Aced Out Podcast

Drummer’s-drummer ROBIN RUSSELL (NEW BIRTH/THE NITE-LITERS) sure takes it to the stage—under protest, that is. He’d much rather do his thing where the drum was invented: OUTSIDE . In fact, whenever he can, this Crenshaw native gets up at 3 am, loads up his gear, and heads over to LA’s Griffith Park , where he sets up under his oak tree and plays through sunrise—though a steady stream of gig offers...

It’s hard to believe that JOE “PEP” HARRIS —the commanding soul man of the groundbreaking classic, “ Smiling Faces Sometimes ”—tends to be modest about his vocal skills. After all, this Detroit native and Motown vet was handpicked by genius hit-maker NORMAN WHITFIELD ( Marvin Gaye, Temptations, Rose Royce , etc) to front the supergroup The UNDISPUTED TRUTH with two sweet soul sirens, Billie Calvin...

JIM WRIGHT (now Jay Double You!) was just 12 years old when his big sister Debbie Wright ’s bandmates— George Clinton , Bootsy , and the rest of Parliament-Funkadelic— started hanging out at his mother’s house in Detroit. In fact, Tiki Fulwood gave little Jim his first pair of drumsticks . And by the time he was in his late teens, he was already making a good living as a session player for legenda...

Jay Armant, Jr never thought he’d become a member of Fishbone , much less co-lead vocalist of Year of the Dragon with Walter “Dirty Walt” Kibby . A self-described nerd, “Flyin’ Jay,” (as he would become known), figured he’d continue being a video game tester. But as a school kid, he took music as an elective, where he got turned on to the trombone . He immediately fell in love. And as he got older...

If her life were a mathematical formula, it would be Family + Church = MUSIC. Indeed, Vet Stone (Vaetta Stewart-Reese) began making sweet soul sounds when she was a five-year-old girl standing on a table, singing with her parents and siblings—including big brother Sly . At church, she met lifelong friend and collaborator Tiny Mouton , with whom she performed on such hits as “You’re the One” with L...

Amuka solidified her place in funk history with her recent appearance on Mike Judge ’s animated doc series Tales from the Tour Bus , the George Clinton episode. Back in the day, her rock and roll chops earned her a spot in the Brides of Funkenstein , with whom she laid down the funk classic, Never Buy Texas from a Cowboy . Amuka honored us with a call from her homebase of Detroit — testifying, lau...

Through his tenure as bassist for Sly & the Family Stone, Rustee Allen has solidified his place in Funky Soul history, with standout work on such pivotal releases as Fresh and Small Talk , including his breakout performance on “In Time.” Rustee honored us with his presence, sitting down for a deep dive into his career and discography, from back in the day to right about now. In this must-liste...