Soulprint

Creating sounds from a mix of rock, alt, hardcore and metal influences, SoulPrint can just as easily lull you into a dream as they could make your ears bleed.

The first thing you'll notice when you go to one of their shows is the diversity in the music. The three main members of SoulPrint have been writing music together since high school and the amount of input each member has had in the process continually shifts as time goes on. As part of a desire to never let themselves become static, new members are now having a hand in shaping the direction of new and old songs alike. "We have really become a new band, sonically, with the addition of a second guitarist" comments JP, the bands drummer and just one of their longtime songwriters "we've gone back and added guitar riffs to our original songs and seen them change completely... and every new song has it's own set of influences." Indeed, the influences of the band run the gauntlet of rock music, with individual members citing everything from The Cure and Radiohead to System of a Down and In Flames.

Based out of California's central coast region, the band originated as a high school collaboration amongst friends playing covers and writing songs that were decidedly grunge influenced. However, as high school ended and college began, the three core members consisting of Jason and Ryan Estes and John Reisz split up, but continued to develop their sound and play shows periodically throughout their academic careers. When fate brought them back together in 2002, they took to gigging full time with an LP worth of songs and soon after recorded "In Spite of it All..."

After playing the local circuit and promoting their record for two years, the band moved to LA in 2004 to pursue larger shows and a recording contract... but unforeseen circumstances caused the band to break up and it's members to part ways after only 8 months in Hollywood. Two members left the state while another returned home... effectively putting over 1,000 collective miles between them.

While for most bands this would seem to be the end, it turned out to be just another chapter of the story for SoulPrint. Fate stepped in again and after a year-long hiatus, the same three original members found themselves living within 30 miles of each other. They reconvened and decided to take a different approach to songwriting... within just a few months they self-produced the EP "Waiting for Now" using more creative input and less restrictions then ever before. "When it was just the three of us in the studio, we found that we wanted more sound than a single guitar could give us, so we just disregarded our lack of band mates and layered tracks" recalls Ryan. "We didn't know what the future would hold, we were just making music how we wanted to... we didn't even think about how we would preform songs live at that point." But when they realized they were on to something with the new EP, it was evident that SoulPrint needed a full line up.

Enter Tim Thurston (guitar) and Josh Wittington (bass) both of the metal outfit Within Fear that had recently broken up. Tim, a long time fan of the group, was shocked by the invitation, "I used to come see these guys play when they were just starting to gig. Now I have a part in creating the music!"

After a few short months of training with the new members, the band began playing shows again... and in less than six months their booking activity has already surpassed any same-length period in their long history with the quality of the shows improving as well. Initially playing bowling alleys and school functions, they now have graced the stage at LA's The Whiskey A-Go-Go, Knitting Factory and Roxy along with a few popular Las Vegas clubs. Along the way, they've shared a stage with Abloom, Scum of the Earth, A Race Called Man, The Senate Arcade, Accident Experiment, Dog Eats Flesh, A Heartwell Ending, Fire Through Shadows... and soon to be added to this list Powerman 5000, Adema and the internationally renowned metal band Deeds of Flesh.

Currently, SoulPrint can be found doing numerous local shows, touring up and down southern California, and well as playing Las Vegas. With tenitive plans to tour the northwest late this summer and release a brand new, full length CD early in 2008.