Back in 1994, Granola Funk Express (GFE) wasn't the funky hip-hop/folk rock jam band that it is today.

In fact, it wasn't a band at all. It was a vegan kitchen, deep in the sandy national forests of Ocala, Fla.

"We got together at a Rainbow Gathering," said emcee Agent 23, otherwise known as Cactus. "It's a group of people who meet in national forests to camp out and cook free food for each other in these 'kitchens.' Basically there's a lot of music playing, good food and good times."

At the Granola Funk Express kitchen, the music was free-style, and the reactions to it were better than to the food.

"People started hearing about our group from word of mouth, and by the time we really formed a band and went national, there was already a considerable following," Cactus said.

Part of those followings branch out all the way to State College. On Tuesday, GFE comes to The Brewery, 223 E. Beaver Ave., bringing its funky jam band sounds to Penn State fans.

"We always try to play where we have a following," Josh Blake, the guitarist of the group, said. "We definitely map our tours based on when college is in session."

GFE followers are as eclectic as the bands own music styling.

"Our fans are pretty much a melting pot," Blake said. "We've got everyone from the old school hippie crowd to the younger hip-hop crowd to college kids."

Blake said it's the diversity of GFE's fans that puts out such a "tight vibe" at its shows.

"Our music really lends itself to unifying different kinds of people who normally wouldn't kick it together on their own."

But not only does GFE want to unite its fans, it also wants to promote a message of political awareness through its lyrics.

"We're pretty much about getting these people to wake up to the politics of this country," Blake said. "We definitely focus on environmental aspects, and we want people to know that they have the power to change the way things are."

This power to change reflects a philosophy that the band follows both in its music and day-to-day life.

"You can always manifest your own reality," Cactus said. "For us, freestyle is really a lifestyle. It's improvisation, which is what you have to do in life."

And what GFE has to do is make great music with a message, even if it takes the help of five musicians, three emcees and one vocalist.

"Not everyone is always doing something at once, but everyone in the band is pretty versatile," Cactus said. "In one song, the guy who's playing the guitar might now be rapping, and in the next, the guy who's rapping is now playing bass."

Cactus said 80 percent of the songs at a GFE performance are the bass-driven hip-hop jams that the group is known for, but the rest is a mixed bag.

"Sometimes we'll kick out a little reggae, then maybe a little punk and then some folk rock," Cactus said.

Blake emphasized the bands' originality.

"I haven't heard anybody like us yet," he said.

Neither has Ray Rockey, manager of The Brewery.

"It's definitely a unique and underground scene when we bring bands like this in," Rockey said. "It's like an arena rock concert at a smaller venue. All those people on that small stage are really going to give it an intimate vibe."

Rockey said he's confident in GFE's ability to appeal to both longtime fans and newcomers.

"Even if you're not into this type of music or you don't really know the band, you're still going to feel that energetic vibe that's going on."