This week, I talk to Seth Neblett (the son of the queen of funk, Mallia Franklin of Parliament-Funkadelic & Parlet & author of his new book Mothership Connected: The Women of Parliament-Funkadelic).
We talk about how Seth was convinced by Bootsy Collins to tell his mother and the women of P-Funk's stories, how he initially assumed this tale was going to be told as a documentary, Mallia Franklin's appearance in the Don Letts docuemntary Tales Of Dr. Funkenstein, Seth (at age 6) being taken by his grandmother to go watch his mom perform with Parliament/Parlet for the first time, how he was able to narrow down this immense story from all the hudnreds of characters in this group's varied history, the strgggles with having your Mom be a recording and touring star, how Mallia Franklin brought elements to the band that changed music FOREVER, George Clinton and his initial band The Parliments, how Mallia's vocals are all over their recoridngs from Maggot Brain to Atomic Dog, the vast age diffrerences within the band, Mallia being called "the geiger counter" because her musical institncts were so incredible on who to bring into the p-funk world (like Bootsy Collins & Junie Morrison), how we often take a documentary's storytelling a the truth, being the "Dog & Cat Lady", why you can see so many full concert footage from Parliment's heyday, Neil Bogart of Casblanca Records and the courting of Mallia Fraklin, the genesis of the female-led spin off groups Parlet and Brides Of Funkenstein, why George Clinton put all various bands on diffferent record labels, how Geroge often didn’t want his various bands to get bigger than him, how young the members of P-Funk were and how they often were not prepared for the psychological components of being part of it, Seth's thoughts on following up the book with a documentary vs a narritave series, how the women of P-Funk were not being invited to the induction ceremonies of the Grammys and Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame, who should play his mom in the movie version of this story and more.
So let's celebrate the queens of P-Funk forever on this week's episode of Revolutions Per Movie.
SETH NEBLETT:
Book: https://utpress.utexas.edu/9781477332672/
Youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@sethneblett7268
REVOLUTIONS PER MOVIE:
Host Chris Slusarenko (Eyelids, Guided By Voices, owner of Clinton Street Video rental store) is joined by actors, musicians, comedians, writers & directors who each week pick out their favorite music documentary, musical, music-themed fiction film or music videos to discuss. Fun, weird, and insightful, Revolutions Per Movie is your deep dive into our life-long obsessions where music and film collide.
The show is also a completely independent affair, so the best way to support it is through our Patreon at patreon.com/revolutionspermovie. By joining, you can get weekly bonus episodes, physical goods such as Flexidiscs, and other exclusive goods.
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