It was April 2003, the end of my sophomore year of college, and I took a road trip to the University of Vermont, where the trees are fresh, the maple syrup flows freely, and a little college band called the Flo was playing a benefit show. Three of us NYUers decided to make a weekend out of it. That was nearly two years ago when I first saw the 19 year olds of the Flo bust out a little Hendrix in the middle of a campus dorm quad.

The Flo is a college jam band thriving with potential to grow an audience. Surviving and growing in their college years solely off their live music and their friends at UVM, the Flo recently recorded an 8 song independent album. Their peaking jams reflect their obvious jam influences from Phish to Umphrey’s, but they still maintain that grassroots, frat house party band tone throughout each track.

With songs titled Shiraz, Butternuts, and Happy With My Blast Off, it seems hard to go wrong. Guitarist/vocalist Logan Sena sings with his raw young voice. Though not perfect with plenty of room to grow, it compliments the natural, organic live feel of the Flo’s music. Their sound as a party band overlaps hard rock jams and catchy phrases to create a unique, original musical idea. I particularly enjoyed Fat Gary, a song that dips into a funky odd meter jam highlighted by slick guitar arpeggios.

The album gives a great taste of the Flo’s songwriting and improvisation as Sena and his fellow axe grinding guitarist David Chez duel and harmonize. The album lacks the polished feel of a professionally produced EP, though perhaps it’s the live sound of this recording that makes it so curious and intriguing. A young jam band is always fun to watch, and their studio recording puts that live feel into perspective. They don’t perform in New York as of yet, but I suggest you download the album from the website. Free music never hurt anyone (no really, shut up Lars, or show me your scars).