OTTAWA -- Even after 38 years of being a Commodore, William King isn't stuck in the past, he just doesn't like everything he sees going on in music today.

"There are a lot of people who aren't musicians in the entertainment business now because of hi-tech," says King, who along with the rest of the legendary Motown funk band, roll into Lac Leamy Casino Theatre tonight and tomorrow.

"Most artists and producers I know can't play an instrument. I was in a recording session recently and there wasn't one musician in the room.

"It's disheartening, to tell you the truth. Music used to be about musicians. Now it's about loot. You buy a computer and a couple CDs and you're in the biz."

Meanwhile, the industry's current reliance on hi-tech is putting a strain on veteran musicians such as King to keep his authentic funk sound real.

"We(that is King and original bandmates Walter Orange and J.D. Nicholas) are having the biggest fights we ever had over the new album because we're coming from opposite directions," King confesses. "Some of us want to sound more hip-hop for that young audience while others want to keep doing the old stuff.

"I just want to write a hit song. Just write the music and if it's good, the fans will find you. You don't have to go chasing them.

"When we wrote Three Times a Lady we weren't trying to keep up with the times. We were just trying to jump in with a good song."

King's best argument for not slavishly following trends is the Commodore's 1977 disco anthem Brickhouse.

"That tune appeared in four films and a bunch of commercials last year alone," he says incredulously. "I was in New Orleans last month, walking along the Quarter when I heard a band play Brickhouse. Across the street, a DJ was playing the record.

"A good song lives on and on."

The last generation of Motown's supergroups, the Commodores original lineup of King, Thomas McClary, Milan Williams, Lionel Richie, Walter Orange and Ronald LaPread met at school in Tuskegee, Ala., in 1968. By 1971, Berry Gordy signed them to the big leagues. Suddenly, the band was touring with the Jackson Five and recording with Diana Ross.

With Gordy, the Commodore's became one of the label's top acts, selling more than 60 million records and 22 gold titles.

Surprisingly, the band, which was regarded commonly as Richie's, did not roll up and die after he left in 1982. But with former Heatwave vocalist J.D Nicholas replacing Richie, the band scored their biggest hit, Nightshift, in 1985, earning the band its only Grammy.

Twenty years later, the Commodores aren't even remotely close to retiring. They released a DVD in 2004 and are currently recording a new album.

"This is the second half of our career," King says with upbeat energy. "We're bringing everything we got. When people come out to a Commodores concert, they want to hear all the hits. We give you those songs the way you heard them on the record. That's what brings back the memories."

Tickets are $49 at the box-office and online at www.casino-du-lac-leamy.com.