Freeflow
Gig Seeker Pro

Freeflow

Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada | INDIE

Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada | INDIE
Band Rock Reggae

Calendar

This band has not uploaded any videos
This band has not uploaded any videos

Music

Press


"Fusion: Genre-Hopping Kitchen-Sink band defies industry’s need for easy Categorization"

MC E-Spiff is from Vancouver but the other five members of the Vancouver-based soul, reggae, hip-hip, rock and kitchen sink band hail from all over, from Toronto and Orillia, Ont. to Revelstoke and the Kootenay’s. Three of these guys – Vocalist Jason Evans, bassist Simon Davies and drummer Ryan Davis – were enrolled in the music program at Selkirk College over in Nelson, while keyboard guy Wilson Padmos and guitarist Reece Worth were at Capilano College on the North Shore. They all coalesced one way or another about five years ago at the El Cocal on the Drive, home of the Mexi/Spanish atmosphere, regular live music, and the $5.50 pitcher of beer, as convivial a home a young jam combo could ask for. It was Freeflow’s musical haven for the first six months.It used to be people would shuck school and generally drop out when they committed a life to music, living that nocturnal, boho dream, but not according to these guys. School is where you get started. “For a lot of people it’s a great place to make musical contacts as well as improve their chops,” says Evans. “For me, especially, it was a great place to network and find other people that were on the same page musically. This was a jazz-based program. A lot of ear training and harmony. It was pretty eye-opening.”The band’s mantra, philosophy and mission statement – also on the cover of their new, debut CD – is “You Can Do Almost Anything” a take on life that’s helped them through these past five years. Nobody’s getting rich here, after all. There are day jobs from landscape-company foreman to music teacher to stay-at-home dad to ESL teacher. But if there has been an underlining philosophy for these guy sit’s rejecting the notion that different genres are mutually exclusive. Growing up in Toronto Evans was exposed to a lot of urban stuff – hip-hop and reggae – while guitarist Worth comes from a classic rock background and bassist Davies was a big Chili Peppers and Primus fan.Drummer Davis is a jazz dude.
OK, so what do we call it? “I think that’s something we’ve all struggled with as a band,” says Evans. “Not so much for us because we know what we’re playing…but as far as industry people, they’re going,
‘Where can we put these guys?’ I just respond [that] we’re a rock band with hip-hop and soul roots. The fusion of music now is going on everywhere.” - Vancouver Sun J.P. McLaughlin


"Freeflow can do almost anything"

"They play music that is familiar, with elements of punk, hip hop, ska and electronica in every song, and at the same time create something that's wholly original. They're tight, but there's still wiggle room to create and improvise, part of the reason why they're such a popular live act in the Lower Mainland." - Andrew Mitchell of Pique magazine January 27, 2005


"Exclaim Magazine Review"

Exclaim Magazine Review By Ryan B. Patrick June 07, 2005 Vancouver-based group Freeflow tout themselves as practitioners of urban rock, a “unique blend hip-hop, soul, reggae, and rock.” And with this self-titled sophomore effort, these fearless funkadelics have distilled the music they love — that being black music — into a reasonable facsimile thereof. But with any “unique blend,” achieving a satisfactory flavour is contingent on a careful balance of all ingredients to prevent insipidness. Have the West Coast Eastsiders been successful? I guess it’s a matter of taste. “This music comes straight from my heart chakra/From Run-DMC to Charlie Parker," says Freeflow foreman Jason Evans, and who’s to quarrel with such an impassioned manifesto? Especially when the production is slick, the joints are catchy, and the lyrics are earnest. Well known on the West Coast live show circuit, the Ben Kaplan-produced project is an obvious attempt to capture the band’s jam session sound. But the most excellent tracks are those that commit to a single musical genre (such as the reggae-scented “Take Me,” the hip-hopping “I Can Do” and rock-out joint “Higher”) and avoid being something for everybody. The oft-visited lyrics on “Girlfriend” (“My girlfriend’s got a girlfriend/I don’t know what to do”) leads one to believe that either the ditty was written in earnest a long time ago or is a frantic attempt to be “edgy.” But overall, I can’t grudge these dudes. They do what they do and they do it well. - Ryan B. Patrick June 07, 2005


"Freedom to Groove"

"It truly is a pleasure working with Freeflow, they are such great guys. Their 'funk-soul brother' sound is so infectious and their live show is absolutely amazing - gets even the most jaded shaking their ass! Which would explain why they are the most popular sellers in our online store, I've shipped their CD to destinations all over the world." - Susan Collinson


Discography

Night and Day (EP)- 2007
FreeFlow(Self-titled)- 2005
Barfly Sessions- 2001

Photos

Bio

Who is Freeflow? For anyone who's seen the band perform, the answer is simple: they're an energetic band that brings people out of their seats with a compelling combination of songs with great hooks and vocal harmonies.
A much greater challenge, however, is describing Freeflow's sound, which features everything from Soul and funk to reggae and rock. They have often been compared to bands like Sublime and the Red Hot Chili Peppers, yet have nurtured a sound distinctively their own. "We have five members in the band with very different musical tastes but lots of common ground," said lead singer Jason Evans. "What we try to do is combine the music that feels the best to us. We can't help but fuse elements."

Since founding members Jason Evans (vocals), Reece Worth (guitar), Wilson Padmos (keys), Ryan Davis (drums), and Simon Davies (bass) came together in 2001, the band's music has evolved – something that is more than obvious to anyone who has seen the band live or listened to Freeflow's two well-received full length CD's.
The dynamic of the band has since blossomed and has encouraged Freeflow to push it’s sound and live performance to new and exciting levels.
Although FreeFlow has been together for almost 10 years, and has played great Festivals and venues with world-class luminaries , the band looks to the future with even greater expectations.