Rock and Roll; Interview with Fred Wesley

This is normal we had James Brown. And control. Even though he had that high energy and that our bold attitude he still maintained an amount of respect for what he said on the record he would never use a curse word. He would never disrespect women or disrespect authority. Of anything political he he maintain a say in the courtroom about himself you know the band had to dress a certain way we danced a certain way on stage it was say tomato regimentation even though the music was away from the norm and the attitude was freeing and I made to dance really really really free. George Clinton came along and removed all of those boundaries. Now you can dress like you watch it you can say anything. The music was gone completely crazy because it came out when I heard the first mothership connection read In fact I couldn't believe what was happening you know although I loved it

I was just just totally free and then the group would with the James Brown thing where he has to do stuff Gore all kind of different way you know and I enjoyed I say well what kind of hole as you know it he said I don't know give me some bad you know I'm free I can do anything I want to do so is that a good dad or that I'm doing being overlooked but not to put anything anything that came to my mind I could do it. So now her language is gone. The dress is gone the music is completely out of the bag. The river was a dynamic the louder and the guitars are hooked up to these these are monster after a fire. So everything is is free now. The shackles are we are in big trouble. So what these gangsta rap rappers are doing now we have on ourselves to blame because we took the shackles off. We lead the way. We opened the door. We gave them permission to do what they have done now we have our own. We only have ourselves to blame.

He would put the P-Funk experienced of first Mother Ship Earth to him. You know there were times I don't. Our look around our stage and wonder if maybe these people really were from outer space would come down to earth and were trying to be Earth like and was going it wrong you know like the one guy was when a beekeeper was good. Maybe he thought that's how people dress made for a frenzy so I was a beekeeper the other guy had these these Halloween mask on maybe the first person he saw was a it was some added trick or treat and I think made it easy as you really are from outer space you know. But then I'd look at I look at myself and say what I'm acting from Alabama's A I'm not a modest faded I'm I don't know whether you know so it was really a movement. And like I say it was as of freedom freedom thing.

Free your mind and the rest of your body will will follow and that's whatever the prevailing attitude of the time and it was right on top of the music. The attitude created to music or to music created added to but it was veiling and attitude of that time to seventies. And like I say I don't have the music created it. It created to music but it was all together. Freedom free love hippies all of this was right in the same vein in a time. You know Sly was like an early rebel. He was he was. George always admired sly because you RDA because he took he gave James Brown's funk is all James Brown front let's face it James Brown heat he was the one who who started the whole thing because I think he has the phenomenal nerve to take whatever he does is

correct. So Sly was one of the first people to fall out in his first and he did take it as far joy idea. Well I think he maintained the same amount of respect for same amount of value as you know so. He was a we admired him because the music was good great musically and it was it was great Dasa believe you could dance to real good and he started a lot of thing there's not a lot of new things exponent of desired Brown funk. So he was just one of the early models that we followed. Yeah. Oh fuck. It was simple to do. Straight a musician. A lot of musicians got into disco or. Even a lot of jazz people got a disco I don't know the whole Creed Taylor record label but he did disco albums on everybody whole rock card to Esther Phillips you know that he got. It was funny really you know everybody was doing a disco because it's so simple to do you need a

solid beat so hard so strange. Van McCoy as a great musician. Richie wrong a great musician. He headed down the disco thank God because all you needed was a simple disco formula which was a song a beat and some flowery strange and hard and you had a disco and if you had probably distribution and label your you have it. So for regular Love discovered because I was abusing I got called to do a lot of horn to Stranraer and I made a lot of money on the disco era and I loved it I'd really did enjoy doing it because again it was the same kind of a freedom within boundaries you have certain boundaries you had. Stay with them but it was a good time for me because I made a lot of money doing disco records. Yeah. It was great. It definitely OK to Gavin have style.

Like I put a boat down on the farm you know it or made it elegant it was still foggy but it had it would just would strain and horn arrangements and the sounds that Tommy out of those guys got out of the combination of estimate it put it a sane elegance a bow tie a tuxedo on the phone. I loved it. Yeah. Well calls what was a pivotal Pip pip. It was a pivot point. Cause when I was a pivot point in music because number one as I said before it took one chains and did a lot with it. It it made. It was a counterpoint to put it musically between the the drums debased to guitar and the horns and the

vocal. They all did a different rhythm and part that jail together that the prize actually bounced off of each other and it was James Brown got total credit for it were not total credit for James Brown appeal the others got credit for but it was a collaboration between all the members of the band Clyde Stubblefield drum. Beat is a classic. I mean it has never been definitely recorded like that before. The gym you know learn guitar line it went against the drum beat was definitely a major part of it but not all on baseline which was so simple yet so important. It's indeed all these prizes jump around on each other and maybe that's why it makes you dance because he's part of a bass and I think it was just one of those things that all fit together perfectly and hard line flowed across to have it and then the vocal for a lot across all of the oddities they

fit together perfectly and I don't know if it is I'm sure one intentional I'm sure it didn't happen and tested it but it laid a foundation for things to come after all far. James did I know came within that in that form whether it was that that perfect or not. I don't think it ever was that perfect but it was that basic farmer and I as I'm sure as I said but you had all of these great musicians doing their part with that attitude and the energy that I mentioned before to create this pattern for our music to follow from now fucking Muzaffar. It was so perfect so simply perfect that it played a part of a funk. Even as you know today. Yeah. More. I'll have to give them a zio bats were far Jim Nolan and Clyde

Stubblefield Parker. Not old on this band more or less fallen leaves lead they follow his energy they did they were they went where he said how he was to boost the bed it also but boosie brought his own energy and a lot of times most of the time. Not only was he foreigner in German he was leading James too. He hit his baseline I was so dynamic. See James didn't give Bush his bait Live Journal give bosan ad d a what it would the baseline should be and do so with kind of take it to wearables it went with you know and a lot of time and I was able for with to start playing youth again with it. I get run over bad so even James Brown had to get out of Bruce's way so to speak all of a lead follow or booth the lead here and gaff it was just as strong and energetic as they were with those two together and because you still had the Jabal on drama

which was James drama right so. Well. Well. Well. Mike are.

You a man. Hard worker. The One. Not I'm the one. Musically I don't fall for Bah. You have one two three four. Of course which is one is the one. But as James Brown characterized the one

I don't think he really met one of the two three four. I think he met wherever he put his foot down. The hardest is the one. Like I say I'm not sure about this but everybody takes to what is something different but that guy Joe I say everything is on the watch you know which was on the floor right. OK. So when you asked me about the why you not asked them out as were knowledgeable about it. I'm just someone who just was the one where I was someone else they so wanted and I go into one as strong as I can. I have no one. Everything is one to me.