Chasing the Atomic Dog, George Clinton

The grandfather of P-funk himself, George Clinton was scheduled to appear on a radio show on 4/7/2010. I arrived around 9:30 pm and within a couple of minutes I spotted the show's host, none other than Dr. Drew Pinsky. I called over to Dr. Drew, who happily came over and signed my four photographs. He is super-friendly and quite talkative when meeting fans. He really liked my photos, asking where I had gotten them and took time remarking on each one individually. He signed the first one, "Be Well Dr. Drew" and signed the other three "Dr. Drew." We chatted about Pasadena and he mentioned that during medical school he had lived in Pasadena on Euclid Street. Dr. Drew apparently knew three of the other collectors waiting from previous times that they had been there to meet show guests. Dr. Pinsky spent a good amount of time talking with them as well. Dr. Drew is known from his shows on VH1, Celebrity Rehab and Sober House , as caring for the patients under his care but the man also cares a great deal about his fans.

A few minutes after Dr. Drew entered the building, a souped-up vintage muscle car roared down the street. It was Seth Binzer, also known as Shifty Shiftlock of the band Crazytown. Seth pulled into the parking lot and after he got out of his car, I called over and asked if he would please sign. Seth came over to me and took my blue Sharpie marker to autograph my photographs. I immediately noticed that Binzer presses really down hard with the marker as he signs. He took his time, signing the first photo "Shift Shiftlock", dating it 2010 and also adding the phrase "BIG SHOTS". Seth has a very stylized signature as you can see from the photo. The second autograph Seth printed "SHIFTY 2010" and the third one was yet another style of signature. They all in their own way are different but all very cool-looking.

A mini-van pulled past the studio and down the street, eventually turning around and pulling into the studio's parking lot. I wasn't able to see for sure if it was George Clinton but my suspicion was that it was. The vehicle sat in the parking lot for a good ten minutes and some people were standing outside of the car, appearing to be talking to the occupants. Sure enough, after a few minutes I spotted George Clinton getting out of the van. He is unmistakable with dreadlocks and color streams in his hair. We all called over to Clinton but he entered the building without even acknowledging us. I waited around over the next two hours and there were only six of us even waiting for autographs. Seth was first to leave the studio a few minutes past midnight. I had a few more items for him but I was focused on getting George Clinton to sign my records so I didn't even bother with Seth. A couple of minutes later Clinton came out the door and we asked if he would please sign. Clinton shook his head no and made his way to his vehicle. The publicist/manager with Clinton said to us, "Guys, $20 and I'll get your item signed right now. He's not signing. We know what you all do with the stuff...you sell it!" Unfortunately, collectors and fans get accused often of "selling on eBay" and the such, but these comments still caught us all off-guard a little bit. We were unsure if Clinton's manager was being serious or making a joke. I then saw that Clinton was outside of the vehicle and heard him say to his manager, "Where's Seth?" Slowly, George approached us, saying that he would sign one item each. Clinton took my blue Sharpie, signing my copy of Parliament's "Funkentelechy Vs. the Placebo Syndrome." He proceeded to sign an item for each person, even signing a guitar autographed by several rock musicians for one collector. Clinton made his way over to the other side of the parking lot to talk to Seth, who was standing beside his car, talking with some people who had been inside the studio. As a fan, I wanted my other two albums signed so I got the attention of Clinton's manager, showing him a twenty dollar bill. "I'm a fan and I just want to get my other two albums signed. I'm serious, I'll even pay." The manager said out loud, "Where's George?" and then told me to come over with him. George was just finishing up taking pictures and signing for a couple of people associated with the radio show. The manager told Clinton to sign for me but Clinton said, "I already signed for them." "No, this guy put up the cash," the manager replied to Clinton. I handed $20 to George, he took my pen and signed my vinyl album cover for "Chocolate City." I quickly flipped my other album on top, "Mothership Connection." The manager said, "No, just one." I retorted, "It was for both of them. I only have the two." I asked Clinton if he would please draw the "Atomic Dog" that he sometimes adds to his signature. The manager said, "No!" but Clinton drew it anyways. It cost me a little bit of hard, cold cash but I managed to get all three of my albums autographed. Yes, Clinton's manager was rude and I think it was tacky to ask fans to "pay" for autographs but I did get everything signed as I wanted.

Clinton is legendary when it comes to being the creator and one of the founders of the "P-funk" sound, popularized in the 1970's and 1980's. Clinton's music utilized samples of other songs and beats, being a predecessor to what eventually developed into the hip hop genre. Another component of George Clinton's concerts is that he typically doesn't take the stage until late, often midnight or after, playing late into the night. Clinton's shows sometimes end at 3:00 or 4:00 in the morning! This fact also makes Clinton a challenge for collectors, as who really wants to chase after autographs as the sun is almost rising? I've met many legendary musicians in my lifetime, but tonight was my first success in meeting George Clinton.