Funky Friday – Episode 39: The Graveyard Shift

Airdate: 10.31.25 - 9am Pacific Time on KDOG & 9pm Pacific Time on KCSM HD2

🔗 Quick Links:

🎧 Listen live on KDOG  9am Pacific Time→ Here

🎧 Listen live on KCSM HD2 9pm Pacific Time→ Here (On mobile scroll down to the KCSM HD2 player)

🎶 Catch the Replay → Comming Soon

📖 Full Episode Recaps + Setlists → Here

🎟 RSVP to Episodes → Here

📂 Renegade Radio Site → Here

Happy Funky Friday!

Welcome to Episode 39: The Graveyard Shift — Where the dead don’t rest... they dance.

From the dark corners of the dance floor to the flicker of the neon moonlight;The Graveyard Shift is calling. This Halloween, Funky Friday drags the groove back from the grave and gives it one more night to live. It’s a midnight ride through ghostly basslines, haunted horns, and soul too funky to die.

💀 Setlist + Renegade Notes

⚡️ Act I — Opening the Crypt

Parliament – “Dr. Funkenstein” (1977, Detroit)

• Personnel: George Clinton – vocals | Bootsy Collins – bass | Bernie Worrell – keys

• Renegade Note: The Doctor is back — resurrecting rhythm with a lightning bolt of bass. Bootsy’s bottom end could wake the dead.

Stevie Wonder – “Superstition” (1972, Detroit)

• Personnel: Stevie Wonder – vocals/clavinet/drums | Trevor Lawrence – sax | Steve Madaio – trumpet

• Renegade Note: Clavinet witchcraft and pure funk sorcery — superstition never sounded so right.

Rockwell – “Somebody’s Watching Me” (1984, Detroit)

• Personnel: Rockwell – vocals | Michael Jackson – backing vocals | Jermaine Jackson – backing vocals

• Renegade Note: paranoid funk meets pop perfection — and yes, even ghosts need privacy.

🕸️ Act II — Monsters in the Groove

The Jimmy Castor Bunch – “Dracula Pt. 1” (1972, New York)

• Personnel: Jimmy Castor – vocals/sax | Gerry Thomas – keys | Doug Gibson – bass

• Renegade Note: A funk opera from the crypt. Jimmy Castor howls, the horns answer, and the bassline creeps through the castle halls. Equal parts comic and sinister, “Dracula Pt. 1” proves that monster funk doesn’t sleep — it struts.

Mandrill – “Fencewalk” (1973, Brooklyn via Panama)

• Personnel: Lou Wilson – vocals/percussion | Ric Wilson – horns | Carlos Wilson – sax/flute | Claude “Coffee” Cave – keys

• Renegade Note: A voodoo groove with a New York heartbeat. The rhythm slithers, the organ glows like candlelight, and by the halfway mark you’re deep in a percussive trance. Mandrill doesn’t just play funk — they summon it.

Rick James – “Super Freak” (1981, Buffalo)

• Personnel: Rick James – vocals/bass | Teena Marie – backing vocals | The Stone City Band – rhythm section

• Renegade Note: The monster of the modern funk age. Slick, seductive, and dangerous, “Super Freak” turns temptation into electricity. Every slap of the bass feels like it’s raising the dead in sequins.

Thin Lizzy – “Johnny the Fox Meets Jimmy the Weed” (1976, Dublin)

• Personnel: Phil Lynott – bass/vocals | Scott Gorham – guitar | Brian Robertson – guitar | Brian Downey – drums

• Renegade Note: Street funk for the late shift — swaggering guitars and alleyway attitude. It’s a story of mischief and midnight hustle, told with the sly grin of a man who knows he’s already in too deep.

  
  

🪦 Act III — Midnight Resurrection

Gnarls Barkley – “Boogie Monster” (2006, Atlanta)

• Personnel: CeeLo Green – vocals | Danger Mouse – production

• Renegade Note: Modern soul gone mad — part confessional, part creepshow, and all groove.

Ray Parker Jr. – “Ghostbusters” (1984, Los Angeles)

• Personnel: Ray Parker Jr. – vocals/guitar | Greg Phillinganes – synth | Ollie Brown – drums

• Renegade Note: The ultimate spirit chaser — pure pop-funk perfection that turned fear into a party.

Michael Jackson – “Thriller” (1982, Los Angeles)

• Personnel: Michael Jackson – vocals | Rod Temperton – songwriter | Vincent Price – narration | Quincy Jones – producer

• Renegade Note: The midnight classic. Funk’s full moon moment. When Vincent Price laughs… you know the night belongs to the groove.

The Temptations – “Papa Was a Rollin’ Stone” (1972, Detroit)

• Personnel: Dennis Edwards – lead vocals | Melvin Franklin – bass vocals | Norman Whitfield – producer | The Funk Brothers – rhythm section

• Renegade Note: A ghost story in slow motion — seven minutes of atmosphere, tension, and truth. The bass creeps, the trumpets mourn, and every echo feels like a soul drifting through midnight.

The Commodores – “Nightshift” (1985, Los Angeles)

• Personnel: Walter Orange – vocals/drums | Milan Williams – keys | Thomas McClary – guitar | Lionel Richie – songwriting legacy

• Renegade Note: The ghosts clock out, but the soul remains. A late-shift lullaby for the legends who paved the way — Marvin, Jackie, and every spirit that kept the groove alive. A perfect closing hymn for The Graveyard Shift.

🕯️ Why The Graveyard Shift?

Because funk never dies — it just goes underground.Episode 39 is a resurrection of rhythm: a séance for soul, a dance with the dearly departed. Every track breathes new life into the midnight hour, proving that even beyond the veil, the groove goes on.

🔗 Quick Links:

🎧 Listen live on KDOG  9am Pacific Time→ Here

🎧 Listen live on KCSM HD2 9pm Pacific Time→ Here (On mobile scroll down to the KCSM HD2 player)

🎶 Catch the Replay → Comming Soon

📖 Full Episode Recaps + Setlists → Here 

🎟 RSVP to Episode → Here

📂 Renegade Radio Site → Here

Funk Facts

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“Dr. Funkenstein” – Parliament (1977)

George Clinton’s alter ego first appeared on The Clones of Dr. Funkenstein — a concept album about reanimating funk through science, satire, and soul.

“Superstition” – Stevie Wonder (1972)

Originally written for Jeff Beck, but fate had other plans — Wonder kept it, recorded it himself, and created one of the funkiest tracks in history.

“Ghostbusters” – Ray Parker Jr. (1984)

Parker wrote the song in two days after seeing an early cut of the film. It spent three weeks at #1 and still raises spirits worldwide every October.

“Thriller” – Michael Jackson (1982)

Directed by John Landis and choreographed by Michael Peters, the “Thriller” video turned funk, fear, and film into one unforgettable pop culture resurrection.

“Papa Was a Rollin’ Stone” – The Temptations (1972)

Norman Whitfield’s cinematic production stretched funk into near-orchestral territory. Its haunting intro — nearly four minutes before the first lyric — made radio history and redefined soul storytelling.

“Nightshift” – The Commodores (1985)

A soulful tribute to Marvin Gaye and Jackie Wilson, recorded after Lionel Richie’s departure. It became a comeback hit for the band — proof that even after loss, the groove carries on through the night.

💀 Funky Friday: The Graveyard Shift

A Renegade Chronicles Production — broadcasting straight from the afterlife, with love, laughter, and low-end.