“Explosive” and “jaw-dropping” have both been used to describe a live show by the band known as Kung Fu. Kung Fu came together in 2009, beginning as a jam session between friends at Stella Blues bar in New Haven, Connecticut, where the guys would play their favorite fusion, rock, and funk tunes.
“It just kind of snowballed from there. They started playing more gigs out of state, then festivals, and a couple years later I joined the band,” says Chris DeAngelis, the band’s bass player.
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In 2012, DeAngelis met Adrain Tramontano, the drummer and percussion for the band; their meeting lead DeAngelis to join Tramontano and Kung Fu’s guitar player Tim Palmieri in another band, Breakfast, before eventually joining Kung Fu.
Currently, the band is comprised of five members: Palmieri (guitar and vocals), Robert Somerville (tenor sax and vocals), Ben Sasser (keyboards and vocals), Tramontano (drums and percussions) and DeAngelis (bass and vocals).
“We’ve gone through a couple of member changes over the years,” DeAngelis says. But, “the music has remained the same vein when it started. We added a lot of different things like more vocals, but it’s retained its fusion-rock-funk edge to it.”
DeAngelis grew up influenced by alternative rock bands from the ’90s such as Weezer, Pearl Jam, and Guns and Roses. Later, he began seeking out experimental bands such as Fish, Grateful Band, and Allman Brothers.
His love for music motivated him to attend a small school in Connecticut called Western Connecticut State University.
“I actually went to music school; not everybody in the band did. I actually studied upright bass and did exclusively straight ahead jazz,” he recalls. “All the while, I was still playing electric bass, experimenting, and exploring. It was cool to have that other element in my life pushing me to really get my stuff together, learn to read music, and dive into theory. I really wanted to know what I was doing.”
The band has been described as early Headhunters or Weather Report merged with contemporary EDM. The result creates an intense electro-fusion dance arrangement.
Like three other members of the band, DeAngelis pulls double duty singing vocals—which is rare for a bassist.
“It’s funny, because when it comes to banter and talking on the mic, I’m like the worst person in the world. I go up to talk to the crowd, just farts come out of my mouth,” DeAngelis said. “But, I love to sing; I love to express myself in that way.”
Currently, Kung Fu are traveling for their The Fez Tour, which will feature the band playing a set of their own songs and a set from the Steely Dan catalog. Steely Dan, much like Kung Fu, were known for blending together different genres of music such as rock, jazz, and pop in the ’70s. Steely Dan influenced DeAngelis and the boys in Kung Fu, so they’re paying their respects during the tour.
“We all came up listening to Steely Dan. For me personally it’s the clever use of their lyrics, the deeper meaning behind them. I try to draw inspiration when I’m writing lyrics, maybe subconsciously, from that realm,” DeAngelis said. “Their use of melody and harmony—they’re the masters of taking a melody by itself. It’s very inside and bluesy, almost pentatonic-sounding, then they throw these cords underneath it. They throw a lot of moving cords, moving in and out of different key centers. It’s very jazz-influenced.”
Kung Fu performs at The Ready Room (4195 Manchester) on May 5. Doors open at 8 p.m., and the show starts at 9:30 p.m. The Provels open. Tickets start at $13. $2 minor surcharge at the door. For more information, go to thereadyroom.com.
