2004 - a Brand WOO Year! How much more... are you tryin’ ta hear? Nonexistent WMDs? Dirty Bomb Detectors? Puh-leeze!! Homeboy Insecurity Code Orange... politicos talkin’ loud and sayin’ nothing. How ‘bout we squash all that noise for a minnit - and deal with the music!

Now - where did we leave off? Oh, yeah...

Item: Bernie Worrell &WOO Warriors played a series of shows throughout 2003, highlighted by A Midsummer Night’s Dream on June 21 at Club Lulu’s in Washington DC, where they ushered in the solstice with the help of special guest stars George Clinton and Dawn Silva and were further energized by the surprise onstage appearances of Garry and Linda Shider.

Item: At the onset of fall, Bernie went out on the road for three weeks of guest appearances with George Clinton & the P-Funk All-Stars.

Item: On November 1, BW&WW invaded B.B. King’s in Times Square. De La Soul producer Prince Paul was in the house and after the show, He, Himself and Bernie proceeded to confab about an upcoming collab that promises to be Of The Soul - and is set to commence once Paul returns from a swing through South Africa.

Item: BW&WW were joined by bassist T.M. Stevens at Mexicali Blues in Teaneck, NJ on the day before Thanksgiving. At the tail end of the set, Melvin Sparks, whose band opened the show, joined them for an all-out jam.

Item: Speaking of T.M., he now has a Japanese music industry contact literally pitching WOO - as in proffering BW&WW’s new studio material to various Japanese concerns for a possible overseas release. There is also interest from a company here in the States. As the song goes, stay tuned for more details as they become available...

Item: There are still some remaining copies of the Jersey Jams, Jersey Cares benefit CD available in the WOO Mart section of this site. Remember, the proceeds from this recording go to the families of the New Jersey fire fighters who lost their lives while helping the victims of the World Trade Center attacks of 9/11/01. Pop over to the WOO Mart and cop a copy if you haven’t done so already.

Item: NYC-based filmmakers Phil DeFiore and Seth Lind are in post-production as of this writing on a documentary film on the Wizard of WOO which has been several years in the making. This film promises to offer a comprehensive overview of Bernie’s entire musical life story. The involvement of an Academy Award-nominated producer in this project can only help to increase its visibility as it becomes ready for distribution. Further details will be forthcoming...

Item: On another filmic front, the animated tale of the WOOniverse continues to take shape. Naturally, this fantastic tale of the Wizard’s WOOniverse will be colored with the joyful noise of B.W. himself! And just when the availability of music education in schools has been lessened to the point of near-phase out, this film offers an alternative means of spreading the WOOniversal language and increasing its accessibility to everyone: Sean Rivas will be creating music lessons, in collaboration with Bernie that will actually be incorporated into its story line. The objective is to expand the very idea of music to reflect the way some people (like Bernie) hear it - in everyday things, such as birds singing, water falling, trucks going over the lines on highways, etc. This can sometimes be hypnotic. After all, it's no secret why certain music/sounds are used to rev up sports fans - or even the military!

Item: A few notes about Sean Rivas: Sean is a Certified Music Specialist in the Trenton, NJ public school system who recently invited Bernie to come into his classroom and offer a musical presentation for his students. And actually, that should be Sean Rivas, MBA - for alongside his Bachelor’s Degree in Music, Sean holds a Masters of Business Administration with a concentration in Global Business. So while one set of students is on summer vacation, he serves yet another as an Adjunct Professor of Marketing at his alma mater, Rider University. And if that ain’t enough rhythm for ya, he also provides private jazz and classical guitar instruction. In other words, this is a Renaissance man of sorts. But then, that’s a Jersey thang - you did know that Paul Robeson hailed from Plainfield, didn’t you?

Item: Bernie will also be scoring a movie that is being filmed - at least, in part - in Louisiana. And we’re told that there is yet another film project for which Bernie has been approached to provide music. Details to follow...

Item: Whew! All these film projects, one after the next. The deepest of pockets can buy you the studio time, but how does one find the actual time to get in and out of the studio as much as BW needs to these days? Well, just as if on cue, The Wizard's Lair has now been upgraded to the next level, courtesy of an endorsement from the good folks at Cakewalk, whose multi-track software is sure to greatly expand Bernie’s at-home recording capability. Sound Engineers Tony Scardacy and John Hickey have already visited the modified studio to record Bernie on several projects, thus freeing up his hands for Mini-Moog tweaks!

Item: And yes, that is the same John Hickey who has expanded his role within BW&WW from guitar tech to guitarist (we at the WOOtopian are really feeling his warm, Strat into Fender Deluxe Reverb-type tone). John is sort of a jack of all trades - in fact, he will soon be hosting a release party for his own CD! We’ll keep you posted...

Item: Informed sources suggest that the impetus for the aforementioned Cakewalk deal may have come from a certain Rhinestone Rockstar out of Cincy - bless his Casperian soul! This, along with fiber optic technology, only enhances the convenience factor of future collaborations between the Grand WOOzard and Bootzilla!

Item: Stop the presses! Did somebody say Mini-Moog? And something about endorsements? Isn’t it long overdue for those two terms to share space with Bernie’s name in the same sentence? Well, after many years of manic Moog mastery, somebody has finally put Bernie down with the Mini-Moog in a sponsorship capacity. That’s right, the reissued, MIDI-compatible Mini-Moog - known as the Voyager - from Robert Moog’s NC-based Big Briar Music is now being endorsed by Mister B.W.! ‘Course, we all know that’s only a matter of documentation after the fact - after all, those with ears have been feeling Bernie’s Atmospheric aftertouch for light years! But just the same, why don’t you bounce on down to Big Briar’s site, where you can see Bernie listed among the musical luminaries in the extended Moog family. You’ll find the list HERE.

Item: You might also wanna drop by your local library and check out the May 2003 Moog tribute issue of Keyboard magazine. There, you’ll see that the scribes at that periodical have finally acknowledged in print Bernie’s primacy in the history of that most evocative of analog synthesizers. And just imagine - they only misspelled the man’s name once out of the two features in which he’s mentioned! Little by little, step by step, we get out propers...

Item: Hey, let’s take this opportunity to call the rest of the endorsement roll while we’re at it. That would include the Nord Clavia synthesizer and Hughes & Kettner cabinets, along with Cakewalk software and the Mini-Moog Voyager. We appreciate their collective role in making the WOO good to your earhole!

Item: A BW&WW European tour is a distinct possibility in 2004 - although as of this writing, details have yet to be finalized. Keep an eye either here or on our Tour Dates section for further word.

Item: About this time last year, longtime brother-in-WOO Buddy Donnelly put forth the suggestion that Bernie go out as a solo performer. This looks like a concept whose time has come to pass; and thus, Bernie Worrell In Concert is in the developmental stages. Look for this to offer "another point of WOO," with the emphasis shifted directly to solo keyboard (picture Victor Borge with a little more soul - or maybe Oscar Peterson with a little more humor!). Okay, almost solo - the only other person who will be consistently on stage with him will be WOO Warriors drummer extraordinaire Garry Sullivan. As for who else might show up on a given night, well, you never know. So you’d better make sure you’re there, just in case!

Item: Some years ago, Mrs. Cora Worrell sent her baby boy Bernard off to the New England Conservatory of Music to soak up the European classical tradition. And as all things happen in circles, the Wizard of WOO was among 100 distinguished alumni who were honored last October in Centennial festivities for the Conservatory’s Jordan Hall. Portraits of Bernie and his fellow honorees now adorn the Hall’s walls in an exhibit entitled 100 Years of Music, 100 Alumni.

Item: Even before the earliest liner note forays of Sir Lleb, the funk was made manifest through associated texts in various media. In our last installment, we recommended For The Record - George Clinton and P-Funk: An Oral History; this time, we’d like to continue in this synergistic tradition by recommending the following readings:
Hit Me Fred: Recollections of a Sideman - Fred Wesley & Rickey Vincent
Funk: The Music, The People and The Rhythm of The One - Rickey Vincent
Where White Men Fear To Tread - Russell Means
Each of these rich sources of information and insight is available at Amazon.com. Check ‘em out! And remember - everything is fare when you feed your mind!

Item: Bernie guest-starred with George Clinton & the P-Funk All-Stars on December 30 and 31 in Miami, FL. On the first night of this WOO Year’s Eve Southern swang, Bernie and several members of the PFAS joined Phish onstage at Miami’s American Airlines Arena. The Arena was packed to the rafters; and as Bernie was waiting behind the stage to go on, the Phish fans recognized him - and started calling his name and hanging over the partition to shake his hand. George, Garry Shider, Blackbyrd McKnight and a few other members of the PFAS got on the stage first and the audience began hollering, but when Bernie finally stepped behind the keyboards with Phish keyboardist Page McConnell, the roar intensified! These fans not only clearly knew who Bernie was, but they were as excited to see him there as Page and his bandmates (guitarist Trey Anastasio, bassist Mike Gordon and drummer John Fishman) were. Drop by Phish's website and you can check out pictures from the show, including one of Bernie jamming with them. You’ll find it HERE.

You can also review MTV’s report on the show HERE.

Such connections happen all the time when folks take it to the stage. Who knows - dare we dream of future collaborations between Bernie and members of Phish?

Item: Okay, so Bernie has appeared onstage with the PFAS enough times over the last year or two for a spore of enthusiastic reaction to gestate into quasi-logical speculation and take on a life of its own. Maybe we ought to clear a few things up, since people keep asking, “Is Bernie back with George?” or saying, “It's great Bernie is back with George.” This often comes about because there isn’t always enough time to have "Special Guest: Bernie Worrell" put on the advertising! But the actual truth - for anyone who may actually be interested in the truth - is that Bernie sits in with a lot of different groups. And George Clinton & the P-Funk All-Stars is one of them! It’s all about musical connections - connections with the WOO Warriors, connections with the PFAS and connections with airbody else!

Item: In fact, it just happened again - both Bernie and Bootsy joined George & the PFAS in the climactic portion of a 13-minute Grammy Awards funk tribute which also featured Outkast, Robert Randolph & the Family Band and Earth Wind & Fire. This performance not only mixed elements of “Tear The Roof Off” with “Alice In My Fantasies,” but blended members of the Funk Mob with the Elements of the Universe. Talk about your historic connections!

Here’s a picture taken at the Grammy's. From left to right: Garry Shider, Bootsy Collins, Bernie, George.

Item: And speaking of L.A. - where their WOO is outta sight, especially on a winter’s day - right after the Grammys, Bernie, Bootsy, George and the whole P-Funk gang taped an episode of The Bernie Mac Show. Thanks to the show’s star, a confirmed funkaholic of the highest order, you can look forward to the upcoming “Bernie Mac’s Birthday” episode givin’ you more of what you’re funkin’ for!

In the meantime, here are some candid shots of Bernie, Bootsy, George and Bernie Mac.

Item: Still more connections: Bernie’s signature strokes are all over the newly released CD from Simply Red! Check it out - your ears are sure to thank you.

Item: Producer Easy Moe B and Bernie are currently collaborating on some songs...

Item: And among Bernie’s other upcoming projects are session work with Tommy Okuda and a collaboration with Funk Of Ages co-producer Joe Blaney.

Item: Chris Engler, the virtual architect of all things WOOtopian, will soon be revamping this entire site (when in doubt, revamp!). Among the new additions will be downloadable music files. Listen out for that one...

Final Item: We sign off with the following cautionary note: recent studies have indicated that 1 out of every 3 people suffers from a deficiency of WOO. So check out the person to your right and the one to your left; if they both dancin’ - it must be you! Peace!