Funky Friday – Episode 64: The Funk Engine Room

🎧 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 → Here

📖 Full Episode Recaps + Setlists → Here

📂 Renegade Radio Site → Here

Airdate: 4.17.26 - 9 AM Pacific Time on KDOG & 9 PM Pacific Time on KCSM HD2

Happy Funky Friday, Renegades of Funk!

Funky Friday – Episode64: The Funk Engine Room

Most conversations about funk stay at the surface. Horn lines. Basslines. Hooks that stick. This set goes somewhere else. Underneath all of it. Where the groove is actually built.

The show opens already in motion. Get Up (I Feel Like Being a) Sex Machine does not warm up. It arrives running. Tight. Immediate. The engine is already on. Cissy Strut follows and shifts the feel. Looser. Deeper. Not rushed. Just locked. Superstition builds from there. Rhythm layered on rhythm. Every part doing its job.

What Is Hip? sharpens the picture. Precision enters the room. Nothing wasted. Every note placed exactly where it needs to be. Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin) expands the system. The bass steps forward. Not following the groove. Driving it. Funky Drummer brings it back to the source. Space inside the beat. Movement that feels human, not mechanical, but never out of control.

The middle of the set leans into complexity. Hang Up Your Hang Ups opens the system up. More parts. More interaction. Still balanced. Actual Proof pushes it further. Interlocking patterns. No excess. Just motion. Look-Ka Py Py pulls things back slightly. A reminder that looseness and control are not opposites. Soul Vaccination tightens it again. Structure returns with force.

The final stretch connects everything forward. Funk You Muthafunka shows what the same ideas sound like now. Sharper edges. Higher intensity. The pocket still holds. Phyllis closes the set without trying to overpower it. Clean. Controlled. The engine still running, just not being pushed.

Funky Friday Episode 64 stays in the engine room.

If the foundation is right, everything moves.

Funky Friday – Episode 64: The Funk Engine Room

🔥 SETLIST + RENEGADE NOTES

James Brown — “Get Up (I Feel Like Being a) Sex Machine” (1970)

Personnel: James Brown (vocals), Bobby Byrd (backing vocals), Bootsy Collins (bass), Catfish Collins (guitar), Jabo Starks (drums), The J.B.’s.

Renegade Note: Immediate entry. No buildup. The groove is already in motion when the set begins.

The Meters — “Cissy Strut” (1969)

Personnel: Art Neville (keyboards), Leo Nocentelli (guitar), George Porter Jr. (bass), Joseph “Zigaboo” Modeliste (drums).

Renegade Note: The feel shifts. Loose and unforced. The groove settles without losing control.

Stevie Wonder — “Superstition” (1972)

Personnel: Stevie Wonder (vocals, clavinet, drums, Moog bass), Malcolm Cecil and Robert Margouleff (synth programming support).

Renegade Note: Layers build. Rhythm multiplies. Each part reinforces the system without crowding it.

Tower of Power — “What Is Hip?” (1973)

Personnel: Lenny Williams (lead vocals), Emilio Castillo (tenor saxophone), Stephen “Doc” Kupka (baritone saxophone), Bruce Conte (guitar), Rocco Prestia (bass), David Garibaldi (drums), Tower of Power Horn Section.

Renegade Note: Precision enters. Nothing wasted. Every note is placed with intention.

Sly and the Family Stone — “Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin)” (1970)

Personnel: Sly Stone (vocals, keyboards), Larry Graham (bass), Greg Errico (drums), Freddie Stone (guitar), Cynthia Robinson (trumpet), Jerry Martini (saxophone), Rose Stone (keyboards, vocals).

Renegade Note: The bass takes control. The groove is no longer supported. It is driven.

James Brown — “Funky Drummer (Pt. 1 & 2)” (1970)

Personnel: James Brown (bandleader), Clyde Stubblefield (drums), Bootsy Collins (bass), Catfish Collins (guitar), The J.B.’s.

Renegade Note: Space inside the beat. Movement feels human, but never loses its center.

Herbie Hancock — “Hang Up Your Hang Ups” (1975)

Personnel: Herbie Hancock (keyboards), Paul Jackson (bass), Mike Clark (drums), Bennie Maupin (saxophone), Blackbyrd McKnight (guitar), The Headhunters.

Renegade Note: The system expands. More parts, more interaction, still balanced.

Herbie Hancock — “Actual Proof” (1974)

Personnel: Herbie Hancock (keyboards), Paul Jackson (bass), Mike Clark (drums), Bennie Maupin (saxophone), Bill Summers (percussion).

Renegade Note: Interlocking patterns. No excess. The groove becomes pure motion.

The Meters — “Look-Ka Py Py” (1969)

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

Renegade Note: Release without collapse. Looseness returns, but the structure holds.

Tower of Power — “Soul Vaccination” (1973)

Personnel: Lenny Williams (vocals), David Garibaldi (drums), Rocco Prestia (bass), Bruce Conte (guitar), Tower of Power Horn Section.

Renegade Note: Structure tightens again. The system reasserts control with force.

Ghost-Note — “Funk You Muthafunka” (2018)

Personnel: Robert “Sput” Searight (drums), Nate Werth (percussion), MonoNeon (bass), Ghost-Note ensemble.

Renegade Note: Modern extension. Sharper edges. Higher intensity. The pocket remains intact.

Lettuce — “Phyllis” (2015)

Personnel: Adam Deitch (drums), Erick “Jesus” Coomes (bass), Adam “Shmeeans” Smirnoff (guitar), Ryan Zoidis (saxophone), Eric “Benny” Bloom (trumpet), Nigel Hall (keyboards, vocals).

Renegade Note: Controlled finish. The engine stays running, without being pushed.

🔗 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 → Here

📖 Full Episode Recaps + Setlists → Here

📂 Renegade Radio Site → Here

Funk Facts

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🔥 James Brown — Get Up (I Feel Like Being a) Sex Machine

Built on a stripped-down rhythm section, the track emphasizes repetition and timing. The groove is driven by tight interaction between bass and drums, creating motion without harmonic complexity.

🥁 The Meters — Cissy Strut

Defined by its relaxed pocket, the groove sits slightly behind the beat. The rhythm section maintains control through restraint, allowing space to shape the feel rather than fill it.

🎹 Stevie Wonder — Superstition

Centered on clavinet rhythm, the track layers percussive elements to create forward motion. Each part functions independently while locking into a unified groove.

⚙️ Tower of Power — What Is Hip?

A study in precision. The drum pattern and bassline interlock with exact timing, using ghost notes and syncopation to create complexity without losing clarity.

🎸 Sly and the Family Stone — Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin)

Introduces slap bass as a percussive force. The bassline becomes part of the rhythm engine, working alongside the drums rather than supporting them.

🥁 James Brown — Funky Drummer (Pt. 1 & 2)

Built around Clyde Stubblefield’s break, the track uses space and subtle variation to create movement. The groove feels fluid while remaining structurally consistent.

🧠 Herbie Hancock — Hang Up Your Hang Ups

Expands the rhythm section into a layered system. Multiple instruments interact rhythmically, increasing density while maintaining balance.

⚡ Herbie Hancock — Actual Proof

Complex interlocking patterns between bass and drums create continuous motion. The groove is driven by precision and timing rather than repetition.

🌊 The Meters — Look-Ka Py Py

Returns to a looser feel, where timing breathes without losing alignment. The groove demonstrates how flexibility and control can coexist.

🧬 Tower of Power — Soul Vaccination

A tightly structured arrangement where rhythm section and horns move in coordinated patterns. The groove is reinforced through precision and repetition.

🚀 Ghost-Note — Funk You Muthafunka

A modern extension of classic funk drumming, featuring dense ghost notes and high-speed articulation. The groove remains anchored despite increased intensity.

🔧 Lettuce — Phyllis

Built on a tight, controlled pocket, the track emphasizes consistency and balance. The rhythm section operates as a unified system, maintaining clarity at all times.