Personifying the Rock and the Roll! Get Ready for Some Soul Shakers!
Interview with Elias and Brett of The Soul Shakers
After a chance meeting outside a club on Sunset Strip, a move to Nashville, Tennessee and now back in the land of Los Angeles, this blues driven raucous rock duo are clearly defining their brand of what's shakin. Their repertoire and live shows are guaranteed to raise your very soul and strike a nerve, regardless of your musical tastes.
Song
River: A chance meeting outside a local club was the beginning. How
important is it do you think for musicians to get out and watch other
bands and maybe meet other musicians?
Elias Paul Ready (TSS) - I think it's extremely important. Not only
just to keep your ear to the ground and know what's going but also to
build relationships. There's also that needed sense of healthy
competition that pushes you to take chances and step outside the
box.
Song River: The sound emanating from The Soul
Shakers reaches back into the roots of rock/blues. This style is a
bit outside of what you were used to or is it?
Elias (TSS) - Frankly I think the blues/rock thing is
something natural that we all have in our blood. But with maturity I
guess we gravitated toward more of a timeless/retro or classic style
of music. I've played a lot of different styles of music, and what we
do is what just comes out naturally. Which is great because rock n
roll is the perfect vehicle to express yourself. We've got love
songs, breakup songs, songs about sex, drugs, and rock n roll. We
don't intend on sounding like anything. The blues/rock thing is just
what comes naturally.... along with the bell bottoms, Chelsea boots,
scarves and velvet.
Song River: What is it about the grit and grind of
rock that brought you together do you think?
Elias (TSS) - I'd say it would simply be fighting the
good fight. Trying to get guitars back on the radio and people out to
see live rock shows again. There really is something truly powerful
and communal about live performances. And that's what we both love to
do. We were both living in the same place at the same time, running
the same circuit with a lot of the same friends, crossing paths and
dating the same girls. It was inevitable.
Song River: Like our society has in many ways... did
you both feel the lines of rock n roll had become far too blurred and
convoluted?
Elias (TSS) - What lines? Ha, honestly it's hard to
think of many current popular modern rock bands. I can't remember the
last time I've heard a guitar solo on the radio.... aside from maybe
The Black Keys, or The Darkness or Jack White. I feel like the rock
scene has died down considerably in the last ten years or so. That
changes absolutely nothing about what we do or believe in, though.
We're doing what we love regardless.
Song River: Working with your chosen producer, Dan
Malsch, did he get what and where you both wanted to go immediately
or did it take him a bit?
Elias (TSS) - Dan is a great guy and fantastic producer.
He took on the project immediately and we all vibed out right away.
His studio is fantastic and he's a fan of the project which obviously
is everything. Brett and I had pretty much everything laid out and
ready to record. Dan had some great suggestions but I think his
strong point with us was letting us do our thing. He was really
focusing more on getting the right sounds.
Song River: How about the director getting the visual
down for the first video/music single "Here To Have A Good
Time?" Did Shane Drakes vision sit right away with both of you?
Elias (TSS) - I actually wrote the treatment for the
video and came up with the story line—basically it’s a condensed
version of Brett and I running around town, kind of coming out of a
rut, and linking up in this "moment of salvation" if you
will, when we get to our safe haven and rock out with people we love.
Shane is an amazing director and an amazing person. He works very
quickly and knows exactly what he's going for and gets it done.
Again, I’d like to say that the video is just a quick
inside look at our lives. There were no paid actors, everyone in the
video is a friend of ours, and it was shot at the bar I worked at and
booked bands at in Los Angeles.
But yes, Shane is somewhat of a genius. He has an
amazing eye and his sense of improvisation is impeccable.
Song River: Music follows politics and social
climate. We are hearing a resurgence back to true punk and rock n
roll. Is it a duty or just a natural inclination do you think in the
music world that politics/social climate march with music being
produced?
Elias (TSS) - I'd say so. What better way to get your
point across than to put it to a tune that's going to stay in
people's heads? Shit, we have a national anthem don't we? In my
opinion, though, it's done better when it's not so in your face.
There's a fine line between being clever about it and also being
afraid to say exactly what you want to and playing it safe.
John Lennon knew how to do it. It was almost like his
own little game. It made people listen for what he was going to say
next. So I'd say it's more of a dutiful thing than not.
Song River: Live. When you perform is there a sense
of being as relaxed and carefree to just groove to the sounds as it
feels like there is on your studio cuts?
Elias (TSS) - Really it depends on how prepared you are
just before. It should be a carefree thing, expressive and fun more
than anything. I usually just wear my guitar for about an hour before
the show just to get in the zone. Also, the way we set up our live
set list definitely lends to us being more relaxed. We'll come out
guns blazing because that feels natural and you definitely want to
cash in on the pre-show excitement/anxiety. But then we'll settle
back and play some ballads in the middle of the set to groove out.
Song River: Elias, how difficult or
was it for you to take the mindset of what you were used to doing in
The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus and cut it loose? Were you always
more attuned with the root sound of rock even then?
Elias (TSS) - I've been a fan of all styles of music and
have played lots of different styles as well. My first tapes and
records were all rock from Steppenwolf, Hendrix to Lenny Kravitz. I'd
say the style of music I was playing in Red Jumpsuit came purely from
the teenage angst days. Trying to find yourself and be a part of
something different and cutting-edge.
If you've been to the Warped Tour I'm sure you
understand. It felt good knowing that we were giving a voice to
millions of young kids and addressing issues they could relate to.
Funny enough, people think it's all parties and sex and drugs in the
rock music world. Red Jumpsuit was more about helping people and
playing for the youth. A lot of our fans were just high school kids
that were trying to find themselves.
Song River: Brett, just checking out some of
your tunes on Reverbnation and noticed immediately the roots of rock,
but there was something about the whisper of Santana and "Black
Magic Woman" that kept creeping in between as well, especially
on the tune "The Traveler" and then all Rolling Stones jam
breaks loose on "Feels So Good." You seem most comfortable
under some of the cool cats of rock. Talk a bit about your
background.
Brett Hellings (TSS) - I grew up in a household that really loved
music. My parents would always be playing oldies and Motown
mostly. My mom loved the Beatles as well but my first real
introduction to rock and roll was when my brother took me to my first
concert… it was Stone Temple Pilots. I think that’s when my
life’s decision was made. I’d been taking piano lessons
from early on, but after that concert I started learning guitar and
singing just about all the time, after that being a frontman was all
I wanted to be.
I spent a short time at Berklee School of Music and then
decided to go straight into the business by writing my first solo
record—that’s what you’re mentioning here. I loved that
record—even though I was young it definitely describes me as I was
at that time.
That record brought me out to LA, where I started really
cutting my teeth on the Strip. I toured that record for a bit,
but really wanted to be part of a rock and roll band so I started one
with my brother, named it Hellings, and put out a record. I spent a
couple years with that project before I started just singing for all
kinds of bands, until the Nasty Souls came along. The was the
closest thing to a true blues/rock band I wanted, and after a four
year career with them, touring and putting out some killer rock n roll,
it ended.
All of it paved the way for Elias and I eventually
working together.
That’s the band he used to come out and really see me
in and think it made him believe that rock n roll was very much still
alive. And I don’t regret a moment. I’m lucky to have
found such a talented singer and songwriter, and all of our
experiences, shared and separate, have lead to the creation of the
Soul Shakers. I think now we’re at the peak of our game, and
can’t wait to see what the future holds for us with the release of
our debut Revolution Ride.
Song River: The Soul Shakers is currently unsigned
and kicking some rock ace independently. Are you looking to keep it
going that way or what would you both like to see happen come 2017?
Plus, any tour dates so we can hear you live?
Brett (TSS) - It’s a good question.
We have a smaller indie label helping to get us out there and giving
us support to get our momentum going. It’s a funny thing—you
love the freedom you have with your songs and vision when you’re
independent, but the support of a major entity sure sounds nice
sometimes. I guess it all depends on who it is and if it’s
the right thing for us and our sound. We know that can take time to
find, and we definitely wouldn’t get involved with anything that
takes away from what we are trying to do. That can also be hard
because, as you might have noticed, pure rock and roll is not the
most popular style of music out there right now. We’re gonna
continue to do what we do and when the right person or people come
along, I think we’ll know.
We do have some dates coming up!
Jan. 7th @ the High Watt in Nashville
w/ the Tip and the Starbenders. Also, Jan.18th @
the Viper Room back to our home in LA before NAMM
Make
sure to keep up on our Facebook and
website thesoulshakersmsuic.com for
more details and shows! And of course to stay tuned for our
record release in the upcoming year.
Buy
Links:
http://itunes.apple.com/album/id1157261736?ls=1&app=itunes
https://play.google.com/store/music/album?id=Bvihevtx6su5t6qgittaowh2l3e&tid=song-Txjdnvim2dswmt4i4zvo7hbjqeq
Social Media:
https://www.facebook.com/thesoulshakersmusic
https://twitter.com/TheSoulShakers1
https://www.instagram.com/thesoulshakerspics
http://itunes.apple.com/album/id1157261736?ls=1&app=itunes
https://play.google.com/store/music/album?id=Bvihevtx6su5t6qgittaowh2l3e&tid=song-Txjdnvim2dswmt4i4zvo7hbjqeq
Social Media:
https://www.facebook.com/thesoulshakersmusic
https://twitter.com/TheSoulShakers1
https://www.instagram.com/thesoulshakerspics
"Here To Have A Good Time"
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