What would be the result if alterna-rock god Billy Corgan collaborated with funk legend James Brown, Phish’s Trey Anastasio, the Grateful Dead’s Bob Weir and reggae legend Bob Marley?

The answer is Utah’s funk-soul-brotha-check-it-out-now Cinnamon Brown and the Eskimos.

With musicians assembled from across the U.S., including Ames’ own funk brothers Quinn and Xaq Brown, Cinnamon Brown and the Eskimos (CBE) blends numerous styles and all of these influences to create its own unique sound.

“It’s groovalist funkafication,” Xaq said. “When we’re on stage, we’re out to improve the audience’s interplanetary funksmanship.”

Interplanetary funksmanship, groovalistic funkifaction or whatever you want to call it, CBE creates a folk-funk sound in a manner that is similar to Beck’s merging of folk with hip-hop.

But don’t expect to hear lead singer Quinn Brown rapping (although “bustin’ a move” is a regular part of a CBE show).

Brown weaves his lyrics in a manner similar to indie rock master Elliot Smith, with the pathos and emotion of the late Grateful Dead frontman Jerry Garcia.

Brown is also the rhythm guitarist, trumpet and harmonica player for CBE.

Singing about personal experiences, Brown finds a common ground with the listener as he tells stories ranging from love lost, to love found, to his love of nature.

After serving a mission for his church in Chile, Brown attended Ricks College and currently attends Utah State University.

Brown is joined by Bill “Wild Man” Weidner on lead guitar. An Idaho native, Weidner has been playing since the age of 14 and attends Ricks College in Utah.

Weidner lives up to his nickname, being notorious for climbing amplifiers during concerts, among other things.

Joining Weidner at Ricks is CBE’s bassist Nephi Cole. Like Quinn, Cole also spent two years on a church mission in Brazil. Also an Idaho native, Cole is a cello player for the symphony and chamber orchestras at Ricks.

Drumming for the Eskimos is Detroit native Leo Denoyer. Drumming since age seven, Denoyer attended the Art Institute of Philadelphia before moving to Utah.

Last but not least, Latin percussionist Xaq Brown is known as the most sociable member of the band, as well as the youngest member. Xaq adds to the band’s depth on assorted percussion instruments including congas and bongos.

Although CBE first played together as the result of a joke at a Halloween party in 1997, the band has built a large fan base in the four-state area surrounding Utah, as well as Iowa.

“We are continually selling out shows,” Xaq said. “We’ve been playing larger and larger venues, and we normally play for audiences of 800 or so people.”

“We’ve hit the scene pretty hard,” Quinn added. “We’ve had awesome crowd response. Recently, we’ve been having more venues calling us to play than we’ve been calling other places. We’re pretty much booked solid through the whole summer.”

“It’s the CBE world tour,” Xaq laughed. “We’ve got shows lined up in Idaho, Nashville, Detroit, Kansas City, St. Louis, and, of course, we would never forget Ames.”

Record sales have been a large part of the band’s success. The band’s debut album, “Elevation,” has gotten heavy airplay on several stations in the four-state area.

The album ranges from the folky ballad “Permanent Ceiling,” to the most notable track of the album, funk-rock groove “Mothership.” The album has sold thousands of copies nationwide and continues to sell as CBE’s fan base expands.

Apart from the record sales, Xaq attributes the reason for the band’s success to its live show. “It’s wholesome family fun,” he laughed. “We really get into our shows and Quinn is great at working the crowd. There’s nothing like looking out over a crowd and see all of them jumping up and down. It’s been really great.”

Cinnamon Brown and the Eskimos’ album, “Elevation,” can be found at both Dharma Records and Peeples Music in Ames.

When asked to add a closing comment on the release of the album, Xaq had one thing to say:

“We’re all single.”