Band Interview: Souls Extolled

Games, Brrraaains & A Head-Banging Life are pleased to bring you an interview with hard rock band, Souls Extolled.

1. How did you get started as a band?

I had the idea for it back in college. With my rock background, listening to guys like Matisyahu and RATM who were genre smashing, I wanted to do something like that. I tried the idea with a few guys back then and it didn’t really go anywhere. Then years later, after being distracted with other things for a while, I met and started jamming with JP and Joe, who were helping me do some acoustic gigs for the tourists downtown. As we got to know each other and played more together it became apparent that we’d make an excellent band, and when I thought about what we might want to do with that, Souls Extolled came to mind. I remember discussing it with them and showing a few of the old ideas, along with a few more recent ones. They jumped right in on the material and I think we all knew it was going to work. I remember telling them that I knew the name was weird, and asked if we should brainstorm some other names. Joe said, “No, I like Souls Extolled. Souls Extolled is perfect for this.”

2. How would you describe your sound?

It’s dark groovy hard rock. The fast ska punk skank and intricate bass lines seem to stick out. And one supporter of ours here in Austin says I’ve got Dracula vocals.. Genre-wise it’s some kind of fusion between grunge, psychedelic rock, and ska punk.

3. What bands/artists would you say have influenced your style of music?

So many! But definitely most of the big classic rock bands had some influence on us. Black Sabbath, The Doors, Led Zeppelin, Metallica, Ozzy Osbourne, Rush. In the ska-punk world Rancid, Operation Ivy, Leftover Crack, Sublime. Definitely Nirvana and Alice in Chains. Arctic Monkeys. Modest Mouse. Matisyahu. System Of A Down. Coheed and Cambria. Tame Impala. Kid Cudi.

4. Has the rise of YouTube & music streaming helped or hindered you as a band?

We’re such a young band that we don’t really know a world without these things, but I definitely look at them as useful tools for getting our stuff out there. While I guess that there’s a lot more competition with these types of platforms than before, we’re alright with that. I guess the main thing is that the money distribution is bogus, but that’s the whole problem with everything right? If we can meet our goals, maybe we can earn the influence or the freedom to change those things, or succeed apart from them.

5. What do you enjoy doing when you’re not making music?

I like to drive really fucking fast! I like to party with my friends; Go out to shows. Go out to the Lake. Go Dance. I also like to just chill; Smoke some weed. Do some yoga. Watch some movies or get into a book. I love history, political science, historical-fiction, sci-fi, and fantasy, and I think I get a lot of inspiration from there.

6. What are your future plans musically? Tours?

Here on October 1st we’re releasing a single and music video ‘The Crucible’. We’re playing a Halloween Festival ‘Freights & Sounds’ at the end of the month. And then we’re going into 512 Studios with Omar Vallejo to make our next record ‘MMXXII’ for next year, and we’re working on some tours for next year as well.

Links

Bandcamp | Spotify | Website | Facebook | Instagram | YouTube