Funky Friday – Episode 40: Funk XL — Extra-Large Funk for a Milestone Moment
- Noah McDonough
- 2 days ago
- 5 min read
Updated: 10 hours ago
Airdate: 11.07.25 - 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
🔥 Welcome to Episode 40: FUNK XL — Extra-Large Funk for a Milestone Moment
Forty shows deep and the signal still burns bright.
This week we span the range of human emotion — from celebration to reflection, from the spark of beginnings to the heat of hard-won truth.
Because after forty broadcasts, the Renegade message is simple: keep it real, and keep it funky.
Setlist + Renegade Notes
Act I — Ignition: Let’s Start the Fire
Jungle Fire – “Comencemos (Let’s Start)” (2023, Los Angeles)
Personnel: Miguel Ramirez – percussion | Steve Haney – congas | Joseph Mango – bass | Patrick Bailey – guitar | Bill Ungerman – sax
Renegade Note: Modern Latin funk with Afro-soul roots. The match strike that ignites FUNK XL.
Earth, Wind & Fire – “That’s the Way of the World” (1975, Chicago)
Personnel: Maurice White – vocals/drums | Verdine White – bass | Philip Bailey – vocals | Larry Dunn – keys | Al McKay – guitar
Renegade Note: A universal truth in 4/4 time — wisdom in rhythm form.
Act II — Gratitude and Groove
Maze feat. Frankie Beverly – “Happy Feelin’s” (1977, Philadelphia)
Personnel: Frankie Beverly – vocals/guitar | Sam Porter – keys | Robin Duhe – bass | Joe Provost – drums
Renegade Note: Joy as a discipline. A reminder that gratitude is its own groove.
Stevie Wonder – “As” (1976, Los Angeles)
Personnel: Stevie Wonder – vocals/keys/drums | Nathan Watts – bass | Herbie Hancock – Fender Rhodes | Ben Bridges – guitar | Hank Redd – sax
Renegade Note: Endless love and boundless time — the cosmic side of soul.
Act III — Heat and Motion
Quincy Jones – “Stuff Like That” (1978, LA via NYC)
Personnel: Patti Austin & Ashford & Simpson – vocals | Eric Gale – guitar | Richard Tee – keys | Steve Gadd – drums | Louis Johnson – bass
Renegade Note: Studio alchemy at its finest. Quincy Jones — a trumpet player turned orchestral architect — built this track like a master conductor shaping groove from the ground up. Beneath the polished layers of Fender Rhodes and bass funk lies his true instrument: arrangement itself. Proof that sometimes, the producer is the artist — Quincy directing funk like a symphony, each horn stab and rhythm hit landing exactly where he willed it.
Tower of Power – “You Ought to Be Havin’ Fun” (1976, Oakland)
Personnel: Lenny Williams – vocals | Doc Kupka – baritone sax | Emilio Castillo – tenor sax | Chester Thompson – keys | David Garibaldi – drums
Renegade Note: Bay Area brass that commands smiles as a moral obligation.
The Brothers Johnson – “Stomp!” (1980, Los Angeles)
Personnel: George & Louis Johnson – guitars/bass/vocals | Rod Temperton – songwriting | Quincy Jones – producer | Greg Phillinganes – keys
Renegade Note: Bootsy-level bass meets disco-era lift-off — a floor-filler built for victory laps.
Maceo Parker – “Shake Everything You Got” (1992, North Carolina)
Personnel: Maceo Parker – alto sax/vocals | Fred Wesley – trombone | Pee Wee Ellis – tenor sax | Rodney “Skeet” Curtis – bass | Jerome Preston – drums | Bruno Speight – guitar
Renegade Note: The Godfather of the funky horn section steps into the spotlight. Recorded live with the JB Horns, this cut is pure adrenaline — call-and-response funk at its rawest. Every shout and horn stab feels like a sermon reminding the world: this music wasn’t made to sit still.
Act IV — The Real Deal
Johnny Guitar Watson – “The Real Deal” (1977, Houston via LA)
Personnel: Johnny Guitar Watson – vocals/guitar | Paul Dunmall – keys | Emry Thomas – drums | Bobby Howard – bass
Renegade Note: Swagger, wit, and truth in six strings. The perfect anthem for Episode 40.
Average White Band – “Cut the Cake” (1975, Scotland)
Personnel: Alan Gorrie – bass/vocals | Hamish Stuart – guitar/vocals | Roger Ball – sax | Malcolm “Molly” Duncan – sax | Steve Ferrone – drums | Onnie McIntyre – rhythm guitar
Renegade Note: A celebration in syncopation. Written as a tongue-in-cheek thank-you to their record label after a big hit, “Cut the Cake” became one itself — a tight slice of funk that proves joy and precision can groove side by side. Perfect for a milestone moment like FUNK XL — the icing on forty shows of rhythm.
The Crusaders – “Street Life” (1979, Los Angeles)
Personnel: Joe Sample – keys | Wilton Felder – sax | Stix Hooper – drums | Randy Crawford – vocals
Renegade Note: A smooth-motion reflection on the price of the hustle.
Earth, Wind & Fire – “After the Love Has Gone” (1979, Los Angeles)
Personnel: Philip Bailey – vocals | Maurice White – vocals/drums | David Foster – piano | Larry Dunn – keys | Al McKay – guitar
Renegade Note: Bittersweet closure — because even the end of a party can be beautiful.
🧭 Why FUNK XL?
Because forty shows in, the groove hasn’t just grown — it’s evolved.
FUNK XL is extra-large funk: a celebration of scale, range, and the rhythm that keeps expanding.
From the spark of Signal Fire to the heat of Jungle Fire, this milestone episode spans every shade of human emotion — joy, gratitude, motion, and reflection.
Forty shows behind us, infinite grooves ahead.
🔗 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
🎺 “Comencemos (Let’s Start)” – Jungle Fire (2023)Recorded live-to-tape in Los Angeles, “Comencemos” carries the torch of 1970s Latin-funk pioneers like War and Mandrill. The band’s rhythm section tracks on vintage analog gear, capturing that raw, percussive swing that made L.A. a second home for Afro-Cuban funk.
🎸 “The Real Deal” – Johnny Guitar Watson (1977)Watson’s swaggering blend of blues and funk helped define the sound of the late ’70s. On The Real Deal, he handled vocals, guitar, and production himself — proof that he was, in fact, exactly what the title claimed.
🎹 “Stuff Like That” – Quincy Jones (1978)Built around a Fender Rhodes groove from Richard Tee and a monster rhythm section featuring Steve Gadd and Louis Johnson, this track shows how Quincy fused jazz precision with radio-ready funk. It later became a go-to sample source for hip-hop producers chasing that lush studio sheen.
🥁 “Stomp!” – The Brothers Johnson (1980)Produced by Quincy Jones with Rod Temperton co-writing, “Stomp!” captured the moment when disco’s glitter met funk’s grit. George and Louis Johnson’s bass and guitar interplay turned dance floors into launchpads — a celebration anthem in perpetual orbit.
🎷 “Shake Everything You Got” – Maceo Parker (1992)Maceo’s return to the spotlight after decades as James Brown’s sideman reminded the world where funk’s heartbeat began. Recorded live with the JB Horns, the track proves that pure groove doesn’t age — it just keeps calling you to move.
🎂 “Cut the Cake” – Average White Band (1975)Written as a tongue-in-cheek thank-you after their first big success, “Cut the Cake” turned celebration into syncopation. It became a dance floor staple and the perfect metaphor for Funky Friday’s milestone moment — forty shows deep and still sharing the groove.
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