SoulFeel

From Mountain Fair to the Fat Tire Festival, SoulFeel touches fans

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Members of valley rock band SoulFeel will branch out to play their first out-of-state gig Sept. 30 through Oct. 1 at Mystic Hot Springs in Monroe, Utah.
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Stewart Oksenhorn
Aspen Correspondent
August 26, 2005

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On the one hand, the members of local rock band SoulFeel might want this to be their endless summer. The band, whose five (or six or seven, depending on the night) members live in New Castle and Glenwood Springs, has racked up many accomplishments these last few months.

They played the Yagatta Regatta in Glenwood Springs and the Fruita Fat Tire Festival, and opened for Marcia Ball on Fanny Hill in Snowmass Village, respectable accomplishments for a group whose players had had little experience prior to forming SoulFeel.

They hit a career high at last month's Carbondale Mountain Fair. Not only was their main-stage set an impressive showing in front of a large crowd, but their nighttime show at the Hurricane Grill brought in enough loot - at $7 a ticket - to buy a trailer. Last weekend, the band opened for blues-rock singer-guitarist Coco Montoya at Basalt River Days.

SoulFeel is getting accolades as well as gigs. The readers of the Post Independent, in the paper's Locals Choice Awards, voted SoulFeel best local band. SoulFeel's Dane Wilson was voted best local musician - a particularly notable honor for a drummer - while Kirk Radomski, the band's mandolinist, took second.

"It started with getting the news of Mountain Fair," said Brad Foster, the lead singer and guitarist who formed SoulFeel two-and-a-half years ago with his stepbrother, guitarist Brook Mooney. "And as soon as we got done with Mountain Fair, we got asked to open for Marcia Ball ... and more good news: We got signed by Down the Road Entertainment. It's been really snowballing."

On the other hand, SoulFeel might be looking beyond this summer. This fall they are booked to play their first out-of-state gig Sept. 30 through Oct. 1 at Mystic Hot Springs in Monroe, Utah. The road show may provide the impetus to take the biggest step in the band's existence: giving up the odd day jobs for good, and focusing solely on the music.

"We all started with the intent that we'd be a touring band at some point, making a living at touring," Mooney said. "And it looks like we're getting to that point."

Being a full-time band was a mighty lofty intention in early 2003. Foster, now 27, sang while his mom taught yoga classes, and did one year of vocal training at Southeastern Louisiana University. But apart from performances as part of a choir and the occasional open-mic night, he had no experience onstage. His stepbrother Mooney, a Glenwood native who is a year older than Foster, had played extensively - but that was woodwinds, in orchestras in Colorado and southern California, where he spent much of his time as a kid.

As an acoustic duo, Foster and Mooney played their first gigs in the spring of 2003 at Glenwood Music and Sunlight Mountain Resort. And if their plans were big, they had a calm approach to how to attain them.

"Our philosophy was just to let it come," Foster said. "We didn't put anything out, about wanting to find a drummer or a bassist. We were happy doing the acoustic duo shows, and figured we'd find people who wanted to jam."

The third member joined up in what was perhaps an expectedly unexpected way. Dane Wilson was working his job as a Coors sales rep at the Glenwood Ramada when he struck up a conversation with Mooney's wife. When he mentioned that he was a drummer who had played in bands in Ft. Collins and Minneapolis, Mrs. Mooney called over her husband, and SoulFeel had its drummer.

Foster and Mooney had known Kirk Radomski, 28, from Radomski's days in the Glenwood band the Finless Brown.

Radomski and Sector 7G bassist Chris Kalous, at 35 the old man of SoulFeel, joined Foster and Mooney. The picture is more or less complete with keyboardist Jeff Johnston, who has missed the summer's excitement by taking leave in Alaska and Florida. Hand percussionist Sam Irmen, also of Sector 7G, is a part-time member.

With its mixture of instruments, SoulFeel has a thrown-together feel.

"The mandolin - that wasn't even an afterthought," said Mooney. "It just happened. Nobody said, hey, we need a mandolin in here. Kirk just started playing with us, and so we had a mandolin in the music."

The songwriting emerges from a similarly spontaneous process. Foster and Mooney, who live together in New Castle — with Wilson just down the block — collaborate in an unstructured manner.

"A lot of the songs start out as me hearing Brook play a riff," said Foster, adding that the band focuses almost exclusively on original material. "Two or three weeks later, it's grown a few parts and Brook will start singing a bit to it. From there, it's just what kind of vibe we want the song to have. Do we want a funky bass and drums; do we want Dane to have a big part? Some are more simple; some have a little more on the bones."

The results tend to be warm acoustic rock with a slight funk tilt. Use the name SoulFeel to imagine the band's sound, and you probably won't be far off.

The band points to the relatively extensive experience of Kalous as a key to SoulFeel's climb. But it is Foster who captures the attention onstage. His looks, highlighted by long, dirty blond curls, and charisma make him reminiscent of Russell Hammond, Billy Crudup's rock-star character in "Almost Famous."

Probably the biggest surprise so far is not the success in the small local music scene, but how it has been treated by the larger local community. They cite the support given by local media and the boost they feel from all sectors of the valley.

"It's kind of a grass-roots movement for the town," Mooney said. "Established members of the community are recognizing us as a real local asset. We feel like we've got the community spirit behind us."

But neither the community support nor Foster's charisma is likely to lead to widespread fame anytime real soon. And fortune even less so. But SoulFeel has come to terms with what is on the road ahead as an accompaniment to gradually bigger gigs and paychecks.

"A lot of peanut butter and jelly and Ramen noodles," said Mooney. "Being poor is the worst part, being a broke musician. But it's worth it.

"It becomes more a lifestyle than a job. You wake up in the morning and think, OK, who do I have to call and where do we have to go?"



Stewart Oksenhorn's e-mail address is stewart@aspentimes.com
- Glenwood Post Independent

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Kirk Radomski, SoulFeel mandolin and bass guitar player, performs with the band last summer.
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By April E. Clark
Post Independent Staff
November 18, 2005

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SoulFeel is acting out the lyrics to one of its crowd-favorite cover songs.

Like The Jeffersons’ theme song, the four-piece band — with an occasional sit-in trumpet player — is “movin’ on up, to the east side.”

More specifically, the band is moving to the east side of the Rockies.

Brad Foster, Brook Mooney, Kirk Radomski and Dane Wilson are relocating to Ft. Collins, where they hope to broaden their appeal to the college crowd in Colorado State University’s hometown, Boulder and to music fans around the Denver metro area.

“We’re going out there to try and make new fans,” said Foster, SoulFeel lead singer and rhythm guitar player. “There’s just so much more opportunity to play original music like we do. The music scene in Denver is where people go out to see live music.”

Since its inception more than two years ago, SoulFeel has been open to change. Foster and his stepbrother, Mooney, are the band’s original members, playing their first acoustic show as SoulFeel at Glenwood Music’s Wednesday Live in May of 2003.

“Things couldn’t have gone any better for us,” said Mooney, lead and slide guitar player. “I just put faith in that it was always going to work out. I’ve never really put too much faith in trying to get record deals. It’s about playing live music for me.”

Although SoulFeel has seen a few musicians come and go, Foster said the band’s current roster — with Wilson on drums and Radomski on mandolin and bass guitar — fits the intended mold for funky Delta blues and roots rock.

“It was always our philosophy that we wanted SoulFeel to be a full band,” said Foster, who grew up and attended college in Louisiana. “We didn’t want to audition people. We wanted it to happen naturally. I’m just so happy how it all came together — everything has kind of gelled.”

In their hopes to make a name for the band on the Front Range, members of SoulFeel have leased a large home in Ft. Collins. The shared living arrangements will help the band, especially with practicing and songwriting collaboration, Foster said.

“SoulFeel has never really done that on a consistent basis,” said Foster, about band practice. “That’s the most exciting part — we’re going to be able to grow as a band.”

Last week, while the band was searching for a home to share, SoulFeel played several open mic nights at Denver-area clubs. Foster put the word out on Internet message boards and a CD reviewer for Westword newspaper stopped by to check out one of their shows.

“We’ve already played over there and had good response,” said Radomski, a Pensacola, Fla., native who minored in music at Loyola University in New Orleans. “We’re getting more experience and playing for more people, building a bigger fan base.”

Radomski and his bandmates said they would like to see a record deal or national tour as a result of their move east.

“My goal is to make a living making music whether it’s modest or not,” Radomski said. “I would like to see us touring by summer.”

SoulFeel may be leaving the Western Slope, but the band has no intention of forgetting where it all started. Band manager Tony Grifasi, of Down the Road Entertainment, has booked a weekend per month in the valley for SoulFeel.

“I’m sad to leave, but the happy thing is we’ll be coming back once a month,” said Dane Wilson, a Glenwood Springs High School alumnus. “Definitely, all of us are excited to play over there, but we’re also excited to be coming back here.”

Mooney, a former Marine who didn’t start playing music professionally until the age of 22, agreed.

“I’m glad we’re going to a place where no one is going to call us a ‘local band’ anymore, but we wouldn’t be doing what we’re doing if it wasn’t for the locals in the valley supporting us,” he said. “I look forward to coming back here, where the locals have inspired us to be who we are. We’re thankful.”

Foster also gives credit to the fans in the valley for the band’s rising popularity. He hopes to see a similar response from the Front Range.
“We are just so appreciative for everyone backing us,” he said. “But it kind of feels good to step out of our area. It’s a great catapult to be a national touring act, touring the country and the world.”

“We need a big pond to make a big ripple,” Mooney added. “I feel like we’re going to kick Denver in the behind.”

Maybe SoulFeel will finally get its piece of the pie.

Contact April E. Clark: 945-8515, ext. 518
aclark@postindependent.com

’Feel it this weekend

• today, 10 p.m., Black Nugget,
Carbondale

• Saturday, 9 p.m. Burning Mountain Bowl, New Castle

• Sunday, 8 p.m. Steve’s Guitars, Carbondale

- Glenwood Post Independent