It’s not easy to know what to expect from a band whose members wear monikers like Professor Lynx and Mister Vagts. What you get is a band called Lion Vibes that pumps out music they like to call, “Ragga-Funk,” an up tempo, high energy combination of sounds coming from a nine member group that boasts a live horn section, afro-influenced percussion and female backup vocals.

“We started in Grand Junction, Colorado, almost seven years ago, basically a mix of friendships and working at a radio station,” says Professor Lynx, who calls himself the band’s, ‘MC and singjay.’ “Our manager and bandleader Matt Vagts and I were both the reggae directors at a college radio station. I introduced myself to him and we became friends. He was talking about getting a band together and I expressed a little interest in it. Next thing I know I’m at the radio station and we get a phone call from drummer Jeff Reese. He was looking for somebody to do improv lyricism. That’s kind of what I was doing at the time for fun. I agreed to meet him downtown at this bar and play. Low and behold, Matt shows up with his saxophone and the three of us played. We just took it from there on the basis of making original music with reggae influence. The goal is to do as well as we possibly can, trying to go towards that professional level, keeping in mind we’re in it to play music coz that’s the most fun you can have, to actually play music on any given night to people.”

“We wanted our band name to encompass what our sound was. The Lion of Judah is a very prominent feature in reggae sound. It stands for that royal conscious vibe that reggae is surrounded with. We’re not Rasta, but we share a lot of their similar values. We play with a reggae vibe, but not forgetting that we’re a bunch of American kids.”

“Professor Lynx was my DJ name from the radio. I’m very cat like, I love naps, I value agility, quickness, and I totally dig it. I’m not a big guy I’m only 5’9. The professor is because I was going to school to be a teacher and then I ended out doing my Bachelors in science, it just got of stuck. I had to get my nerd on,” he says laughing.

Professor Lynx explains that he tends to dole out nicknames to band members Matt Vagts who does vocals and plays the saxophone for the band, goes by Mister Vagts, “Matt was a teacher, the kids were always running up to him yelling, Mr. Vagts, Mr. Vagts, so it just stuck.” Matt’s teaching career led to one of the bands more inspiring moments, “We played a couple of shows for a middle school in Colorado where Matt taught; I couldn’t believe how loud these kids were. I got a sense of what it was like for the Beatles. It was mind-boggling to play for kids with that kind of energy.”

Playing in the unique atmosphere of Lion Vibes, Professor Lynx is having the time of his life, “Sometimes I’ll just hang up my mike and watch them perform,” he says. “I’m in the playground with this band. We have the ability to bring together different elements that aren’t normally brought together. We have such an inventory of sound to choose from, the challenge is making a song with so many elements.”

Nine members working creatively brings its own set of challenges, but LionVibes has worked hard to overcome them, “Everyone has their opinions and tastes, but sometimes you have to have the ability to not always say what you are thinking and just let things happen. Often times we have learned that the right musical change will come naturally, if you just get out of your own way. Our main concern is making good music.”