Jack Stratton (musician)
Jack Stratton | |
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.jpg?lang=en) Stratton in 2024 | |
| Background information | |
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| Born | c. 1987 (age 37–38) Cleveland Heights, Ohio |
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| Years active | 2011–present |
| Labels | Vulf Records |
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| Formerly of |
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Jack Stratton (born c. 1987), also known by the mononym Vulfmon, is an American multi-instrumentalist, composer, bandleader, audio engineer, and video producer based in Los Angeles. He is best known as the founder and bandleader of the funk band Vulfpeck. He released his first full-length album, Here We Go Jack, in 2022 and has since released three additional albums.[1][2][3]
Career
[edit]Stratton grew up in Cleveland Heights, Ohio, and started on drums at an early age. His father, Bert Stratton, plays clarinet in the Klezmer band Yiddishe Cup and Stratton filled the role of drum player.[4] He attended The University of Michigan for recording engineering and drums where he formed Groove Spoon in 2009.[4][5]
He founded Vulfpeck in 2011[6] and does most of Vulfpeck's management and production.[7] He has been fooling around with audio compressors since the earliest days of the band.[8] Stratton first adopted the persona of Vulfmon, an old-school German record producer, for the band's Kickstarter project to release its music on vinyl.[9]
In 2014, the group released Sleepify, a silent Spotify album that financed a free tour and attracted international media coverage.[10][11] In 2019, Vulfpeck sold out Madison Square Garden.[6]
In 2020 he performed a publicity stunt and fundraiser for Vulfpeck by auctioning the "real estate" of track 10 on their album The Joy of Music, The Job of Real Estate on eBay.[12] It sold for $70,100 to the band Earthquake Lights.[13] A portion of the proceeds were given to DonorsChoose campaigns.[14]
Stratton also conceived the instrumental project The Fearless Flyers.[15] He helped develop the Vulf Compressor plugin with Goodhertz.[16] In 2023 he released funk a harpejji single, and his piece "Harry's Theme (Lite Pullman)" was later featured in David Byrne's playlist of favorite instrumental works.[17][18]
Stratton has released several collaborations with singer Evangeline, including "It Might Have To Be You," featured on Radio Milwaukee's best new music show.[19]
In November 2025 he free soloed El Capitan in Yosemite under 3h30, beating Alex Honnold’s record.[citation needed]
Influences
[edit]Stratton has named Bernard Purdie, the Meters, The Jackson 5, and Mickey Katz as musical influences, among others.[6][20] Doug Lussenhop is an inspiration for Stratton's video editing, along with Mel Brooks and Woody Allen.[4]
Discography
[edit]Studio albums
[edit]| Title | Album details |
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| Here We Go Jack |
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| Vulfnik |
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| Dot |
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| Deg |
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Extended plays
[edit]| Title | EP details |
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| Interstitials I |
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Singles
[edit]| Year | Title | Album/EP |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 | "How Much Do You Love Me?" (with Jacob Jeffries) | Here We Go Jack |
| "Boogie Man" (featuring Mason Stoops & Tyler Nuffer) | ||
| "Alone Again, Naturally" (featuring Monica Martin) | ||
| "Contrapunctus I" (featuring Michael Winograd) | ||
| "Take Me to a Higher Place" | ||
| "Never Can Say Goodbye" (featuring David T. Walker & Solomon Dorsey) | ||
| "Let's Go! Let's Go!" (featuring Mike Viola) | ||
| "Bach Pedal" (featuring Rich Hinman) | ||
| "Here We Go Jack" | ||
| "Rutgers" | ||
| 2023 | "I Can't Party" | Vulfnik |
| "Ucla" (with Louie Zong) | ||
| "Bonnie Wait" | ||
| "Harpejji I" | ||
| "James Jamerson Used One Finger" | ||
| "Lord Will Make a Way" (with Antwaun Stanley, written by Thomas Dorsey) | ||
| "Harry's Theme (Lite Pullman)" (with Harrison Whitford) | ||
| "Nice to You" (with Jacob Jeffries) | ||
| "Blue" (with Jacob Jeffries) | ||
| "How Much Do You Love Me" (with Jacob Jeffries, remix by Ellis) | ||
| "Too Hot in L.A." (with Woody Goss and Jeremy Daly) | Dot | |
| "Surfer Girl" (with Drew Taubenfeld) | ||
| 2024 | "Letting Things Go" (with Evangeline) | |
| "Little Thunder" (with Jacob Jeffries and Harrison Whitford) | ||
| "Tokyo Night" (with Jacob Jeffries and Evangeline) | ||
| "It Feels Good to Write a Song" (with Antwaun Stanley and Jacob Jeffries) | ||
| "Got To Be Mine" (with Evangeline) | ||
| "Disco Snails" (with Zachary Barker) | ||
| "Hit the Target" (featuring Eddie Barbash) | ||
| "It Might Have To Be You" (with Evangeline) | Deg | |
| "Gloves Off" (with Tyler Ballgame) | ||
| 2025 | "Dawn" (with Jacob Jeffries and Harrison Whitford) | |
| "Big Boy 4014" (with Harrison Whitford) | ||
| "Valk" | ||
| "Chicago Summer" (with Evangeline) | ||
| "Rutgers II" (with Louis Cato) | ||
| "Merengue alla Turca (Mozart Rondo)" (with Andy Arthur Smith) | ||
| "Banc de poissons" (with Jacob Jeffries) |
References
[edit]- ^ Danny Hazan (May 18, 2015). "Can't Fake the Funk". Medium. Retrieved May 30, 2015.
- ^ Josh Fischel (October 16, 2024). "An Interview with Jack Stratton". The Believer. No. 147. Retrieved May 19, 2025.
- ^ "Apple Music: Vulfmon". Apple Music. 2025. Retrieved January 3, 2025.
- ^ a b c "Jack Stratton on the Third Story Podcast". Third Story Podcast. November 8, 2017. Retrieved April 11, 2021.
- ^ "Interview with Vulfpeck's Jack Stratton (transl. from Jazzism)". September 19, 2017.
- ^ a b c Josh Fischel (October 16, 2024). "An Interview with Jack Stratton". The Believer. No. 147. Archived from the original on November 19, 2024. Retrieved August 30, 2025.
- ^ Fischel, Josh (December 6, 2024). "Excerpts from The Believer: An Interview with Musician Jack Stratton". McSweeney's Internet Tendency. Retrieved August 11, 2025.
- ^ Lapin, Andrew (December 4, 2021). "No Label, No Problem". Alumni Association of the University of Michigan. Retrieved August 11, 2025.
- ^ Runyon, Nicholas (October 23, 2025). "Vulfpeck: The Best Comedy Band That Isn't A Comedy Band • The Daily Fandom". The Daily Fandom. Retrieved August 11, 2025.
- ^ Tim Jonze (July 25, 2014). "Vulfpeck ... the band who made $20,000 from their 'silent' Spotify album". The Guardian. Archived from the original on January 16, 2020. Retrieved August 30, 2025.
- ^ Jared Newman (May 7, 2014). "Silent Album Games Spotify to the Tune of $20,000". Time. Archived from the original on January 4, 2016. Retrieved August 30, 2025.
- ^ "FOR SALE: TRACK 10 ON VULFPECK'S NEW RECORD on EBAY". YouTube. August 7, 2020. Retrieved April 11, 2021.
- ^ "Vulfpeck Contributes 'Track 10' Proceeds To 'DonorsChoose' Campaigns". September 8, 2020.
- ^ "Vulfpeck Tweet". Twitter. September 8, 2020. Retrieved April 11, 2021.
- ^ Jake May (October 11, 2022). "Swing Time: The Fearless Flyers". Relix. Archived from the original on October 11, 2022. Retrieved August 30, 2025.
- ^ "Vulf Compressor — by Goodhertz, Inc". Goodhertz. Archived from the original on May 22, 2025. Retrieved August 30, 2025.
- ^ Rogerson, Ben (May 22, 2023). "Vulfpeck's Jack Stratton serves up 90 seconds of serious harpejji funk on his new Vulfmon single". MusicRadar. Archived from the original on January 16, 2025. Retrieved August 30, 2025.
- ^ "David Byrne Radio Presents: Who Needs Words?". DavidByrne.com. February 1, 2024. Archived from the original on February 24, 2024. Retrieved August 30, 2025.
- ^ Wolf, Erin. "Best new music: Vulfmon & Evangeline pack their talent into another tune". Radio Milwaukee. Retrieved August 11, 2025.
- ^ Influences:
- Danny Hazan (May 18, 2015). "Can't Fake the Funk". medium.com. Archived from the original on November 7, 2017. Retrieved September 1, 2025.
- Leo Sidran (November 8, 2017). "The Third Story Podcast – Episode 86: Jack Stratton (Vulfpeck)" (Podcast). third-story.com. Event occurs at 11:45–13:30. Archived from the original on November 11, 2017. Retrieved September 1, 2025.