Unified Tribe

by Marisa Brown   Unified Tribe's cast of evolving characters first came to being in 1982 in Queens, NY, when singer, multi-instrumentalist, and founder Magic decided to start a band. Soon singer and violinist Harmony joined, as eventually did bassist and vocalist Starr, trombonist Kal-El, and guitarist and vocalist Merrily. Their debut album, Listen to This, came out in 2001, after Unified Tribe had moved to Austin, TX. Two years later, Mixed Messages was released. By the time Unified Tribe (who also owned their own production company) were set to record their third album, the group consisted of Magic, Harmony, Starr, Merrily, Tamara (keyboards), Kara (sax, flutes), Baby (guitar), Zen (drums, percussion), Hammer (drums, percussion), Seth (guitar, trumpet), and Hammer, all of whom also contributed to vocals in some form. In 2006, Unified Tribe, who pride themselves on being a mixed-race and multicultural group, issued Funktional Family.