Souled Out

What's going on with us? Here's a sneak peek into the day to day, month to month business of where we're at and what we're doing!

2006 In a Nutshell

2006 was a big year for us, and we kicked it off in a BIG way, welcoming 4 new members to the Souled Out family; Rudi Weeks (Bass), Pat Jennings (Keys), Rod Caron (Sax), and Brinna Jones (Vocals)! Also back with us again was front man veteran Darryl Carter. We knew from day one with the new ensemble that we had found some pretty amazing musical chemistry! The first months of the year saw us rehearsing material and polishing our new and improved show. It was a pleasure to have Ken Bell stepping in to play trumpet with us while our full time trumpet player Pat Lennon was busy finishing up school.

In Spring we welcomed Irving Lewis to our front line-up, and he jumped right in with gusto as we took off to Atlantic City, performing at Harrah's. We had an excellent time playing on the Jersey Shore, hanging out on the boardwalk and meeting some new fans. The month of May found us playing for the first time ever at the Mighty M Gaming Casino in Monticello, NY, as well as a much anticipated return to Foxwoods.

Summer gave us a fair share of ups and downs. We were happy to have lots of outdoor shows and festivals, but 2006 decided to give New England lots and lots of rain! A soggy show in Connecticut left us soaked through and a trip to Vermont ended up with a broken down van and a long wait for a tow... But there were plenty of highs as well, the best of which culminated in a spectacular show in Queens, NY where we were met with a couple thousand very enthusiastic Soul fans who made us feel right at home! We then closed out our great Summer season with a bang to our fans in Agawam, MA.

The beginning of Fall had us saying a tearful au revoir to our long-time trumpet player Pat Lennon, who after many years with the band, was leaving to enter into a great but time-demanding teaching job. We were very sad to see him go, but were also proud to have shared the stage with him. And so September brought us Dave Stangarone, taking Pat's place and falling right in with Souled Out's hectic schedule! We had a great time (not to mention the opportunity of a lifetime!) playing the Rainbow Room in New York City side by side with our pals the Alabama Blues Brothers. We then had the great pleasure to return (FINALLY!) to our Souled Out Fans in Syracuse for the Annual Halloween party!

As Winter rolled in, we had a unique experience at the Pink Tie Ball in Morristown, NJ, sharing the stage with Gloria Gaynor and opening up for The Pointer Sisters. The Christmas season found us on our first big road trip, as we traveled to Baltimore, then up to the Turning Stone Casino in NY for some Holiday parties. But that was nothing compared to our Souled Out New Year's Eve Extravaganza that found the band driving to Michigan to perform for a private party at the Bay Mills Casino. After an accumulative 40 hours in the van and a couple of brief jaunts through Canada, we discovered that while severe cabin fever is extremely funny, it isn't very fun. Happy New Year to us!

All in all the year 2006 was like a new adventure. And we found that, in the end, we all still really liked each other... :) We look forward to 2007 and a whole new series of experiences!