This time I’m letting Michael Hampton talk.
Michael has been a professional guitarist since he was in his teens, earning his place in one of the most influential funk bands of all time by being able to reproduce a ridiculously difficult solo when he was 17. By the time he was done, there was no chance that he wasn’t going to be in contention for a spot in the lineup in the musical collective known as Parliament-Funkadelic.
Michael has mostly kept his work within the ranks of the group, but recently he’s been making a concert effort to step out on his own and do some solo material. Last year saw the release of the album INTO THE PUBLIC DOMAIN, and he’s just released a new album, KING KONG.
It was a lot of fun talking to Michael, and it was absolutely entertaining, although I’ll be the first to admit that I sometimes lost the thread of the conversation. That said, I don’t think he ever did, because as you’ll hear, there are a couple of occasions where he goes on a tear about this or that, but when all’s said and done, he comes right back to the original question. You know how a certain politician refers to his manner of speaking as “the weave”? Not only does Michael Hampton put him to shame, but he’s a thousand times more enjoyable to listen to, even if you don’t always follow where he’s going. It’s all about the journey, baby.
During the course of our chat, we talk about how he felt about having been crowned Kidd Funkadelic, whether it was weird for him when Eddie Hazel came back to sit in with the group, why he thinks funk remains such a popular form of music, and for my part, I was thrilled about how excited he got when I asked him what he remembered about recording with the Golden Palominos. I think I also threw him a bit when I referenced a quote about him from George Clinton’s memoir, but he gave a hell of an answer to my question anyway.
Well, that’s probably enough of an intro. It’s time to let Michael Hampton talk.
