Sunday night, DeKalb got funky. Real funky.

The House hosted the eclectic jam-band, Garaj Mahal, which boasts more than certifiable funk grooves and hazy music. Garaj Mahal’s guitarist and vocalist is NIU associate professor of music and owner of The House, Fareed Haque.

Haque has been teaching jazz and classical guitar at NIU for 18 years. Although he loves to perform, he doesn’t see much difference between his two professions.

“I don’t see teaching and performing as two separate things,” Haque said. “I see it as one big thing which passes on tradition.”

Spending time in Spain, France, Pakistan and Chile, Haque is no stranger to different traditions. Haque said he isn’t consciously aware of the different styles of music he plays.

“I don’t try to play like an Indian, or play jazz,” he said. “I never saw a separation. I have been blessed to be immersed in different cultures, and they all co-exist into one big amalgam.”

In 2001, Haque co-founded Garaj Mahal with Kai Eckhardt on bass, Alan Hertz on drums and Eric Levy on keyboards. Fusing together jam-band sounds with heavy elements of jazz was the easy part. Naming the band was a little more difficult, he said.

“We were just going by Eckhardt, Haque, Hertz and Levy, so we let our fans decide,” Haque said. “We got over 800 submissions for band names, and since we are spiritual oriented, we decided on Garaj Mahal.”

Garaj Mahal has traveled all over America, and Haque knows where to attribute his success.

“My parents blessed me with fast fingers,” he said.

The modest guitar virtuoso does, however, say that a love for clarity and articulation are the foremost elements of his hailed talent.

Though he is a teacher, Haque remains a student of music, trying to master and hone his skill to complete perfection, he said.

“The most important thing about music is rhythm, everything else follows,” Haque said.