Flobots Fight With Tools

During his senior year at Brown University, when he got arrested at the WTO protest in Seattle, Laurie reached a similar conclusion. After school, he joined AmeriCorps in Providence, working with Youth in Action on immigrants'-rights issues, lobbying for police accountability and engaging in anti-war activism. One day, as he reflected on his efforts, he realized that if he really wanted to make a difference, music provided the perfect platform. "I thought, 'You know what? I wouldn't want to do music if it's just an indulgence, but if it's really an actual path to making change, then I would be willing to go whole hog,'" Laurie relates. "So I thought it through and thought, 'You know, if I'm going to do this, I have to really do what I can; I can't half-ass it and do it on the side while I'm working as a community organizer or something.'"

Within a few months, Guerrero recruited more players, including trumpeter Joe Ferrone and Jesse Walker — the heart of the band, Brackett says, because of his undying passion and commitment — who joined on bass, replacing Jimmy Stofer, who left to tour with the Fray. The rhythm section and lineup were completed with the addition of drummer Kenny Ortiz, a seasoned player who's been in numerous acts over the years, including Phantasmorgasm, one of the area's first rap hybrids.

"It was clear right from the start that everybody was on the same page in terms of wanting to push musical boundaries," Walker remembers. "But at the same time, everyone was still coming from very different influences. So it took us at least a year before we finally really rolled it into something that was presentable and that we really understood each other."

With seven members, there are not only divergent sensibilities at play, but also some very strong, distinctive personalities. Laurie is the ideological nerve center of Flobots, but he's also all over the place. "He's totally unconstrained by reality when he's coming up with ideas," Walker notes. "He just doesn't bother to wonder if something can be done."

Brackett is the band's harshest critic. There are times when he walks away from a performance disappointed, he says, and then he'll see the fire in Walker's eyes and have to reconsider. "I might be wrong," he says, "or even if I'm not wrong, I know somebody's having a great time. It helps keep me there."

Ortiz is a calming presence; any obstacles the group might face, the ace timekeeper has already seen. "He has a way of being silent for a two-hour practice," Walker says, "and then, all of a sudden at the end, saying three sentences that just resolve everything." Ferrone adds the levity. And Guerrero just keeps the band on track and focused. "He makes sure things are happening with the manager, the tour, the equipment," says Brackett. "It's fascinating. There's certain things that he does, that he's savvy about, that I wouldn't even think to ask, like, 'Okay, if we're playing this venue, where's the stage?' Or 'Where are the outlets?' Things like that. Whereas Jamie and I are like, 'Sure, you got the space? We'll do it.'"

At times, Guerrero is almost too pragmatic. He and Roberts recently got into a tangle over whether she needed a new amp. Fortunately, at Laurie's suggestion, Flobots had implemented a problem-solving system specifically designed to deal with interband conflicts. Rather than let issues fester, the members agree to table their concerns and discuss them later at a band retreat in the mountains.

"The great thing about the retreat is that it's helped us bring out into the open any of those unspoken disagreements that can often tear a band apart," Brackett says. "Just listening is important. It means so much when you're in the middle of a really heated argument and you know that the person is really listening to you. It takes away about 50 percent of that emotional vacuum that makes the conflict.