SURRENDER TO THE FLOW

It's July 15th and The Flow has just finished the tenth show of their Colorado summer tour. Bassist/vocalist Brett Bielski and vocalist/percussionist Ted Moss reflect on what has been, in their opinion, a rather dismal show. "Up until tonight we were doing great," says Bielski. "Tonight we need some counseling."

The post-show atmosphere in their R.V., which is home for the month of July, seems cheerless. "It is like putting your soul out there in front of everybody and if something fucks up, your crushed," states Moss. It was only twenty minutes earlier this East Lansing, MI band enveloped the almost capacity crowd at Sherpa and Yeti's in Breckenridge with their 'bayou friendly island soul rock.'

"It's really a good thing that we have two days off to get our ducks in order," adds Moss. He also warns "You will not see our drummer and our saxophone player tonight because they are so mad about the show."

And while the band may have not upheld their musical expectations, the dancing frenzy created by the crowd would make one think otherwise. As the band tore through originals like “Banana Boat Man” and “Oshe,” the dance infectious grooves moved throughout the room. However, it is this self-critiquing that draws more drive from each member to work that much harder.

But once the self-analysis subsides, Bielski and Moss reveal that not all shows during this Colorado tour have been this flawed. "We've got good nights, we've got not so good nights, but regardless, the people, the energy we've gotten is really cool," confides Bielski referring to this monumental tour in their short 11-month history.

As one of the few dedicated live bands in the Michigan State University town on East Lansing, The Flow continues to call it home while a few members finish up the pursuit of a higher education. But Moss states with enthusiasm, "We're gonna move out here as soon as I graduate."

Prior to this month long tour of Colorado, The Flow primarily was gigging in strictly East Lansing, minus a few dates in Chicago. Bielski reveals the short history of the group. "We were pretty much a Dead cover band," he says. "We basically took two of East Lansing's biggest bands and the players who really wanted to be serious about it, combined forces, got together and started playing."

Along with Bielski and Moss, The Flow rounds out with guitarist Zack Pearce, drummer John Cassidy, keyboardist Mark Freed, and saxophonist Diego Rivera.

"So that is how it got started," Bielski reiterates. "A couple of different bands that weren't all that happy with what they were doing and then a jazz guy that wanted to expand his horizons a little bit."

The jazz guy who Bielski refers to has just entered the R.V. and the tone of the conversation changes as Rivera, the die-hard jazz player and fan, seems overly solemn. A quick introduction yields a modest apology. "Sorry you had to witness the show," says Rivera.

He eventually opens up and discusses his venture away from weekly jazz gigs to full-time sax blower for The Flow. "I got into the band through Zack. I had a week off and he asked me if I wanted to play with the group and I said 'sure.' He told me they had a couple of rehearsals and I learned the majority of their set over the course of the week." "He learned all the songs in five minutes," interrupts Pearce, who snuck in prior to Rivera's entrance.

Rivera continues to describe what pulled him away from traditional jazz into a not-so-traditional cohesion of high-energy dance music. "It was different," he says with respect for the new sound he was introduced to. "What was really attractive was the hunger that these guys have. It was just something that I hadn't seen in awhile.

"I wanted a new challenge, something to stimulate my brain. When I first joined the band I felt that I had to play differently, from jazz guy to Flow guy. As I got closer with these guys I learned what they were about musically and was able to work on a lot of things that I needed to work on without putting on two different hats. In some ways I can pick up right where I left off and keep on going."

While Rivera brings more than just his mature sound to the group, he also lends advice to fellow members, as Pearce reveals. "I used to be afraid to play," he says. "Really nervous and stuff. Then Diego told me to just stop before you go onstage and think about 'Wow, we get to go and play music today. We are gonna have the best time tonight.' Ever since then I walk on the stage and have that attitude. When things don't go right, like tonight, I try to just stop and smile and just groove and get back into it. After playing so much you have to love what you do and put your whole heart into it."

It is the unique interrelated influences and relationships of each member in the group that varies the sound. From the strong, body moving rhythms of Afro-Cuban sounds layered with the eerily and subtle tones of Rivera's sax, The Flow embodies anything but the cold and bleak surroundings of the Michigan town from which they come.

Pearce continues to lead the discussion on the musical melding. "Everyone is different and we are open at the same time. We all love music, come from different backgrounds and are very excited to hear new stuff and learn how to play new stuff."

And he openly jests at the differences between the atmospheres of Colorado and Michigan. "It is a different way of life. Every person you meet has such energy and they just glow. Whereas Michigan, it is gray six hundred days of the year and people just mope around and stuff. Especially where we live. It is the cloud town of Michigan."

As the conversation leads from the welcoming confines of Colorado into the future of the group, Rivera, in a modest tone, continues amidst the after show partying that entails. "The only thing that separates creativity from innovation is time. Only time will tell if this is innovative or not," he states in a speculative conclusion. "As long as it takes for people to understand what we want to do and as long as it takes for us to understand what we want to do.

"I always keep in mind keeping respect for the music rather than keeping respect for myself sometimes. The music is a lot bigger that just the six of us. The music is bigger than any of us. There needs to be a level of respect, it has to be sacred."

The musical drive and ambition that leads such a young band a 1,000 miles from home only lends to the notion of a certain belief in each other. Moss, the youngest in the group, showing his love for the hometown beverage with a Coors Light in hand adds "I think we are on the right track. It is just gonna take awhile for our sound to develop and us to learn how to play together. We play together pretty decent already, but not anywhere near where any of us want to be."

As the tour wrapped up later that month, The Flow returned home to continue as Pearce put it, "to try and bring joy and sunshine to everyone!"

"I think we achieved more than any of us honestly expected," comments Bielski post-tour from Michigan. "I think we surprised ourselves with what we managed to accomplish. Not to say we came home with all the answers. I think we quickly realized how much over-whelmingly hard work there is ahead of us, especially if we want this band to continue to grow at this rate over the upcoming years."

And he adds about the upcoming Colorado tour in December. "We connected with an incredible amount of people in Colorado on a musical and personal level. People were actually moved to action after our shows. I hope the band can live up to their expectations when we return in December."

The Flow will be returning to Colorado from December 21st through January 6th stopping in such favorite spots as Boulder, three nights in Steamboat Springs, Credted Butted, Breckenride for New Years and circling back around to Denver before heading home. Check out The Flow's tour dates, catch them in a city near you!

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