It was a lot colder than it ought to have been. This winter has been so mild; there’s hardly been any snow, so my wife and I stood, under dressed for the weather, trying to stuff dollar bills into a slot the size of a number two pencil to pay for our parking space in downtown Spokane. Though our fingers were freezing, and we were cursing the inventor of this ridiculous payment system, we were excited to be on our way to see three of the coolest guys in the area play music together. Not that I knew they were going to be so cool, we hadn’t yet met, but I had a feeling that three guys who’d managed to stick together for six years, and build such a loyal fan base must be doing something right.

  Joe Kresge, Darren Wilson and Joe Welk are Coeur d’Alene’s Melefluent. They describe their music as funkrock, laced with reggae—Sublime meets K.G.B. This was to be their last local show before embarking on a tour that will encompass Washington, Oregon, California, Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado and Utah. This is far from their first tour, and is unlikely to be their last. They’ve made a living for themselves by maintaining a steady schedule on the road with Coeur d’Alene as the hub. They share the rent and expenses at home, and a van on the road. When I asked them about how they manage to play music without the ever-pesky day jobs, they said that the shared base at home and affordable housing allow them to travel. They started locally, and then decided to branch out “We used to drive to Seattle for shows anyways so why not be playing them?” Welk commented.

  I asked them if they had any good touring stories and they laid this one on me. After a great show in Anytown, USA, they were hanging out with the stragglers and asking around to see if anyone knew a good spot for free camping. They got the skinny on a place where they could park their van for the night, and after loading up the last of the gear, they set out to find their “lodging” for the night. It was around 2 am by this time, and traffic was the  only thing sparser than good lighting, so they found what they thought was the campground, parked the van and went to sleep. Kresge slept outside the van while the other two were inside, so he was the first to wake to strange voices asking if the dog had been let out or not. He awoke to discover that they’d parked in somebody’s back yard! They were beyond a small hill, just out of sight, so Kresge quickly woke the other two and they took off before they could be reprimanded for tire tracks or trespassing.

  We talked for a bit about their new album, which they are very excited about. They’ve spent about a month at Black Lab Studios recording 14 tracks. When asked about their favorites, they immediately agreed on one called One Dead End, and another instrumental tentatively titled Song #6. (They bantered briefly about whether or not the song would actually be #6 on their cd… I guess you’ll have to buy it to find out.) The album, which they’ve produced themselves with some help from Black Lab’s Joe Varela, is slated for release in May after they return from the tour and put the finishing touches on it.