Chris and Christopher Wintrip settled onto stools in the recording studio at Gattuso’s Music & More.
Christopher, 23, is the son of Chris, 74, a music veteran in the Canton area and beyond. The father strummed an acoustic guitar. Christopher warmed up his vocal cords briefly.
Some rough edges could have been expected during their impromptu montage of Hall & Oates songs, despite their previous shows as founding members of Mind Over Matter, a tribute to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame duo.
But there was no rust, no miscues as they whipped through snippets of “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feeling,” “Rich Girl,” “Private Eyes,” “Maneater” and “I Can’t Go for That (No Can Do).” Only smooth harmonies and proficient musicianship filled the room, a product of the musical bond between father and son.
Communication between the two is as natural with music as spoken words.
“There’s a unique kind of spark when it’s father and son,” Christopher Wintrip said. “It feels internalized and emotional. Every band I’ve performed in has either been created by (his father) or alongside him. I don’t want to play with anyone else.”
Added the elder Wintrip: “We’ve got each other’s back all the time. We finish each other’s sentence musically and lyrically − it happens all the time.”
The duo has played together before in various bands. But the Perry Township residents never pursued a permanent group together until jointly forming the Hall & Oates tribute.
Playing gigs both inside and outside Ohio, Mind Over Matter will have its biggest local show on May 30 at Lions Lincoln Theatre in downtown Massillon.
For more information and to purchase $35 tickets, go to lionslincolntheatre.org/.
Why did they pick Hall & Oates for a tribute?
Explaining his father’s profound musical influence, the son didn’t name a rock ‘n’ roll icon as his hero − it’s his dad.
“There will always be amazing musicians whom I’ll have the opportunity to perform with, and it might rival his competence, but it won’t be the same,” Christopher Wintrip said. “Making music with him is the greatest thing.”
Hall & Oates is a good fit for the father and son.
“When we perform together, with the compatibility we have, we’re musically at home,” Chris Wintrip said. “(Hall & Oates), I feel, is probably the best niche for us.”
Christopher Wintrip, a 2021 Massillon Washington High School graduate, said they wanted to stand out in the tribute scene.
“We were thinking, what is a band that is compelling enough but also captivating and not done by so many people,” he said. “The rapport was already there, but it was just a matter of learning the songs and performing them on stage.”
‘Playing with my dad is a gift.’
The younger Wintrip said he was raised in a home surrounded by music.
“There was never a quiet moment at the house,” he said. “We had instruments in the house, and naturally I was drawn to playing them.”
Watching his dad perform live hooked him on music.
“I was drawn to that world,” he said. “And fell in love with it.”
Singing Hall & Oates songs allows the son to realize a goal and dream − fronting a band and showcasing his vocal abilities.
“It’s all come full circle,” said Christopher Wintrip, who is writing and producing an indie solo album of original pop music, featuring guitar parts played by his dad. “Playing with my dad is a gift, and pursuing my passion as a lead singer, I get to pour my heart out into the audience.”
‘There is a special sound.’
Chris Wintrip has been in rock bands since high school.
The Stark County native and Lincoln High School graduate was a member of Brimstone, which released an album in 1973. Brimstone opened some shows for Lynyrd Skynyrd, the New York Dolls, Peter Frampton, and the Climax Blues Band.
Various other bands and musical projects followed over the decades. He’s a guitar instructor and has worked other jobs in the music business. In 2024, he released a Billboard-charting smooth jazz instrumental track, “Stellar.”
Chris Wintrip recruited the other members of Mind Over Matter − Warren Henry of Kent, bass and vocals; Billy King of Hartville, saxophone and vocals; Duncan Crooks of Canton, keyboards; and Tommy DiSabatino of Canton, drums and vocals.
Henry has performed with Wintrip for about 13 years.
“Chris is an amazing musician,” the band member said. “He is both a wonderful vocalist and one of the best guitar players I know. Although I also play guitar, I try not to play guitar in the same room he does.”
The father and son dynamic is inspired, Henry said.
“There is a special sound family harmony creates,” he said. “Think of the Bee Gees, The Everly Brothers, The Carter family.”
‘Electric feeling’
Mind Over Matter pays homage to Hall & Oates and stays true to the original songs, although they embrace improvisation.
Also in the band’s repertoire are “Family Man,” “You Make My Dreams,” “Sara Smile,” “Method of Modern Love,” “Out of Touch,” “Kiss on My Lips” and “Say It Isn’t So.”
“It’s the feel-good music,” Chris Wintrip said of Hall & Oates. “It makes people feel good, and they can sing along − sometimes louder than the band.”
Fans also can hear the Hall & Oates hits when Mind Over Matter performs July 10 in downtown Louisville during a 2nd Fridays event. Past concerts have included Chillicothe, Pittsburgh, Cleveland, Kannapolis, North Carolina and Sarasota, Florida.
Christopher Wintrip doesn’t mimic Daryl Hall’s vocals.
“I’m kind of creating this hybrid approach,” he said. “And it’s my take on it, but the core and the nuances and inflections in his singing, I feel like I’ve replicated it.”
The older Wintrip’s lower register suits John Oate’s backing vocals. Dueting with his dad on Hall & Oates classics like “She’s Gone” and “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feeling” is transcendent, Christopher said.
“It’s an electric feeling,” he said. “But it’s so much more than that; it’s even a spiritual feeling and energy level that I can feel with him on stage that is emotional.”
Reach Ed at ebalint@gannett.com. Follow on Instagram at ed_balint and TikTok @edwardbalint
If you go
What − Mind Over Matter: A Hall & Oates Tribute
Where − Lions Lincoln Theatre, 156 Lincoln Way E in downtown Massillon
When − 7:30 p.m. May 30
Admission − Tickets cost $35 and be purchased at https://www.lionslincolntheatre.org/
This article originally appeared on The Repository: ‘Family harmony.’ Father and son start Hall & Oates tribute band
Reporting by Ed Balint, Canton Repository / The Repository
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
