Music Interview with Brett Dawson of Soul of The River


September 2009 Edition

By: Isaac J. Davis Jr., BGS, MBA

Get ready to be blown away by a Jam band that can bring the funk. Soul of The River is making a big splash on the music scene with their unique sound that fans are taking notice of these days. For those fans who want to dive into something new and refreshing, then the music of Soul of The River is the perfect place to start. Brett Dawson of Soul of The River recently spoke to our Webzine about the band’s music and how the sound he always wanted for the band was finally created with addition of a new member. Check it out!

Isaac: What’s the name of your band? What’s the origin of that name? Have you changed the band’s name before?

Brett: We're from Riverside CA, so we chose the name to mean we sing the songs from the Soul of Riverside.

Isaac: What genre of music do you consider your work to be? Who are your major influences?

Brett: Funky Rock Grooves. Sort of like if Jack Johnson wrote songs for the Red Hot Chili Peppers, with Eddie Vedder as the singer. We also fall under the Jam Band, groove rock or surf music categories. We're proud that we have a sound all our own.

Isaac: How long have you all known each other? How did you meet?

Brett: Steve and I have known each other since high school. He used to play drums and we would jam out on funk grooves at parties, but we never got anything seriously going until this band; we were too flaky. We met Rene through just hanging out, and when Jeff quit the band we had a couple of other drummers. It took us a while to convince Rene that he needed to be our drummer. Once we got him, he gave us our definite original sound. We've been this lineup since 2006.

Isaac: When did you form your band? What inspired you to make music together?

Brett: Steve and I used to jam funk grooves at parties, or we would break out guitars when hanging out with friends around a fire pit and I would play funk grooves while the rest of the guys would freestyle rap, or freestyle sing. We weren't structured enough to regularly meet to start a band. I had been writing songs, and Jeff our original drummer hung out during one of these firepit sessions and heard us, and was like "WE HAVE to start a band!" He was the responsible guy that made us show up two or three times a week for regular rehearsals. Jeff gave us the structure or direction we needed to become a band.

Isaac: Do you have a record label? Are you a member of any music organizations?

Brett: No we finally are releasing our first full length album, which has been three years in the making hopefully in a month or so. We are talking to a couple of labels, but who knows.

Isaac: What can you tell me about your instruments? (i.e., Are you subject to brand loyalty or will you play with whatever’s available? What made you choose the instruments you have now? Was it cost or was it a style/model/brand/color preference?

Brett: Until recently all of our equipment was bottom line, broken beat the hell up, barely staying together. Rene would have metal brackets, screws, tin foil, just holding his drums together. Our equipment looked ridiculous. Recently, we've gotten better equipment, so instead of having totally ghetto equipment, now it’s just low income ghetto equipment. Nothing we have is nice or expensive, so we're not picky about brand names. We'll take what we can get.

Isaac: Where have you performed? What are your favorite and least favorite venues? Do you have any upcoming shows?

Brett: All over Southern California. You name it. My favorites are wherever the people are cool, and the sound system is good. I like the Ocean Beach area in San Diego a lot, maybe Dreamstreet. One of our first shows we played a scary dive in San Bernardino, and in the middle of our set some skinheads came in all bloody with tire irons looking for a fight. That was probably the worst place we've played.

Isaac: Which songs do you perform most frequently? Do you ever play any covers? Do you have a set play list?

Brett: We play mostly originals, our set changes constantly. We make set lists but rarely stick to them, we just yell out what we want to play or adjust to the vibe of the crowd. Some covers we do are "Express Yourself" by Charles Wright, "Welcome Back" by John Sebastian, "Use Me" by Bill Withers, "Me and My Uncle" by the Grateful Dead, some Jack Johnson and Bob Marley. The covers we really want to play are always some unknown great song, so it would be pointless because people would think it's an original.

Isaac: Who writes your songs? What are the main themes or topics for most of your songs? Do you think these topics will change over time?

Brett: I write most of the songs and bring it to the band and it develops from there into its own thing. Some songs or sections come out of jams with Rene or both of them. "Sex in the Morning" was that way.

Isaac: Could you briefly describe the music-making process?

Brett: I like to kind of freestyle with a guitar and kind of jam out on my own and eventually you come upon something good. Record that Idea and try to make something out of it. We do that with the band also, jam on a groove and we'll all chime in singing musical ideas while jamming and if it’s good, grab the tape recorder. When I get a really good idea, I'll pine away working on it for a few weeks until it’s done, then bring it to the band with just nonsensical lyrics. Then we'll get it down, start performing it, and a year later right before we go to the studio to record it, I'll finally stop procrastinating, and write real lyrics to it.

Isaac: What are your rehearsals generally like? Do you have a set time each week in which you practice or are rehearsals more spontaneous?

Brett: We used to rehearse on regular days, but Steve's schedule has become kind of jacked, so now we try to find a time we can all meet around it. It's pretty chill; we jam a lot, work on new stuff, and hang out. We only get real serious when we have a big show coming up. We rehearse in an indoor mini storage now, so that's really surreal.

Isaac: How has your music evolved since you first began playing music together?

Brett: I knew originally how I wanted the band to sound, and we never really got that sound until Rene joined. Our sound has stayed generally the same since we started; we've gotten a lot better.

Isaac: What has been your biggest challenge as a band? Have you been able to overcome that challenge? If so, how?

Brett: Getting people to shows. Sometimes we bring a ton of people sometimes we play to an empty room. You never know. Trying to get the money together for this album has been a monumental project; it's unbelievable that we're almost done.

Isaac: What’s your ultimate direction for your band? Are you seeking fame and fortune?

Brett: Making a living at it would be cool. Even if we're just getting by. Fortune would always be nice; we could care less about fame. Considering we have given away thousands of CDs and all of our downloads are free, plus we surprise the people on our mailing list with free DVDs, live CDs whatever, we're not exactly following what you'd call a great business plan.

Isaac: What advice do you have for people who want to form their own bands?

Brett: Finding people you like to be around is more important that having a virtuoso in the band that's a jackass. Go to open mikes and you'll meet a lot of musicians looking for bands, and you can hear their style before you have to audition them. Do it for the love of music or don't do it at all.

Isaac: How can fans-to-be gain access to your music? Do you have a website with sample songs or a demo CD?

Brett: We have all free downloads at www.souloftheriver.com and if you sign the mailing list we'll mail you a free sampler CD. We're also on MySpace, Facebook, Twitter you name it, we're there.

Isaac: Is there anyone you’d like to acknowledge for offering financial or emotional support?

Brett: Yeah we're not going to put any "Thank You's" on the album, because we'll definitely forget someone. Alisa, Mike, Beverly, Nate, Sarah, Dane and Dave and Dave Hansen, Mona, Jeff Moody, Dennis, Corrinne, Randy, Skip, Kevin, Rube, Jason, Joseph, Jake, dude this list could go on forever.

Isaac: Any last words?

Brett: Making listeners slap themselves black and blue out of pure eargasmic joy since your momma was born. Soul of the River.