Vulfpeck

Vulfpeck
Vulfpeck performing in New York City in 2013
Background information
Origin	Ann Arbor, Michigan, U.S.
Genres	Funk
Years active	2011–present
Labels	Vulf Records
Website	vulfpeck.com
Members	Jack Stratton Theo Katzman Woody Goss Joe Dart

Vulfpeck is an American funk group founded in 2011. Influenced by legendary rhythm sections of the past, the band has released four EPs, two albums, and a silent album on Spotify titled Sleepify – royalties from which funded the band's admission-free tour in 2014. The band's latest album, The Beautiful Game, was released in October 2016. The band's music has been described as an homage to old school funk and soul.

The band members attended University of Michigan's music school. 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. legendary 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.

The band's founding members are Jack Stratton on keyboards, drums and guitar, Theo Katzman on guitar and drums, Woody Goss on keyboards, and Joe Dart on bass. Other musicians occasionally contribute such as Antwaun Stanley, Joey Dosik, Christine Hucal, David T. Walker, Bernard Purdie, Blake Mills and Cory Wong.

The band's first release was titled "Beastly". It was released in April 2011 as a YouTube video. The track was noted for its bass performance by No Treble, an online magazine for bass players. The band released its first EP, Mit Peck, in December 2011, and a second EP, Vollmilch, in December 2012. In 2013 three band members backed up Darren Criss on his national tour, and Katzman was the musical director of the tour. In 2013 Joe Dart was ranked as No Treble's 5th-favorite bassist. Vulfpeck's first live performance was at the Blind Pig in Ann Arbor, Michigan, followed by a performance in New York City at the Rockwood Music Hall in October 2013. The band released its third EP, My First Car, in August 2013. The EP's first track features a vocal performance by Antwaun Stanley – the band's first track featuring a vocal performance. A review of My First Car called it less energetic compared to the band's first two EPs but "still a fitting addition to a unique catalogue of music".