Joe Driscoll grew up deep in the snowbelt in Syracuse, New York.
Sekou Kouyate grew up in the steamy climes of Konakry, Guinea in West Africa.
As a kid Driscoll wanted to grow up to be John Lennon.
Kouyate was trained from an early age in the ancient traditions of playing the kora.
Then still in their teens, both men left home.
"We’ve both been very nomadic, traveling around the globe," said Driscoll who moved to England
in 2005.
Their musical orbits aligned in 2010 at a festival in France.
They jammed. Driscoll brought in beat-box, rock guitar, rapping and the sensibilities of a songwriter.

Kouyate contributed kora, plugged in and amped up for the 21st century.
Given neither spoke the other’s native tongue – Kouyate speaks French, they had to rely on rhythm and
melody. That proved more than adequate.
They knew they had something to share. The audience welcomed it, and the future spread out before them.

Driscoll said it would have to wait. Both were busy with solo projects.
In due time they reunited and formed a band.
At first Driscoll said they tried to create live the kind of rich sound with overdubbed percussion,
harmonica, vocals they had laid down in a recording studio.
But then they decided to add a bassist and drummer to fill out the sound. A year ago they released their
first CD "Faya" and have toured Europe.
As  part of a United States tour the two nomads along with John Railton, bass, and James Breen, drums,
will bring their pulsating, soaring Afro-rock-rap sound to Grounds for Thought, 174 S. Main St., Bowling
Green, Friday at 8 p.m.
Driscoll said he’s never felt bound by any particular style or genre. "I never know where my CD
would go in the store."
When he first met Kouyate, they bounced around YouTube for awhile exchanging favorites videos.
Then they exchanged licks. Driscoll would start a loop, do some beat boxing. Kouyate would add a beat.

"We’d just feed off each other."
Their music still takes shape that way, working up song ideas during sound checks. "With Sekou 
there’s always a sense of discovery. We have to watch each other and feel each other out," Driscoll
said.
They’ve played festivals sets in front of 10,000 people, but find smaller venues like Grounds have their
appeal.
They offer the feel of "playing for a few friends."
"There’s more interaction with the people, seeing people’s faces as you play and meeting them
afterward," Driscoll said. "For me it’s a social activity."