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Jack Stratton's entry into "Most Over-The-Top Clav Playing"


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Man I know theres plenty of space in the mix on Soft Parade, but I still marvel at the punch they can get out of my one but TWO Wurlis in a track.

 

I wonder if its convenience or stubbornness that makes Jack use that MIDI controller for Clav, even though they almost always have a real one onstage. Back when they made Funky Duck, they werent as famous.

Samuel B. Lupowitz

Musician. Songwriter. Food Enthusiast. Bad Pun Aficionado.

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I love the grooves from these guys, but every time I hear them it sounds like just that... a groove with no melody or anything. Am I alone in that?

 

I think that's the band's concept. Would make great backing tracks for TV commercials. Wonder if they've done that.

 

From Wikipedia:

 

"The band members attended University of Michigan's music school.[1] They first came together as a rhythm section for a performance at the Duderstadt Center, a university facility that houses an arts library and other resources. After reading an interview with German producer Reinhold Mack, band founder Jack Stratton conceived of Vulfpeck as an imagined German version of the U.S. session musicians of the 1960s such as Funk Brothers, Wrecking Crew, and Muscle Shoals. The idea was to channel that era of the live rhythm section."

 

So, basically, they're a rhythm section.

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I love the grooves from these guys, but every time I hear them it sounds like just that... a groove with no melody or anything. Am I alone in that?

 

I think that's a common criticism these guys receive. I think often it's true, and I don't mind that, honestly, but I understand, and most of my real favorite tunes of theirs are the ones with vocalists. Their drummer/guitarist

is a great singer in his own right, and there are also recurring guests like
and
.

 

Some of the instrumentals are a little more melodic, like the bass feature "

," which audiences have started trying to sing along to. When I saw Vulfpeck in Brooklyn last month, the crowd was not as on their game as
.

 

Hopefully that wasn't too evangelical a response on my part!

Samuel B. Lupowitz

Musician. Songwriter. Food Enthusiast. Bad Pun Aficionado.

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Question:

 

Several of these videos had some furious jamming on the clav, and the way it looks I cant imagine theyre actually playing consistent notes, it just looks like theyre randomly whacking on the clav. But it sounds musical.

 

So are these guys actually playing or are they using the clav as a percussion instrument? Sure looks cool as fudge!

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Several of these videos had some furious jamming on the clav, and the way it looks I cant imagine theyre actually playing consistent notes, it just looks like theyre randomly whacking on the clav. But it sounds musical.

 

So are these guys actually playing or are they using the clav as a percussion instrument? Sure looks cool as fudge!

Probably a mix of the two. When I play funky rhythmic clav, it's a combination of chordal stabs in the right hand, left hand octaves or fifths (with occasional passing notes), and muted ghost note clusters which may or may not be shaped like the chords. Working the wah pedal hard gives it that "Shaft" effect.

Samuel B. Lupowitz

Musician. Songwriter. Food Enthusiast. Bad Pun Aficionado.

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"They first came together as a rhythm section for a performance at the Duderstadt Center"

 

Possibly this?:

I forgot that those videos of Jack's old band existed. They were super cool. Apparently one of the reasons Jack started a smaller band is because he realized nobody in his giant band had any interest in trying to make a living doing it.

 

I think the first actual Vulfpeck session the article is referencing, though, is this:

[video:youtube]KQRV0c1KXYc

Samuel B. Lupowitz

Musician. Songwriter. Food Enthusiast. Bad Pun Aficionado.

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I'd say 1:30 on might count, if "over the top" also means "awesome" :)

 

 

That was totally BADASS! :rawk::thu:

 

Yeah, Medeski both makes me want to quit and practice somehow at the same time :) I've seen MMW twice and those were religious experiences. Definite a band to see live.

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The Clavinet in this is great

Same with the synth lead.

I wonder who the guy on clav is? He sounds like he was in an R&B band back in the day.

Yamaha MX49, Casio SK1/WK-7600, Korg Minilogue, Alesis SR-16, Casio CT-X3000, FL Studio, many VSTs, percussion, woodwinds, strings, and sound effects.
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I love the grooves from these guys, but every time I hear them it sounds like just that... a groove with no melody or anything. Am I alone in that?

 

I think that's the band's concept. Would make great backing tracks for TV commercials. Wonder if they've done that.

 

From Wikipedia:

 

"The band members attended University of Michigan's music school.[1] They first came together as a rhythm section for a performance at the Duderstadt Center, a university facility that houses an arts library and other resources. After reading an interview with German producer Reinhold Mack, band founder Jack Stratton conceived of Vulfpeck as an imagined German version of the U.S. session musicians of the 1960s such as Funk Brothers, Wrecking Crew, and Muscle Shoals. The idea was to channel that era of the live rhythm section."

 

So, basically, they're a rhythm section.

I think that's a common criticism these guys receive. I think often it's true, and I don't mind that, honestly, but I understand, and most of my real favorite tunes of theirs are the ones with vocalists. Their drummer/guitarist

is a great singer in his own right, and there are also recurring guests like
and
.

 

Some of the instrumentals are a little more melodic, like the bass feature "

," which audiences have started trying to sing along to. When I saw Vulfpeck in Brooklyn last month, the crowd was not as on their game as
.

 

Hopefully that wasn't too evangelical a response on my part!

 

Pretty much what I was gonna say. Their vocal tunes are quite catchy and interesting.

 

I am actually surprised that they haven't incorporated real clav over the Korg controller+software yet. They have the money and go hard on the vintage everything else. Clav also feels so different on the real thing. :idk: Jack, what the deal, dude?

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I just realized I posted the same video, sorry for the redundancy! These guys are amazing musicians. Here's a live show, pretty damn great, including mega instrument switching with incredible chops. This is 1.5 hrs, I watched the whole thing, it's awesome with guest players and singers and comedic narration.

 

[video:youtube]

Some music I've recorded and played over the years with a few different bands

Tommy Rude Soundcloud

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These guys are great showmen.

 

On the topic of whether they have melody, I think it is remarkable that they their crowds regularly sing along to the BASS line on the song Dean Town. Check out 1 hour 22 minutes in live show embedded above. (Edit: Oops... just noticed someone already mentioned that above)

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  • 10 months later...

I am actually surprised that they haven't incorporated real clav over the Korg controller+software yet. They have the money and go hard on the vintage everything else. Clav also feels so different on the real thing. :idk: Jack, what the deal, dude?

 

hey Eric, here you are. I have watched this video twice now. Finally starting to get it. Love any band that uses a B3, D6, and a 200. Video is only 2 weeks old. :cool:

BTW, all these dude are extremely talented, but the bass player who plays lead bass for the entire 90 minutes just might win.

 

 

[video:youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mGHri3yV4-Y

 

 

 

:nopity:
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I am actually surprised that they haven't incorporated real clav over the Korg controller+software yet. They have the money and go hard on the vintage everything else. Clav also feels so different on the real thing. :idk: Jack, what the deal, dude?

 

hey Eric, here you are. I have watched this video twice now. Finally starting to get it. Love any band that uses a B3, D6, and a 200. Video is only 2 weeks old. :cool:

BTW, all these dude are extremely talented, but the bass player who plays lead bass for the entire 90 minutes just might win.

 

 

[video:youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mGHri3yV4-Y

 

 

So much to enjoy, but Antwaun Stanley is simply undeniable.

Samuel B. Lupowitz

Musician. Songwriter. Food Enthusiast. Bad Pun Aficionado.

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I have a very complicated relationship with this group. They are (for me) the rare convergence of immense talent in a genre that is right up my alley, combined with rarely playing anything I really care or think that much about after I hear it. It's not often I find a group this impressive to also be this unsticky (for me). I know my hipster cred is predicated on saying that I "get" them, but I think in the end I just don't.

 

Plus--and this is entirely idiosycratic to me, and not a reflection on them--their recording aesthetic is too sanitized for my ears. I don't get that gut-punch from them that I want to get from groove-based music. It ends up coming across mathy instead of soulful, and I can't find my "in."

Now out! "Mind the Gap," a 24-song album of new material.
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an imagined German version of the U.S. session musicians of the 1960s such as Funk Brothers, Wrecking Crew, and Muscle Shoals.

 

All good players, but they're first priority appears to be showing off. That's fine, but the "Swampers" would never have thrown a groove under the bus like this. They weren't out to impress anyone, they just wanted to make soulful records

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