Funk Trek

Funk Trek are an American funk/jazz fusion band from Omaha, Nebraska, formed in May 2008 by cousins Tom Murnan and Dan Pflug, along with guitarist and long-time friend Andrew Wahl.
History
The band, originally consisting of only a few musicians grew to ten as their name evolved throughout their beginning years. Around 2007, the band initially started out as short-lived "Da Funk Trek Voyager", only later to cut the "Da" out of the name, shortening it to just "Funk Trek Voyager". The name is a play on words for Star Trek Voyager. Shortly after trimming their name to "Funk Trek Voyager" in 2008, the band decided to primarily write only instrumental music, eventually becoming known for their insuppressible groove and their smooth blend of funk, jazz and experimental music. The name "Funk Trek Voyager" lasted until late 2009 when the "Voyager" name was dropped and the band became known more famously around the Omaha indie music scene as "Funk Trek". Playing shows at various Omaha venues such as The Waiting Room and The Slowdown, Funk Trek eventually became noticed by more venue owners and started making their way across the Midwest at the turn of the decade. It was also around this time that Funk Trek's first album "Voyager" was underway. The title was a tribute to the second half of their original name "Funk Trek Voyager", using it as the album name as a sort of memento to their origins as Funk Trek Voyager, including some songs written early on in their career while Funk Trek Voyager was still active. The band held recording sessions in bassist Tom Murnan's basement, recording each musician separately and blending the music together for the final product using Murnan's and rhythm guitarist Jared Dietz's knowledge of mixing and mastering. The finished album was completed in late 2010 and the first copies were sold to the public on December 10 of that year at The Waiting Room Lounge in the Benson neighborhood of Omaha, Nebraska. Fast forwarding one and a half years after spending much of 2011 touring around the Midwest and the South, Funk Trek began recording their second album "Voyager 2" in March 2012. This would be the band's first actual studio album, recording an additional collection of their songs at Make Believe Studio in eastern Omaha. The album has yet to be released, but the band plans on releasing it in early summer of 2012. Later in 2012, the band also plans to release their third studio album, entitled "Richard Balonanavich". It will be a concept album with the use of vocals and lyrics for the first time. The album concept revolves around the story of Richard Balonanavich, who is a character created by bassist Tom Murnan. Richard is a cranky, spiteful, old hermit whose endeavors are bent on destroying funk music in its entirety.
Members
Current Members:
Andrew Wahl- Lead Guitar;
Tom Murnan- Bass;
Dan Pflug- Drums;
Kevin Pflug- Alto Saxophone;
Mike Lovejoy- Trombone;
Cameron Blazek- Tenor Saxophone;
Jared Dietz- Rhythm Guitar;
Jake Reisdorff- Keyboard;
Rob Barr- Percussion
Past Members:
Jay Egger- Alto Saxophone/Rhythm Guitar;
Alain Hernandez- Trumpet
Timeline
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Alignbars = justify
DateFormat = dd/mm/yyyy
Period = from:01/12/2007 till:01/06/2012
TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal format:yyyy
Colors =
id:guitar value:red legend:Guitar
id:bass value:blue legend:Bass
id:drums/percussion value:green legend:Drums/Percussion
id:saxophone value:yellow legend:Saxophone
id:trombone value:orange legend:Trombone
id:trumpet value:purple legend:Trumpet
id:keyboard value:gray(0.5) legend:Keyboard
id:Lines value:black legend:Studio albums
Legend = orientation:horizontal position:bottom
ScaleMajor = increment:1 start:2008
BarData =
bar:Andrew text:"Andrew Wahl"
bar:Jared text:"Jared Dietz"
bar:Tom text:"Tom Murnan"
bar:Dan text:"Dan Pflug"
bar:Rob text:"Rob Barr"
bar:Kevin text:"Kevin Pflug"
bar:Cameron text:"Cameron Blazek"
bar:Jay text:"Jay Egger"
bar:Mike text:"Mike Lovejoy"
bar:Alain text:"Alain Hernandez"
bar:Jake text:"Jake Reisdorff"
PlotData=
width:10 textcolor:black align:left anchor:from shift:(10,-4)
bar:Andrew from:01/12/2007 till:end color:guitar
bar:Jared from:01/06/2010 till:end color:guitar
bar:Tom from:01/12/2007 till:end color:bass
bar:Dan from:01/12/2007 till:end color:drums/percussion
bar:Rob from:01/06/2009 till:06/05/2012 color:drums/percussion
bar:Kevin from:01/06/2008 till:end color:saxophone
bar:Cameron from:01/06/2010 till:end color:saxophone
bar:Jay from:01/06/2008 till:01/06/2010 color:saxophone
bar:Mike from:01/03/2010 till:end color:trombone
bar:Alain from:01/06/2009 till:01/10/2011 color:trumpet
bar:Jake from:01/04/2011 till:end color:keyboard
LineData =
at:10/12/2010 color:black layer:back
</timeline>
</div>
Discography
* Voyager (2010)
* Voyager 2 (2012) unreleased
* Richard Bolonanavich (2012) unreleased

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