Funky Friday – Episode 59: St. Paddy's Funk

🎧 Quick Links:

🎧 Listen live on KDOG 9 AM Pacific Time→ Here

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

📆 Add to Calendar — Funky Friday (Weekly):

• 9 AM KDOG

Add to Google Calendar

• 9 PM KCSM HD2

Add to Google Calendar

🎶 Catch the Replay →Comming Soon

📖 Full Episode Recaps + Setlists → Here

📂 Renegade Radio Site → Here

Airdate: 3.20.26 - 9 AM Pacific Time on KDOG & 9 PM Pacific Time on KCSM HD2

Happy Funky Friday, Renegades of Funk!

Funky Friday – Episode 59: St. Paddy's Funk

Funky Friday Episode 59 will air on March 20th with a different kind of idea guiding the hour. Groove travels. It does not stay in one place, and it does not belong to one scene. It moves through cities, across oceans, and settles wherever musicians understand how to lock into rhythm.

This episode follows that movement.

The broadcast will begin where funk always begins. In the pocket. Rhythm sections will establish the foundation early, with drums and bass creating the space that everything else depends on. The groove will not rush. It will settle in, steady and deliberate, allowing the room to find its center.

Once the foundation is established, the journey will expand.

Soul, jazz, and instrumental funk will carry the first stretch forward. Organ lines will breathe. Guitar rhythms will sit just behind the beat. Horn arrangements will begin to sharpen the edges. The groove will feel familiar, but it will also begin to move outward, searching for something beyond its point of origin.

That movement will lead to Ireland.

The transition will not be announced loudly. It will reveal itself through feel. A rhythm section will shift. A bassline will carry a different kind of weight. Thin Lizzy will arrive not as a rock band, but as a groove. The pocket will still be there, even as the accent changes.

From there, the broadcast will open further.

Irish soul and blues textures will blend into the mix. The rhythm will loosen slightly, then tighten again. A modern groove will emerge in the final stretch, showing that the pocket never disappeared. It only evolved. The connection remains intact across decades and across geography.

By the final segment, the groove returns to center.

Classic funk architecture will reassert itself. Bass and drums will lock back into a familiar discipline. The audience will recognize it immediately. The journey may have traveled, but the pocket remains the constant.

Then the structure breaks.

The final moment will step outside the groove entirely. The broadcast will close with a burst of Irish energy that abandons restraint and embraces celebration. It will feel like the afterparty. The moment when the band stops controlling the room and the room takes over.

That contrast is the point.

Funk begins with discipline. It often ends with release.

The broadcast will air Friday, March 20th at 9AM PT on KDOG and 9PM PT on KCSM HD2, continuing Funky Friday’s approach to intentional programming and musical storytelling.

This week, the groove travels.

Episode 59 explores the journey.

Funky Friday – Episode 59: St. Paddy's Funk

🔥 SETLIST + RENEGADE NOTES

The Meters — “Look-Ka Py Py” (1969)

Personnel: Art Neville (keys), Leo Nocentelli (guitar), George Porter Jr. (bass), Zigaboo Modeliste (drums).

Renegade Note: Minimalist groove authority. The pocket is established immediately with restraint and precision. Every note has space to land.

Booker T. & The M.G.’s — “Melting Pot” (1971)

Personnel: Booker T. Jones (organ), Steve Cropper (guitar), Donald “Duck” Dunn (bass), Al Jackson Jr. (drums).

Renegade Note: Extended groove exploration. The rhythm section stretches the pocket without ever losing control of the center.

Average White Band — “Work to Do” (1974)

Personnel: Alan Gorrie (bass, vocals), Hamish Stuart (guitar), Roger Ball and Malcolm Duncan (saxophones), Robbie McIntosh (drums).

Renegade Note: Scottish funk precision. Horns and rhythm section lock into a tight, forward-moving groove.

The Crusaders — “Put It Where You Want It” (1971)

Personnel: Joe Sample (keys), Wilton Felder (bass), Stix Hooper (drums), Wayne Henderson (trombone).

Renegade Note: Jazz-funk balance. Smooth phrasing sits on top of a disciplined rhythm section.

The Bar-Kays — “Holy Ghost” (1978)

Personnel: Larry Dodson (vocals), James Alexander (bass), Willie Hall (drums), Bar-Kays ensemble.

Renegade Note: Raw Memphis energy. The groove is loose but powerful, driven by rhythm section confidence.

James Brown — “The Payback” (1973)

Personnel: James Brown (vocals), Fred Wesley (trombone), Bootsy Collins (bass), Jabo Starks (drums), The J.B.’s.

Renegade Note: Deep funk authority. Slower tempo, heavier pocket. The groove becomes undeniable through repetition and control.

Thin Lizzy — “Johnny the Fox Meets Jimmy the Weed” (1976)

Personnel: Phil Lynott (bass, vocals), Scott Gorham (guitar), Brian Robertson (guitar), Brian Downey (drums).

Renegade Note: Irish street groove. Not labeled as funk, but the rhythm section carries a pocket that translates across genres.

Rory Gallagher — “Tattoo’d Lady” (1973)

Personnel: Rory Gallagher (guitar, vocals), Gerry McAvoy (bass), Wilgar Campbell (drums).

Renegade Note: Blues-driven momentum. The groove shifts slightly forward while maintaining rhythmic discipline.

Van Morrison — “Moondance” (1970)

Personnel: Van Morrison (vocals), Jack Schroer (saxophone), John Klingberg (bass), Gary Mallaber (drums).

Renegade Note: Irish soul sophistication. Swing, jazz, and rhythm combine into a smooth, controlled pocket.

The Blackbyrds — “Rock Creek Park” (1975)

Personnel: Donald Byrd (producer), Blackbyrds ensemble including Kevin Toney (keys) and Joe Hall (drums).

Renegade Note: Late-night groove. The rhythm settles into a smooth, atmospheric pocket that carries forward.

Soulive — “Turn It Out”

Personnel: Eric Krasno (guitar), Neal Evans (organ), Alan Evans (drums).

Renegade Note: Modern pocket continuation. The groove proves that the discipline of funk extends beyond its original era.

Kool & The Gang — “Funky Stuff” (1973)

Personnel: Robert “Kool” Bell (bass), Ronald Bell (tenor saxophone), George Brown (drums), Kool & The Gang ensemble.

Renegade Note: Groove celebration. Rhythm and horns push the energy forward while maintaining tight control.

Dropkick Murphys — “I’m Shipping Up to Boston” (2005)

Personnel: Ken Casey (bass, vocals), Al Barr (lead vocals), Matt Kelly (drums), James Lynch (guitar), Marc Orrell (guitar), Tim Brennan (accordion, tin whistle), Scruffy Wallace (bagpipes).

Renegade Note: Controlled chaos. The pocket gives way to momentum as rhythm surges forward. After an hour of discipline, the release becomes the point.

🔗 Quick Links:

🎧 Listen live on KDOG 9 AM Pacific Time→ Here

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

📆 Add to Calendar — Funky Friday (Weekly):

• 9 AM KDOG

Add to Google Calendar

• 9 PM KCSM HD2

Add to Google Calendar

🎶 Catch the Replay →Comming Soon

📖 Full Episode Recaps + Setlists → Here

📂 Renegade Radio Site → Here

Funk Facts

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🎹 The Meters — Minimalism Creates the Pocket

“Look-Ka Py Py” shows how little it takes to build a groove. The Meters strip funk down to its essentials. Guitar, bass, and drums leave space instead of filling it. That restraint allows the rhythm to settle naturally. The pocket becomes stronger when nothing unnecessary gets in the way.

🎹 Booker T. & The M.G.’s — The Groove Can Stretch

“Melting Pot” expands funk without losing discipline. The band extends the groove over a longer form while keeping every instrument anchored to the rhythm section. Extended tracks like this prove that funk can travel without drifting. The center always holds.

🎷 Average White Band — Groove Without Borders

“Work to Do” reflects how funk moved beyond its original geography. A Scottish band locks into an American groove tradition with precision and feel. The pocket does not belong to a place. It belongs to musicians who understand timing.

🎺 The Crusaders — Jazz Inside the Groove

“Put It Where You Want It” blends jazz phrasing with funk rhythm. The band plays with fluidity, but the groove remains steady underneath. Funk does not reject complexity. It simply demands that complexity stays inside the pocket.

🔥 The Bar-Kays — Raw Energy Still Needs Control

“Holy Ghost” brings a looser, more aggressive feel into the groove. The band pushes forward with energy, but the rhythm section keeps everything grounded. Even at its most explosive, funk depends on control.

👑 James Brown — The Groove Becomes Authority

“The Payback” slows funk down and makes it heavier. James Brown proves that tempo does not define energy. Repetition and placement do. The groove becomes more powerful when every instrument commits to the same center.

🍀 Thin Lizzy — Groove Beyond Genre

“Johnny the Fox Meets Jimmy the Weed” shows how funk can exist outside its label. Thin Lizzy is known as a rock band, but the rhythm section locks into a groove that carries the same DNA. The pocket does not recognize genre boundaries.

🎸 Rory Gallagher — Blues Rhythm Drives Forward

“Tattoo’d Lady” leans into blues energy while maintaining rhythmic discipline. The groove moves slightly ahead of the beat, creating tension without losing control. Funk often overlaps with other forms when the rhythm remains consistent.

🎷 Van Morrison — Irish Soul Meets Swing

“Moondance” blends jazz, swing, and soul into a smooth rhythmic flow. The groove is relaxed, but every instrument stays connected. Funk does not always announce itself. Sometimes it arrives quietly through feel.

🌆 The Blackbyrds — Atmosphere Inside the Pocket

“Rock Creek Park” settles into a late-night groove that feels almost weightless. The rhythm section does not push. It holds steady while everything else floats around it. Funk can create space as easily as it creates movement.

🎹 Soulive — The Groove Continues Forward

“Turn It Out” proves that funk did not end in the 1970s. A modern organ trio locks into the same rhythmic discipline that defined earlier eras. The sound evolves, but the pocket remains unchanged.

🎺 Kool & The Gang — Rhythm as Celebration

“Funky Stuff” captures the band’s early focus on groove-driven arrangements. Horns and rhythm section work together to build momentum without losing control. Funk often feels like a celebration, but it is built on structure.

🍀 Dropkick Murphys — Release After the Pocket

“I’m Shipping Up to Boston” closes the journey by stepping outside the groove entirely. The rhythm accelerates, structure loosens, and momentum takes over. After an hour built on discipline and restraint, the release becomes the final statement. The pocket does not disappear. It gives way to something louder.