Music Style Power Pop / Rock / Blues

Musical Influences Beatles / Kinks / Cheap Trick / Replacements / NRBQ / Smithereens

Similar Artists beatles / cheap trick / smithereens / kinks / van halen

Artist History The Stonesouls Biography by Adam Leland The Stonesouls were born in the summer of 1989 in the basement of Adam and Eric Leland's parents' house at 661 Creekwood Drive, Marietta, Georgia. With Eric on bass, Adam on guitar, and Eric's school friend, Luke Wampler on drums, the band rehearsed and plotted how to get their music to the people. It was decided the the group should perform at neighborhood parties, whether they were invited or not. After six months of this, Eric met guitarist A.J. Schaefer while attending the University of Georgia in Athens. The quartet began woodshedding in the basement, writing the songs that would comprise their first two albums, both of which were released on their own Ramsgate label. The first of these, titled simply "The Stonesouls," released in May of 1990, showcased the bands knack for jangley pop hooks ("Yes I Know"), punk-pop ala The Ramones ("Something's Happening"), and crunchy riff-rock("Half of Nothing"). After a year of gigging, "The Stonesouls... for a Second"(1991) showed the band melding the above styles together. This resulted in a streamlined pop-rock sound, best exemplified by the minor local hit "She Doesn't Want To," for which the group made their first and only promotional video. "For A Second" also displays the group's versatlity on such cuts as "Carnival," which dabbles in mild psychedelia, the light funk of "Which Way to Go," and the noise-thrash experiment "1:30/ Know it All." Both albums were demo quality at best. Both, despite decent sales locally, took a rubbing from hip critics who missed the band's humor. Nonetheless the recordings reveal the nnocence of teenage concerns, without the pretension of some young writers desperate to be Taken Seriously. The Stonesouls' first two albums brim with vitality and juvenile enthusiasm. They should be appreciated for these qualities, technical imperfections notwithstanding. They are, in a sense, the last true "garage" band. Lack of respect (and money) caused tension and the group began to fall apart. By the August 1992 release of "Third Stonesoul From the Sun," consisting of slickly remade versions of songs from the first album along with dour new originals like "Butt of Every Joke," Schaefer was out of the group. The remaining Stonesouls did promotional gigs with blues guitar wizard Jason Pastras and singer Mark Scarbrough. The band ended in early 1993, after recording several as-yet-unreleased cuts, including a cover of the Beatles' "I've Got A Feeling." In May of 1993, Eric, Adam, and Luke started a second "psychedelic" Stonesouls with guitarist Robert Rutledge. This lineup performed frequently but recorded only one single (1994's "Untitled No." 7 b/w "Secret Soul Children" on Blackbird Records) and a track for a Replacements tribute album ("Mr. Whirly/Can't Hardly Wait" in 1995). After a turbulent period during which Luke was breifly replaced by Jerry Mason and Eric left bass guitar duties to Adam, the Stonesouls played their final gig on July 5th, 1995. Eric and Adam Leland currently play in two bands, the country-rockabilly Cashmen and the blues wailing Rollin' Machine, which includes Mark Scarbrough on harmonica. Adam Leland released his first solo album in 1998 and has followed it with several singles on the Demagogue label. At one time, his backing band included Jerry Mason on drums. Luke Wampler plays in the jazz combo Dry Time Quartet with Jason Pastras. In December 1999, the original Stonesouls quartet reunited for a show celebrating the release of "Four Stonesouls and Seven Years Ago," an anthology put out by Demagogue. Pastras, Mason, and Scarbrough joined the group for a four song encore.

Group Members AJ Schaefer Luke Wampler Eric Leland Adam Leland Mark Scarbrough Jason Pastras Jerry Mason Robb Ruttlege

Instruments yes

Albums 3

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Additional Info cheese

Location Atlanta, GA - USA

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