Music

Funk legend Sly Stone lives in a van now

by Tyler Munro

Sly Stone’s music used to he some of the most joyful sounds around, but now the one-time Sly and the Family Stone frontman is reportedly living out of a van parked in LA’s infamous Crenshaw district and relying on the food and shelter of a nearby family, whose son also serves as his driver and assistant.

Talking to the New York Post in a rare interview, the elusive Stone (born Sylvester Stewart) says he “likes [his] small camper,” adding “I just do not want to return to a fixed home. I cannot stand being in one place. I must keep moving.”

Asking that the Post paints his Studebaker in exchange for the interview (the Post says they declined), Stone goes into talk about how mismanaged money and an unfortunate drug problem led to his fall from grace. Telling the story of one Christmas, Stone recounts the time he went out , nearly $3000 in hand, to get his son some presents but accidentally spent it all on drugs instead.

“By the time I get [to the store], I had spent it all on drugs. Yes, I did. And when I getting close to little Syl’s house, I thought, ‘Oooh, man. I never should have done that.’ When I saw him, I said, ‘I spent your money up on drugs. I spend it up on dope.’ ”

Drugs have always been a problem for Stone, who reportedly used to carry a violin case full of illegal substances on the road back in the 70s and pleaded not guilty to possession charges earlier this year.

While the Post’s feature is as sad as it gets for fans of one of funk’s greatest, and though it differs greatly from Vanity Fair’s piece on him from back in 2007 (which features a damningly different header image of Stone on his custom motorcycle parked in front of his old mansion),  the 68 year old singer keeps busy. He reportedly has hundreds of new songs written, but he’s weary of record labels and managers.

“But now please tell everybody, please, to give me a job, play my music. I’m tired of all this shitt, man,” says Stone. “I see all the guys playing those old songs. Let these guys know, like Lady Gaga, let me come in, just let me come in and pay me if you like it.”