WRITTEN BY TIM MILHORN
SOUL POSSE Keeps on Playing Author’s Note: A good way to not make a positive first impression is to walk into an interview and tell the band you’re interviewing them because they’re old. Luckily for me, they laughed! You might think SOUL POSSE is all in capital letters because they have some kind of ego problem. Not true at all. The band is cordial, funny, and intelligent. No ego problems here. The reason SOUL POSSE is all caps is due to copyright infringement. It seems there was a country band—yes, country—already named Soul Posse, so Chico’s SOUL POSSE had to avoid a problem, and a simple method was to capitalize. That news is probably a first for most of us. Initially billed as the Road Rockets years back, SOUL POSSE sprang out of a house band at the Italian Garden in Paradise. The current line-up is composed of Valerie “Sugar” St. George, vocals and keytar (an instrument with an electronic keyboard made to look like a guitar); Andrew Wong, guitar and vocals; Richard Braley, drums; and Nelson “Rev” Corwin, harmonica and vocals. SOUL POSSE is a tremendously talented and experienced group who plays a wide variety of music, but it seems classic rock is still their song of choice. “We like to play to suit the audience,” said Sugar. “We can play rock and country as well as a variety of classic rock styles,” she added. Included in the 76
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rotation is world dance, R’n’B, reggae, disco, and a number of the band's own compositions. “We are definitely a democratic minded band,” said Rev. “We rotate songs and who has vocals. Everybody has their spotlight moment, and we want everyone to sound as good as they can.” To achieve that great sound, SOUL POSSE’s sets are full of high energy songs. They also encourage audience sing-alongs to get the excitement level up, and with the year-long hiatus due to COVID, the group says it is easy to get the audience moving because everyone is ready to get up and rock. “We want everyone to lose their worries and dance through it,” said Drew. “People are primed to get up and let go.” No matter what they’re playing, the audience still responds the best to classic rock and roll. “Rock and roll is not dead,” said Richard. “Good old rock and roll, there’s nothing like it.” And over a three night set, SOUL POSSE can crank out more than 100 songs without duplication. That’s a ton of music, and they will have the opportunity to utilize their entire library of music this summer. They have a number of gigs lined up into July, and if you’d like to book the band, check out their Facebook or call (530) 828-8040. For sure go out and see them play. You will not be disappointed.
