| "I saw a rickshaw with what I perceived was ‘SiR’ on the back," reminisces Scott Henderson regarding the genesis of his local R&B band Souls in Rhythm (SiR).
Henderson found himself in India after the dissolution of his Juno-nominated boy band The EarthTONES, searching for answers after his fall from musical semi-stardom.
"I was confused over the juxtaposition of wanting more from life and feeling like a glutinous western asshole with what I did have," says Henderson. "Took awhile to reconcile that we are built to desire and there's nothing wrong with being content."
Fast forward past the scruff, the backpacking and re-acclimating to the western world on the return flight, and Henderson has achieved a certain peace and is just excited to funk out in his home town. A sold-out CD launch party for SiR’s debut album, Can’t Fake the Funk, indicates Calgary is receptive to the band’s smoothly produced flavour of R&B.
"Calgary may not be a funk or R&B town, but it does have a rich tradition and value for songwriting," says Henderson. "That's something I feel Calgary has given me – both from the isolation that creates the need for quality and the talented contemporaries that live here, also pushing the envelope."
Henderson’s songwriting possesses an earnestness missing in mainstream music. He hopes people, when checking out the band’s live gigs, realize how genuine the music is.
"Soul is anything expressed with sincere passion. There's lots of mimed passion these days – the feigned teenage saturating pop radio can attest to music being soulless. You got to believe what you're singing. I believe in my skills, I've seen it work before and I take inspiration from the moments when something I've created really touches someone." |
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