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Upcoming Appearances |
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Soak's
3 members have a varied background of influences that includes
a very wide array from The
Grateful Dead and Phish
to Led
Zeppelin and The
Black Crowes to Primus, Korn and Metallica. Add in a
love of jazz, funk and blues amongst all members and you
get a very unique blend of music that is rock in nature,
jam band inspired at times, and caries a healthy dose of
jazz and funk inspired grooves woven into the fabric of
the music.
Whether they are in an intimate local club setting or performing
in a festival such as the 2006 Sterling
Stage Festival with 30 other bands including Dickey
Betts and Great Southern, Soak displays a stage comfort
allowing them to explore their jams and a magnetism that
draws the viewers into their tight riffs and grooves. The
chemistry that exists among the 4 members of Soak is tangible
and provides tight, moveable rhythms, soaring solos and
melodies and lyrics that paint a vivid picture for the listener.
When adding covers into their set, Soak does well at making
the track their own in every way.... |
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...The roots of Soak began to grow in early 1999 when Jason
(guitar, vocals) accepted a work transfer from
Los Angeles, California to Nashua, New Hampshire. Looking
to explore his musical interests, he soon began playing
music with a fellow coworker who played bass guitar. Realizing
the enjoyment they had playing together, Jason and his friend
Bill looked to expand the gatherings and invited another
coworker, Patrick (guitar, vocals) to join
them in their sessions. |
This small gathering of friends became Digital 52
(D-52) and saw minor success playing a few parties
and social gatherings in the southern New Hampshire area.
Practicing whenever they had the opportunity, Digital 52 began
working on a set of original music built upon ideas of the
three members.
In a search of a well rounded sound, the members of D-52 sought
out yet another co-worker to play drums with the band. Practicing
for over a year, D-52 continued to see success playing parties
and social gatherings in the area, displaying their unique
blend of rock, funk and jazz. |
Unfortunately
for D-52, the success wouldn’t last. Their drummer,
Ray, left D-52 to focus his attention on a couple of the bands
with which he had been playing. Soon after, Bill left a hole
in the band as he parted ways with D-52 to pursue other musical
interests.
With a drastic change in membership due to the departure of
longtime members Bill and Ray, D-52 picked up a couple of
new members and changed their name to D’Funk’d.
The next couple of years saw a revolving door of players in
the band, with the only constants being original members Jason
and Patrick. This period of growth saw D’Funk’d
work out the nuances and particulars of many of the originals
that Soak still play today. Again, as in the days of Digital
52, D’Funk’d saw its success in playing larger
block parties and social gatherings across southern New Hampshire.
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Late 2002 saw an end to the string of drummers that practiced
and played with D’Funk’d. While perusing the goods
at a local Radio Shack, Jason began talking with store manager
Troy
Dutton about their respective musical interests.
An offer to come and sit in with D’Funk’d was
made and Troy accepted. His style and passion were exactly
what was needed in the band, and before long Troy was cemented
as the dummer for the band.
While three quarters of Soak were now in place, the revolving
door of membership continued to swing with the addition and
subtraction of a number of bass players. Through this period
of the band’s life, they had taken on the name D’Railed,
at which point they recorded and distributed their first demo
recording. Along with this demo came the beginnings of the
exciting opportunities that D’Railed had been seeking.
Along with their traditional performances at parties, D’Railed
saw action at the Bombshelter in Manchester, NH. Playing on
a semi-regular basis, D’Railed worked on building up
their stage presence, along with ridding themselves of the
butterflies that so often accompany new bands. D’Railed
also enjoyed a creative spurt which saw them add a number
of new originals to their set list along with a handful of
new covers. |
D’Railed
built upon its experience by playing at other local establishments
in the southern New Hampshire area. Scorz in Nashua, and Whippersnappers
in Londonderry were typical haunts of D’Railed on a
random night. Manchester establishments The Hog’s Trough
Saloon and the Uptown Tavern were also added to the list of
bars where you could find D’Railed.
D’Railed once again saw the loss of one of their own
when they lost their final bass player under the D’Railed
moniker. After a couple of months of playing as a three piece,
Jason, Patrick, and Troy invited Chris
Smith to rehearse with the band. Chris’
slick and creative bass lines were a perfect match to the
D’Railed sound and he was soon asked to become the full
time bass player. |
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Realizing the need for a new name, demo, and launch of their
efforts was required, D’Railed formally became Soak.
The next 8 months were very busy for Soak as word got around
and more opportunities and bookings came about. Now performing
with regularity in several venues in the greater Manchester
area, Soak also began to branch out to other areas such as
Massachusetts and New York. In the spring of 2006, Patrick
(guitar/vocals) decided that he wanted to focus more time
and energy on his family and a change was necessary. He performed
his last show as a member of Soak on 5/28/2006 at the Sterling
Stage Folk Festival in Sterling, New York. This show was a
growth step for the band, playing a 3 day festival among 30
bands including Dickey Betts & Great Southern. Along with
this growth came transition and the band needed to decide
what direction to head in regarding their line-up with Patrick's
departure.
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It was decided that the band would take the next month off
and keep an open mind while looking at the entire spectrum
of available musicians including vocalists, guitarists,
keyboardists, etc. It was also quite possible that Soak
was about to remain a 3-piece rock band. Several tryout
sessions were held and ultimately, the answer came in an
open-mic visit at a club in Manchester. Performing that
night, and hosting a local open mic night, was Matty
Jeff. Matty had been performing as a solo artist
up to this point, but expressed an interest in the idea
of seeing what Soak was all about. Two practice sessions
later, the deal was done. Matty Jeff had become the latest
member of Soak, bringing with him a new infusion of inspired
guitar and vocals that was sure to expand the dynamics of
what the band had become....
...In
the fall of 2006, Jason chose to leave the band for personal
reasons. At that time, it was decided that Soak will continue
on as a 3-piece and see what is available in the scene of
local musicians in the coming months....
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The
music of Soak is inventive and refreshing to those who relish
creativity and a break from the norm. We invite you to come
and enjoy our music as we strive to make it ours and yours
for the evening. Absorb the emotion that is focused on the
moment, a moment away from the everyday problems and worries
that steal life away from you. Let the emotion and energy
of this moment remind you its good to be alive. Soak in the
flow coming from this group and come out to feel it. We’re
waiting for you. |
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