Inspired by organist Neal Evans' ability to play left hand bass lines, Kevin Wong put together a double manual keyboard rig in 2003 in San Luis Obispo with a Nord Electro 2 on top and a Yamaha DX-7 on bottom. Kevin’s organ trio with Pat Pell (drums) and Wes Smith (saxophone) was instantly popular. MC Xarius came on board and completed an ensemble which combined the vocal improvisation of hip-hop and the instrumental improvisation of jazz. The collective, FUSED, represented the union of these two genres.
When Kevin moved to San Francisco in 2006, he formed a new band called BASSment with local SF players Nate Mercereau (guitar), Daniel Casares (tenor sax), Mike Rayray (drums). The group's chemistry was so good that "every song we play is the best thing you've ever heard". The addition of special guests Vince Rillera (bass guitar), Mandeep Sethi (vocals), Lionel Briones (alto sax) and Will Magid (trumpet) opened many new musical doors/possibilties and added new colors/flavors to the mix.
In 2009, Kevin put together a new rig with a Hammond XK-1 on bottom, Yamaha MO6 on top, & a Motion Sound Pro-3x leslie speaker. Daniel moved to france, and BASSment decided to downsize to a trio with various special guests to fill out the band on every gig. Over the past 3 year, we have performed at numerous venues such as Nihonmachi Street Fair, Cherry Blossom Festival, 111 Minna, 330 Ritch, Red Devil Lounge, 12 Galaxies, The Rockit Room, The Boom Boom Room, Club 6, Kelly’s Mission Rock, El Rincon, Pier 23, Mars Bar, Voodoo Lounge, The Brittania Arms, and the MatrixFillmore.
