Please help a brother out.
Funkadelic -The Rocky Mountain Shakedown from 1976 has Eddie Hazel on Red Hot Mama and on Comin' Round The Mountain or is it Michael Hampton?
My ears say Hazel, but i'm not sure, I need to know.

This versions are smoking!!

I was just listening to this the other day. It's all Micheal Hampton. Garry Shider and Glenn Goins provide additional guitar but Mike is doing all the leads on "Shakedown". This is my favorite era of Mike's playing. He almost had Eddie (almost) had Eddie's thing down to a tee. I think during this time, Eddie was out of jail and laying down tracks for his masterpiece "Games, Dames, and Guitar Thangs".

Great concert...

Wish it was on video or dvd....

This was when Michael Hampton was hitiing it. It's a shame that know he just spot plays with the Pfunk but nevertheless he is cemented Pfunk history.

So who will be the lead guitarist for the upcoming tour?

eldog98 said:

Man where did it went wrong with Mike?
I never considered Mike a orginal he was good at playing Eddie's song.But he funked on this cd.
For me his playing on ' his own' songs like Knee Deep miss something.

Meloh9 said:

Blackbyrd Mcknight usually holds down the whole show as well as being musical director for the P!

Tosh said:

Good question cause man I don't know. I caught the P in NYC back in January and it was almost a 4 hr. show & Michael only came out for his solo on Knee Deep and then he did Maggot Brain and was ghost the rest of the night, and these 2 songs didn't come up in the set until around 2.5 hrs. later! Apaarently this happens a lot nowadays so again I don't know why he is only out there for those 2 songs.

Mike's playing over the years has kinda slipped. Blackbird has kinda picked up the guitar slack and has really shined/progressed since the 90's. He's my fave next to Eddie. Plus the few times I've seen Mike play, he was kinda out of it, unhappy, and looked like he really didn't wan't to be onstage. But I'll always love his lead solo on "Cosmic Slop" and his stuff on the "One Nation" LP.

It's funny, I remember Blackbyrd McKnight playing guitar on Herbie Hancock's fusion albums like Man Child in the mid-70's, then I didn't hear anything from him for a long while, until he showed up in P-funk in the mid 90's...anybody know his whereabouts during the two decades in between?

Byrd started playing with the P in 1978. He also played with The Brides Of Funkenstien also. Sometime in the 80's he also tried out for the Chili Peppers and did a few gigs with them. There's a very interesting (and long) interview on the New Funk Times site w/ Byrd and his whole experience on his "brief" time with them. He also talks about meeting Prince and how disapppointed he was.

SPYZFAN1 said:

I see..... Kool, thanx, Spyz!! I also see he did some sessions with Miles in the 80's...


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[Edited 7/25/05 15:58pm]

SPYZFAN1 said:

what disappointed him about Prince?

Meloh9 said:

Excerts from The Blackbyrd interview:

Prince:

ALEXANDER: I've got a question about a rumor. I don't know if this is true at all, but I heard it said once that Prince had the idea of tinkering with the personnel when George signed with Paisley Park, and bringing in some new musicians. And George had to squash that idea.

BLACKBYRD: I believe it's true. It was never brought to my attention, but I heard the same thing that you heard. I don't know. Strange, strange fella ... so talented ...

ALEXANDER: What kind of interactions did you have with Prince?

BLACKBYRD: Whoo! At Paisley Park, it was a party. I love the way Minnesota people give parties, or at least his little cliques. I went to one of them, and he was back behind the deejay thing. I got up enough nerve to go over, 'cause I know he's pretty heavily guarded but at this particular time there was one guy, Cowboy, back there -- his deejay at the time. I went over and [Prince] shook my hand. And I started to speak to him.

What I was *going* to say was, "Thank you for having me here," and "You guys really know how to throw a party." That's all I was going to say. And, "I love your music." And he -- (makes faces, fly-swatting gestures and garbled noises). He went into this thing. And Cowboy came up and said, "Yo man, you can't talk to Prince." That's exactly what he said to me. "Man, you can't talk to Prince, man. Nobody can talk to Prince."

From that moment, I went over to the bar and immediately just started drinking everything I could. Man, I was so hurt. I was so fucked up by that. "Okay, you ..." (laughs) "I know you bad!" He's *bad*, man -- I mean, I love his music. I can't say as a person 'cause I don't know. He did shake my hand, okay? He shook my hand. But after that -- damn!

And now, every time I speak to him, he'll look at the ground. He'll do that same almost kind of, "Oh shit!" and look at the ground. George says that he's that shy. I ain't going for that shit! Nobody's that motherfuckin' shy! He wants to come onstage and jam with Michael on "Maggot Brain," but he'll never do it. He's never done it.

The last time I guess I saw him was in Paris. And I turned around and waved at him and did the peace sign. I keep asking George to this day, "What, does this guy not like me?" [George] says, "Man, he loves y'all so much, you just don't know." I say, "I can't buy it! *Wave* or something!" It's like, what is he, scared? I'm not going to hurt him. God, I love him!

Joining the Brides & PFunk Sets:

LARRY ALEXANDER: How soon after you joined the Brides band did you start doing the P-Funk sets live as well?

DeWAYNE "BLACKBYRD" McKNIGHT: Either a little bit into the "Aqua Boogie" tour or at the beginning. And I came in there with the intent of doing that anyway. There was no way that I was going to be denied to get on stage with 'em.

It was kinda fucked up 'cause I wanted to be *in* the band. It was called "sit-in" at the time. "No. No 'sit-in.' I want to be in this band! I like [the Brides], they're good, great, the show, yeah -- How about this band *too*, okay?"

DAVID MILLS: And there came a time when you became bandleader for the Brides?

BLACKBYRD: Kush left and Frank left, Razor left -- they went back to Bootsy. We got Dennis; Cherokee stayed. And yeah, I became the musical director with the Brides. I did it because I guess I figured I could. But I don't even wanna go back and remember if I liked it or not, but I don't think I liked it very much. We fought.

MILLS: The band? The girls?

BLACKBYRD: Yeah, everybody. We had a lot of good times, but musically, we would argue. Now, more so than ever, I don't think that there's room in a musical situation for people to argue. I mean, how can you argue when you're doing something as cool as playing music?

And maybe my ego swelled up a little bit. I don't want to think about that, I don't want to go there and dwell on it. I'm proud of what I did, and who I am, all of that. I don't want to seem egotistical, 'cause that's not me. Everybody in that band was bad motherfuckers. But don't try to make me feel bad about being good. If it's good, then it's good. And if people like it, then I'm going to feel proud.

MILLS: We talked to Mike Hampton yesterday, and he says that the entire time he was in the band, he wished they sounded more like Aerosmith. P-Funk wasn't playing that hard, thick guitar sound that he loves. How did you feel about the music you were playing, for yourself as a guitarist? Was it what you wanted it to be?

BLACKBYRD: It was satisfying for me, because I didn't play like everybody else. I was being more jazz-orientated. I took the chance and I stretched out on the solos. What got on my nerves was everybody in the band not identifying with it, or complaining to me about, "Why do you play so fast?" or, "Why do you go so far out there?" Like [they would say], "I listen to 'Trane and I listen to you, and I can't understand what you're playing."

I listen to 'Trane too, and I'm not 'Trane. I'll never play like 'Trane, I'll never play like Jimi Hendrix. I know what it was I wanted to do; I studied how I studied. And when I get finished playing solos, people clap pretty loud, so that makes me feel good. If you don't understand, "Fuck you!" And I probably said that then, too. (laughs)

I had no negative reservations about the music being too soft. I always wanted to play with P-Funk, so to me it was cool. I liked what we played, because I loved the records that they made.

ALEXANDER: So the change of the Funkadelic material from the early stuff to the dance-music phase, you were still enjoying that on its own merits, you're saying?

BLACKBYRD: I mean, let's put it in its real perspective. The dance music that Funkadelic played is so much more different from what any other band played. It was still exceptional to me. It was still better, because it wasn't your average changes, wasn't your average 4/4 songs, the lyrics were in no way, shape or form common. So I dug it.

MILLS: Does every band have the same type of personality conflicts and internal politics that P-Funk had?

BLACKBYRD: Yeah. It's work. I've had just as hard a time with other bands, if not harder. Getting along with people. It's life, it's work. I've played with another one of those new rock bands -- RHCP.

ALEXANDER: What happened there?

BLACKBYRD: Next question. (laughs) Well, they fired me, obviously.

I really always wanted to avoid this question, but when I first spoke with Flea and Anthony [Kiedis], Flea could not say anything. When I finally got him to answer the question, Flea said, "It just didn't feel right." Because I played three gigs with them. We played Palo Alto, we played Oakland, and someplace else. And the audience's response was, "Damn, this is cooler than cool." But the rapport within the band, like -- I don't hang out too tough with people in general. They go everywhere together. They go to the store together, they go to the bathroom together, they eat together. "Maybe I'll jell into it"; I guess I didn't.

Onstage, I did not want to be Jimi Hendrix. I did not want to jump up and down or hurt myself and slash my wrists and beat myself in the brains with the guitar. I just wanted to stand there and play my guitar. By the time we got to L.A., one of the roadies' sisters said, "Hey, I heard you guys suck now." By then, I had a feeling that I was getting ready to get fired. I'd go over to Flea's house and he'd be distant. Next thing I knew, Anthony called me on the phone: "We just felt like it wasn't working out."

And I guess it didn't, as far as that young-kid, rock-'n'- roll thing was concerned. I was my age, my weight was up at the time, I didn't *look* like them. I didn't have tattoos, they said I had to get tattoos. Musically, I do not give a fuck what nobody says, we played good music. I don't care what *they* tell you, we played some good music, and the audience was there to testify to that. There are now tapes going around ...

ALEXANDER: What were the terms you had left P-Funk on at that time?

BLACKBYRD: I hadn't left P-Funk. Don't ever let nobody tell you that either. I think that was another thing that [the Chili Peppers] were concerned about: If P-Funk goes on another tour, would I have left?

ALEXANDER: What was your experience with Miles Davis like, compared to P-Funk?

BLACKBYRD: I want to say "Next question" so bad. (laughs) He, next to George -- or right alongside of George -- is one of the nicest, one of the coolest guys I have ever met on this planet. And he was hard. He was really hard, but everything he told me was right. He never cursed at me, the way people say. He wasn't all that nasty or mean.

I did three gigs with Miles around Christmastime of '86. Again, I don't know why I go immediately to being fired, but I had spoke with, I guess, his road manager Jim Rose. "Why? Why is this happening?" He couldn't answer the question. I say, "Did I suck?" "No." "Did I get too drunk?" "No." "My conduct?" "No." "My playing?" "No." He said it just wasn't the sound that Miles wanted.

And to be honestly truthful with you, the stuff that I wanted to do with Miles, he had done already. All respect to the songs and the people that wrote the songs that we covered, I wasn't really -- I went out there and did whatever I could do

MILLS: But you got with Herbie Hancock pretty young, didn't you? You sure look young on that first Headhunters album.

BLACKBYRD: I think I was 20, 21 -- that was 1974. I met Benny Maupin in Kansas City. I was playing with Charles Lloyd and we were staying at a hotel. I went to go get in a cab, and there was a brother already in there. I guess I knew it was Benny, and I was like, "Wow." I found out they were staying at the hotel. I met Patrick Gleason. I *heard* Herbie. I was, I guess, a little bit too shy to go in and say anything to Herbie. He had the door open, he was talking on the phone real loud. (laughs)

Benny [told me], "We're gonna play together one day soon." Damn! Two, three years later, he was right. They were looking for a guitar player to do a spinoff group with Herbie, the Headhunters. They tried a bunch of guys. I flew up to Oakland, and, uh, what can I say? (laughs) Seriously, that was fun though. It wasn't really an audition, we were just jamming to see how it would jell. And it worked.

After '76, '77 -- I guess there was a difference of opinion about the way they wanted us to do records, the record company being Arista. They wanted us commercial, and we knew what we wanted to do -- I guess we decided to split company. That was about '76. We did a gig here and a gig there in '77, till -- I guess I had about a year off. In '78, I got with P-Funk.

ALEXANDER: How'd you first encounter the P-Funk camp?

BLACKBYRD: There's a guy named Ron Brembry who knew [George Clinton's manager] Archie Ivy, and he used to run around with the P-Funk tapes, like, a year before the songs came out on the albums. I used to go over to his house and we'd play guitars, you know. One night he took me over to a friend's house, and I met Archie. I think about a year later -- I didn't know Archie plays bass -- I went over to Archie's garage and we all played together. At that point he said, "In about a year, we're having auditions for a band called the Brides of Dr. Funkenstein. Be ready." I was like, "Yeah, right. Okay, fine. I'll be ready." (laughs)

And sure enough, a year later, they had auditions for the Brides, and I flew out to Detroit to do the audition, and I got it. It was Kush Griffith; there was a bass player from the East Coast, Cherokee [Jeff Bunn]; there was Frank Waddy, myself and Razor Sharp [Joel Johnson]. At this particular point in time, Kush Griffith was the musical director.

For the basic rehearsal, they were all there, though. I remember Garry, I remember Boogie, Bob Bishop. All of the Brides were there. Skeet. He taught me "Birdie"; that's one of the first things I remember that we played. We went in and we were like, "Let's rehearse." It was an audition, but I guess I picked up on the stuff pretty quick.

MILLS: I'm imagining there had to be a lot of excitement around the concept of the Brides of Funkenstein. George always says that Bootsy and the Brides were his favorite spinoff acts.

BLACKBYRD: I never knew that. I was really glad to be there. I was really, I believe, timid. I was a lot of things. I used to, like, quit every day. Somebody would come and talk me out of it. Yeah, it was exciting. We were the opening act, and [the Brides] had a record out already.

ALEXANDER: So your first shows would be as the opening act on the Anti-Tour with Funkadelic.

BLACKBYRD: Exactly. First show was September 26, 1978 -- Fox Theater in Pittsburgh, if I'm not mistaken. I came from sitting in the background and just playing the parts, I got to the solo on "Birdie" and I don't know what happened, I guess I just felt like doing it, I went up there and -- whatever it was I did, I went out and did it. I had a spot -- boom. After it was over, I ran back in the back!

MILLS: Start recording in the studio right away?

BLACKBYRD: No. That started, I believe, some time in '79. I was making home tapes by then. And I played [George] a a demo that I did, which turned out to be "Sizzaleenmean." He flipped out. And the next day, he put me in the studio. Which was really -- not fucked up, but it was fucked up 'cause he sent me in the studio by myself. (laughs) I didn't know anybody, and I was in there all of a sudden recording by myself. I had intended the whole band even to play on "Sizzaleenmean."

ALEXANDER: So you played that whole track?

BLACKBYRD: Yeah. "Sizzaleenmean," "Acupuncture." In fact, all of my tracks I pretty much played by myself. I would ask [George] to put the band on, and he wouldn't do it.

MILLS: How about "Freak of the Week"?

BLACKBYRD: He actually wrote that. I did the arrangement. Cherokee, Dennis Chambers, Gary Hudgins, I think Garry Shider was there too, because we used to do a bunch of songs in one day. We worked good together, but I think we used to argue. Me and Cherokee, we roomed together. It's funny -- I used to wake up in the morning and set up my music stand and practice; Cherokee still be in the bed. He used to bug out. Cherokee was just [back] in the band a couple of years ago; I walked into Cherokee's room one morning, he had a music stand with the book on there, he was doing the same thing I used to do. (laughs) So we grow and we learn, blah blah, cool.

eldog98 said:

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Sounds like Prince was shy or too much in awe to talk to the dude. It also sound like Blackbird has some issues. The guy has been fired by everyone.(LOL)>

SPYZFAN1 said:

Yes, it's Mike. I gave u my thought on Mike, Spyz!

laurarichardson said:

I have actually met Blackbyrd. I rapped to him at a P-Funk All Star gig at this place called The Strand. This is also the same night I met Mike. Anyway, Blackbyrd was very down to earth, cool brother. I see him again about 3 years later, just hanging out at the House of Blues. He remembered me, and we rapped a little bit more. Same thing, very nice, low keyed manner. Easy as hell to talk to. Here's my take: P has been doing this kind of shit to folks forever. Ever since he first started in 78, same thing. Shy my ass. Nothing about P evokes shy. Many people act an asshole and then say it's cuz they're shy. That's a cop out. Just be a man about it and tell somebody "Look man, I dig what you do, but uh, I don't really feel like rapping right now." Another cat may not like that shit, but u know what? They'll RESPECT that shit way more than that fly swatting routine P be pulling.

That's right, B! I do remember our discussion on "Kidd Funkadelic"!

SPYZFAN1 said:

Mikes playing is so different than Eddies to my ears. Mike does more of the Metal kind of fast playing( note he mentioned Aerosmith ), Eddie wants to show you how much soul he can put into one note( Maggot Brain, Mommy What's A, Good Thoughts etc) and still rock out at the same time closer to the Hendrix sound, putting the echoplex out front while expanding on Hendrix use of echoplex used on songs like Voodoo Chile.

At least that's my take on it.

Good points and I agree with you on the differences between Mike and Eddie. On the version of "Red Hot Mama" found here, Mike was able to play Eddie's "Verge" version note for note and kept the bends, fills, and nuances pretty close. Eddie was definetly more "soul/gospel" and Mike was more "rock".