Soul Patch

June 12, 2011

“Soul Patch has been a long and interesting journey,” begins Soul Patch singer Christopher “Wink” Winkelmann. The band, a Traverse City hometown favorite, began as a two-piece acoustic act made up of Winkelmann and Michael “Mando” Peck (on guitar and mandolin), and evolved into a two-piece with a whole lot of guest musicians sitting in.
“We are still in TC and probably always will be. This is our home and we love ‘Da Mitten!’” Winkelmann says.
By 2003, they’d added Christopher “CB” Belanger on bass; 2005 brought multi-instrumentalist Adam T. Sleder to the lineup along with Marc “Animal” Alderman on drums, and the official lineup of Soul Patch was “formed and complete on New Year’s Eve 2005,” Winkelmann confirms.
Soul Patch will lay down the grooves at the Northern Express Minifest this Thursday, June 16 from 7-9 p.m. at Lay Park (just south of the Union Street dam & bridge).  The public is encouraged to bring their own lawn chairs to the family-friendly show, which is co-sponsored by the Traverse City Parks & Recreation Commission.
 
SOUL OF A SOUND
While Soul Patch’s sound seems like something that was carefully crafted to cover several genres, the eclectic mix, Winkelmann explains, evolved naturally following his own solo work, during which he performed both covers and originals. Working with his bandmates, he found that they had similar styles and approaches to crafting music, which just made Soul Patch’s evolution all the easier.
“We all have a love for all music,” he says, “with no one genre taking over our everyday lives. We are always listening, respecting, and gaining new musical bliss through the vast connections we all make as musicians.
“So, in writing new music one of the three songwriters brings a riff or a song to practice. We all give it a listen, and see if we can make it work with our many different styles. We’ll ‘put some Patch on it!’ - meaning we’ll all produce our own parts to the song - and put them together until it seems to work for our ears. That’s how we ‘settled’ on our sound.”

NO SET LISTS, PLEASE 
While they’re often referred to as a jam band or a party band, Winkelmann says that “if you love music, chances are you’ll like Soul Patch.” 
Their mix of styles can be heard within the range of just one song. And speaking of set lists - Soul Patch doesn’t believe in ‘em, so don’t expect to see the same show twice.
“I get asked a lot why we don’t make set lists,” Winkelmann says, “basically, I developed this philosophy years ago as a solo artist. I was in bands that would write set lists, and I was the front man, having to sing the list and see the crowd’s reactions to the songs and hear their requests. What I found was that the more I pay attention as an entertainer, reading the crowd the best I can from stage, it gives me the ability to keep the floor moving and the crowd interacting.”
“By not writing a set list, I can fulfill requests, interact with the audience more, and make them feel like they are involved in the show, not there to just hear my agenda for the evening. And for us as a band, it keeps every evening different and fresh. In the life of Soul Patch, you never know what is going to happen,” he says.

A NEW ALBUM SPINS
That approach extends to the life of their recording career, as well. A new CD from the band has been long-awaited and much-anticipated - but as Winkelmann explains, even the best made plans don’t always necessarily work out in time.
“In July of 2007, we put out a live CD which we recorded in the studio, live in one take, with little to no editing, and we gave it to our fans, as they requested,” Winkelmann says. “Over the past four years, many have asked us when we were going to have a new CD. Well, it was supposed to be late 2008, then early 2009, then 2010 - but it is actually being mastered as we are having this interview,” he chuckles.
The new 14-track, original album, titled S.P.i.N., is now set to be out in early to mid June.
“If it’s possible, we may leak one new tune off of the album to WNMC 90.7 FM once the album is mastered,” Winkelmann says, “but I make no promises when it comes to this album - it was supposed to be out three years ago.”

Soul Patch performs at the Northern Express Minifest this Thursday from 7-9 p.m. at Lay Park (just south of the Union Street dam & bridge).  The free show celebrates 20 years of Northern Express.  Bring a lawn chair. For more on the band, see http://www.facebook.com/soulpatchisneat