06 Apr Funk Friday(FF)

Introducing a New Funk Music Show for Public Radio

Funky Friday

with Host Trent Darby

FROM WCSU-FM AT CENTRAL STATE UNIVERSITY, AN HBCU

In keeping with our commitment to provide stations with content that will appeal to diverse audiences, the AAPRC is pleased to welcome Funky Friday to our line-up – a new program that showcases “funk” music created and hosted by Trent Darby. Funky Friday is produced at the studios of AAPRC affiliate WCSU-FM in Wilberforce, Ohio, on the campus of Central State University, an HBCU. Darby has an encyclopedic knowledge base on funk’s history, making him a great tour guide for old and new funk enthusiasts.

Funky Friday – “It’s Not Just A Day, It’s A State of Mind

Host Trent Darby is a native of Dayton and a 30-year radio veteran. After graduating from Daytona State College, Darby worked at multiple stations in the market — WDAO, WMMX, WWSN, and WLQT — before joining the WCSU staff in 2006. He is the producer/host of WCSU’s popular “Jazz Brunch” morning show and the weekly community service program “Miami Valley Speaks”.
But Funky Friday is Trent’s “baby” and labor of love. He weaves funk artists of the 70s, 80s, and 90s together with anecdotal knowledge about the history of the music and careers of the artists.

It is universally agreed that Funk, a derivation of R&B and soul music, was ushered into American music by recording artist James Brown, the “Godfather of Soul,” in the 1960s. Sly Stone made it electric, and the music took off from there.

Originating in African-American communities, Funk music has a distinct syncopation, led with a pronounced electric bass keeping the beat with receded drums. During its heyday in the 70s and 80s, funk was the party music for a large sector of the younger Baby Boomer generation. ( Photo – The funk band Mandrill)

WCSU is only about 25 miles from Dayton, Ohio, an area that produced major funk music talent, including the Ohio Players, The Isley Brothers, and Bootsy Collins, just to name a few. Some say that Dayton was the actual home of Funk back in the day.

(Photo – The Parliament Funkadelic band)

The AAPRC and WCSU-FM aim to present Funk music in the context of a learning experience – the only way to do it for public radio audiences.