Galactic and Gitkin

Childhood friends Jeff Raines and Robery Mercurio became interested in the local funk scene when they attended college at Tulane and Loyola Univeristies first formed the group in 1994; they were later joined by Chris Lane, Rob Gowen, Richard Vogel, Theryl DeClouet, Ben Ellman, and Corey Glover. Over the years, the group has developed their own distinct sound, pulling from their influences, which include hip-hop, electronic, jazz, rock, world and blues music.

On top of making appearances with their live performances, they released their first album in 1996 entitled “Coolin’ Off,” with the help of Fog City Records. Galactic continued to consistently release an album with only a year or two in between each record. On their 2007 album, “From The Corner To The Block” the European release has one more track that features German rapper Dendermann, which is not included on the US version. The band is also known for their live performances, specifically because they tend to invite special guests to play with them; including, The Neveille Brothers, and the Soul Rebels Brass band, both of which are fellow New Orleans based bands. In 2012 the band toured the United States and Canada with Corey Glover and the Soul Rebels Brass band.