The 420FM Super Meltdown TripFest was the brainchild of Funkadelic Mike "Clipadelic" Payne who wanted to create a scene where musicians from different styles and disciplines could get together and play some of the music they love.
The TripFest started to take shape at the when Clip began incorporating members of West Woody Posse, his friends from his new home into the mix.
Then what began as an annual party mushroomed into the

A Festival that brings funkateers, jam band, hip/hop and rock-n-roll fans together. A musical journey that touches everything from funk to hip/hop to Rock-n-Roll. Where everything and anything is possible. Performances include; originals, solo material, seldom played Parliament/Funkadelic rarities, and odd covers like Black Sabbath's Sweet Leaf, and Hendrix's Freedom.

A Haze of smoke filled the club as fans packed into Woodstock's Joyous Lake to catch the 420 Funk Mob and their special guests Belita Woods, Shonda Clinton, Dr. Know and Daryl Jenifer from Bad Brains and Zach Alford from B-52's take it to the stage. That was just the beginning. The TRIPFEST scene began to grow. Crowds packed into New York's WETLANDS, the Knitting Factory and Jersey's Stone Pony to be part of the scene. Word spread quickly and it was on to colleges in the Northeast and Festival crowds across the United States and Europe.

The Tripfest has featured a host of guest performers and bands from all across the musical spectrum, that has led fans to declare, "You never know who's gonna show up or what's gonna happen but its always something special." Past Special Guests have included:

George Clinton, Fred Wesley, Billy Bass Nelson, Cordell "Boogie" Mosson, Belita Woods, Rodney "Skeet" Curtis, Shonda Clinton, Shelia Horn, Mike "Kidd Funkadelic" Hampton, Stozo, Dr Know, Daryl Jenifer of BAD BRAINS, Zack Alford of Gwen Stefani, Lige Curry, Toshi Reagon, The Flash, Jazzman Stanley Jordan, Garry Shider, Bluegrass virtuoso Eric McFadden, Star Cullars, Funkin, Enemy Squad, Rock Attack -10 of TRACK ADDICTS, Amp Fiddler, Angela Workman from RAY CHARLES, Ras T, Chuck Treace, Andre Foxxe, DRUGS, Blak Neks, Defiant Ones, Cacophonic FM,Ted Orr, Ron Priest Smith, Chicken Burke, Adam Widoff, Stephanie Mckay of Mos Def, Jen Leigh of KELIS, Joe Eppard from 3, Wooden, Jen Durkin & Bomb Squad, Scott Taylor, Dave CasT, Mike Birnbaum, Matthew M Chedid, Mudbone Cooper, Gael Barbieri, Nowell Haskins, Wooden, 3, Kidd Funkadelic Experience, Peter Keys, G. Pace, Lonnie Motley and a host of others.

420 FM Live on the Off Days was the first release from the Wefunk Ad2k Live Entertainment Archives. This two disc set contains material from the very first 420 Funk Mob show in 1997 through 2001's two sold out 420FM Tripfests at New York City's Wetlands. Rare Funkadelic and Parliament tracks, many performed, recorded and released LIVE for the first time anywhere! Performances by: George Clinton, Drugs, Cacophonic FM, Flash & the Blak Neks w/ Rock Attack Ten, Toshi Reagan, Stanley Jordan and of course the 420 Funk Mob .

JUST RELEASED the 420 Funk Mob's second concert recording"Alive in Spain", a 3 cd set from the bands headline event at the Chillin' Drone Festival. The 25th Anniversary of Spanish National Radio 3. 6500 people jammed the Zaragoza Symphony Hall for a show fans have hailed as "classic funkadelic....off the hook....a funk fans dream" Also included is the bands first DVD release, WHAT TIME IS IT? Which includes the bands historic 4/20/04 Performance at the FREEBIRD CAFE in Jacksonville Florida, and The Universal Church of Love & Music's Freedom Fest July 3 2004! Don't miss this chance to own the 3cd/ and bonus dvd package critics call "an essential for any true funk fan, and some of the best live music of the year," jambase called it, "a return to the Pedro Bell era of Funkadelic glory..a band determined to carry on the legacy of George Clinton."

ALIVE IN SPAIN

In Feb. 2005 the TRIPFEST made a stealth appearance at Super Bowl 38 in Jacksonville. Under the banner WEFUNK FM we took our party to worlds biggest party as the ESPN/NFL TAILGATE PARTY. 420 Funk Mob and DRUGS combined to form one SUPERGROUP, and brought George CLinton, Sativa, Kendra Foster, Kidd Funkadelic and the Muzik Mafia's Jon Nicholson & Jerry Navarro. Anyone entering the stadium had to past the stage that the bands performed on. 420FM and DRUGS are the only unsigned bands to ever take part in a Superbowl event. On the bill with them was Alicia Keys, Gretchen Wilson with Charlie Daniels and Paul McCartney.


In July the TRIPFEST returned to Pennsylvania as DRUGS: The Mis-Americans and the 420 Funk Mob with Special Guests headlined the Church of Universal Love and Music's Freedom Fest July 3rd. The posse then ventured overseas to Heidelberg Germany with Fred Wesley and George Clinton in tow to bring the TRIPFEST to the AUDIOSOUL FESTIVAL. A new music and media festival held in the ruins of a 1200 year old castle.
The Heidelberg Press stated "
The fans, mostly below 30, went fully into ecstasy. Everyone in the Castle Courtyard was dancing .People were jumping up and down, throwing their hands in the air with the funk sign salute.The driving sound of the Funk Mob with special guest Fred Wesley, had the entire crowd swaying to the Seductive Psychedelic Funky Rhythms." ..... Heidelberg Press

Press Photos by Friederike-hentschel


On Halloween 2006 the TRIPFEST was broadcast around the world on Sirius Satellite Radio. It was Sirius's first day of World Wide Internet Broadcasting and they celebrated it on the Jam On station by a performance of DRUGS and 420 Funk Mob with Special Guest George Clinton. Clip Payne, Mike Hampton, Gabe Gonzalez, Lige Curry, Chicken Burke and George were interviewed by Jam ON Dj Stef Scarmado. Both bands did an hour long performance that has been braodcast on the Jam ON, Shady 45, and Heart and Soul stations.

In November the TRIPFEST was a featured event at the 2006 CMJ Conference. During the week Clip Payne, Georg CLinton, Barbarella Bishop and Archie Ivy spoke on various panels at this venerated college music symposium. The week ended with a Showcase event at CRASH MANSION featuring 420 Funk Mob with special guest George CLinton and Kendra Foster and DRUGS. The show sold out and the block of CMJ participants waiting to get into the event went down the block and around the corner onto Rivington Street

Plans are in the works to bring the TripFest back to Europe and then to Japan and Austrialia the Summer of 2007.


 420FM Super Meltdown TripFest

Dedicated to the Preservation and the Motivation of Hips!



Live on the Off Days
MPEG Video Clip:
Dr.Funkenstein.mpeg

Hear The TripFest Introduction

Hear Nuthin' Before Me But Thang

Hear Balance

Hear Cold Hearted World w/ Toshi Reagon

Click Here to Buy the CD



Photos

2003 TripFest
Universal Church of Love and Music's ROCKTOBER FUNKFEST Acme, Pennsylvania & The HAUNT, Ithaca, NY

The 420FM Super Meltdown TripFest took to the road again in October with weekend hits in Pennsylvania and Upstate New York. The First event was the Universal Church of Love and Music's Rocktober Funkfest. The last of their outdoor concert "services" for the year. "The 420 Funk Mob and their counterpart Drugs" got a mention on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, the emmy winning Comedy Central Television program, as part of a feature on the Church. Despite the freezing temperatures the 420FM took it to another level with a 3 hour set. Not only was the sound incredible up to a half a mile away from the stage, but the psychedlic light show was incredible.

 

 


Taking their "OFF DAYS" party another step this year, the band made use of off days on the Parliament/Funkadelic tour to fly across the country to headline a weekend of shows, then hook back up with the band for their Boston gig at the Roxy. After being on tour for a month, George Clinton decided that rather than take a day off in Texas, it would be more fun to sit in with the 420FM when the TRIPFEST landed at the Haunt, the legendary bar in Upstate New York.


2003 Meltdown in Miami:
420 Funk Mob at the 10th Annual Marley Festival.

The band escaped the snowy Northeast to fly down to Miami and co-headline the festival with the Marley Family. It was a party weekend. Lige Curry's birthday and hooking up with old Detroit friend Ras Kente. Clip, Amp, and Gabe from 420fm had been in Ras's band ONYX back in Detroit along with fellow P-Funk member Paul Hill, so it was old home week. George Clinton flew in the morning of the show to be our special guest. We were originally scheduled to perform at 420 in the afternoon but we had to move things up so GC could catch an early flight back to LA to record with the Rolling Stones Ron Wood. The band opened the festival with an hour long set that included The Goose, Cosmic Slop, Up for the Downstroke/Bounce to This, Mothership Connection and Red Hot Mama.!


2002 TripFest
The Stone Pony, Asbury Park NJ, The Haunt, Ithaca, NY, Vasser and Bard Colleges

Four shows in three days. SOLD OUT club shows at The Haunt, Ithaca NY and the New Jersey landmark The Stone Pony! Then two shows on Saturday. An afternoon TRIPFEST at Bard and another at Vassar College later that night. On Sunday we loaded up the bus for a quick trip to NYC where George and members of the 420 FM made a special appearance at the third annual HIGH TIMES Stony Awards!


The Fans Speak Out 420FM Reviews posted at New Funk Times


WEFUNK World-Wide

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Links

www.wefunkrecords.com - The official site of WEFUNK records

420FM at Tramps 1/15/99 -A review of the 2nd 420FM Show

www.GeorgeClinton.com - The official site of the biggest dog in the game George Clinton.

.The Real OG - Original Funkadelic's Billie Bass Nelson Site

The E*Squad Joint - Gabe Gonzalez's E-Squad on the Web

CitraFunk -Citrus's P-Funk Photo Album

Is Bootsy with Y'all? - No. He's here. The official Bootsy Collins site

Overvision - Overton Lloyd's Site

Stozoland - Stozo's official Site

www.thefunkstore.com - The place to buy the entire Wefunk Catalogue.

Cousin Freddy's Collectibles - One of Kind Artwork for fans of Cacophonic FM, The BAND, and Allman Brothers.  

Reviews

The Clinton that Did Inhale: Funk Festival at Haunt Brings Legend to Ithaca
By Andrew Gilman

Last Thursday night, over 500 people gathered for a sold-out funk festival at the Haunt, put on by Parliament-Funkadelic off-shoots DRUGS, Kidd Funkadelic, and 420 FM with special guest George Clinton. Throughout the night, concert-goers packed shoulder to shoulder and shook the small, hot, upstate-backward space of the Haunt as they got down to each of the three conglomerate bands' slightly different take on the classic P-Funk style.

The mighty father of all Funkadelia, George Clinton, presided over the celebrations and performed with the headlining act, 420 FM. Although Clinton's electric and legendary stage presence was the high point of the concert, DRUGS and Kidd Funkadelic played their individual blends of earthy jam-rock, also inciting a fury of dance from the audience. From about 9:30 until past 2:00 in the morning, the three bands played glorious funk, which inspired a tremendous amount of energy from the audience.

Taking the stage first, DRUGS set a high standard of funkability for the other two bands to follow. After a few minutes of asking the house DJ to turn down the lights and the background music, DRUGS began their set with their personal introductions and a gradually building jam that led into the boisterous groove of the song "Deep Down in the Dumps," from their only album, The Prescription for Mis-America (www.420Tripfest.com). DRUGS consists of three P-Funk members -- Clip Payne (vocals), Lige Curry (bass), and the often diaper-clad Gary "Star Child" Shider (rhythm guitar) -- and four Woodstock musicians -- Adam Widoff (lead guitar), Robert "Chicken" Burke (drums), and Jeremy Bernstein (guitar). To top it off, the Philadelphia-born Stephanie McKay provided her proud, sweet voice as the hook on most the songs. From the mellow lows of sweet funk jams, such as "Strung Out," to the excited highs of boastful funk-rock ("Never Ever"), this mix of Parliament-Funkadelic members and upstate New York talent played with great cohesion and skill. As DRUGS left the stage, the sweating guy with the eccentric dance behind me exclaimed, "Man, if that's just the opening band, I can't wait to hear the rest!"

Next, Kidd Funkadelic took the stage. A three-man ensemble, they fused metal and funk in a rock-out performance. Michael Hampton, a.k.a. Kidd Funkadelic, played blazing guitar riffs in his personal amalgam of psychedelic, Hendrix-influenced rock and the early, heavy funk of Funkadelic. Gabe Gonzalez (drums) and Eli Ward (bass) joined Hampton in funk-metal jams, including "Maggot Brain" and a compelling cover of Hendrix's "Machine Gun." While Ward played bass and sang into a Frampton-like voice modifier, and Gonzalez aggressively beat hard-rock rhythms, Hampton shook his long, braided hair in time with his guitar solos. Although Kidd Funkadelic funked hard, they did not play for long, and 420FM with George Clinton would take the stage soon.

As a small mob of musicians and roadies prepared for the performance of 420 FM, the audience eagerly awaited George Clinton's appearance. Minutes later, 420 FM ran onstage to begin their first song "Nuthin' Before Me But Thang." As a massive group, including members of DRUGS and Kidd Funkadelic, 420 FM quickly created a deeply woven fabric of funk layers. Clip Payne (the MC/vocalist) explained that "this [420] is the off-days from touring with Parliament-Funkadelic, these days are the days we play with out friends." The band is fleshed out by Lige Curry, Kidd Funkadelic, Gabe Gonzalez, Amp Fiddler (keyboard), and Gary Shider just, to name a few. Just when 420 settled into their first groove, George Clinton emerged onstage with an overwhelming, ecstatic explosion from the audience. Clinton, surrounded in his aura of pure, unadulterated funk, held the audience in the palm of his hand through call and response jams, P-Funk cheers, and ridiculous dances.

The concert-goers went wild to Clinton's voice and constant gestures, as 420 funked through the ages of Parliament-Funkadelic songs. Singing along with George Clinton and Clip Payne, through the choruses of "Dr. Funkenstein," "Swing Down Sweet Chariot," and "P-Funk (Wants to Get Funked Up)," the audience poured out their energy to the 420 grooves. George Clinton walked hurriedly about the stage, encouraging the 420 performers and the audience alike with his cheers of "Shit! God Damn! Get off your ass and Jam!" and "If you ain't gonna get it on, take your dead ass home!"

Stepping off-stage for a soulful, 420 song, George soon returned, wearing a purplish blue robe to sing a virtual encore of an all-out bluesy funk epic. Clinton had captivated the hearts of the entire audience with his every move. Clinton and 420 FM played glorious funk that brought the audience into frenzied dance late into night. Although the 420FM, Kidd Funkadelic, and DRUGS were a bit too loose -- not as tight as the full assemblage of Parliament-Funkadelic -- all of these bands skillfully brought the audience into an all-consuming orgy of funk. Copyright © 2002 by The Cornell Daily Sun, Inc. All rights reserved.

Shows

Here's a list of upcoming shows:

420 Funk Mob

 

 

 

Contact and Booking

Contacts:

Chuck Haber - wefunk420fm@aol.com

WEFUNK AD2k Records and Filmworks
Box 1132
Woodstock, NY 12498

Office: (845)-569 7617
Fax: (845)-371-3885