Glen Bummer the Drummer Ward tried to put together a band in 1977 in Kansas City, Mo. Oddly enough, he came up with an original name. The Kansas City Streetband.

Ward and his rock n soul-sounding band will hit Carbondale tonight to play at Tres Hombres, a mecca for blues and rockabilly.

In the past, Ward had connections with RCA Records, Roulette Records and Capricorn Records. The musicians he wanted to form the Kansas City Streetband with also had worked with these record companies in the past.

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I got most of the ones [musicians] I wanted, Ward said. But when you are a good musician, you get a lot of calls for work, and I could understand that.

Since the band’s inception, Ward has toured the United States, and his band has evolved into a dynamic rock n soul force.

I can’t say enough about touring, Ward said. We played our hearts out, and people love it.

The Kansas City Streetband plays music that ranges from the likes of Koko Taylor, the Rolling Stones and Van Halen to their own original music.

Recently, The Kansas City Streetband backed up blues legend John Lee Hooker on the campus of the University of Missouri in Columbia.

I’m looking at the live Streetband cuts from that concert for a possible release on cassette or CD, Ward said. Whenever John Lee Hooker plays, there’s magic that happens between the audience and the musicians. There are some cuts on there that smoke.

The Kansas City Streetband brings the kind of intensity and high energy to the stage that can only be attained by true professionals.

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We just don’t play songs, Ward said. We perform for our audiences and get them involved in the experience. That’s the difference between a good band and a great band.

The Kansas City Streetband plays at 9:30 p.m. at Tres Hombres, 119 N. Washington St. Admission is free.