By
Chad Taylor
soundcheck@dmcityview.com
 |
Ladysoal’s
last performance at Wooly’s paid off in
the way of a development deal the band subsequently
signed on Aug. 24 with Nashville’s PopGun
Entertainment. |
“This is a huge opportunity for us,” said Ladysoal
front woman, Sharika Soal. “We’re so excited,
and ready for what’s next.”
After their show at Wooly’s on Aug. 24, the
members of Ladysoal gathered in the venue’s
green room to put their signatures to a new
development deal with Nashville, Tenn.-based
PopGun Entertainment. In an interview from Pella,
Soal talked with Cityview about the excitement
and the challenges ahead.
“We (had) a phone meeting with (PopGun owners)
Dustin and Lindsey on Sept. 1,” she said. “From
there we (laid) out the next steps for getting
the album recorded, and we’ll plan for a trip
to Nashville in the coming weeks.”
This all makes for a busy quartet of musicians.
In addition to the strategy meetings and trips
to Tennessee, the band is booked solid through
November with gigs in the Ames and greater Des
Moines area, including the Maximum Ames Music
Festival on Sept. 23, as well as a show on Sept.
14 at the M-Shop in Ames with former street
singer and “The Voice” contestant, Naia Kete.
It’s a show that Soal is particularly looking
forward to.
“It’s going to be awesome being on stage with
her. She’s got a fabulous reggae sound, and
our fans are going to love her.”
It’s also a show that the band hopes is a harbinger
of things to come, thanks to the newly-minted
partnership with PopGun. Ladysoal was introduced
to PopGun by A and R rep Austin Cook, whose
previous clients include Jars of Clay and Sixpence
None The Richer. With the development deal in
hand, PopGun is poised to help fine tune the
band’s image, as well as to handle everything
from promotion and online presence to booking
and publicity. This is music to Soal’s ears
after five years of doing all of the band’s
heavy lifting.
“Their job is to get us on a level playing field
nationally and to let us work on the album,”
Soal said.
The album, after all, is what this is all about.
The Ames fourpiece has a sound that demands
your attention, and PopGun’s assistance will
ensure that attention is indeed paid. With the
burden of studio time and funding lifted from
their shoulders, Ladysoal is left to focus completely
on the sound that got them this far in the first
place. Hence the full concert schedule and happy
front woman.
The album has a soft 2013 release date, and
the band is working now to fill out the track
list.
“We’ve got some of the songs written, but there’s
still more to do,” she said. “We’re still a
writing band.”
Part of the decision-making process for the
new album will be what to do with the band’s
previously independently-released material.
Namely, what to do about “Sunshine.” Put out
last year, “Sunshine” is arguably the band’s
most popular song to date, with the music video
garnering several thousand views on YouTube,
as well as being featured on Cliché Magazine’s
video line-up. Publicist Joe Dolan stated in
a press release that the current plans for the
debut album include the possibility of a re-recording
of “Sunshine,” though nothing has been formalized.
But if Soal has her way — as she usually does
— you can expect to hear the track when the
album drops next year.
“I definitely feel like we need to include (‘Sunshine’),”
she said. “It’s such a good song, and I feel
like it deserves the chance to be professionally
recorded, so everyone can hear what it sounds
like,” Soal said. “I really think that if it’s
given a chance, that could be the big single.”
CV
|