Formed out of the primordial creative ooze of the San Francisco Bay Area, Oakland's Once & Future Band is Joel Robinow (keyboards, guitar, lead vocals), Raj Ojha (drums, recording / mixing engineer) and Eli Eckert (bass, guitar, vocals). For over a decade, Joel, Raj and Eli had worked together (in various combinations) with several bands and projects, including Drunk Horse and Howlin' Rain. Throughout those years, they often spoke of forming an outlet into which they could combine their love of 60s and 70s psychedelic pop, jazz-rock, fusion and progressive rock, in addition to their myriad other musical fascinations.