Press play on the first track of the Savants of Soul's latest album, "Downtown Sound." Three chords on the bass later, you know you are listening to something different. Enter the voice of lead singer, whose ability to rock an afro in 2015 is unequaled, at least in my experience. His first note is smooth, yet somehow packs a punch like a shot of fireball. The track continues, layering the guitar, keyboards, drums, and, wait for it, trombone, trumpet, and saxophone. Close your eyes and you can almost remember walking down the streets of Detroit in the 1960s. Almost.

That's why I sat down to talk to two of the members of the 10-piece soul orchestra: the Reverend of Rhythm, lead singer Justin McKenzie, and one of the band's founding fathers, bassist John Gray Shermyen. I had to know why three Gainesville native, UF grads decided to form a soul band. Better yet, I had to know how the hell their music brought me back to an era I had never even experienced.

Shermyen gave me a brief history of how the band came to be. He had grown up listening to soul music, and introduced his roommate Alex, now the Savants of Soul's drummer, to the genre that would soon become second nature. "We had this four LP Motown sampler album we would play at parties," Shermyen says.

"Alex came up to me and was like I think I wanna start a soul band. That was something I had always wanted to do, but being, well, white, and not having many people around that wanted to do that kind of music, I sort of put it on the back burner."

From there, they started expanding, adding a singer and a keyboard to their bass, drums, and guitar. "We said, screw it. Let's just try and do it for real."

Since then, the Savants of Soul have taken the Gainesville music scene by storm, performing everywhere from The Jam to Dance Marathon. Their style encompasses a range of Motown, punk, jazz, and modern R&B, all melded together to form a perfect blend. "What I like to say is that we’re shooting to be '60s Motown soul music, but we’re never gonna get there, and that’s okay. If we did that, we would be slavishly emulating it," Shermyen explains. The hardships behind the musicians of this era strike a chord with lead singer McKenzie. "That’s part of Motown. These people in Detroit grew up in these horrible situations, and music was their only outlet."

Though his experiences were different than the singers of the '60s, Shermyen says this music is comfortable to him. "There’s just something really raw and authentic about this kind of music. It’s got the right blend of musical skill, but it’s not fussy. It can be corny at times, but that’s okay. It doesn’t take itself too seriously.”

Similarly, the Savants of Soul are all about bringing the funk in a way that includes their audience. McKenzie says, "When people come to a show, I hope they’re ready to dance. We don’t start a particular song until we see people dancing. We bring a lot more than just music. If you wanna get high and watch TV, stay at home." Shermyen adds, "Justin is a really amazing front man. He’s a great singer of course, but his role is really far beyond that. He’s been the quarterback of the show."

For this quarterback, being a part of the team has brought his pipe dream closer to reality. "I'd been in about 13 garage bands before the Savants of Soul. I’ve seen people with Savants of Soul shirts; they used to have a T-shirt with my face on it. It’s something that’s been in my head for the last decade and a half, and now it’s coming to fruition." He hopes to inspire Gainesville musicians to reinvigorate the local music scene he remembers. "There were multiple good shows every week. Around here, bands start early. If my music influences younger people to not just learn music, but start a band, go out and play shows, I’m very happy."

"I’m looking forward to getting the bus fixed," Shermyen tells me of his plans for the future. "She’s come from a hard, long life and we just want to give her love."

The band will always stay true to their Gainesville roots, but they have plans to expand their reach. "We want to tour internationally. We want to make good music and be able to devote the time it takes to do it," Shermyen tells me of their future goals. "I just don’t want live music to die. There’s a lot of electronic music that I like, but I do think it's cool that everything that you hear on stage is created right there from nothing. There’s just something visceral about live music, and yeah, I hope it’s around for a long time."

I think we can all agree. Check out the band's homepage to see when the Savants of Soul are playing a show near you. Until then, watch their latest video to see a glimpse into their world. Don't be surprised if it makes you want to dance like you did in the 1960s...even if you didn't.