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<\/p>\nThree esteemed players have joined forces almost by chance, and the result is one of music\u2019s more dynamic and vital outfits. Combining a melodic jazz sensibility with the unpredictability of a jam band, the LaMP trio keeps its members \u2013 and the audience \u2013 on their toes.<\/p>\n
Guitarist Scott Metzger had crossed paths with the duo Soule Monde \u2013 drummer Russ Lawton and organist Ray Paczkowski \u2013 many times before they decided to team up. \u201cWe were all fans of each other\u2019s playing,\u201d he says. \u201cIn 2017 or so, we were all at a festival, and we said, \u2018We should get together and play, and see if it works. We\u2019ve gotta make this happen someday!\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Considering their busy schedules, that day came sooner than expected. Metzger explains that at the time, he discovered that he shared a booking agent with Soule Monde. \u201cPat May was the one who put his foot down,\u201d he recalls. \u201cHe said, \u2018I\u2019ve got the schedules for all three of you guys in front of me, and I\u2019m booking you a gig at Nectar\u2019s.\u201d May, Metzger says, had a strong sense that the three would work together very well. \u201cThis was even before we had any material,\u201d he adds with a laugh.<\/p>\n
In December 2018, the new trio of Lawton, Metzger and Paczkowski \u2013 taking its name from its members surnames \u2013 debuted at the revered music venue on Burlington, Vermont\u2019s Main Street. Anticipation had been building. \u201cTo our surprise, it sold out,\u201d Metzger says. \u201cWe didn\u2019t even know what we were going to play, but we thought, \u2018Well, we\u2019ve got to figure something out.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
The three had shared musical ideas via email ahead of time, and making use of what Metzger laughingly calls a \u201cvery long sound check\u201d at Nectar\u2019s, they put a set together. \u201cWe played some of my tunes and some of theirs,\u201d he says. The gig was a rousing success. \u201cIt was pretty clear to everybody that there was something special going on here,\u201d he says. \u201cSomething that was worth following up on.\u201d<\/p>\n
LaMP did exactly that. \u201cI drove up to Berlin, Vermont several times, and we wrote a bunch of songs,\u201d Metzger says. \u201cAnd we recorded what became the first record [LaMP<\/i>, released in 2020].\u201d The music on that album \u2013 and its followup, 2025\u2019s One of Us<\/i> \u2013 is the product of a collaborative combination of composed works and lively improvisation.<\/p>\n
Metzger characterizes the LaMP approach as one similar to \u201cBlue Note jazz records of the \u201860s and \u201870s,\u201d with a high value placed upon melody. \u201cAll three of us feel very strongly that if you\u2019re going to play instrumental music, it\u2019s very important to have something melodic for the listener to grab onto,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n
Yet despite the trio\u2019s clear affinity for the jazz aesthetic, Metzger \u2013 who, like most musicians, dislikes genre labels \u2013 allows that LaMP fits into the jam band category. \u201cBut I think we\u2019re a very well-informed<\/i> jam band,\u201d he clarifies. \u201cWe\u2019re not guys who grew up [just] listening to Phish.\u201d<\/p>\n
The real-time, almost subliminal communication emblematic of the best jam bands is part of the LaMP method as well. Metzger says that his band mates had a head start on him in that regard. \u201cRuss and Ray have been playing together in Trey Anastasio\u2019s band for 20-plus years,\u201d he says. \u201cIt was very clear to me right from the jump that they have that thing that can only happen after playing together for thousands of hours, on hundreds of gigs. In a way, I feel like the new guy.\u201d<\/p>\n
Metzger says that in the early days of LaMP, he saw his role as \u201cto just not get in the way\u201d of Lawton and Paczkowski, to simply \u201cadd little things here and there.\u201d But that quickly changed. \u201cWe\u2019ve got quite a few gigs under our belt, and a lot of miles,\u201d he says. \u201cI\u2019m feeling more comfortable saying that the three of us now have our own subliminal, under-the-surface communication.\u201d Describing that vibe as music\u2019s \u201cX-factor,\u201d he says that these days, he often knows what his band mates are going to play \u201cfive seconds before they play it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Yet he remains in awe of the creativity and skill of his musical comrades. \u201cSometimes I watch Ray,\u201d he marvels. \u201cThere\u2019s so much going on over there, I feel like I\u2019m gonna break out in a rash trying to figure out what\u2019s happening!\u201d<\/p>\n
Metzger and his band mates all have multiple musical pursuits; his LaMP band mates recently played a set with Anastasio\u2019s band at Dead & Co.\u2019s Golden Gate Park 60th<\/sup> Anniversary concert. But he makes a point of not calling LaMP a project<\/i>. \u201cI think we\u2019re a band in the truest sense,\u201d he emphasizes. \u201cIf you were to change any one of the three of us, the sound would change radically. If somebody can\u2019t make a gig, it\u2019s not happening.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Three esteemed players have joined forces almost by chance, and the result is one of music\u2019s more dynamic and vital outfits. Combining a melodic jazz sensibility with the unpredictability of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":29959,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[40,41,42,49],"tags":[5761,5764,5763,5762],"class_list":["post-29958","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-instrumental","category-interview","category-jazz","category-new-release","tag-lamp-trio","tag-ray-paczkowski","tag-russ-lawton","tag-scott-metzger","cat-40-id","cat-41-id","cat-42-id","cat-49-id","has_thumb"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29958","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=29958"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29958\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":30160,"href":"https:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29958\/revisions\/30160"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/29959"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=29958"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=29958"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=29958"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}