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In the 1990s, U.S. Pipe leadman and guitarist Chris "Citrus" Sauthoff was traveling in India, searching for enlightenment and a guru to guide his interest in Hindu and Buddhist philosophy.

"I ended up with this real top-notch guru guy, and he said, 'I'm not going to be your guru. You've already got one, and he's waiting for you,'" Sauthoff said. That comment confused him for a second, until Sauthoff realized who the guru was talking about: George Clinton, the man behind the seminal funk groups Parliament and Funkadelic.

On and off from 1995 until 2007, Sauthoff worked as a stage manager and guitar player for George Clinton and the P-Funk Allstars. He left the band in 2007 for personal reasons, starting up a seven-piece funk rock outfit of his own called U.S. (United Sound) Pipe.

The band plays today and Saturday at The Tugboat Grill & Pub, just less than a week before its Front Range CD release party for its first album, "United Sound Pipe."

Sauthoff talked with 4 Points about his band's marathon set lists, U.S. Pipe's party sound and his apprenticeship with the headmaster of funk music.

4 POINTS: What can people expect from U.S. Pipe's shows this weekend?

CHRIS "CITRUS" SAUTHOFF: A whole lot of fun. I really love playing Steamboat and The Tugboat. It's a good time, and people just let go there. I think it's kind of notoriously just fun, and people bring their party game and let loose, so it helps us let loose.

(Our set is) nonstop - a lot of funk, a lot of old school Parliament and some of the dancier songs. I also like to go back to the 1950s stuff, and we have original funk and rock. :

We're really getting tight right now. We've been rehearsing hard for our CD release party, and everyone's really focused right now on what we're doing and why we're doing it, and I hope it's infectious.

4 POINTS: Tell me about your time with George Clinton and Parliament.

CS: George is basically my guru. I see George as a Western aesthetics kind of guy, and I've learned a lot from him about what to do and what not to do. : I see all the beautiful things that he does in all of his music, and those lessons bring out another level of it.

He's the master of funk, and I got to serve him for 11 years. : I really treated it as a guru and disciple type relationship where I served it the best that I can. :

I'm just trying to get out and keep the funk flag flying and keep the nation under a groove - just in a baby ship, as a scout, not in the mother ship.

4 POINTS: How does your experience with P-Funk come out with your band now?

CS: I watched and learned so much stuff - because I was required to be on stage the entire show, so I saw all these masters do what they do. I learned how to direct the band and I learned how to follow the audience. If I have a show that's about to end and you have seven people who just came on the dance floor in a small venue like The Tugboat : we are bound to get down, as it were. We are obligated to continue. :

My horn lines I went and had written by Mr. Greg Boyer, who was a trombone player for P-Funk. : I try to always be thinking what would Boogie do (Cordell "Boogie" Mosson plays bass and guitar for George Clinton), what would Mike Hampton do (Michael "Kidd Funkadelic" Hampton plays guitar for George Clinton). It sounds authentic, yet it's ours.

4 POINTS: Does that old-school Parliament attitude of playing super-long shows apply to U.S. Pipe?

CS: I was trained for that. I don't like to take set breaks and get cold - no time for that, let's just keep going. It ain't nothing but a party, and we're there to enjoy the whole thing, so we don't see any reason to stop. : That's what we do; we're out to entertain all night, and we do. And that's very Funkadelic-ish, that's very much from George.