The idea originated at Deschlers Bar on Auckland's High Street when some of its members-to-be were watching a funk band perform.
The original line-up consisted of Marty Greentree (guitar/bass), Tim Gemmell (drums), Jimi Winkle (bass/guitar) and Kelsey Serjeant (tenor sax).
The band demoed three songs with the Rock Factory in 2005, one of which, 'Crisis Situation', received airplay via Jason Kerrison's show on Kiwi FM.
The band continued to write songs in a storage shed in Auckland during 2006 and recorded their first album with Andrew Buckton at Studio 203.
In order to play the songs on the album live, the band recruited Tim Baker on keyboards and Tom Charleson on guitar.
[3] New Zealand-based online magazine Elsewhere said Black Brown & White was "beautifully crafted, well written" and "thoroughly enjoyable all round", but with the reservation that it was "too much of something-for-everyone.