Young Funk
Mellowed-out keys combined with driving syncopated bass fill the room
at The Loving Touch in Ferndale, August 3rd, as early 20-somethings all the way to 50-year-olds bop their heads and shuffle their feet to match the rhythms on stage. Playing with camaraderie and intimacy, you wouldn’t know Chuck has only been performing for just over a year. It could be the fact that keyboardist Sam Mead and rapper Marek Olsen have been next-door neighbors since childhood, or the fact much of the band are students or graduates of Wayne State University. But either way, they bring a sense of togetherness that invites you into their space.
While Chuck would fit into the funk genre, its elements are quite diverse. Luke Hodgson, a theatre major at Wayne State, provides a steady leading vocal as Olsen provides flowing and knowledgeable insight with his wordplay. Other influences like Motown, jazz, and Ann Arbor’s own Vulfpeck can clearly be heard as well.
As the set moves to the song “Flavortown,” the audience helps bring in the hook, “I don’t know what I am, But I know I can jam, All alone with my friends, Am I low, well that depends.” With the already-growing fan base that Chuck has gathered in one place, one does not doubt their popularity growing in the upcoming years.
Mead also records all of the band’s music in his studio in historic Woodbridge, Detroit. Currently, the band’s self-titled EP of their work is out on all streaming platforms, and we should expect some new sounds in January 2020. We certainly look forward to hearing more from this refreshing and competent new group.
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The band Chuck consists of:
Luke Hodgson - vocals
Marek Olson - rhymes
Colin Takata - guitar
Sam Mead - keys
Dan Mulkeran - bass
Matt Clifford - drums
