Soulganic

Infobox musical artist
Name = Soulganic


Img_capt = _{From left to right: Cory McClure, Ryan McKeithan, Lucas Torres, Anthony Rodriguez}
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Background = group_or_band
Alias =
Origin = Charlotte, North Carolina, USA
Genre = Soul, Funk, Latin, Blues, Rock, Jazz
Years_active = 2005 - present
Label = Independent
Associated_acts =
URL =
Current_members = Cory McClure (drums, keyboards)
Ryan McKeithan (acoustic & electric guitars, vocals)
Anthony Rodriguez (lead vocals, bass)
Lucas Torres (percussion)

Past_members = Kevin Hughes (February, 2005 - August, 2005)
ML Caldwell (July 2005 - May, 2006)

Notable_instruments =

Soulganic is an award-winning [voted Best New Band in Charlotte by Critics and the Readers of Creative Loafing, published August 2, 2006] Soul/Funk quartet that is based in Charlotte, North Carolina. Soulganic also liberally infuses Latin, Rock, Blues and Jazz elements into its music. The band consists of Cory McClure (drums, keyboards), Ryan McKeithan (acoustic and electric guitars, vocals), Anthony Rodriguez (lead vocals, bass guitar), and Lucas Torres (percussion).

Organic Soul

The earliest known live appearance of the members of what would become Soulganic was February 2005, at the small winebar/coffeehouse Jitterz, at the time located in Huntersville, NC. Keyboardist Kevin Hughes and vocalist Anthony Rodriguez performed there, and were joined onstage mid-set by percussionist Lucas Torres.

Shortly thereafter, Rodriguez, longtime musical collaborator Ryan McKeithan, Hughes and Torres began performing as Organic Soul, and did such from March, 2005 until October, 2005.

Organic Soul performed regularly at intimate venues, such as the indie-soul club Wine Up in Charlotte, NC.

oulganic

The band changed their name from Organic Soul to Soulganic in October, 2005. According to an official release, the reason for the change was cited as “potential legal conflicts [SoulConnexion, October, 2005] ." The band referred to SoulBrother Records' Organic Soul compilation releases as the main source of said potential conflict. McKeithan is credited by the band with combining the former name to create the latter.

It was after this name change that Soulganic began to garner press coverage and consideration in such periodicals as the counter-culture periodical Creative Loafing and the daily newspaper, the Charlotte Observer.

Lineup Changes

In Juy, 2005 keyboardist ML Caldwell joined the band, making Organic Soul a quintet. Just a month later, Hughes and the band acrimoniously parted ways.

In January, 2006 Soulganic announced the addition of keyboardist/drummer Cory McClure as the band's drummer. McClure has served as the band's full-time live and studio drummer since January, 2006, and studio keyboardist since May, 2006.

In May, 2006 the band issued a formal statement announcing the amicable departure of Caldwell. He has gone on to form the MLC3, a band that performs what Caldwell has dubbed “cosmic urban jazz.”

After the departure of Caldwell, Soulganic made the decision to “remain intact with the remaining four members...and take a little time off to rearrange the existing tunes and compose new ones [SoulConnexion May, 2006] ."

Awards

In August, 2006 Soulganic was awarded three awards by Creative Loafing: Best New Band, Critics' Choice; Best New Band, Readers' Choice; and Best Local Male Vocalist (Anthony Rodriguez), Critics' Choice [Creative Loafing, - published August 2, 2006] .

Hiatus

In January, 2007, Soulganic announced that the band was taking a hiatus from performing live, citing personal reasons.

The hiatus lasted from January, 2007 until January, 2008, with performances at their Album Release Party in May, 2007, and a performance at the Cadillac Sunset Jazz Festival in September, 2007 serving as the band's only live performances during this time.

As of January, 2008, Soulganic has once again began to perform on stage regularly, while simultaneously recording new music.

All Directions Forward

In December, 2006, Soulganic began to record its debut album at Asylum Digital Recording Studios in Charlotte, NC, with engineer Scott Slagle [Life Music, Creative Loafing, 4-25-07] . According to Rodriguez, “all the main music tracks were recorded live in one 8-hour session: 17 songs in one day; and the vocals and overdubs were done over another 12 hours [Soul(ganic) Talkin', Creative Loafing, 2-28-07] ."

The album was recorded with the goal of being “as true to the live Soulganic experience as possible, to have the same wild energy we have on stage come across cleanly, but with a slight touch of solid production values,” according to Rodriguez [Soul(ganic) Talkin', Creative Loafing, 2-28-07]

During the mixing process of the album, the band enlisted the aid of its fans in naming the album via an online survey [SoulConnexion December, 2006A] . The fans chose between two names: “Life's Music” and “All Directions Forward,” with more than 70% of respondents choosing "All Directions Forward" as the title of Soulganic's debut album [SoulConnexion January, 2007C] .

"All Directions Forward" was pre-released at the Soulganic Album Release Party on Friday, May 4, 2007, with opening acts folk artist Rebecca Loebe and neo-soul artist Sauda. Soulganic chose those performers as a “display of unified diversity [SoulConnexion, April, 2007] ."

The official release date for "All Directions Forward" as noted on iTunes was May 7, 2007.

Included on the album are two tracks co-composed by former keyboardist ML Caldwell: “Fordham & Walton (On My Way Up)” and “Identity Crisis.” All other compositions are credited to the band as a whole [soulganic.com]

New Recordings

In July 2007 Soulganic announced on its website and MySpace page that the band had begun writing for their as-yet-untitled sophomore album.

In a March, 2008 interview with indie music website the 3rd Power Report, Rodriguez stated: "We're laying down tracks for our next album and continuing to grow, continuing to experiment musically. We're just trying to let the music become what it wants to become, and wherever that takes us, that's where we'll go. So, hopefully what the listener will hear is our honest expression of where we are right now as human beings and as musicians, and that's what's most important." [ [http://www.mlcaldwell.com/anthony.html Page Title ] ] This confirms that the recording process has begun in earnest for the band's sophomore release.

No release date has been set.

Discography

External links

* [http://www.soulganic.com Official site]
* [http://www.myspace.com/organicsoulmusic Official MySpace page]
* [http://charlotte.creativeloafing.com/gyrobase/Content?oid=182125 Best of Awards 2006] article
* [http://charlotte.creativeloafing.com/gyrobase/Content?oid=oid%3A135638 Soul(ganic) Talkin'] Interview with Anthony Rodriguez
* [http://charlotte.creativeloafing.com/gyrobase/Content?oid=oid%3A156148 Life Music] Interview/article
* [http://blogs.creativeloafing.com/audiofloss/2007/08/02/audiofloss-for-wednesday-aug-1-2007/ Audiofloss] Podcast interview

References