A series of
coincidences and happy accidents caused Sunshine Coast based funk, blues and
rock band, Soula, to form in late
2011. The
five members, having been involved with each other in various musical formats
as well as being school friends, found themselves thrown together to perform on
less than
a week’s notice at a small community music festival. From this very
modest beginning, they quickly developed a seamless mix of edgy riffs and
melodic funk/rock. Their
attention to detail and emphasis on bringing back the lost art of real music
has turned them into one of the best live music groups on the Sunshine Coast.
The sultry vocals
of Teila Packman provide the jewel in the crown for the group’s soulful performances. As a child, Teila’s
father noticed her strong vocals whilst singing along to the radio. He turned down the
music to hear her better and immediately suggested that she start taking
lessons. This moment was the start of a
life-long passion. “Singing is the
ultimate expression of who I am,” explains Teila. “I want to fill every day of my life with it.”
This passion for
their music and instruments is a hallmark of the entire band’s approach to
their sound. “I feel like the band
is my musical past, present and future all wrapped into one”, explains bass player, Lewis Elliott. Bolstered
by crisp guitars, catchy beats and the irreplaceable sounds of sexy saxophone, Soula
brings back the art of melt-in-your-mouth, genuine music,
whether it be faultlessly performed covers of artists such as The John Butler Trio
and Stevie
Wonder, or their own swinging original works. No matter the
venue, Soula are poised to get
everyone dancing to their electrifyingly cool, ear-loving brand of funk/rock
audio candy.
Soula played in the
Emergenza Queensland State final at The Hi-Fi Bar, Brisbane on Saturday 8 December
2012. They won from a total of 80 bands
after playing two heats. They were then flown
to NSW to play the Australian final at The
Metro Theatre, Sydney on Saturday 15 December 2012 where they came sixth out of
thirteen bands. In
total, there were over 300 bands that entered this competition around
Australia. The
band has played at some of the leading Sunshine Coast and Brisbane venues throughout
2012 including The Sol Bar, The Kings Beach Tavern,
Noosa SLSC, The Palmwoods Hotel, The Hi-Fi Bar, Ric’s Bar and The Tempo Hotel. Soula played
as part of The Festival of Music 2012 line-up at Caloundra in September and
played as part of The Big Pineapple
Music Festival on the Sunshine Coast in April 2013. Soula is
playing at The Caloundra Music Festival, Sunshine Coast in October. The band will be on many
more events, festivals and gigs in 2013 and 2014, so keep a look out for them
as they will be doing big things in the future. Soula’s debut self-titled EP was released physically
in early December 2012 and the band has sold out of their first pressing. The EP has been re released now featuring the
radio edit of Better and is available from the band at shows and from their
online websites as well as I Tunes. Soula launched their
first film clip for the song Better off
their EP in April 2013 and launched their website in June 2013. Armed with a new Guitarist, Soula will be releasing
their new single Over Our Head digitally with a film clip in early October and touring after then
around the place to promote it, so make sure that you catch them at a venue
near you soon.
“Soula have truly found their groove and are
quickly becoming the premier funky/ soul rock outifit on the coast...wowing audiences
and winning peer acclaim across the entire state...catch them while you can!”
SCOPE magazine
“Good riffs, great energy, especially good in the
arrangement department. The judges were
over the moon with this group. A tight,
well rehearsed band with great songs.”
Emergenza Festival
judges (QLD state finals)
Band Members:
Teila Packman: Lead
Vocals
Ben Hodgson: Lead
Guitar
Kane Filer: Saxophone/ Rhythm Guitar/ Backing
Vocals
Lewis Elliott: Bass Guitar/ Backing Vocals
Nathan Campbell: Drums
Contacts:
Kane: 0420
989 171
Teila: 0401
547 294
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