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Band Fuses Mix of Styles
Herald Tribune. Sarasota, FL. April 2010.
Crowds have rocked out to Sarasota songster Silas Durocher's grooves from New College of Florida to North Carolina, and now he's going international.
With his third and current band, Soulgrass Rebellion, the 24-year-old singer/composer/jack-of-all-trades is embarking on a Florida tour this spring, and later to Colorado, California and the Virgin Islands.
"Though we're relatively new to the scene, the band has had a great deal of success so far," Durocher said. "We sold out our debut show in Asheville and have been growing steadily since."
The quartet, which consists of vocalist/guitarists Durocher and Oso Rey, drummer Brian Jones and bassist Justin Powell, has already hit much of the Southeast and recently returned from a two-week tour of the Caribbean. Durocher describes the performance trek thus far as "the best paid vacation ever."
The group makes a Sarasota stop Saturday at New College of Florida.
A 2007 graduate of New College, Durocher keeps his home base in Asheville, N.C., and has collaborated with such lauded acts as Laura Reed and Deep Pocket and David Earle and the Plowshares. Infusing some of the rhythms of Durocher's first two bands, Stone Soup and Silas Durocher and Everybody Knows, Soulgrass Rebellion is a mix of reggae, soul, funk, rock and bluegrass.
Durocher and his band mates have shared the stage with such artists as Galactic, Larry Keel, Jeff Coffin (Dave Matthews Band, Béla Fleck and the Flecktones), Jeff Sipe (Leftover Salmon) and Dubconscious. Rey has performed alongside Sublime and No Doubt, while Jones has drummed for Supple and Ian Thomas, and Powell has played bass with the Indigo Girls and Geoff Achison.
As Soulgrass Rebellion, they are the ultimate jam band, with influences ranging from Miles Davis to Bob Marley.
"It's a dance, party, boogie band. Our shows are a good time to let loose," Durocher said. "Coming back to Sarasota, it's exciting to let my friends and family see what we've been up to."