In the Beginning, before the Garden, was the Weed. And the Weed begat the gardener
Long ago, in the time before time,
the seventh seed fell, and there sprang up a vine
of silken stem and tendrils scented
finest flower yet invented.
Soon came the wisemen, the poets and scribes,
the great and their mates and their never-you-minds.
Drawn to the vine as a babe to the teat
and deep the root burrowed beneath their good feet
Then one steps forward as many mount fence
and says, I hate to tell ya, gents
but that there creeper aint no vine
never did see one quite so fine
aint no bush and it aint no tree,
brothers, that mother's one funky Weed.
And it is written that the Weed shall inherit the Garden.
(A Group of Flesh-Feeding Plants)
THE LEGEND CONTINUES ...
“In the 1990's there were 2 short-lived versions of a band called
Funkweed. A third version flourished briefly around 2005. Funkweed
Three mutated into 2 distinct varieties … the Deltadelic recording
project, and a live band sometimes called Funkweed and sometimes
Squarefoot. This confused variety failed to survive the first harsh
frost of winter. But fragments of the Funkweed root have now dispersed
around the globe and continue to flower periodically.”
from the introduction to “Gone with The Weed : My Story” by Delta Del
This poster was for the gig below. Artwork & design by Jem Weston
FUNKWEED Exeter Cavern Club 1995
Perfectly Frank
Bass Monster Comin At Ya
video by Samcat
Perfectly Frank
Speak out, sayin what you mean aint easy Sometimes nothin but the truth sounds cheesey Aint got time to mess around with no bullshit Aint no lyin, I’m goin on a truth trip I wanna be perfectly Frank
Turn round, try to see yourself from the flipside Think back, remember where you were when the fun died Aint got time to play a part in your bad scene
Aint no lyin, what I say is what I do mean I wanna be perfectly Frank
Bass Monster
Daddy Daddy, where are we? We’re in space, son
Comin At Ya
I’m comin at ya I’m comin at ya I’m comin at ya with a fuckin big gun
You better run You better hide You better lock the house and stay inside
Below is part of a storyboard for a video that never was. A mad
professor creates the double-headed Bass Monster in his lab, the band arrive in the
band van and capture the Monster aiming to persuade him to join Funkweed
and perform at their upcoming gig. Thanks to the
Monster the gig is a great success and the band become rich and famous. But
their plan ultimately backfires because the Monster always gets all the girls.
Artwork by G-sus.
And talkin of bass monsters ...
MY BOOTSY GOT A HOLE IN IT ....
More Funkweed Two from 1995
Funkweed Exeter Cavern Club 1995
video : Samcat music : Funkweed
My Bootsy got a hole in it taken me by surprise once again
Got a puncture in my funk y'all
Now's the time to pump that mother up
My mind my soul my influential goal Fullfil me Bootsy!
My time my space my final frontier bass Fullfil me Bootsy!
All of the above Funkweed stuff relates to Funkweed version 2 ... E on drums, T-Nebula on bass, G-sus on bass and keys, Jem on
vocals, Dr. JoSea on percussion, Delta Del on guitar.
Here's a root fragment link for T-Nebula, once
the fuzz-bass half of a Monster, now a multi-instrumentalist
singer-songster double-bass
slide-guitarist and painter-artist ...
In 2005 three members of Funkweed version 2 returned to the Garden. The root of the Weed, dormant for several years, was treated with an ancient and secret mixture of alcohol and aromatic herbs and soon flourished again. That year saw a bumper harvest of fruits from the Funkweed forest ...
Videos by C3D
(more details on Youtube)
In memory of E on drums
View of the Garden from the Mothership
THE RAZ BROTHERS ...
Raz Razzle (the Bard of Basingstoke) has many brothers. Sometimes I’m one of them …
The above is a page from Raz's book of songs and poems. Raz is a prolific creator and composer and a historian of all things musical relating to Basingstoke's thriving music scene in the 1960's and 70's when the town played host to everyone from the Beatles to Raz's own band The Horizontal Bulgarians. Those were the days my friend and here's the evidence ...
That’s Stalyvegas … a local nickname for Stalybridge, earned back when a ridiculous number of bars and nightclubs used to thrive in the centre of this small town near Manchester. Video below is from Q Bar Stalybridge 2011, deppin with the Sunflower …
Here’s the original track from Cymande, a quirky and funky British band with a couple of cool albums from the early 70’s …
'Vegas here I come! Cruisin on the Peak Forest canal
TIE-DYE YOUR MIND ...
TIE-DYE YOUR MIND
A song by Funkweed One
(Johnny Twelvebar looks after the Deltadelic Inc. historic lo-fi vault over at the Soundcloud building)
Tie-dye your mind Kaleidoscope inside your head, it’s dreaming time. Tie-dye your mind The sound of colours changing is the sound divine Tie-dye your mind Your hang-ups shrinking as your psychic thread unwinds
Tie-dye your mind Kaleidoscope inside your head, it’s dreaming time. Tie-dye your mind The sound of colours changing is the sound divine Tie-dye your mind Your head is spinning as realities entwine
Reject your monochrome perspective Soften the fabric of your brain Immerse yourself in cosmic liquid Remove your stubborn ego stain
XISTING, NUTHIN BUT XISTING ...
Before the Funkweed sprouted, most of its members were germinating in a band called Xist. Fronted by poet (and these days proper playwright) Johnny Giro (not his real name), the band’s set included an Andrew Lloyd Webber medley in the style of the Ramones and this Madonna classic ...
Even Madonna herself said she preferred Johnny’s version, and whenever she was unable to attend an Xist gig she sent an extremely attractive life-size cardboard cutout. Madonna particularly enjoyed Xist’s unplugged segment, performed only once and involving just 2 songs … Bobby Goldsboro’s ‘Honey’ and a Jimi-style ‘Wild Thing’ complete with smashing of acoustic guitar and kneeling lighter fluid combustion ritual. Madonna loved the flames, despite their potentially disastrous effect on her cardboard self. The venue weren’t so keen. Dont know why cos the stone floor was fireproof (and ideal for unplugged smashings) and extinguishing pints held ready by band members were not required. But I did get a splinter and haven’t trusted acoustic guitars since.
Photo by Dr. JoSea taken at an Xist gig
DELTA DEL : THE HUNGRY YEARS ...
These days Delta Del is an experienced evening diner
Come To Work With Me written by our vocalist and rhythm guitarist Terry Finn. Sometime around 1990 Terry took his own life. He was sharp and dry, a rogue and an ideal frontman. OTL had a short and unstable existence which ended when Andy the drummer joined the Mormon church and quit the band. I think Paul later gave up bass to concentrate on art. It was fun while it lasted.
Here's a live track addressing a controversial issue through the sensitive poetry of Terry's lyrics. Lola was our inflateable backing vocalist. She used to get really pumped up on stage during this number. And she always went down well.
All of the above might give the impression that I was never in any focussed, sensible, conventional type bands. That I was always a musical bum. Yeah I ended up with a one-way ticket to Palookaville, but I played the Reading Festival dude! … at 11.30 a.m. to a half-empty field …
(Sorry I cant credit the unknown photographers, if it’s you please get in touch.)
Apparently there's a recording somewhere of the festival set but I've never heard it. The track below was recorded on a pre-Reading tour ...
(Johnny Twelvebar looks after the Deltadelic Inc. historic lo-fi vault over at the Soundcloud building)
And ... I once played a Norwegian blues festival inside the Arctic Circle, and blues clubs all over Britain … with a somewhat cheesey jive-blues combo …
(Sorry I cant credit the unknown photographers, if it’s you please get in touch.)
This established and popular band was my most ‘successful’ gig. It was fun for a while and the Cadillacs played to a lot of enthusiastic audiences at good blues circuit venues. But it was for me the least challenging musically of any project I've been involved in, and wanted zero creative input (or opinions) from me as a hired hand lead guitarist. For this reason I have very few recordings and I’m not posting any complete tracks. This 3 minute sequence of solos gives a flavour of my contribution. I’m not on any of the bands' CDs, I was their guitarist for live shows from 2005-2007. I quit that jive after 2 years, one too many Palm Royales, and a bad-news band-van bust-up in Belgium. Said bye-bye to the same old circuit blues, buyed me a boat and planned me a cruise.
Here's what auto-translated Dutch website Rootsville had to say about my performance at a gig in Brussels on that fateful final tour in 2007...
"A stunning first performance of the lead guitarist which in the first instance and with his look of a pointillistische painter end of the nineteenth century previously seemed attracted to the band a little more colour. Should that be the case, then all they are equal to a fantastic guitarist subdued. Not once has he a plectrum pulled his fingers and all have a function.”
Yeah!
(Sorry I cant credit the unknown photographer, if it’s you please get in touch.)
So looks like this website is about a musical bum and his imaginary chums. Hope you find/found something to make you smile.
'Vegas here I come! Cruisin on the Peak Forest canal 
Bang on.... Legend
ReplyDeleteDel, This is some great shite here. I'll be droppin' you some imaginary musician stuff really soon (hopefully tomorrow).
ReplyDelete