.LaMP burns brightly

Three esteemed players have joined forces almost by chance, and the result is one of music’s more dynamic and vital outfits. Combining a melodic jazz sensibility with the unpredictability of a jam band, LaMP keeps its members—and the audience—on their toes. The trio comes to Cornerstone Berkeley Oct. 10.

Guitarist Scott Metzger had crossed paths with the duo Soule Monde, drummer Russ Lawton and organist Ray Paczkowski, many times before they decided to team up. “We were all fans of each other’s playing,” he says. “In 2017 or so, we were all at a festival, and we said, ‘We should get together and play, and see if it works. We’ve gotta make this happen someday.’”

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. “Pat May was the one who put his foot down,” he recalls. “He said, ‘I’ve got the schedules for all three of you guys in front of me, and I’m booking you a gig at Nectar’s.’” May, Metzger says, had a strong sense that the three would work together very well. “This was even before we had any material,” he adds with a laugh. 

In December 2018, the new LaMP trio of Lawton, Metzger and Paczkowski, taking its name from its members’ surnames, debuted at the revered music venue on Burlington, Vermont’s Main Street. Anticipation had been building. “To our surprise, it sold out,” Metzger says. “We didn’t even know what we were going to play, but we thought, ‘Well, we’ve got to figure something out.’”

The three had shared musical ideas via email ahead of time. Making use of what he laughingly calls a “very long sound check” at Nectar’s, they put a set together. “We played some of my tunes and some of theirs,” Metzger recalls. The gig was a rousing success. “It was pretty clear to everybody that there was something special going on here,” he continues, “something that was worth following up on.”

LaMP did exactly that. “I drove up to Berlin, Vermont several times, and we wrote a bunch of songs,” Metzger says. “And we recorded what became the first record [LaMP, released in 2020].” The music on that album, and its followup, 2025’s One of Us, is the product of a collaborative combination of composed works and lively improvisation. 

Metzger characterizes the LaMP approach as one similar to “Blue Note jazz records of the ’60s and ’70s,” with a high value placed upon melody. “All three of us feel very strongly that if you’re going to play instrumental music, it’s very important to have something melodic for the listener to grab onto,” he says. 

Yet despite the trio’s clear affinity for the jazz aesthetic, Metzger, who, like most musicians, dislikes genre labels, allows that LaMP fits into the jam band category. “But I think we’re a very well-informed jam band,” he clarifies. “We’re not guys who grew up [just] listening to Phish.”

The real-time, almost subliminal communication emblematic of the best jam bands is part of the LaMP method as well. Metzger says that his bandmates had a head start on him in that regard. “Russ and Ray have been playing together in Trey Anastasio’s band for 20-plus years,” he notes. “It 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.” 

Metzger says that in the early days of LaMP, he saw his role as “to just not get in the way” of Lawton and Paczkowski, to simply “add little things here and there.” But that quickly changed. “We’ve got quite a few gigs under our belt, and a lot of miles,” he points out. “I’m feeling more comfortable saying that the three of us now have our own subliminal, under-the-surface communication.” Describing that vibe as music’s “X-factor,” he says that these days, he often knows what his bandmates are going to play “five seconds before they play it.”

Yet he remains in awe of the creativity and skill of his musical comrades. “Sometimes I watch Ray,” he marvels. “There’s so much going on over there, I feel like I’m gonna break out in a rash trying to figure out what’s happening.”

Metzger and his bandmates all have multiple musical pursuits; his LaMP bandmates recently played a set with Anastasio’s band at Dead & Co.’s Golden Gate Park 60th Anniversary concert. But he makes a point of not calling LaMP a project. “I think we’re a band in the truest sense,” he emphasizes. “If you were to change any one of the three of us, the sound would change radically. If somebody can’t make a gig, it’s not happening.” 

LaMP will perform at Cornerstone Berkeley on Friday, Oct. 10, 8pm. $33.43.