If Jerry Garcia joined The Jackson Five, the union just might have birthed the sound Harry & The Hit Men embraces. It’s not an easy feat resurrecting either of the aforementioned, just imagine trying to shuffle them together, but for the past two years the Santa Cruz sextet has been concocting a hodgepodge you could aptly baptize as psychedelic Motown. And the formula is working. “People respond really well because it’s not music they hear as much as they want to,” says drummer Harry Murphy of the band’s repertoire of classic sing-alongs including “Tears Of A Clown,” “Nowhere To Run” and “Respect.” “We bring to life all these nostalgic songs people are connected to.” Building on a foundation of cover songs is a tough line to tread, nearly blasphemous in a music community inundated with bands anxiously offering up their own packages of everything across the board from indie, rock, folk, reggae, afro-funk, world music to metal. And, let’s be honest, Motown doesn’t usually cross the minds of the masses when planning a night out on the town. But Murphy and his five cohorts are taking their own versions of old soul staples on a divergent Deadhead path of capricious noodling.

“We’re more of a psychedelic rock band playing soul songs,” he says, emphasizing the former, “and the psychedelic aspect is where we’re deeply rooted. Everyone in the band is extremely into jamming and making experimental music.” Culling hits from Detroit’s golden era of Motown (hence the name “The Hit Men” with someone blurting out “Harry” to precede for alliterative flow), the six dudes who untraditionally harmonize Diana Ross were initially coaxed into the realm of Motown by singer Rolf Sandmeyer. The rest of the band agreed to pursue it with the stipulation that they would approach it with their own unpredictable, rocking sensibilities, which they’ll employ when launching this weekend’s Fourth of July celebration in dance party fashion. Think The Four Tops with a Talking Heads twist. “Our band layers loose jamming over the songs people already know and love, to try and break boundaries,” the drummer explains. “We use these really deep, amazing songs as vehicles like a diving board to other places.”

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