A Benefit for Radio Station WRVU, Sat. April 8, 2000 Nashville, TN

Taking its name from the seminal series of vinyl compilations that laid the break beat foundations of hip-hop, this year's benefit for Nashville radio station WRVU had a lot to live up to. Last year's show feaured soul jazz legend Weldon Irvine in a set so hot WRVU released it on vinyl for the world to hear. Event organizer and station manager Eothen Alapatt (Egon) upped the ante with this year's line-up, bringing baroque funk master Galt MacDermot out of hiding for a live set backed by the dream-team rhythm section of Bernard "Pretty" Purdie and Bad Bascomb. To say that anticipation was running high would certainly be an understatement.

The concept of the show was to bridge the gap between old-school funk played by live musicians and the use of that music as the basic building blocks of hip hop. To that end, Egon brought together some of the greatest turntablists on the scene and put them on a bill with live funk bands, creating one of the most memorable evenings this funk fanatic has ever witnessed!

The evening got rolling with yours truly and Chase One spinning deep funk 45s by the likes of Jodi Gales, James K-Nine, Eugene Blackwell, and the Third Guitar. Jon Doe brought on the hip-hop next, rocking classic mid-school joints. Then Egon and Signify busted out some dexterous manipulations on their 4-'table rig, dropping everything from the Kashmere Stage Band and Nashville percussionist Boo Boo McAfee to Odetta and Cut Chemist.

Between sets, hosts Egon and Count Bass D hyped up the crowd, bringing out Bascomb, Purdie and McAfee to the adulation of a decidedly hip hop-oriented audience. Egon tossed mint funk 45s and LPs into the crowd all night long (including original copies of some of Galt's rare LPs!) and even introduced Lee Anthony, the Arkansas funk pioneer who grew up with Little Beaver and founded the True Soul record label and studio in Little Rock. As Chase played classic True Soul 45s, Egon threw copies of Thomas East's "Funky Music" into the crowd. Taking a turn at the mic, Count Bass D performed his ode to beat digging, "Spots," which couldn't have been more appropriate. This night was a beat diggers dream come true!

Next up, Mr. Dibbs stunned everyone with a live 2-turntable (plus mini-disc) rendition of one of his legendary mix tapes, including a satanic rendition of Pharaohe Monch's "Simon Sez."

Breakestra, the LA-based ensemble that you read about in last month's issue performed next. A live band that seamlessly mixes old-school deep funk covers in a continuous flow, these guys throw down! Their set included "Bubblegum," "Hook & Sling," "Root Down," "Inner City Blues" (Reuben Wilson-style), "Nautilus,""Humpty Dump," Cymande's "Bra" and many more.

As the clock on the wall read shortly after midnight, 71-year-old MacDermot took the stage with Bascomb and Purdie and launched into a set encompassing all of his most-sampled material. Relentlessly inventive versions of "Coffee Cold," "Space," "Ripped Open by Metal Explosions" and a lengthy HAIR medley were simply riveting. Bascomb's lyrical bass lines perfectly complemented Galt's stabbing "Monk Funk" piano excursions while Purdie snapped that snare like nobody else on the planet! The raucous close of their set - an intense version of "Let the Sunshine In" - ended with Count Bass D grabbing the mic to lead the crowd in old school hip hop chants!

Having to follow such a set was no small feat. It's a good thing Shortkut was on tap. Battling a wicked flu, he hit the decks running, breaking down Gangstarr's "Words that I Manifest" with the component Charlie Parker and James Brown records, sliding into Nas and Jeru classics while scratching source samples like Ahmad jamal over the top. This master turntablist was juggling records between his legs and under his arms, creating breakbeats with his scratches and somehow managing to blow his nose all the while! I caught Bernard Purdie standing just off-stage watching Shortkut in action with a look of amazement on his face. Believe me, Purdie and many of his contemporaries appreciate what hip hop culture has done for funky music. On more than one occasion I heard Galt mention that he thought hip hop had saved the emotion and complex rhthms of funk music.

Closing out the night, Peanut Butter Wolf served up a mix of unusual HAIR-related cuts in obvious tribute to the musical's composer. It was a fitting end to a night full of epiphanies; a once-in-a-lifetime event that bridged any remaining generation gaps between two cultures and provided some of the most intensely funky music any of us had ever heard. Major props must be given to WRVU for not only recognizing the potential of such an event, but for managing to pull it off with such a high degree of success. I've learned that a compilation CD is already in the works, and that Galt plans to release his set on vinyl. Until these releases become a reality, however, you can check RealAudio files at wrvu.org.

WRVU is based in Nashville, TN and is the student-run radio station of Vanderbilt University. A current schedule and live RealAudio broadcasts are available at wrvu.org.

D-Funk

from Big Daddy #4

Click here to read Egon's interview with Galt from the same issue of Big Daddy.

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