The Afromotive uses its music for the power of good

Four years ago, Ryan Reardon was in a strange place. The Buffalo, N.Y., native had recently relocated to Asheville, N.C., after returning from Medie, Ghana, and the transition from the two cities so many worlds apart seemed an overwhelming obstacle at the time.

Reardon had gone to Ghana to study the djembe and gyil with world-renowned percussionist Bernard Woma at the Dagara Music and Arts Center after a meeting between the two while Reardon was in college in Buffalo. It was a meeting that Reardon remembers ignited the growing spark he had been harboring for African music since he was a teenager.

"Growing up, I was listening to all sorts of stuff," explains Reardon. "Everything from Guns 'N' Roses to Public Enemy. Just anything I could get my hands on that was intriguing and inspiring, really. And when I first heard Afrobeat, I was just inspired immediately."

Reardon remembers his time in Ghana as a time when his interest in African music went from subtle intrigue to a fully realized love affair.

"I was very drawn to it I think for lots of reasons," says Reardon. "It's culture, the musicianship, the way that the music is a part of a whole social network."

Perhaps it was that social network that Reardon was fearing would be lost when he first came to Asheville. The idea of trying to play Afrobeat music where Afrobeat might not exist seemed pointless since it's a music of community and celebration.

What Reardon found, however, was a surprisingly healthy and vibrant Afrobeat scene in the mountain city, one that not only offered a wealth of knowledgeable musicians but also an enthusiastic fan base as well.

By 2005, Reardon had joined up with Cote D'Ivoire natives Kevin Meyame, 33rd generation percussionist Adama Dembele and seven others to form the funk-inspired Afrobeat group The Afromotive.

"I didn't really expect there to be this West African community here," Reardon says of Asheville. "But it happened to be here and I met a lot of people that were into West African music, like drumming and dance, and I met a lot of people that were actually from West Africa. So it just kind of made sense and was a natural evolution to form an Afrobeat band."

The Afromotive released its debut album, "Scare Tactics," in 2007, a well-received album that opened a number of doors for the group, including performances with Erykah Badu and Michael Franti as well as invitations from major music festivals such as Trinumeral, Joshua Tree and, a must for any self-respecting Afrobeat band, Bonnaroo.

The group has dwindled since the release of "Scare Tactics" from 10 to eight members with Meyame and another member leaving to pursue other projects.

What still remains is an explosive, performance-based group that does more than just play a show. The Afromotive strive to create an event.

What Reardon and his band mates hope for is a collaboration between band and audience that transcends the borders of the stage and invites the audience to actually become a part of the music rather than just a listener.

It's that hope of connecting with an audience on a level that extends beyond "listener" and "entertainer" as well as the nature of United Artists for Hope that attracted The Afromotive to the upcoming benefit concert.

"We love to do something like this that is actually helping something besides bar sales," says Reardon. "Before the show, we know why everyone is there; it's to support something they believe in and it's great to be able to play for those people because they're already appreciative. It's just a much more enriching experience overall for us."

The Afromotive is on a tour of the Southeast and the Midwest and will be entering the studio this month to begin work on its follow-up album to "Scare Tactics" due out at the end of the summer.