Herban Empire really began in the basement of brothers Rick and Jesse Plautz along with college friend Adam Lenkowski in 2006. The roots, rock, reggae writing style of lead vocalist Andrew Cole was added to the project in the summer of 2008, kickstarting the band and bringing a new flavor to the traditional hard rock influences of guitarist/vocalist Adam Lenkowski. Drummer Skip Hardy was added to the mix shortly after. Members have moved away and returned, but the Empire marches on.