Euforquestra once again ‘home for the holidays’

Euforquestra has come full circle.

When the band that is on the edge of being unclassifiable formed in 2004, the members of the group had jobs. The focus wasn't completely on the act.

Twenty two years later and Euforquestra is once again secondary. Each member of the band, which a decade ago was on the road playing 150 shows a year, is focusing on another endeavor.

Three years ago, vocalist-guitarist Mike Tallman moved from the band's base in Fort Collins, Colorado, to Los Angeles in support of his wife, singer-songwriter Kim Dawson's career. Tallman designs and screen prints concert posters in Southern California.

"I studied graphic design at the University of Iowa," Tallman said while calling from Los Angeles. "That helped with what is my main gig now."

It's not a bad gig since Tallman's clients include The Rolling Stones and Taylor Swift.

"It's been good but I love being in our band," Tallman said. "It's just that the band isn't top priority anymore. But we'll perform back in Iowa since we all go back for the holidays. We'll play and help the local food banks. It all works out."

Euforquestra, which will perform Friday at the Englert Theatre for its "Home for the Holidays“ show, will deliver its amalgam of funk, rock and world music. Tallman doesn't care how his band's music is described.

"We're not worried about that since we just want people to have fun at our shows and hopefully dance," Tallman said.

There has never been any parameters for Euforquestra.

"We'll try anything," Tallman said. "I think I was impacted with that anything goes style after I fell down the Phish rabbit hole when I saw them for the first time in 1999 in Ames. And then there is The String Cheese Incident. I remember around the time we came together, I saw them and they had a Latin influence in their music and, it worked. I saw no reason why we couldn't mix it up."

Record labels like to file recording artists in categories, which makes it easier for marketing reasons.

"But we never cared about that," Tallman said. "Some of the guys in the band have more of a jazz background and some have more of a rock background, so our mission statement is to go in a number of different directions and just have the best time creating music that moves us."

Euforquestra has five albums to draw from for each show.

"It can be a challenge coming up with a set list since we have so much material," Tallman said. "We try to check off all of the boxes at our shows. I love ballads and I'm a jam band kind of a guy, but what we enjoy most is having people get up and move. We're thrilled when we perform in front of a dance floor. You can't beat that energy. It takes us to another place."

Euforquestra, which also includes vocalist-keyboardist Matt Wright, bassist Otis Lande, saxophonist Austin Zaletel, trumpeter Matt Bricker and drummer Jeff Peterson, is a part-time band, but Iowa City remains a home away from home. When the members of the band come back they check out the local scene and encourage area musicians to take a chance on a career in the arts.

"It worked out for us," Tallman said. "You have to believe and work hard. There are a lot of great musicians in the Iowa City area and the coolest thing is that the area really fosters the arts. You're exposed to great music. I remember seeing the Derek Trucks Band at the Iowa City Jazz Festival many years ago and just being blown away and inspired."

Expect a number of tracks from the band's latest album, 2022's "While We Still Got Time," as well as some familiar tunes and deep cuts.

"We'll play some songs we haven't played in awhile," Tallman said. "We'll play some classics and the newer stuff from our last album. We're working on new arrangements for some older tunes. We want to make the show special. We don't get to do this nearly as often as we used to, so we're going to go all out and have as much fun as possible."