’03!)
John Payne jamming

The irrepressible John Payne in full effect! What a godsend he was. As accomplished as he is >>>>>>, he was hungry with his latest works and was ready to come to KPFA and blow it out on the strength!
Gayle Muldrow jamming

Former Graham Central Station vocalist/guitarist Gayle Muldrow sat in and tore thangs up that night. (you can hear Gayle on the ‘My Radio Sounds good to Me” lp from GCS).
RV + Andrea Lamadora

One of my best friends from the SF State Hip Hop Workshop, Andrea Lamadora. She now works as a clothing designer with her own business “Mamasan” and she designs outfits for award winning Bay Area star Goapele.
RV+ Megatron

A steady and reliable deejay, Michael “Megatron” Virdure gave us a killer mix, like he did for a year at SF State as the deejay for the class.
My old high school sweetheart Emily Fernandez came to the jam.

RV at EMP
In the summer of 2000 the massive rock museum in Seattle known as the Experience Music Project opened up. It was deep becaue they had developed a ‘motion platform ride’ that was a ‘funk trip’ through the music of The Funk. I had worked with the designers at Digital Domain in Los Angeles as a ‘funk consultant’ -– yes, paid well from Paul Allen’s pockets -- and knew that they were planning a big opening weekend that included a “JB’s Reunion” (!!)
So the last night of a three day festival, the JB’s reunion consisted of three acts: A TRUE reunion of the JB’s, followed by the Maceo Parker show that we all know featured Rodney ‘Skeet’ Curtis and Greg Boyer from P-Funk(!), and finished off by the James Brown Band as it existed in June 2000!

How’s this for a JB’s reunion lineup: Fred Wesley on trombone, St. Clair Pinckney and Maceo Parker on sax, BOOTSY COLLINS on bass, Catfish Collins on guitar, Jabo Starks on drums, Johnny Griggs on percussions, with Bobby Byrd, Martha High and a guest spot by Marva Whitney on vocals!
Fred Wesley was the bandleader and that sh+t was TIGHT!

Bootsy played the first set of the JB’s reunion set, then took off. I was pushy enough to get into his room with a camera and get a shot before his wife Patty lovingly tossed me out of there.
While the Maceo Parker band was playing, I got to the hallway with the dressing rooms and located Catfish Collins and got a quick interview with him, and a photo!
"Catfish" + RV

Next was Bootsy’s room, and he had a separate “star” on his room like James Brown, and I was able to introduce myself and rap with Zilla for a minute, until his wife came in and sweetly ushered me out of there. Bootsy was gone from there before Maceo’s band was done.
Then as the players came back from visiting the stage with Maceo, I got to hang with the bruthas, and get this shot. And once again Fred Wesley was telling me about his autobiography`
Fred Wesley, Pee Wee, Catfish + RV

I had a buch of ‘funkin on the one’ tee shirts from my homeboy The Funkyman, and gave one to Bobby Byrd, Johnny Griggs, Fred Wesley and who knows who else, but they were gone.
When the James Brown performance came up, it was worth going out to see how JB himself actually treated the “JB’s” It wasn’t the love fest, but James brought on the O.G’s one at a time during his show and recognized them for the crowd. Maceo actually got to play alongside his ‘replacement’ and Maceo blew that dude off the stage.
Backstage was just a blast. Since the event was in a big basketball arena (the SuperSonics used to play there) there was a lot of side stage area where many players came and went.
Maceo + Bobby Byrd

When James went into “It’s A Man’s Mans World” he brought the house down, even without Maceo. Maceo and Bobby Byrd had their own fun, and during the extended vamp of ‘man’s world’, Maceo was serenading folks backstage, making a beautiful moment captured here.
Backstage w/singers

Okay I had a little bit of fun at this show. He still had three dancers on this tour, and they were very talented. The sista is Heather Hayes, Isaac Hayes' daughter, who sang a tune during the show. Yea I was digging it. It isn’t every day you get backstage with The Godfather and All the King’s Men (and women!).
Marva Whitney! + RV

After the show I lingered around, and caught up with Marva Whitney. She was a sweetheart, and made the loitering worthwhile after the show.
But by the end of the concert I had the lay of the land, and knew that James Brown was still in the house. I had to dodge, hustle and handle the security folks for about two hours before Mr. Brown emerged, and gave me a few minutes, while I gave him a copy of the book (a second time) and got this photo!
JB + RV!!!!

We talked about his latest music and how I was playing his latest CD like crazy. He told me to talk with so and so and do his Augusta radio program, but of course when I tried to follow up, I was just a numba….
Overall, the EMP was a decent effort to respect The Funk and to give props to rock and roll overall. It took some hustling, but I was able to make it one of the most rewarding Funk Parties I ever got to.

Party over Heah!
Here are some of the most exciting shows that I was able to get a camera into:

The BROTHERS JOHNSON 2003 Kimballs East show was another memorable event I got a camera to. It was the same weekend as one of my big Sly and the Family Stone jam sessions, and these guys are tight with Sly. If you know your funk history, the Brothers Johnson played with BILLY PRESTON on his big hits like "Will it Go Round in Circles" and tracks like that. George Johnson still plays with Billy Preston now and then. And of course Billy Preston was and is Sly's homeboy from back in the 1960's when Sly was writing hits for Autumn records with Billy.

So the Brothers Johnson gave me the run of the place, and I got great photos, and backstage with their lovely singer Mimi Miyamoto, who is a big star in Japan. For you funkateers that have the Graham Central Station live in Japan CD, she's the female lead doing the Patryce "Chocolate" Banks parts, and that's her on the CD cover. There is one track from that live album on the Rhino CD "The Larry Graham and Graham Central Station Anthology" Check it out, it's tight and one of the few CD's I was allowed to pick the tracks for!!

My boys Rob Kowal "DJ Motion Potion" and Mike at Sunset Promotions have been working tirelessly to BRING THE FUNK TO THE BAY AREA, and their crowning achievement, three years running, is the San Francisco Funk Festival!

These guys are responsible for some of the most outrageous and innovative Funk parties in the Bay, and this is just the beginning!

There are sooo many funkateers taking care of business, from Brookenstein to The Mother Page, just wait 'til I plug 'em all in!

Funkin' For Fun!