I met Bootzilla!

hieronymous · September 14, 2011, 09:23:00 AM

Yesterday was Jimi Hendrix Winterland Day in San Francisco - it was kind of just a CD release party at Amoeba in San Francisco for the (almost?) complete Winterland concerts from 1968, but the special guest was Bootsy Collins! He was the voice reading letters and documents by Jimi Hendrix in the recent Voodoo Child documentary.

I decided to take my new favorite envelope filter, the 3Leaf GR2, for him to sign (in addition to buying his new album - it was kind of a CD release party for him too). I thought the staff might be uptight about him signing other stuff, but no one was around, and Bootsy was totally into it! He asked what was distinctive about it and I tried to explain the effects loop and how it lets the clean sound of the bass trigger the envelope, but I was kind of nervous - I WAS TALKING TO BOOTSY COLLINS!!! He did say thought that he was really interested and had to write the name down, so while he was signing it I jotted it down on an old receipt I had in my pocket.

(That's Janie Hendrix in the background - Jimi Hendrix's adopted half-sister who also happens to be CEO of Experience Hendrix, the group that controls Jimi's legacy)

My wife has been learning bass on and off - I told Bootsy and that she really liked funk - she has been on a quest to find the best funk bass tracks - so he said she should enroll in Funk U! Even though I'm more familiar with his music, she was more excited to meet him - it took her hours to calm down. Here's a shot with all of us, including Bootsy's wife/manager, "Peppermint" Patti:

And finally, here is my signed envelope filter - I feel like I have been annointed...

One more thing - I posted on the 3Leaf thread at TalkBass - that's the company that makes the GR2 - the owner/builder Spencer just posted this morning that Bootsy already emailed him!

godofthunder · September 14, 2011, 10:05:02 AM

Now that's cool !

Bionic-Joe · September 14, 2011, 10:32:33 AM

SUPER Cool!!!!!

patman · September 14, 2011, 11:13:37 AM

Met Bootsy and his wife a couple of year's ago. They danced to us playing Kenny Roger's "Lady" at a Valentine's day charity dance. He was the nicest person. I asked him to sign my Dano, and he obliged graciously. Says "to Pat, Finger Funkin'"...has a smiley face stick man next to it. Felt good to meet a bass hero and have him be totally cool and nice.

Barklessdog · September 14, 2011, 12:22:55 PM

I never did get to see him live, would have loved to see him back in his Parliament / Funkadelic days.

Dave W · September 14, 2011, 12:32:18 PM

Very cool experience!

Highlander · September 14, 2011, 02:10:25 PM

That's hittin' the (sub) note...

Glad you both had such a good day...

chromium · September 15, 2011, 01:25:31 AM

Awesome story!! You obviously left an impression, since he inquired about that pedal afterwards. That pic of you explaining it to him was cool

hieronymous · September 15, 2011, 09:59:05 AM

Thanks guys! I have to post one more shot - this one cracks me up because Bootsy is adjusting his glasses to get a better look at the pedal - do they really work as glasses?

Janie is signing my box set in this shot and I just noticed that Patti is taking a picture of it, so Bootsy at the very least has my first name in case he needs to look me up!

ilan · September 15, 2011, 10:23:48 AM

Tres cool!

chromium · September 15, 2011, 10:40:49 AM

Haha that's the pic I saw at TB. That's priceless

Man the first time I ever became aware of Bootsy was on this PBS show called Rockschool in the mid-80s. I was probably around 12, listening to Iron Maiden, etc.. and I thought who the hell is this crazy guy?

...but I picked up Parliament's Funkentelechy vs. the Placebo Syndrome (who could resist that album name!

) shortly after and the rest is history. Guys like him and George Porter Jr became big influences for me. Some associate funk bass with machine gun slapping, but I always thought these guys spoke volumes with simplicity and space, and played to the song. Good stuff.

nofi · September 15, 2011, 11:24:24 AM

" its on the one "....... bootsy.

hieronymous · September 15, 2011, 03:18:05 PM

Joe, that video is great! I never got to see Rockschool - I was living in Japan at the time - but I remember hearing about it.

BTW, Bootsy responded to my facebook post! I went ahead and posted a couple of soundclips in the thread - I think normally I would err on the side of humility but I'm trying to learn to put myself out there a little more.

hieronymous · September 16, 2011, 12:57:47 AM

So, I met another living legend tonight - Malcolm Mooney, the original singer for German group CAN. He was performing with his group the Tenth Planet. They played at a small college south of San Francisco - there was also an art exhibit featuring some of Malcolm Mooney's art.

I picked up a couple of their CDs while I was in Japan. Apparently they are really rare - some of the band members had never seen copies until tonight! Malcolm finally got in touch with the record company in Japan and they sent him the last 10 copies or something. So of course I got mine signed:

Plus got a copy of the new record which isn't coming out until next week, and a rare vinyl single. A fun night! Especially right on the heels of the Bootsy experience...

ramone57 · September 16, 2011, 04:10:12 AM

you must be doing something right, Harry!