www.kennysoule.com

Kenny Soule has been a professional drummer for nearly four decades, with a body of recorded and live work ranging from rock and funk, to jazz, country, and classical music. His performances have taken him on tours throughout the United States and Europe. He has appeared on television in the U.S. (Comedy Central, BET) and Europe (MTV and others), and has played in front of crowds of over 60,000 people.

Kenny was born into a musical family in New Britain, CT. Both his dad and brother earned PhDs in Music Education, and Kenny grew up surrounded by classical, church, and the 60’s rock and soul music of the day. Having already started on violin in the third grade, then piano in the fifth grade, he was electrified by The Beatles’ appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show in early ’64. “Suddenly at age 12” Kenny declared, “I knew what I wanted to do with my life.”

His father arranged for him to study percussion under Tele Lesbines, timpanist for the Hartford Symphony. Throughout grade school, from concert and marching bands, jazz band, orchestra, to local rock and soul bands, Kenny’s talent and skills grew. By the time he was accepted at East Carolina University to study under Harold A. Jones, the influences of the 60’s British Invasion, James Brown, Motown and Southern Soul, and Psychedelia had all left their mark.

While pursuing a major in Percussion Performance, Kenny played in every ensemble offered at ECU, including a jazz quintet led by Paul Tardif. He also joined local rock favorites Nantucket in ’72 and began relentlessly touring the Southeast, building a loyal fan base.

The Raleigh, NC-based Nantucket signed to Epic in 1977 and released three albums between 1978-80. During the Nantucket years, Kenny developed his reputation as a solid and swinging rock/R&B drummer with a heavy groove – which earned him an endorsement deal with Gretsch in 1979 and led to a string of ads featuring Kenny behind his white Gretsch kit in popular music magazines Downbeat, Creem and Circus. While headlining venues up to 5,000 capacity, the band also supported most of the big headliners of the era, including: Kiss; Foreigner; Cheap Trick; Journey; Boston; Rush; Ted Nugent; REO Speedwagon; Bob Seger; and Charlie Daniels. But Nantucket’s most glorious achievement was supporting AC/DC on their 1980 Back In Black Tour.

In 1981, Kenny left Nantucket to form PKM, a power trio whose influences included AC/DC, Mother’s Finest, and Grand Funk Railroad. Their self-produced LP, “Rock Erotica,” was distributed by Polygram.

What began as a low-key studio collaboration evolved into the band DAG, when Kenny and three other session musicians were offered a recording deal with Columbia/Sony in 1993. Kenny jumped at the chance to return to his funk/R&B roots, and DAG’s first album “Righteous” was recorded at the famed Muscle Shoals Sound in Sheffield, Alabama. The disc was released in late ‘94 to critical and industry acclaim, although U.S. radio had few openings for DAG’s old-school R&B/funk sound. But the high energy at live gigs and word-of-mouth enthusiasm proved undeniable.

Vibe magazine touted “Righteous” as “One of the best funk records since 1978!” In France, especially, DAG took firm hold – resulting in a three-page feature interview of Kenny in the December ‘95 issue of French drum magazine Batteur. DAG’s second disc, “Apartment #635,” was released in June of ‘98.

After relocating to New York City in early 2001, Kenny toured the U.S. and Europe with blues/rock legend Walter Trout & The Radicals. He also played at the 2001 LA Music Awards where Walter received awards for “Best Guitarist” and “Best Rock Album.”

In October of 2003, Kenny began performing with singer/songwriter Mary McBride. He recorded drum tracks for her latest album, “Tricky Tricky World,” in early 2005.

In addition to playing with McBride, Kenny's activities include a recent release by GO THERE, led by genre-busting guitarist Scott Sawyer. Scott and Kenny are joined on the album by bassist Oteil Burbridge (Allman Brothers, Oteil & the Peacemakers) and organist / flutist Kofi Burbridge (Derek Trucks Band).

Recently, Kenny has accompanied such diverse artists as Lipbone Redding, The Demolition String Band, Rainbow Fresh, Subtone featuring Rob Chaseman, and Dave Fields. In November 2006, he reunited with his fellow members of power trio, PKM, for a reunion show in Raleigh.

Kenny is a proud endorser of the following lines: Sonor drums; Paiste cymbals; Aquarian drumheads; and Pro-Mark sticks.

Kenny Soule.com