Before the towering top hats, chicken-scratch shredding, and intergalactic basslines, there was a meeting of minds that could only happen in the weirdest corners of funk and experimental rock. Bootsy Collins—Parliament-Funkadelic legend, star bassman of the cosmos, and all-around funk ambassador—has always had a knack for spotting raw, eccentric talent. So when he crossed paths with the mysterious, masked guitarist known as Buckethead in the early '90s, it was more than just an odd couple collab—it was the start of a creative partnership that helped launch one of the strangest and most singular careers in modern guitar history.
At the time, Buckethead was a rising underground enigma: a prodigious player with a horror-movie aesthetic, a KFC bucket on his head, and lightning-fast fingers capable of conjuring everything from metal riffs to ambient textures. Bootsy, already a mythic figure in his own right, recognized something special in the young guitarist—not just skill, but a full-on alien creativity that fit right in with the P-Funk ethos of pushing boundaries and breaking brains.
Their musical chemistry first bubbled to the surface on Praxis' 1992 record, Transmutation (Mutatis Mutandis), and blossomed with Zillatron: Lord of the Harvest (1993)—a Bootsy-led sci-fi funk-metal odyssey that featured Buckethead’s guitar work slashing through deep, cosmic grooves.
That project marked more than just a cool cameo. It was Bootsy giving Buckethead a platform, a cosign, and in many ways, a launchpad. And for the decades that followed, their creative bond would continue to ripple through various collaborations and guest appearances—a pairing as bizarre as it is brilliant. We had the chance to catch up with the dynamic duo, who graciously recounted their history for us in the only way they know how.