2006 2004 2003 2002 2001
December 2006
SF WEEKLY
- Jonathan Zwickel 
"For a city as obsessed with latex and leather as San Francisco, it's a surprise that Vinyl has stuck around so long. Then again, the freaky and the deaky alike are pheromonally attracted to high-potency funk and sweaty good times, which are what the reigning kings of Bay Area groove are all about. Vinyl follows in the tradition of fellow S.F. funkateers Tower of Power, spiking saucy sax and trumpet with boogaloo bass lines and Latin-leaning percussion, all bound by the members' unswerving dedication to leaving dance floors well buffed at the end of the night"
September 12 2006
VINYL: FOGSHACK MUSIC VOL. 1
Brian Heisler - jambands.com
Vinyl, one of the Bay Area's many well-kept secrets, has quietly launched another smooth set of genius. Anchored by the band's signature horns and funky grooves, Fogshack Music Volume I moves like the late hour of a hip jazz club. As the album cover art suggests, Bernie Worrell is featured on the album. At times Worrell is not particularly noticeable amidst the already full funky sounds of Vinyl, but his soulful voice and funky keys are the grounds for much of the album. The singing is minimal on FMVI, occasionally lyrics are looped and the groove develops around this in a euphoric sort of way.....[more]....
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December 31 2004
Vinyl's Variegated Hues
Chris Clark - jambands.com

Funk is a sound that countless bands attempt; some fail, some prevail.
Often, a band will no more than mirror the sounds of their predecessors, with nothing added to the pot but a touch of new flavor and an all too distinguishable resemblance to something else that came before.
Since forming in the Bay Area over eight years ago, Vinyl has progressively proven to be a band capable of achieving and sustaining full-on sweaty dance parties, night after night, with their brand of left coast, upbeat funk. But for the seven instrumentalists, their funk is copiously saturated with tastes of Latin, jazz, Afro-Cuban, reggae, blues, dub and hip-hop to name a few.
"If people aren't having fun, it's a drag," said Doug Thomas, whose sax and flute unite with Danny Cao's trumpet to produce a vibrant Vinyl horn section. "However, it seems to come naturally to us. Once we start a set of music, we get people into a nice frame of mind. As a musical group, of course we want to sound good and be tight musically, but ultimately, we want everybody to be stoked." ....[more]....
October 30 2004
Review of All the Way Live - Vinyl
Matt Brockett - jambands.com
Fewer bands have a more fitting name than Vinyl.
Their sound blends body moving percussion, ripping guitar licks, smooth horns, and hip-shaking Hammond work to create everything from tight funk grooves, to Afro-Cuban rhythms, to dub, to straight-up reggae, to good old rock n' roll.
With their latest release, All The Way Live, recorded over two nights at San Francisco's Great American Music Hall, Vinyl preserves the spirit of their namesake not just in their music, but in the innovative album packaging as well. The cover art of a flooded temple and the sea creatures that inhabit it, along with a winged and clawed Victrola-beast, evokes the feel of the big old school gatefold record albums, complete with psychedelia and fantasy landscapes. The most noticeable thing about this tight-as-a-drum seven-piece is the fact that their sound never gets boring, mostly because their songs never get boring. They just start on a basic groove, and then some or all of their players take leads one at a time, letting each song take twists and turns around its main theme. They keep it all exciting and fresh, by not letting themselves fall into the realm of repetitive simple songs that limits so many groove-based bands.
On All The Way Live, Vinyl is joined by a slew of guest musicians, including Huey Lewis, Bernie Worrell, Rob Wasserman, Sugar Pie DeSanto and Cochemea Gastelum. Since Vinyl is an instrumental group, they bring in several guest vocalists to give more variety to their songs. Sugar Pie's unmistakable vocals on "In The Basement" immediately transport the listener to a smoke-filled basement R&B club. Pop legend Huey Lewis lends his talents not vocally, but with his harmonica, on the awesomely titled "Skumbo," a New Orleans style tune who's intro seems to draw influence from the theme songs of old sitcoms like Blossom and Mr. Belvedere. The reggae side of Vinyl shows up on tunes like "Things I Could Do," the rootsy "Truth and Rights!," featuring guest vocalist Jethro Jeremiah, and "Mokpok," a dubbed out powerhouse of a tune. Vinyl even seems to have a bit of a ska influence, visible on tracks like "Mole Rat" and, to a lesser extent, in the relaxed funk of "Whedawedat." The backbone of Vinyl is no doubt, the funk, and they bring it in every way possible. Funk drips off of tunes like the ripping "Animal 57," and the oddly edited album closer "Vinyl Party." On "Turtle," the absolute best song on the album, they blend oozing organ funk with vintage '70s guitar sounds and raging hand drums as the song builds to a reggae-tinged ending that gives the listener no choice but to bop along.
Even if Vinyl isn't for you, there is no denying the absolutely mind-blowing tightness of this relatively young ensemble. The booty-shaking grooves of All The Way Live is a perfect snapshot of the total dance party that Vinyl brings with them wherever they play.
This band is something special, with a future so bright, they better wear shades.
September 30 2004
The Pour House, Raleigh, NC
Paul Kerr - Relix Contributing Writer
They came from the left coast, the final destination of manifest destiny, like a three sided dice rolled from the cosmic hands. The joyous sounds of funk, Latin jazz and reggae combined and conspired into a kaleidoscopic musical outburst as the San Francisco seven-piece known as Vinyl rolled into Raleigh for an evening of electrifying grooves.
Coming from the cultural low point of the first presidential debate to the high point of the concert, a weight seemed to lift off the crowd as they settled into the utopian fantasy of the band's incendiary instrumentals.
Shifting tempos and open-ended compositions make it hard to tell where one jam stops and the next begins. Flowing effortlessly between styles (is it funky jazz or jazzy funk?) the band cruises through customs over imaginary musical borders, sending the occasional sonic postcard along the way. The sound changes with the style, from Danny Cao's sprightly trumpet lighting up the Latin jazz to drummer Alexis Razon's volume-bending snare fills in the reggae revelry. Razon is the band's secret weapon, unleashing a hybrid of heavy sprinkles and sustenance to the band's diet while Johnny Durkin, formerly of Deep Banana Blackout, adds frantic congas and timbales over the top.
Despite the number of musicians, the sound remains inherently spacious and open with each player shining through clearly. Jonathan Korty's Hammond organ is an essential element, adding ambrosial textures and frenetic solos while Billy Frates churns out colorful blasts of chordal energy and too-funky guitar lines. Doug Thomas tore through Ronnie Laws' soul-funk classic "Always There" on saxophone before switching to flute for more delicate forays on "Whedawedat". The band sailed along on their tuneful wanderlust with only Geoff Vaughan's vibrant, melodic bass playing to anchor them down.
Vinyl plays with a joy that permeates their music. Forgoing any vocals, they focus squarely on the sound, freeing the audience to decide what the music is "about" and where it will take them. By the time they wrapped up their 40-minute encore with Jimmy Smith's "Root Down," we knew them better from hearing them play than we ever could from hearing them speak.
September 23 2004
John Stevenson - Ejazznews.com, London
The San Francisco Bay area has produced some of contemporary music's finest musicians. Just think Santana, Tower of Power, John Santos and many more.
Vinyl follows in this illustrious lineage on its most recent outing with delectable tunes; the group seamlessly moves between vintage reggae, rock riddims, raw funk and classic soul with an authenticity that serious music lovers will sit up and take serious note of. Bassist extraordinaire Rob Wasserman, chart-toppinng vocalist Huey Lewis and famed funk keybopard player Bernie Worrell, cut 'rare grooves'in this much under-appreciated northern Californian group known as Vinyl.
Review: All the Way Live
'An Honest Tune' magazine
San Francisco has produced a bumper crop of no nonsense, tight yet fluid improvisational musical entities in the last ten years. One of the bands that has had a reigning influence over the area's vast instrumental riches are the proven veterans of Vinyl. They have released a double disc live recording, All The Way Live, which captures them and many guests over two November 2002 nights at the Great American Music Hall. This unit has the ability to switch gears from sweeping, majestic progressive movements to the brass based street blues of New Orleans. The crystal clear production by Tony Mindel and Vinyl reveal the vitality of a versatile group at the top of their game. The legendary organist Bernie Worrell brings his funky Hammond touches to the George Clinton penned "Moonshine Heather." The party never lets up as Sugar Pie De Santo energizes the crowd in a sing a long on "In the Basement." Rob Wasserman brings his booming bass reverberations to "Moonshine Heather" and "Wildebeest." Huey Lewis even gets in on the act, playing a rootsy, country-blues harmonica that richly fills out the phat grooves of "Skumbo." But, the thrust of the sonic exploration on All The Way Live belongs to Vinyl and the overall presentation they bring is, in a way, a great tribute to their many years together as a solid rhythm foundation. From the skanking "Lasiti" to the all out jam-funk overload of set ender "Vinyl Party," the group is imbued with an authentic across the border vibe that colors their interpretations of Latin, reggae, jazz, metal, and funk material. The players in Vinyl all share soloing duties equally, and cohesively combine under the same rhythmic vision on All The Way Live.
January 15 2004
San Francisco Examiner
The seven piece Wammie award winning jam band ensemble, favorites of the North American festival circuit, start with a steady foundation of sway-worthy rhythms, on top of which they use an ever-changing assortment of instrumentation to create a sound that's at once fresh and familiar and guaranteed to lure wallflowers to the dancefloor and keep them there.
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April 18 2003
JamBase, John Zinkand
Vinyl & Psychedelic Breakfast, The Domino Room - Bend, OR 4/15
When I heard that these two fine young bands were scheduled to join forces in Bend, OR for a night, I knew a road trip was in order. I picked up my friend in Salem on Tuesday afternoon and we headed east towards our destination city of Bend. To get to the high desert central Oregon town, however, we had to cross over the mighty Cascades. While there was plenty of snow on the trees and ground, no snow ever fell on the roadway, not even as we crossed over the forty eight hundred foot summit of the Santiam Pass. There was plenty of gray rain showers and swirls of mist clinging to the pine tree coated hills, cliffs, and mountains as we drove through the rugged wilderness, but no snow. Dropping down into Bend from the mountains we came over a ridge and could see the long, straight line of the road rolling out for miles in front of us in little dipping hills. A bird escorted the cars as it flew along hovering about fifteen feet above the roadway all the way down into the valley.
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2006 2004 2003 2002 2001
April 3-10 2002
Metro Santa Cruz
With gliding Latin-jazz vamps, skittering grooves echoing James Brown's "Funky Drummer" and, from time to time, subtle reggae skank, Vinyl plays a moody brand of club funk that has made them a favorite among the Bay Area's dance-all-night set. Though loaded with solid soloists who can turn out lick after lick, the band mostly plays for textural effect, crafting grooves that shift like views through a kaleidoscope. The only thing missing from their vintage sound - a throwback to the new groove thing of Grant Greene or the deeper Hammond strut of Charles Earland with a bit of rock guitar thrown in - is the pop and hiss of a well-worn LP.- Rob Pratt
April, 4 2002
Good Times
Like their namesake, what sends Vinyl's music flying is the groove. This Bay Area combo loves the funk, but you'll also hear dashes of reggae, R&B, and Latin percussion in their dance-friendly sound. They've brought their instrumental jams to the High Sierra Music Festival, Reggae on the River and Mountain Aire Music Festival and played with big wheels like Phil Lesh, Les Claypool, The Meters, and Bernie Worrel. In 1999 they were named best international band bySF Weekly and one of the U.S.'s top 25 jam bands by jamband.com's national poll. - Damon Orion

San Fransisco Chronicle
"The most exciting band to emerge in the Bay area this year." - Joel Selvin

John Galt Papers
"On stage, they were having so much fun that it spiled over into the audience,
and everyone was swimming in it.
Everyone-every single person that was present was up on their feet dancing."
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Pacific Sun
"They played the freshest, most infectious grooves in the country."

New Orleans off Beat Magazine
"Vinyl's self titled debut album combines a laid back groove and easy style which is as irresistible as it is listenable."
Aspen Daily News
"Vinyl is commited to throwing the crowds into a gyrating frenzy."

SF Weekly
"The group throws in bits of familiar sounds, from James Brown's R&B, to George Clinton's funk, the kind of snazzy guitar lines favored by Santana, and Booker T & The MG's party rock, into their sonic stew."