Brought to you by FUNKNSTUFF.NET and hosted by Scott Goldfine — musicologist and author of “Everything Is on the One: The First Guide of Funk” ― “TRUTH IN RHYTHM” is the interview show that gets DEEP into the pocket with contemporary music’s foremost masters of the groove.
Featured in Part 2 of this two-part series: Prolific funk drummer Frankie “Kash” Waddy, the beatkeeper on a gang of recordings by the Parliament-Funkadelic empire, particularly Bootsy’s Rubber Band. Hailing from Ohio’s funk hotbed area of Cincinnati, Waddy was a member of Bootsy and his brother Catfish’s band the Pacemakers, which also included singer Phillipe Wynne of eventual Spinners fame and later a prominent voice on Funkadelic’s monster hit “(Not Just) Knee Deep.”
The Pacemakers became J.B.’s backing group for a landmark year between 1970-1971 when the Godfather of Soul unleashed classics like “Get Up (I Feel Like Being a) Sex Machine,” “Super Bad,” “Soul Power,” “Talkin’ Loud and Sayin’ Nothing” and the instrumental “The Grunt.” Unfortunately, due to some friction Waffy is only credited with the latter track. The Collins brothers and Kash went on to form a Funkadelic-like band called the House Guests, which caught the attention of George Clinton.
Beginning with Funkadelic’s 1972 album America Eats Its Young, Waddy embarked on a long, winding and amazing road with P-Funk. Although he is all over the Funk Mob’s vast catalog, his most consistent post has always been as a member of the Rubber Band providing the backbeat for all of Bootsy’s great jams in studio and on stage. That includes songs like “Stretchin’ Out,” “I’d Rather Be With You,” “The Pinocchio Theory,” “Hollywood Squares,” “Bootzilla,” “Roto Rooter,” “Jam Fan,” and so many others.
One of funk’s legendary drummers shares his experiences with the giants of the genre and talks about important life lessons learned along the way.
Recorded October 2017