When the Belikos family takes the stage they can make the good kids dance like dosed up sex addicts and convince clergy to give the devil a chance. Once the music takes off and the boys lock in, the House of Belikos becomes a shirtless, chaotic swirl of motion. The crowd moves to the pull of the music. No one sits, their bodies won’t allow it. This show and its music are something unique, but while the energy of Belikos is born from passion and their sound from inspiration Belikos is still influenced by generations of rock legends and hip hop heroes. Outkast, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Marvin Gaye, James Brown and Led Zeppelin are counted among their collective mentors. Belikos pulls together a century of ideas to, as said by the Michigan Daily, “pack as much flavor and nuance into their music as possible.” As the Belikos sound is a collision of musical traditions Belikos itself is a collision of unique talents and personalities. Vocalist Aaron Orr, from Ann Arbor MI, brings his spiritual roots and talent for poetry to the band. Childhood friend Shane Page joins Aaron on vocals, bringing the gift for infectious verse and flawless delivery that he has honed over years of competitive slam poetry. Ethan and Justin Hampton, born and raised in Milan, MI, live Belikos. Ethan wrings from his guitar melodies from funky to haunting, and his voice fills a room with a potent effervescence. Justin, the youngest of Belikos’ members, is the band’s backbone. His percussion and primal beats fuel the driving performance of the group. The University of Michigan brought bassist Keith Reed from the East Coast to Ann Arbor. Keith has been addicted to the stage since 15 when he first began to develop his commanding and ceaselessly entertaining stage performance and bass lines. The members of Belikos met in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Shane and Aaron became fast friends while attending rival high schools and have been writing and performing together since. A chance encounter in the spring of 2004 brought the Hampton brothers into the family and they gave the first performance during an impromptu jam session at an Ann Arbor house party. Keith later entered the band after ending a project he had begun with Shane and Aaron. With a secure line-up Belikos set off to bring life into today’s tired musical landscape. Belikos is not tame and they are not clean cut pop stars. They are rockers, they’re funky rappers with a cocky grin; they scream with a cymbal crash and their bodies thrash when the guitar wails, distorted and shaking the stage. But if you look out across the floor of a Belikos show you’ll find Belikos has found fans in nearly every circle. Hardcore kids, the jazz aficionado, the soul fan and the die-hard hip-hop devotee all move with the music. Their live show is intoxicating. It’s music that stands a crowd on its feet and gives their hips a pulse. Their shows, their songs, the boys, they give it all up on the stage and you can hear on their record that it doesn’t stop there