George Clinton is feeling perplexed. At 81, the funk legend is headed to Truckee on a farewell tour with the latest edition of Parliament-Funkadelic, which now includes his son, daughter and a number of his grandkids.
“It’s weird,” Clinton says, “because everything’s getting so hot. I mean, the shows are selling out. The band is hot. It’s been great having a chance to see what the young kids are doing and how to make that work within the P-Funk band, and we’ve come up with some new things that’s really working.”
That’s what makes him so perplexed, he says, “‘cause yeah, I’m ready to retire, but it’s getting so interesting out here with the people loving all the different things we’re doing. But it’s their turn now.” The plan is for the P-Funk name to carry on without him.. “I’ve just got to get them together to make sure they keep going. Because they’re not retiring.”
He’s still deciding who he thinks should run things when he comes in off the road.
“I’ve got all my grandkids and my son and daughter in there,” Clinton says. “So I’m trying to figure out, like a reality show, who’s gonna be the one to do that.”
In a recent interview with Rolling Stone, Clinton said he still feels like he did in the 1950s and ’60s, when he was just starting out.
“That’s what’s confusing,” he said. “It’s still exciting. We were actually inspired to do the new Parliament album we have out, ‘Medicaid Fraud Dogg.’ And people took to it so well; you just feel like you can do it again.”
He is not saying goodbye to the studio. “I’m gonna keep doing that,” Clinton said. “I’m gonna keep producing and do some cartoons. I’m in that ‘Trolls 2’ movie. And then you’ve got Samuel L. Jackson playing me in this movie about Neil Bogart at Casablanca, ‘Spinning Gold.'”
–Dan Hubbard
George Clinton & Parliament Funkadelic
With the Black Rock City Allstars and Tha Exchange
All ages show
When: 4 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 14; doors open at 3
Where: Truckee River Regional Park, 10050 Brockway Rd, Truckee, CA 96161
Tickets: Online or in person at New Moon Natural Food in Truckee and Tahoe City, Recycled Records in Reno and The Buttermuffin in South Lake Tahoe
