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| Group Traces its Roots to Party Jams BAND PROFILE: Soul of the River By VANESSA FRANKO The Press-Enterprise Who: Brett Dawson, vocals and guitar; Steve Hansen, bass; and Rene Felix, drums. From: Riverside Formed: 2002 Sounds like: Fans of bands including Jimmie's Chicken Shack, the Black Keys and the Red Hot Chili Peppers can dig these guys. Throw in a touch of jam band-ness (in a Jack Johnson way, not in a bad way), and there you have it. Listen to "BSide to Honky Tonk Woman," and be sure to check out "We've Gone Crazy" -- it includes a lyric about Wheat Thins. Soul of the River is made up of, from left, Steve Hansen, bass; Brett Dawson, guitar and vocals; and Rene Felix, drums. (Special to The Press-Enterprise) Releases: A full-length album is coming in 2008. Sample the music: www.myspace.com/souloftheriver Web site: www.souloftheriver.com Riverside's Soul of the River has its roots in parties, which makes sense when you hear the groove-laden rock sound of the band. "We would always jam -- just goof around at parties and stuff," said singer-guitarist Brett Dawson. Sitting around the fire, the friends would just play songs and try to get everybody to join in. Those impromptu jams turned into Soul of the River. The band has been working on its full-length album at Sound Sanctuary Recording Studio in Riverside. Dawson said the plan is to have 16 tracks when it's finished. The band has been saving up money and recording a couple of songs at a time. Whenever the band finishes some songs, it will put together a CD to hand out for free at shows and pretty much wherever it goes. "Most of the songs I think I just write on my own -- a bare-bones sort of thing," Dawson said. The band then works it out in practice. "We're really, really good at jamming," he said, quickly adding that Soul of the River is not the typical jam band. "It's more like if a Beastie Boys DJ were to play a set and go from song to song," he said. "There aren't 15-minute guitar solos." Reach Vanessa Franko at 951-368-9575, at vfranko@PE.com or www.myspace.com/Audio_File Posted by Vanessa Franko at 9:28 AM, November 21 |
| August 8, 2006 Louisville Music News Soulful. And Funky. And Rockin'. Soul Of The River (Independent) Soul Of The River By Leslie Ritchie "Oh to think Mr. McDoodle / What will happen if there's no music for your noodle? / Don't you fret, the funky rock grooves I will deliver / I will bring forth, The Soul Of the River." Formed in 2002 in Southern California, these funk rockers create one unusual sound that will grab your attention in a second. The band consists of three effective guys: Brett Dawson, the man who brings the melodic vocals and guitar playing to this single. Rene Felix is the drummer, while Steve Hansen rocks out on bass. This self-titled release has three very upbeat, blood-pumping tunes, so the music scene can get prepared for their upcoming album. The first song, "B-side to the Honky Tonk Woman," put a smile on my face. It's a different sound that cannot be explained. The sound is one of a kind, that could make everyone from hard rockers to country fans rock out and get down. "Daylight Honey" would have to be the most outstanding song listened to. It's not your everyday love song, with the tune's higher beat and the more passionate lyrics. "They Just Don't Get It," the last track on the CD, is a little different then the others, reminding me of an upbeat remix of a television theme song. Soul of the River has created an unusual blend of songs that will immediately grab the attention of all listeners. The music on this CD is highly addicting and recommended, because of the different sound and passion throughout the CD. You can listen to the funky grooves of Soul Of the River online at http://www.myspace.com/souloftheriver. http://www.louisvillemusicnews.net/webmanager/index.php?WEB_CAT_ID=49&storyid=3929 |
| Inland Empire Weekly 1/4/07 Empire Music Up to 11 Buy 'em by the sack: hot tasty nuggets of sonic goodness you need to crank up/link to/check out/gawk at, in the IE and beyond…. SOUL OF THE RIVER AT THE VIBE THIS SATURDAY – AT 3P.M.? See what happens when you advertise in the Weekly? The editor finds out about you, clicks up your myspace, and kinda likes you and your funky backbeats, spry guitars and spiritual, er, spiritualness. Any band into Zeppelin and the Minutemen are fine by us (not sure about that Dave Matthews Band name drop on the resume' though). Huge in Louisville! (Louisville?) But why the godawful time slot? Turns out it's the finals for the Best Live Band category at this year's Inland Empire Music Awards, slated for January 26 at the casino Morongo Key Club (look for a big article in a few weeks). Is drinking even allowed at 3 p.m.? www. myspace.com/souloftheriver |
| Skinnie Magazine 3/07 "You Heard" Soul of the River: Brett Dawson (vocals/guitar) Steve Hansen (bass/vocals) Rene Felix (drums/ vocals) from Riverside are a honky-tonk Red Hot Chili Peppers (yes that's a good thing). It's music for "Country, Hip Hop (and) Rock listeners alike." They really are what Louisville Music News Review calls "Funk Rockers". They've released one CD. Soul of the River (2006). |
| Soul of the River IE WEEKLY May 22, 2008 BAND OF THE WEEK By: Jessica Bell , Kady Bell CITY OF ORIGIN: Riverside MEMBERS: Brett Dawson (vocals/guitar); Steve Hansen (vocals/bass); Rene Felix (vocals/drums). RECENT RELEASE: Soul of the River Free EP (2006)/Soul of the River (not yet released). KINDRED SPIRITS: Minutemen, Jack Johnson, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Rolling Stones, Sublime, Dispatch, Firehose, Pearl Jam, jamming, real Riverside people making real Riverside music, the Santa Ana River. WEBSITE: www.myspace.com/souloftheriver If only session time at Riverside’s Sound Sanctuary was lay-away-able, Soul of the River might have already mastered its 16-song self-titled debut, might’ve already been sharing “pure eargasmic joy” with us 909ers from the depths of the good ol’ Santa Ana. It’s a magic river, Mama, or at least we gather there’ s something in that waterway nourishing the Inland Empire (hence the band’s name). Either way, music is a labor of love for this trio and work a labor of affording all the music-making, even if it means driving a jalopy (Hyundai) until all debts are paid and the album’s finally made. The business of recording’s seriously paycheck expending, so it’s a good thing SOTR’s not in it for the bread—the whole band just likes to jam. “We would sit around at parties and the guys would break out guitars, and rap . . . it was improvisational rap, or free styling,” singer Brett Dawson says. “Once people got enough alcohol in their systems, they’d start singing, and we’d make up songs on the spot. One of our friends talked us into rehearsing regularly—a new concept to us—and it kind of took off from that.” So SOTR’s been called “funky rock” or “just a jam band” since forming in 2002, but, really, they’re all about soul—and a little improvisation, termed “musical ESP.” It’s as “if Jack Johnson wrote songs and the Red Hot Chili Peppers played them, with Eddie Vedder singing, except I’m not that good,” Dawson says. True, songs like “Sweet as the Sky” and “We’ve Gone Crazy” remind us of a Pearl Jam beach party, if Vedder turned surfer-bro (brohan?), that is, but we’d nip the Curious George affiliation in the bubbly-toe. Nearly a year’s passed during SOTR’s endless save/record/save process, garnering sufficient material (including jams about real Riverside people) for a double-disc—but one’s proved trouble enough. At this point only money-will-tell when the unusually long debut will, well, debut. Luckily, for those 909ers who need the “eargasmic joy” now, freebie samplers (a five-song-EP released in 2006) can be easily collected by show or mail and downloaded on just about every music networking-site (ILike, Soundclick, Facebook, you name it). Meanwhile we await the newest results of the Wash (doesn’t anyone call the Santa Ana that, anymore?) and hope bread floats to the soul of Riverside—you know, to feed the jam. –Jessica and Kady Bell Soul of the River will be performing at the American Cancer Society Relay for Life show at La Sierra High School, Riverside, May 31. Donation fee $10 |
| Shades of Grey Blog May 20, 2009 http://shadesofgrayjournal.com/archives/music-column/ Welcome to the music column! Here, I will be ranting about anything music related… new albums, new bands, concerts, older obscure bands that shouldn’t be obscure, and, although I usually don’t “do” celebrity gossip, music related rumors and news. Just to give you an idea of what to expect: I like music theory. I like jazz, classic rock, modern rock, jam bands, a bit of country, power pop, alternative rock, and all the fusion spin-off genres (although I try not to lock myself in any sort of boundary, in line with the Pandora philosophy). I really like a clear multicultural influence. I can’t stand the High School Musicals or most mainstream rap/hip-hop, except the latter for parties and shindigs and whatnot. Oh, and I don’t care for lyrics. My original plan was to review something not incredibly obscure, but the truth is, with every CD store around closing I have been unable to procure anything of the sort. However, the Internet is filled with people that give their music away for free to gain a fan base. Therefore, most of the stuff today will be things you have never heard of before. Soul of the River caught my attention by accident. Before the summer last year I followed a series of links and found their Myspace Music page. I listened to one of their more popular songs and immediately fell in love with their sound. I went to their band site to see if I could maybe catch a local show and notice they have a promo - sending out their CDs for free if you join their mailing list. I signed up, left for Israel a few weeks later, and forgot about them. Then, as I was cleaning my room for Pesach, I found an unopened package from them. It takes me a few moments to realize who they are, but I open it up. Five Memorex CD-Rs in disc envelopes with their name scribbled on top, with a note saying, “The inflated Major record label we work for decided to give it the DIY image… It really cost us millions of dollars.” I must say, for a band that hasn’t even begun to make it, they have a solid sound, and the multiple CDs let me leave one everywhere, including the car (great driving music). They are clearly heavily influenced by the Red Hot Chili Peppers with songs that surpass some of RHCP’s “Stadium Arcadium.” While “B-Side to Honky Tonk Woman” and, albeit less so, “As I Sing Here” have the same drive that made RHCP famous, they express that same fooling-around-with-funk sentiment of the Chili Pepper’s slower songs in “Sweet as the Sky”. Although the talent is there, the band clearly had a limitation on good recording equipment, (which will be a turn-off at first for many) but if you stick through it, it is worth it. And best of all, all of their newest tracks are available for free on souloftheriver.com. The first track off their album: “Sweet as the Sky” by Soul of the River Two other things that have caught my attention recently: This past week I stumbled on possibly the most peculiar band… ever. MOVITS! is a Swedish Jazz and Hip-hop fusion band. When I first heard them I thought it was one of the most ridiculous things I had ever heard (and still do), but it is so darn catchy that I found myself trying to sing the Swedish lyrics to “Äppelknyckarjazz” in the halls. When I first listened I had almost no idea what was going on and was tempted to chuckle, but you’ll see, the music sticks with you. They describe themselves as “Django guitar, windy street swing; music for both art directors and for your mother. Somehow they are able to seamlessly blend the Jazz and big Swing band influences with their (arguably) Hip-hop styled vocals. Even if it’s not your style - and I think there are very few that could say it is - in the very least it is an interesting listen. “Fel Del Av Gården” by MOVITS! (YouTube) “Äppelknyckarjazz” by MOVITS! (YouTube) Lastly, Rainn Wilson (aka Dwight Schrute, beet farmer extraordinaire) collaborated with Rivers Cuomo (frontman of Weezer) on something. For those of you who watch “The Office,” Wilson already began to show his musical talents in his rendition of “Take Me Home” (John Denver) with Andy. I am completely unsure of the details and have been trying to locate a recording, so if you have one let me know. Hopefully I will be churning articles out more often now that junior year is almost over, so stay tuned. Suggestions for reviews and other comments are always appreciated. Enjoy. - Byron Weiss |