The By All Means Band is a "Ghanerican" band playing "Afro-funk Fusion."

Those terms can't be found in Wikipedia; the band members came up with them.

"'Ghana' plus 'America' is 'Ghanerica,'" said trumpet player Jake Ball, 23. "We're the republic of Ghanerica."

Their republic is their Midtown bungalow, where all the band members, including drummer Paa Kow Sekye, 24; bass player Adam Holton, 23; and percussionist Peyton Shuffield, 24, live.

"Afro-funk Fusion" is "fusing modern African music with modern American music," Holton explained. "There's West African elements to almost every original song we do, but you could also listen to it and convince yourself it was a funk song or a jazz song."

Most of the members met through the West African Highlife Ensemble course at the University of Colorado in Boulder. "They're teaching Afro pop and African traditional culture."

Shuffield met Sekye in Ghana. "It was through the class," he said. "They take a summer trip out there. I wanted to study with one of the best drummers in the country. The professor I was with, I told him, 'Let's find the heaviest guy, the best guy in town.' He led us to Paa Kow."

Sekye began playing music as a child, performing with his mother, a singer, in bands around Ghana. "I liked it," he said. "It's a part of me."

His mother didn't want him to go to every gig, but, apparently, the musicians did. "They'd hide me inside a bass drum."

Sekye then visited the University of Colorado as a guest artist. He, Shuffield and the other band members began jamming. "We just had this chemistry, and we were writing original material and people were really excited about it," Holton said.

They didn't want their music to end after Sekye left. "We wrote a letter to the Ghana embassy inviting him back, and they gave him a five-year visa," Holton said.

They performed their Afro-funk Fusion in Colorado bars. "People were a little bit thrown off," Holton said. "We really liked that reaction."

On a trip to perform in Ghana, Sekye decided the By All Means Band should have traditional African costumes made. He took a CD with a photo of an old Ghana musician wearing a suit with bell-bottom pants legs, baggy sleeves and wide collars to a tailor. "We went and got all sized up," Ball said.

"We also have a set of zoot suits that we wear sometimes," Holton said. "We have a set of Adidas matching jogging suits. We like the idea of going on stage with a costume, a spirit. It's almost like going up there in a character. You know if you go on stage with that costume, maybe you'll take yourself a little less seriously. You let some of your other spirit out."

They moved to Memphis, Holton's hometown, about six weeks ago. "We wanted to get this music out," he said. "I think we also were curious to see how this market would respond to it. A city with such an African-American history."

They play covers and originals. "Our covers, it's hard to know that it's a cover. Maybe we're doing a jazz tune that's not really our tune or re-arranging these songs from Ghana. We don't have a guitar or a piano, so our covers definitely sound unique."

Their originals include "Memphis Ribs," which is about "pork on the bone, man."

Holton's parents helped make the Republic of Ghanerica possible. They bought the house, which the band members rent from them. "They've been a big help, helping us get this dream under way," he said. "It's a family dream. My parents love family. They love adopting kids, so to speak, and that's what they've done. They've adopted the By All Means Band."

To hear music by this week's performers and view more pictures, go to commercialappeal.com and click on music.

Listen Up spotlights area performers. Michael Donahue can be reached at 529-2797.

By All Means Band

9:30 p.m. Wednesday at the Hi-Tone Cafe at 1913 Poplar. Cover: $5.