Flow Tribe: keeping the Funk of New Orleans flowing!

Making the world safer with the funk!

Reproduced from The Advocate.com

Many high school kids dream of graduating and spending their lives hanging out, making music with friends and traveling the world. Flow Tribe is living that dream. The six friends, born and raised in New Orleans, are classmates from Brother Martin High School who see themselves as cultural ambassadors for the Big Easy.

Flow Tribe’s lead vocalist, K.C. O’Rorke, said the band is infused with the myriad sounds of the New Orleans music scene.  “Our earliest musical memory was second line at a parade, hearing the bass drum boom,” O’Rorke said. “You’re raised in an environment where music is such a part of the culture that it permeates everything you do. That’s the big thing for us. We try to be cultural ambassadors for New Orleans. We should be getting some tourism kickbacks.”

The lineup of Flow Tribe is O’Rorke (lead vocals/trumpet), Mario Palmisano (guitar), Chad Penot (bass/vocals), Russel Olschner (drums), Bryan Santos (guitar, percussion) and John-Michael Early (harmonica/washboard/vocals).

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The sextet officially settled on the name Flow Tribe in 2006. For seven years they have been a relentlessly touring band, blasting fans away with bluesy rock with a flare of funk and the occasional breeze of Havana air. They call it “backbone-cracking music.”

With three full-length albums in the bag, Flow Tribe is embarking upon a new journey with their latest EP, “Painkiller.” The official album release will be at the Maple Leaf Bar in New Orleans May 18.

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Fans got a taste of Flow Tribe’s evolved sound on their 2011 self-titled album. The song “Run With You” takes off with a spellbinding percussion beat, followed by soft guitar harmonies that sets a romantic mood. “Gossando,” on Flow Tribe’s new EP, has a similar effects. The bilingual English/Spanish lyrics add a deeper twist to the band’s fresh take on funk.

Flow Tribe just played their second New Orleans Jazz Fest, followed by a wild week of Jazz Fest after-parties. Both fans and the media gave them rave reviews. (Check out our MSTv profile/episode to the left!!)

The band will be stopping is Baton Rouge and touring on a festival-filled summer that includes New Orleans Food & Wine Experience, Riverfest in Arkansas, Bay Bridge Fest in Mississippi and Wakarusa in Arkansas.

“We’ve got to show Baton Rouge some love, because they’ve always supported us,” O’Rorke said, so Flow Tribe is doing a sneak peek of the album at the Chelsea’s show on the 17th.