As you probably know by now, I really like reconnecting with artists and acts I’ve worked with in the past, and that is definitely the case when funkateer Cyclone Link Skywalker Jr. drops in from the planet Funktar with his three cohorts (Superfly, Spanish Fly and Boom-Boom Funktonio) for a series of Motor Booty Affair performances here in Maine.

Back in 2018, he and I chatted for the first time about a show at Somerset Abbey and seeing that they will be returning there this coming Saturday, Aug. 26, I was curious to find out how things have been going for the last five years, so I called him at his Earth base of operations in Westbrook.

Q: It’s been a while since last we spoke, so could you refresh my memory by telling me how long you’ve been doing this?
Skywalker Jr.: About 28 years.

Q: Twenty-eight years?!
Skywalker Jr.: Yeah, a lot of funkatization needs to be done here on this planet!

Q: You’re right about that, for sure. Another thought just crossed my mind, you must have a large and deep repertoire to draw upon.
Skywalker Jr.: Oh, yeah, I mean, you still have to play the standard stuff that people want to hear, “Play That Funky Music” and things like that, but yeah, there’s a lot of good stuff out there. Did you have a chance to check out the orchestra stuff we do?

Q: I’ve been meaning to but haven’t got around to doing that, I’m afraid.
Skywalker Jr.: When you get the chance that’s a whole other rabbit hole to go down, and our next show of Classical Night Fever will be May 4th of next year in California with the Long Beach Symphony.

Q: Have you done anything with the orchestras in Maine — Bangor, Portland, that kind of thing?
Skywalker Jr.: Yeah, all of those. Our first show was with Portland probably 10 or 11 years ago, and that’s what really inspired us to write the full, two-hour show. We’ve done some stuff with the Bangor Symphony and recently, in June, we did two shows with the Midcoast Symphony Orchestra, a 70-piece orchestra behind us was awesome and amazing.

Q: And to be doing this for as long as you have is really amazing, there aren’t many bands, original or cover, that have been at it as long as you guys have.
Skywalker Jr.: Oh, it’s unbelievable and it’s not slowing down, our schedule for next year is crazy, we’ve booked dates into 2027, so it’s unreal.

Q: What kind of set will the four of you be bringing to Somerset Abbey?
Skywalker Jr.: We usually do either two, one-hour shows or we do a 90-minute show or a two-hour show, and it’s a concert, it’s not like a bar band where you’re doing like three sets. It’s not what we do, we come out and we hit it really hard. We don’t stop between songs, it’s boom-boom-boom, we plow through things. It’s not your mama’s disco, it’s not mamby-pamby disco, you’re going to feel it. And that’s about all people can take is two hours, I think (laughter).

Q: I’m sure that the energy from the crowds there do a lot to keep your energy levels up, too, if you know what I mean.
Skywalker Jr.: Oh, my gosh, yeah! And when I’m here on this planet, I make my earthly digs in Westbrook so when we did a show here last night we had a huge, huge turnout and it was good! And you’re right: you feed off that crowd and it’s unbelievable. It’s unbelievable that 28 years of doing this show that that’s the response we’re still getting, it’s just unreal.

Q: Yeah, and you’re doing something right when that is the case.
Skywalker Jr.: Well, that’s what we’ve always figured, Lucky, with our costumes, with our production, we’re doing it right. We’re coming in with big lighting and dance moves. I mean, we always say that it’s an affair, the Motor Booty Affair, and every show is an affair for us.

Q: Could you talk a little bit about the Somerset Abbey show coming up this Saturday?
Skywalker Jr.: That’s a place we love to play, it’s a beautiful stage, it’s a beautiful venue, lots of room to dance and sit, VIP areas, it’s great!

Q: Is there anything, Cyclone that you’d like me to pass on to the folks reading this article?
Skywalker Jr.: I guess I would say that they should expect a whole lot of disco/funk, in-your-face Bee Gees, Earth Wind & Fire, K.C. and the Sunshine Band, with platform shoes and polyester and bellbottoms, a whole lot of dance moves and choreography; and that you’re going to have a good time at a Motor Booty Affair show, and that’s what we do: we come in, we hit it hard, and we jump in the mother-ship and take off!

Lucky Clark, a 2018 “Keeping the Blues Alive” Award winner, has spent more than 50 years writing about good music and the people who make it. He can be reached at luckyc@myfairpoint.net if you have any questions, comments or suggestions.

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