Toronto-based rap-rock group Down With Webster is set to perform April 11 of Live @ Veishea.

Tyler Armes, who plays bass guitar and keyboard for the band, has a very colorful way of describing the group’s musical approach.

“It’s a mix of Beastie Boys and Rage Against the Machine meets Skrillex and Michael Jackson, Led Zeppelin, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air and Sesame Street,” Armes said.

Formed in 1996, the group has been playing together since making waves at its junior high talent show.

“We started this band when we were 12 years old,” Armes said. “We had a stupid assignment for a music class, and a few of us had played in bands in grades two and three. We had guitars, and my Dad’s a musician, so we had a studio in the backyard. When we were 12, we formed the band and we needed a name to put on the application. The first thing we thought of was Down with Webster. Don’t ask why; it’s just what a bunch of 12-year-olds thought was a good idea for a band name.”

After winning their school’s talent show, the group found a lot of support for its music and hasn’t looked back since.

“We won the talent show playing some crazy Jimmi Hendrix/Nirvana remix that we did,” Armes said. “We just kept the band going because it was more fun than anything else.”

Due to its unique blend of rock and hip-hop, the group has been positively compared to the iconic ’80s hip-hop band The Beastie Boys.

“For us man, that’s an honor,” Armes said. “Those guys are legendary in terms of what they did to music, and to hip-hop especially. I think what we have in common is that there’s hip-hop in our music, but its not straight hip-hop. It’s definitely like a fusion of rock and other elements. Not that we’re really similar to them, but we definitely have that same thing in common, where we take hip-hop and put our own spin on it.”

Down with Webster released its latest album, “Party for Your Life,” on Jan. 28. 

“We just put out a record in Canada,” Armes said. “So we’re still in a cross-country tour here to promote the record. Then we’re moving down to [Los Angeles] in two weeks. We’ve got a house down there, and then we’re going to start touring in America in the spring.”

The rap group has toured with hip-hop artist Ludacris.

“We just opened for [Ludacris] at a couple of campus shows,” Armes said. e play the same bill as him. We got to eat dinner with him a couple times.”

Luke Christopher, who also plays April 11, has a friendship with the band.

“I was just talking to [Luke Christopher] like 20 minutes ago,” Armes said. “That kid is mad talented. We got to do some writing with him in LA last summer. He made beats for a couple songs, and one of them made the record.”

Having heard of Veishea’s fun reputation, Armes believes Down with Webster will match the atmosphere perfectly.

“It’s going to be sick,” Armes said. “We’re so pumped, man. We’ve seen footage of these parties, they look unbelievable. No f——- around, we don’t have that s— up in Canada like you guys do. You guys go hard.”

You can party with Down with Webster on April 11 for Live @ Veishea’s first night. Tickets are available at varying rates at midwestix.com. Armes encourages attendees to “bring your helmet.”