Drawing on influences such as the rootsy front-porch sounds of Van Morrison and the spiraling cries of Jeff Buckley, The Astral Force lit up Bay Area stages such as Bottom of the Hill, El Rio and many others from 2008-2011. The band began as an umbrella for the soul stylings of vocalist and guitarist Adam Schraft, a prolific songwriter and bandleader on the eclectic San Francisco scene. Schraft joined forces with the experimental jam-rock explorations of Calen Perkins on guitar and Elliot Racine on bass, which were given a boost by the Latin, jazz and dub-infused rhythms of Robin Walsh’s drumming.