by Tracy Dietlin
Every now and then a band or performer comes along that separates themselves from the masses and stands out enough to really catch my attention. It takes a lot to really impress me and impressed is exactly what I am with this young group of people called Egoflow.
Egoflow is: Mackenzie “Mack” Graham, 19, (vocals, guitar & lyrics), Sebastian “Notepad” Abreu, 23, (vocals & lyrics), Marko “Felix Nobody” Pratt, 23, (vocals & lyrics), Michael Tribby, 21, (Art Director, photographer, videographer) and Kevin Henry Jr., 23, (band manager).
It’s an interesting story of how they all met and formed this tight-knit union and this is it.
Felix & Kevin have known each other since they were in diapers. Their mothers knew each other in Yugoslavia and Kevin’s Mom moved to NY and Felix’s to PS. Then Kevin moved to PS from Miami when they were in 9th grade and realized their connection. “The first day we met I told him I want to spend the night at your house,” Felix shared laughing. “And we’ve been best friends since.”
Also best friends since junior high are Notepad and Felix who are almost inseperable.
Mack actually remembers knowing Kevin from when she was younger because he lived on her street before moving away. Mike and Mack were actually boyfriend and girlfriend when they were 14 & 16 when she was visiting her Grandmother back in Chicago. Finally, Mike moved to PS to be near his paramour. “He came here to fill his CA dreams and I was part of it,” shared Mack smiling. “Then he got involved with graphic design which is a big part of what we do and he’s another piece of our puzzle.”
To back track a bit, Felix had hip surgery and to help himself heal he started playing music. He used to get together with Kevin’s younger brother, Tyler, who also raps and is now off at college at USC. “One night we were hanging out making music and Tyler took a picture of us and said, ‘ We’re going to be famous. Keep this picture so we can look at it in the future and remember the day I told you this.’ It was crazy and I still have that picture.”
Notepad says he met Mack one night at a show at Vintage Vogue in Palm Desert. “This other girl was playing and it was pretty boring and I overheard Mack say, ‘I can play better than that’ and we started talking about music. Then she said she had her guitar in her car so we sat down on the curb and started playing.” Mack chimes in, “I started playing a hip-hop song I knew and he started free-style rapping and it was awesome. We posted up on the curb and then Marko (Felix) came over and started rapping too and the three of us just clicked. We sat there and played for hours.”
At that point they started hanging out at Mack’s having bonfires in her backyard playing music together. “We were all talking one night and figuring out that Notepad and I both rap and Mack has one of the most unusual and awesome voices ever and Mike is a great photographer, videographer and graphic designer and that we should all come together and with Kevin as our manager we started Egoflow Records, ” shared Felix.
Kevin had just returned from majoring in business finance and marketing at Notre Dame and was trying to figure out what he wanted to do with his life. That’s when it all just fell into place and they all decided that he would be the manager. “I work for my parents who own the Nest in Indian Wells and that allows me to make money and still be able to do this. We’re getting to the point where this is becoming more serious and we are legitimate contenders to actually make this our career.”
Michael Tribby has produced several professional looking videos with a cool, hip vibe that you can check out at letyouregoflow.com. He also designs all of their flyers and does all of their photography and is quite talented in his own right.
I first saw them perform at Mix 100.5’s Lucky Break Talent Competition about 4 weeks ago when Felix & Notepad took home the 100.00 cash prize. These guys have something special between them when they perform. They write all of their own lyrics and practically complete each other’s sentences. Both of them have the gift of rap and it was obvious that night. Not to mention they are easy on the eyes. The following week they competed as a trio with Mack joining in and singing background on one of their raps and they took the winning spot again. Think Rihanna and Eminem or Rihanna and Drake. The next week Mack competed as a solo artist with her friend, Cliff, on percussion under the moniker “Goldilocks and the Bear”. She totally slayed it and the crowd loved her. Not only does she have a uniquely beautiful, sultry voice, she is absolutely stunning to look at, which makes her the whole package and very marketable. And of course, she took the 100.00 prize that week. This just goes to show what amazing artists all three of them are whether playing together or individually.
While they are all talented individuals they feel that their strength comes from their solidarity as Egolow Records, even when they are performing solo. Notepad and Felix have CDs of their own but do guest spots on each other’s projects with Mack also appearing on a few tracks. Mack is waiting for just the right time to record her first CD. “I don’t want to feel rushed. I want to do it when I feel all the material is there and I feel good about it. But I want it to happen pretty soon,” she insists.
They all insist that it is more important for them to stay together under the Egoflow brand and support each other’s projects than for one of them to go off on their own seeking a solo record deal. Not once during the interview did any of them talk about doing this for the money or fame or making a million dollars, not that they wouldn’t enjoy that. They are just on a different path than many people their ages. You only have to be around them a short time to realize that they are all old souls. “We really are about spiritual growth. We want to be centered and have balance in our lives,” insists Kevin. Felix goes on to share, “All of our idols are people like Dwayne Dryer and Gandhi. If you looked at the books on our shelf it looks like the bookshelf of a 40 year old.”
Kevin said that they were recently offered a deal from a production company in England but they wanted to big of a piece of the Egoflow brand. “We want to keep things together until we feel like our brand worth is to where everyone else sees us the way we do. We feel we can stay independent and just use some outside third parties to help us along the way. We want to stay together as Egoflow.”
Aside from winning Lucky Break, they have built a following in LA via Tyler being at USC and they also did a gig at The Key Club. They are looking forward to their upcoming show at Date Shed where they will all perform and also have a DJ ready to spin in between the different incarnations of Egoflow. The show is on Friday, March 15 and starts at 9:00pm. It’s an 18 & over show and is $7.00 at the door.
Don’t miss your chance to see these talented musicians as I totally expect that we will see them performing at The Grammy’s within the next two years. You heard it here first.
