Funk Thursday..

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At first, I had thought my desire to get my funk on earlier in the day was due to a random act of implulse. However, upon further inspection, I bet it has a whole lotta something to do with having to try to correct the thing of horror that I could not block out properly from last week.

In review: While I was preparing for the show upstairs in my studio, it happened. Not only at the exact moment of my 'new & improved' spray fixative meltdown (which bled out and nearly ruined 4 canvasses) it was also when my next door neighbors decided to treat me to a very grunting and LOUD vocal glimpse into their love lives.Granted, the houses are really close together so sound bounces off the alley, and I'm pretty liberal, but it wasn't even remotely romantic to hear. Unless of course, wounded rhinoceros sex sounds good to you. In a word..gross. Their kids were even banging on the door yelling and asking such queries as: "Why is the door locked?!" and "Are you guys ok?" (Great parenting.)

And even though I had much bigger problems at that moment to be concerned with (like the canvas) it still invaded my brain. So I ran as far away from all the grunting as possible and tried to salvage my work in the dining room downstairs. Luckily, part-way through I got a call from a friend who talked me down and the pieces went into the show just fine. I thought that was the end of it. But I guess it took root in my mind and needed to be re-written with the sexy sounds of Chaka Khan and Rufus to set that mental picture straight for me again.

As a kid I vividly recall seeing Chaka Khan in a white leather outfit on the Mike Douglas show. I never lost hold of that memory and can imagine dancing along to all the TV variety shows with Tina Turner & the Ikettes in fringe and glitter too. In all those Midnight Special, Don Kirshner's Rock Convert, Soul Train (loved the animated train segment at the beginning) and various other clips I always thought that Tina Turner and Chaka Khan were the most beautiful black women on the planet. How I loved to hear them sing or admire the outfits they wore onstage. I guess at such a young age, that innocently seemed to be the definition of what sexy would mean to me. Goes to show all these years later that I still feel the same way about these two powerhouse female singers. Thank you ladies for setting the groove right again.

Here's a great clip of "Tell Me Something Good" - live. Watch how Chaka throws down the vocals in the thrid verse. Passionate, flawless and smooth precision all the way.


And for any of you that ever called and got my old answering machine back in the late 90's, you might have heard a little of this classic gem shine through in the background. Hey, what better sentiment to leave on an answering machine message than "Tell Me Something Good?"

The classics never die.

K~