HEY JOE
“...I’m feeling very lucky. Thank you. It’s an incredible honor.”
No need to thank us, Joe—thank the thousands of voters who made you the top of our recent poll. And, of course, the many fans of Vulfpeck who have elevated the California-based band from an obscure funk college outfit, to one of the most genuinely exciting creative forces operating today.
“I VE GOT TO SAY, BETWEEN HAVING MY NAME ON THE HEADSTOCK OF A MUSIC MAN AND BEING ON THE COVER OF THIS MAGAZINE—THESE ARE BUCKET-LIST MOMENTS FOR ME...
The occasional negative comment is thrown at Vulfpeck when their name comes up online, where they’ve primarily been exposed until now (although that’s changing thanks to you, readers). Criticism of the band usually involves the word ‘hipsters’, which instantly reveals the middle-aged demographic of the critics, an age range that I and most of this magazine’s staff share—but any serious analysis of the group and its music reveals that they’re as far from a flash-in-the-pan fashion trend as you can get. In bass terms alone, those who know the subject—such as our friends at No Treble, and elsewhere—recognized Dart’s phenomenally funky skills as far back as their first appearances in 2011.
Four albums, four EPs and a clutch of Spotify releases later—including the brilliant, music-free of 2014, designed to game the streaming system—Vulfpeck are established as the thinking musician’s funk band for the third decade of this century. When we sat down with Dart, still only 27, it’s clear that those
