Deborah Preston and The Sultans

Way back in 2011 guitarist Bill Blankenship and drummer Bruce Procell met and played backup behind various musicians in the Shreveport area. They wanted to form a solid stable group but a bassist eluded them. Someone put them in contact with Bill Allen, a bassist who had just finished several years backing Percy Sledge But was tired of touring. As soon as the bassist heard Bill Blankenship tear into Dick Dale’s “Miserlou” from the movie Pulp Fiction he knew it was the group for him. Bill Blankenship played (left handed) guitar and did most vocals, Bruce Procell provided the South Louisiana groove on the drum kit, and Bill Allen anchored the whole thing with his bass guitar and harmony and additional lead vocals. But a name? What about a name? After hearing Blankenship’s virtuosic cover of Dire Strait’s “Sultans of Swing” they had it - they were the Sultans! The Sultans have been together ever since with the same lineup as 2011. Because of their experience together they are about as tight musically as a band can get, reading each other’s minds to play every phrase as cleanly and precisely as imaginable. There was only one thing wrong with the lineup; too much testosterone! To remedy this condition, Bill Allen called his old friend Deborah Preston. He had known her since she was 14 and had worked with her in various musical lineups. She was just what the doctor ordered, giving the band the youth and drive that it needed. It’s hard to pin down The Sultans as to style because of their different influences and diverse song list. So they put it simply in their motto; “Life is Too Short to Play Music That Sucks”. And you can see from the enthusiasm of their performance that nothing that they play sucks!