FUNK RADIO DEMO

[QUINNY]

I mentioned in another thread that I've been putting together a demo CD to try and get a funk radio slot somewhere. Its the first time I've DJ'd at all in 16 years and the first stab at radio presentation in about 22 or so. I was a little rusty at first, to put it mildly, but I'm getting a little better the more I do.
Anyhows, here a list of the tunes that I featured in my demo. My main raison d'etre being that the demo should reflect as many different funk styles as possible, should feature both well known and obscure/semi obscure tracks, as might be played by a DJ presenting the 50th show of a continuing series. My only regret is that I don't have any modern day funk in my collection, but doubtless that could be obtained if deemed necessary.

ROBERT PARKER - GET A STEPPIN' - 1974 - very much in the Meters groove, not surprising as it was produced by Allen Toussaint
LOU DONALDSON - IT'S YOUR THING - A worthy stab at the Isley Brothers classic. The most sampled funk groove ever?: possibly and Lou was quick off the mark with this copy.
JERRY O - FUNKY CHARGE - 196? - almost into Northern soul territory here. Typical 1960's fast Boogaloo type funk hoping to invent the next dance craze.
ALVIN CASH SCOTT BROS. ORCHESTRA - KEEP ON DANCING - 196? - Fairly forgettable instrumental, but the guitar is scratchin' good. I remember Alvin more from later on with The Registers.
RICK JAMES - GIVE IT TO ME BABY - 1981 - Pure Disco Funk of the highest calibre. Love the horns on this.
DEELITE - GROOVE IS IN THE HEART - 1990 -If the dance music had stayed like this I'd still be into it in a big way. Cleverly done
VERNON BURCH - GET UP - 1979 - One of the tracks sampled by Deelite for their worldwide smash above. Workmanlike rather than distinguished Disco Funk, that has its moments.
EXIT 9 - MISS FUNKY FOX - 1975 -Sounding a little like T Connection meets Beginning Of the End vocal wise. I wish I'd had this to play back in the day. Maybe a little corny?
BOBBY VALENTIN - USE IT BEFORE YOU LOOSE IT - 196? - Good slab of latin slightly jazzy funk. I'd love to see a band play this stuff live.
EDDIE HARRIS - LISTEN HERE - 1967 - My current fave record and another latin jazz funk workout. A real groovy record. I played this at the Jazz club the other evening in the break and everyone's feet were set tapping. Infectious or what?
JAMES YOUNG & THE HOUSE WRECKERS - BARKING UP THE WRONG TREE - 197? - With a name like that, this is a must play. It's damned funky too, in a kinda sub James Brown way!
BRASS CONSTRUCTION - WHAT'S ON YOUR MIND? - 1976 - just as a change from Movin' or Changin' this is heavy heavy Disco Funk.
LIVING IN A BOX - GATECRASHIN' - 1989 - Pop Funk to many, but I think it had an edge too. Certainly chugs along with a wicked groove.
EQUALS - FUNKY LIKE A TRAIN - 1975? - From a band better known for singalong pop anthems in the late '60s/early '70s, this was quite a departure. Quite sparce, almost electronic sounding funk that gained more acceptance on the Rare Groove revival scene some 12 years after release.
SLAVE - STELLAR FUNGK - 1978? - This has everything but the kitchen sink! Acid guitar, horns aplenty, vocoder/voice box vocals, a real bass groove and a party feel. Typical Slave then, eh?
EARTH, WIND & FIRE - MIGHTY MIGHTY - 1974 - Back in the days when they was funky with a capital 'F'. This has a real lift and lilt, rarely found in funk tracks, that really makes it swing and grind at the same time.
JU PAR UNIVERSAL ORCHESTRA - FUNKY MUSIC - 1978? - One of two records lifted from vinyl that aren't available on CD. Hell you've got to have the odd trick up your sleeve.
KENNY DELT & PRANA - CONQUER ALL - 1978 - Really loved this heavy slice of disco funk. Played a fair amount back in the day, but has gained kudos since.
KOOL & THE GANG - OPEN SESAME - 1976 - I think this track has been underrated 'cos it was on that film soundtrack and dismissed by many. Just listen to it, get past the slightly kitsch lyricsand what you have is an incredibly strong funk record with possibly the best horn stabs ever!! This motors along and I find it irresistable now.
KOOL & THE GANG - FUNKY STUFF - 1974 - A funk classic and second track to played in a mini featurette.
FRED WESLEY & THE J.Bs - DOIN' IT TO DEATH - 1972 - This record was like pure 200% dynamite when it first came out. Fred's solo (the same one he played on loads more records it seems to me) was revolutionary at the time, and the whole feel of this made it a wonderful funky party time tune.
ZAPP - MORE BOUNCE TO THE OUNCE - 1981- I could never tire of this smash dancefloor hit. Loved the voicebox vocals and bass that kicked and kicked.

Any comments, good, bad or indifferent would be welcomed.

[Forrrce]

Quinny, may be the pirates for you...if you can find one without 24-hour UK garage! Seriously though, there's a bit of Clive Richardson, Tom Holland and Tony Monson in there. It would make interesting listening coming from an older head like yours, but most of the titles listed (good and varied as they are - had 'Funky Charge' for 5 years before I realised it was the b-side of 'There Was A Time' - d'oh!!!) are a mere Virgin/HMV away, on a million and one compilations. I think you'd certainly need a bigger bargaining point than the music (sad, I know) - maybe offer to do the show nude in a glass bubble...who knows what the programmers want! :D

[efunk_adelic]

Originally Posted by QUINNY

I mentioned in another thread that I've been putting together a demo CD to try and get a funk radio slot somewhere. Its the first time I've DJ'd at all in 16 years and the first stab at radio presentation in about 22 or so. I was a little rusty at first, to put it mildly, but I'm getting a little better the more I do.
Anyhows, here a list of the tunes that I featured in my demo. My main raison d'etre being that the demo should reflect as many different funk styles as possible, should feature both well known and obscure/semi obscure tracks, as might be played by a DJ presenting the 50th show of a continuing series. My only regret is that I don't have any modern day funk in my collection, but doubtless that could be obtained if deemed necessary.



Any comments, good, bad or indifferent would be welcomed.

Sounds like a dream of mine also.
Out here in San Diego Quinny, we have a radio station that plays some old R&B (xhrm 92.5). A lot of the selections that you picked would definately catch the ear of the hispanic/black community. Late night on Sunday's features Art Laboe's (quiet storm) ballads & dedications... I'm sure they can find a slot for your show somewhere during the week. During the weekday... they play anything from "Celebration" (yuk) to "More Bounce To The Ounce" probably to appeal to the general public as a whole.

This radio station has a very very strong relationship with the older bands, because they promote, spondor and their dj's appear at a lot of concerts put on out here... I recently went to an "old school" ballads concert (feb 2003)... The stars were Deniece Williams, Intruders, Sly Slick & The Wicked, Blue Magic, Peaches & Herb & Bloodstone. :D

Were you gonna just play tracks or have interviews with the artists also?

[QUINNY]

Forrrce: I realize I haven't a hope in hell, except possibly on a no pay type of gig or maybe local radio if the programme controller suddenly had a mental seizure. The other 'dream' I have is relocation to a sunny country somewhere around the Med where my Englishness, relatively large collection and fair amount of experience might just be an asset.
Although available on compilation CDs, not that many have bothered to buy them have they? There's still millions of people who might find some of the tracks interesting if well presented. It's the presenting I really need to concentrate on, 'cos that at least could seperate me from the rest......maybe. Many of the funk/disco shows I have heard have had presenters of very limited ability, and the music hasn't exactly been sooooo different.
Of course, live interviews with ageing Funk legends could come in extremely helpful, but I doubt I'd ever get them interested unless I had a nice big bag of greenbacks and already had a big reputation myself.

[Nano]

Don't worry Quinny... just make sure you put some talk in the demo, let's say answering (for now made-up) listeners requests Q-style. "Mmmm... you really like the Ohio Players that much? For me, they were just (fill with your favorite dismissives)". :D :D :D

Now, seriously: you could try Groove Collective or the Brooklyn Funk Essentials for recent funk sounds.

Good luck!

[QUINNY]

Forrrce: You'll be glad to know that I've done another demo with a few more obscure vinyl outings on it like:
Follow The Wind - Midnight Movers Unlimited. One of the first 4/4 uptempo funk classics that has yet to be released on CD. Why???
(Rock On) Dance On - Tony Gregory. I've mentioned this before and nobody had heard of it. One of my most played records in sunny Mallorca in its year of release. A bloody good record that time has completely passed by.
Back Up (Hit It Again) - Tornader. Top drawer blue eyed funk in a slower sleazy groove. Great sounding pressing for its age.
Party, Party - Waters. This record did well for me back in '77. Not the greatest record ever made but......
He Was A Man - Leon Lee. I absolutely adored this record. It was fairly unique sounding for its time and still has a rhythm/feel that has had few immitators. Try finding out anything about this record and all you get is a blank. Criminal.
Wings Of Fire - Dennis Coffey. I get the impression this has largely been forgotten about by any of the current disco delving DJs. What a fantastic, relentless funky groove.
Is It In / Get On Down - Eddie Harris. Absolute gems from the mid 70's. Played both of these to death (both 7" are pretty much scratched) back in the day. Both have fantastic grooves and Eddie's eccentric Tenor sax, plus as a bonus he scats to amazing syncopated effect on 'Get on Down'. Wow!!
Gangster Boogie Bump - Willie Henderson. If you're into goodtime funky grooves that lift you to a different plane, look no further. This was f*****g brilliant!! No CD release yet, so far as I know.
Boogie Joe, The Grinder - Quincy Jones. Available on CD but pretty much overlooked by most. A pretty solid groove that I associate with 'Shaft' in my own mind...don't know why. I only wish I could get hold of a decent CD or 7" copy of Money Runner which was even better.

To be honest I don't have an awful lot of obscure 7" or LP tracks in my collection, as I only ever had enough money to buy the records that really counted on the dance floor. Most of these have been released somewhere on CD. Remember, I was a white DJ playing fairly average discos, with no real interest to promote myself as some sort of guru (although I was given the monicker 'El Maestro' in Mallorca by the Spanish regulars).

BTW: The talk is getting better. I'm working on it.

Thanks all for the interest.