Since their formation in 2005, The Werks quickly experienced a meteoric rise to the peak of the funk rock music scene. The band played most of their early shows at house parties in and around their hometown of Dayton, OH, according to guitarist Chris Houser. Now they have their own festival, The Werk Out Music Festival, which will have its sixth annual go-around this summer.

Rounding out the cast of band members are Rob Chafin on drums, Dino Dimitrouleas on bass and Dan Shaw on keyboard. Chafin and Houser are the only two remaining founding members of The Werks. Dimitrouleas joined the band in 2011 when original member Chuckie Love departed the band. Shaw joined in 2014 when Dimitrouleas’ brother Norman left the band.

“It doesn’t seem like an overnight success,” said Dimitrouleas. “There’s been a lot of bad times and a lot of good times. We’re always learning the more we play, just as with anything in life.”

According to Chafin, the band came up with their name during a late night stop at a burger joint.

“We were just at Steak ‘n Shake ordering a burger and trying to come up with a name, and one of us ordered a burger with ‘the works’, and we were like ‘that’s it!’” said Chafin. “We had to change our name from ‘The Works’ to ‘The Werks’ with an ‘e’ because there’s a bunch of other products with the same name, so early on we were hard to find on Google if you searched for us.”

The band draws their inspiration from artists such as Weird Al Yankovic and Frank Zappa, among others.

“We all have a lot of different tastes in music which is what makes The Werks so special,” said Dimitrouleas. “Obviously, we have a huge jam influence in what we do. Classic rock carries a lot of weight as well. We all have very big musical palettes.”

The city of Lexington also holds a great deal of special importance to the band. One of their first shows outside of Ohio was in Lexington, at the Fish Tank, now known as the Best Friend Bar. The Werks also played two straight nights at Cosmic Charlie’s last April.

“We keep coming back to Lexington because every time we’re here we have a great f***ing time,” said Houser. “We’ve played a lot of good shows here, and a lot of bad ones, but regardless the fans always love them no matter what.”

The Werks are known for their marathon-length songs that are packed with enough intensity to blow the roof off the building they’re playing in. This rhythmic intensity is expressed by their fans through dance or what some call ‘werking out.’ All four band members excel at playing their respective instruments, which results in an end product that can only be classified as musical mastery in its truest form.

The Werk Out Music Festival first began in 2010 as a simple gathering for friends, according to Chafin. In the years since it has transformed into one of the top summer festival destinations in the Midwest. Other than The Werks, this year’s festival lineup is headlined by Umphrey’s McGee, Papadosio, Lettuce, Dopapod, The Floozies, Rumpke Mountain Boys, Blue Moon Soup and several others. This year’s celebration takes place from August 6-8 in Thornville, OH.

Aside from their own festival, The Werks have traveled throughout the United States performing at a plethora of festivals and local music clubs. In 2013 the band played at the popular Hang Out Music Festival in Gulf Shores, Ala. The Werks have also performed out west on several occasions, including last weekend at the Euphoria Music and Camping Festival in Austin, TX. Chafin also admitted that aside from Lexington, one of the band’s favorite cities to play in is Denver, Colo.

The Werks are currently working on a new CD, titled “Inside a Dream,” scheduled for release later this year.

“Our goal for 2015 is to have our music reach and impact as many people as possible,” said Dimitrouleas.