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Souled Out was conceived as a swamp pop band, and hey, that didn’t work out. Still, more than a decade later, the venture continues.
Eleven years after its formation, the Thibodaux- and Baton Rouge-based 10-piece is known for a sound way more brass than bayou. At private functions, barrooms and various public events, their tunes are generally accented by choreographed – and sometimes self-deprecating – dance, a calling card of sorts.
“Through the early days, we started to find that we had a knack for performing, dancing and choreography, which doesn’t always lend itself very well to (swamp pop),” said Dave Mouton, a founding member and the band’s current manager. “So we started to kind of branch out. We ended up being more of a band that dances, and in turn the crowd dances with us. That’s kind of been the Souled Out formula.”
Readers of the Gumbo Entertainment Guide tabbed Souled Out as the best local band this year. The band performs live in Houma Dec. 13 at the Piazza Bar and Dec. 31 at Courtyard by Marriott.
Comprising Souled Out are Joe B. King Jr. (lead vocals, trombone); Ryan Lottinger (tenor/baritone saxophone, vocals); AJ Gribble (trumpet, flugelhorn, vocals); Zachary “Fatty” Broussard (trumpet, vocals); Matt “Spanky” LaRose (trombone, vocals); Blake Guidry (keyboard, vocals); Patrick Bordelon (guitar); Max Toler (bass); and Chad Braud (drums, vocals).
That roster has changed over the years, and the bandmates have expressed disagreements with one another from time to time – periods of “self-proclaimed identity crisis,” Mouton said – but through the iterations and rough times, Souled Out continue to attract some of the biggest crowds among local acts. Staying hungry and humble is key to the band’s vitality, Mouton said.
“Over the years, while other bands may have faded into the sunset, a lot of the bands became larger than life,” Mouton said. “I think the people in Houma, I think they like a band that they can connect with, that they can see and touch and that tries to be the People’s Band.
“We’ve had years where we thought we were the best band in the world, and you almost had that mindset. When you fall into that trap, that you think you’re the best thing ever, sometimes bad things happen.”
An omnipresent goal is to sharpen consistency and continue pushing limits of the band’s own capability, Mouton said.
“We’re always looking to top ourselves,” the band’s manager said. “We don’t really compete with other bands and what they’re doing; we mainly compete with ourselves.”
Souled Out run the gamut of musical genres, playing classic rhythm and blues while staying modern with various dance tunes. Mouton said that’s a product of the large group’s individual parts, who know the depth of their instruments well enough to ingratiate differing styles.
“I think (the Oakland, Calif.-based horn section) Tower of Power has been a long-standing influence from a way-we’re-built standpoint, but I think over the years we’ve evolved into a pretty unique entity, being more than just a horn band or more than just a cover band,” Mouton said. “We’ve tried to become more of a performance piece within itself.”
2012: Nonc Nu and da Wild Matous
Souled Out, the 10-piece band together for more than a decade, was voted by Gumbo readers as the best local music group in 2013.
