Souls on Monday

October 26-November 1, 2003
Rock band has stayed focused by setting goals and sticking to them.


ELTON – Roland Castillo and Rayne Langley, members of Souls on Monday, have had a passion for music as long as they can remember.
“We love our music whether we make a dime or not,” Castillo said. “As long as we get to play our music.”
The two discovered their innate musical talents as teenagers growing up in the Elton area.
For Castillo, it was learning to play the drums while playing gospel music with his mother and brother. Langley jointed the school choir in fourth grade and sang in the church youth choir.
“In high school that’s all we talked about was being in a band,” Langley said. “It got to a point we had to do something about it.”
Doing something about it meant forming a band.
Originally formed as Trails of Tears, the band had to change its name to Souls on Monday because the first name was already taken.
In addition to Castillo and Langley, Souls on Monday includes Gabe Castillo on bass and Wayne Wilson on Ricky John, both on guitar. All are Native Americans living in the Elton area.
“Being part of the tribe makes us unique,” Langley said.
“People don’t know what to expect. They are pretty much surprised once we start playing.”
The group has performed all over Louisiana, Texas and Mississippi throughout the years.
“We’ve seen a lot of places come an go,” Castillo said.
The group recently preformed at the Battle of the Bands in Beaumont, Texas, where thye walked away as the overall winner.
“We wanted to brand out and expose our original music to a large crowd like the Beaumont scene, so when we heard about the contact on the radio we decided to give it a try,” Langley said.
“To us, it didn’t matter whether we won or not, we just wanted to exposure and a chance to play.”
The group returns to Beaumont this Sunday for Dog Jam 3, an all day concert featuring 18 bands on the two stages at the Southeast Texas Amphitheater. Souls on Monday will be the second band on the bill that day, taking the mains stage at 12:50pm.
Three Doors Down closes out the concert at 8pm.
Langley said the group started playing together as young men in 1998. Today they are taking their music more seriously in hopes of getting discovered.
A lot of our dreams are coming true, like playing the mainstage with some top dogs,” Langley said.
They were also recently approached by Interscope Records, who showed an interest in the band.
“We have seen a lot of things getting better because we have grown more seious about our music.”
Castillo said the group has stayed focused on its music by setting goals and sticking to them, both individually and as a group.
The group plays rock music featuring a combination of their own songs and cover songs.
“When we first started we did a number of cover songs, but about two years ago we decided to get serious with our music and start writing our own material,” Langley said.
“Now we play more of our own music.”
Langley said the group collaborates on the songwriting efforts each having some input.
“Someone will come up with the rift, they’ll bring it to us and someone else will figure out the beat or words… it all comes together,” he said.
For more information on Souls on Monday, visit the web at www.soulsonmonday.com.

The third annual Big Dog Jam will start at noon Nov. 2 in the Southeast Texas Amphitheater in Beaumont featuring area group Souls on Monday along with 3 Doors Down, Seether, Presence, Element Eighty and others. Tickets in advance are $35 and $18 reserved and $18 lawn at Ticketmaster and the Amphitehater Box Office; $47 and $24 day fo show. For details visit www.setxevents.com.





- American Press Lake Charles, LA

November 6, 2004

The dream of forming a rock n’ roll band begun in high school for five aspiring Coushatta Indian musicians whose wildest dreams became reality last Sunday in Beaumont, Tex.
There they were – Souls on Monday – on the same 18,000 seat Ford Amphitheater stage opening ofr one of the hottest bands in the country – Three Doors Down, Seven Dust and Seether also headlined the day long event.
Forty bands from across the region began a grueling competition to earn the right to take center stage. Souls n Monday entered the Battle of the Bands not expecting to take first place, but to simply display their musical talents.
They exceeded their expectations.
The five member band includes singer Rayne Langley, drummer Roland Castillo, his bass guitar playing brother Gabe Castillo, and the guitarist Ricky John and Wayne Wilson.
“It all started as high school buddies dreaming of being in a band” Langley said of the band’s 13-year existence. “We always talked about being rock stars. Wayne Wilson joined up with the band about seven years ago.”
“It was a big accomplishment for our band,” Roland Castillo said of winning the competition. “It’s all about playing music and getting our music out. Our goal to go another place and showcase our music.”
The band members figured that entering the Battle of the Bands competition in Beaumont was another avenue to expose their musical talents.
“We didn’t go (to the competition) to win, but just to get exposed,” Langley said. “We ended up winning the whole thing and really got exposed.”
“We’ve accomplished a lot of goals. We wanted to form a band and we did that. We wanted to play in clubs and we did that. We wanted to get into major clubs and we accomplished that.”
Roland Castillo described lead guitarist Ricky John as an “awesome guitar player. He’s a perfectionist.”
“Gabe Castillo (bass guitarist) is quiet and straight to the point. He goes with the flow and is an excellent musician.”
“Wayne (Wilson) is the younger one of the group and we picked on him a lot. He can play a lot of instruments and is very versatile.”
“Rayne is a very powerful vocalist. He’s come a long way.”
As for drummer Roland Castillo. “He’s always ready to rock and he doesn’t hold back,” Langley said. “He’s a go-getter. He’s a real hard-pounding drummer.”
One of the greatest pleasures for the band members is to “meet different musicians wherever they go,” Roland said. “We’re a very tight bond but we’re our own worst critics when it comes to our own music.”
Souls on Monday has high expectations following its appearance in Beaumont.
“We’d love to tour and hopefully get signed one day to a label,” Roland added. “I love to play music. That’s my whole thing.”
The band has 12 original songs it performs plus cover tunes. The versatile band will play different types of music, depending on where Souls on Monday is playing on a particular night.
Souls on Monday has been approached by Interscope Records, the same label that has recorded U2, M&M and many other nationally known bands.
The band’s music has already been on radio stations that play songs it recorded with Maxtrax Recording Studio in Crowley.
“Its exciting to hear your music on the radio” Roland said “Native American Radio stations started to recognize us and request some of our music. We have a four-song demo we passed out and we’re working on a full-length CD.
“We’re just mainstream rock. We try not to let us being Native Americans be our main focus. We’re trying not to push that, not that we are not proud of who we are. We just want to be accepted for our music first and not our race.”
- Jennings Newspaper, LA