The
SOUL REBELS formed when Lumar LeBlanc and Derrick Moss, originally
members of New Orleans’ iconic Dejean’s Young Olympia Brass Band,
decided they wanted to play the new, exciting music they were hearing on
the radio while respecting the tradition they loved. Both New Orleans
natives, the pair was steeped in the fundamentals of New Orleans jazz,
but inevitably, contemporary styles of music began to seep into their
psyches. While LeBlanc attended the famed St. Augustine High School,
Moss went to Lil’ Wayne’s alma mater McMain High School, and paraded
alongside soon-to-be Cash Money Records CEO Ronald “Slim” Williams in
the school’s marching band. New sounds were all around and they found
them as exciting as the horn-combo style featured in jazz funerals since
the turn of the Twentieth Century.
“We wanted to make our own sound without disrespecting the brass
tradition,” LeBlanc recalls, “so we knew we had to break away.” They
found a stylistic middle ground when they spun off and formed a band of
young, like-minded local players from all over New Orleans. Graduates of
university music programs throughout the South, the band took the
marching band format they had learned in school and incorporated
influences from outside the city as well as late-breaking local styles –
R&B, funk and hip-hop – especially through half-sung, half-rapped
lyrics. “Most of our originals have vocals,” says LeBlanc. “You wouldn’t
have done that in a traditional brass band.”
Soon, the Soul Rebels’ contagious originals and updated takes on
standards won them a loyal local audience. They began rocking some of
New Orleans’ most beloved live music venues. A chance gig opening for
the Neville Brothers got them a real start—and an official name. It was
youngest brother Cyril Neville who first called them “Soul Rebels,” a
good name for a band that strived to incite positive change in its
treasured musical heritage. Since those days, the band has settled on an
eight-piece lineup, building a career around an eclectic live show that
harnesses the power of horns and drums in the party-like atmosphere of a
dance club. Their weekly show at Uptown New Orleans spot Le Bon Temps
Roulé has been known to descend into a sweaty shout-along as the band
mixes up songs from its five studio albums with hits by Jay-Z and
OutKast.
While touring the U.S., the Soul Rebels have shared the stage with
notable artists from many corners of the pop and jazz worlds, including
Arcade Fire, The Roots, Bootsy Collins, Robert Plant & Jimmy Page,
Counting Crows, Green Day, Drive By Truckers, James Brown, Roy Hargrove,
Allen Toussaint, Chuck Brown, Terence Blanchard, The Gap Band, Better
than Ezra and many more. Averaging around 250 shows per year, the Soul
Rebels have brought the party to stages as far away as South Africa and
Europe, playing some of the world’s best-known music events, including,
Umbria Jazz Fest, Antibes Jazz Festival, The Montreal Jazz festival,
Bonnaroo, the Wanee Festival and, of course, the New Orleans Jazz and
Heritage Festival.
When Hurricane Katrina struck their hometown in 2005, the band scattered
across the region. Though a few members relocated to cities in Texas,
the band frequently reconvened for gigs in New Orleans, this time with a
renewed purpose. “Music has been the number one vehicle for Katrina
recovery,” says LeBlanc. “That catastrophe has brought so much world
wide attention to our music.”
Indeed, since the storm, the band has been more successful than ever
serving as an international ambassador of the New Orleans sound. Now a
hardcore touring band with a solid-as-ever lineup, the band has recently
represented its hometown on television, appearing in the season finale
of the HBO series Treme, the Discovery Channel hit After the Catch, and
the NBC broadcast of the parade before the Saints’ winning 2010 Super
Bowl.
In January of 2012, the band will finally release its first
international album, Unlock Your Mind, on Rounder Records. This new
song-driven studio effort includes guest appearances by Cyril Neville,
Trombone Shorty and Meters guitarist Leo Nocentelli. The album was
produced by Rounder VP of A&R Scott Billington, who was also at the
helm of many of the Dirty Dozen Brass Band’s groundbreaking albums.
The Soul Rebels continue charting new territory today. Called “the
missing link between Public Enemy and Louis Armstrong” by the Village
Voice, the Soul Rebels combine top notch musicianship and songs with
grooves that celebrate life in time-honored New Orleans style.
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