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May 24th, 2007 @ The Basement—Funkwrench Funkwrench Trips Out the Basement Side-projects are nothing new for Nashville's top session players. On any given night Sam Bush may be jamming with Duckbutter, or John Cowan and Reese Wynans with Grooveyard, and the list goes on. These side-projects are a refreshing opportunity for well-trained studio aces to let loose, allowing uncensored creative impulses to take the reins. Moreover, these side-project jams are rare opportunities for fans to catch their favorite Nashville players doing what they do best—for the fun-of-it. The most recent addition to the growing list of session-ace side projects is guitarist Kenny Vaughan's (Lucinda Williams, Marty Stuart) pairing with jazz bassist Frank Swart (Patty Griffin, Junk, Post Junk) and drummer Adam Abrashoff. The trio call themselves Funkwrench, and they deliver Hendrix-style improvisational psychodelic guitar and Parliament-style funkadelic bass, rooted by Abrashoff's jazzy smooth Ginger Baker-style drumming. At times, Funkwrench's improvisational psycho-funkadelia pushes the boundaries of typical psychodelic blues bends into jazz fusion territory with more complicated dissonant guitar runs and chord structures that climax into a controlled trainwreck, which eventually resolves into softer melodic ambient sounds more reminiscent of Bill Frisell. The band does not play individual songs. The first song was the first set. Vaughan was energetic and brilliant, clearly enjoying this brief opportunity to break free from the strict song structures of country music. Funkwrench is currently promoting "Jam 9," their recent CD release which is everything described above captured in one take in somebody's living room. There is a nine-minute youtube video of this recording session posted on their myspace page. Guitar players and jazz lovers will love Funkwrench, while fans of more structured songs with melodic hooks will be turned off. This is amazing stuff, and we can only hope that these guys will keep this beautiful trip going.
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