Surfing YouTube is one of my premiere time wasters, but once in a while, I stumble across a gem or two. This time a mother load.
As I write, I’m listening to a guitar player named Cory Wong playing his compositions backed by the Metropole Orkest in Amsterdam.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia:
The Metropole Orkest (Metropole Orchestra) is a jazz and pop orchestra based in the Netherlands and is the largest full-time ensemble of its kind in the world. A hybrid orchestra, it combines jazz, big band, and classical symphony orchestra styles. Comprising between 52 and 97 musicians, it is versatile across many musical forms and is equipped with a “double rhythm section” – one for pop and rock, and one for jazz-based music.
The arrangements are both lush and powerful with much of the music centering on Wong’s jazz/funk Stratocaster riffs, the equally tight bass playing by Seth Tackaberry, drums by Martijn Vink, and piano featuring Hans Vroomans or Cody Fry, who gave a nice rendition of The way it is, popularized by Bruce Hornsby and the Range. The Orkest ranged through funk, swing, lyrical, and rockish material— as rockish as can be produced with harp, tubular bells, and a huge string section.
Wong also plays with the funk band Vulfpeck, the experimental(?) band Fearless Flyers, and in his solo work.
My first exposure to these musicians was a serendipitous discovery of Fearless Flyers while snooping around the usual wasteland of YouTube. These guys must be the fastest guitar players alive performing highly technical and complex compositions, blazing through changes of key and rhythm without charts. Their guitars are mounted on stands, requiring them to stay in one place while performing. Maybe to focus on the music? A gimmick?
The drummer is a buzzsaw on a minimalist kit comprised of bass, snare, hi-hat, and crash cymbal. Together, these chaps produce a huge sound that would suggest a much bigger band. I am too new to the genre to know what this type of music is called. Techno-jazz?
Vulfpeck, formed in Ann Arbor, Michigan in 2011, originally consisted of four musicians, Jack Stratton, Theo Katzman, Woody Goss, and Joe Dart, an absolutely nutso bass player. These guys, along with a host of guests, including Wong, sold out Madison Square Garden without a manager or backing label— a first for the venue.
Their concept was to emulate the styles of 1960s-era rhythm sections such as The Swampers, The Wrecking Crew, and The Funk Brothers, as imagined by a German band. They have done so brilliantly. Vulfpeck played at Bonnaroo on June 27, 2023, to a packed crowd. The band came onstage clad in white bathrobes and red “elf” hats, looking like Devo rudely awakened from REM sleep with a boat horn. Nothing sleepy about these guys, though. Woot.
Although the music is similar to that of the Fearless Flyers, Vulfpeckers are all over the stage, switching instruments, jumping over equipment, and lying on the floor while playing. This is a high-energy act.
Ordinarily, due to my pathological envy of young people having fun, I wouldn’t recommend any band playing a venue like Bonnaroo, but these guys deliver a hard-driving, sometimes silly, always entertaining musical romp, so I’m making an exception. They also performed a Jewish wedding onstage complete with the traditional stomping of the Funky Duck by the bride, followed by rousing Klezmer music while the entire wedding party danced as the bride and groom were hoisted on chairs by the band members.
In his solo show, Cory Wong showcases guests like Trousdale, a trio of ladies who couldn’t be musically further from funk, but fit in just fine somehow. At House of Blues Boston, Wong gave a rousing set that included two songs played entirely on instruments that would fit in an airline carry-on bag, an idea born of frustration with the difficulty of transporting instruments to gigs. This was called “carry-on music.”
After the set, the road crew brought in a step-and-repeat backdrop that looked like a newsroom set and Wong held a “press conference” to critique his show, much like a sports channel post-game show. The musicians reviewed how they had missed notes or flubbed solos (they hadn’t) and took questions from members of the music press. Only then, did they play an encore.
Wong and his crew display the same high-energy showmanship as Vulfpeck, and the music, while similar, is— to my ears— more melodic while maintaining high technical skill.
Trousdale, on the other hand, is more pop/folk with a cringe of Swiftian “men are breaking my heart ‘cause they suck” overtones. That said, their singing is phenomenal and their three voices blend effortlessly, swooping and soaring through their material. Their cover of Neil Young’s Old Man is both original and excellent. The fact that they could be integrated into Cory Wong’s frenetic material is a testament to the talents of all involved.
Further rabbit-holing could be done by following the guest musicians who play with Fearless Flyers, Vulfpeck, or Cory Wong. You’ll need to do it, though. My garage is a train wreck.
I will have to check out this music 🎶🙏🏼❤️
So hilarious and entertaining eg. Devo and Swiftian lol
You're absolutely the very best writer! 🥰🙏🏼