The Soul Gamblers Are:
The Soul Gamblers are an all-instro surf'n'roll band that originally formed to play a one-off set at a benefit in February '97. At that time Stoo, Chuck, and Batty were members of Baltimore's miserablist icons "Little Gruntpack". At a rehearsal one night Stoo listened while Batty tried to drum up some interest in the other members of "The Pack" for performing a cover of the Surf music evergreen, "The Hearse". Bat's words fell on deaf ears but Stoo suggested that he would lay down his blues harp and pick up the guitar(his first love) and that he and Batty would perform a short set of Surf instrumental tunes for an upcoming show that LGP would be appearing at. After much arm-twisting Bat and Stoo convinced LGP bassist Chuck to join for yucks on a one-night-only endeavor. The response generated by that one performance was overwhelming. The trio put their ragged heads together and decided to keep the instro trio going. Inspired by the traditional surf music of the 60's, B-movie schlock, and the garage/neo-surf sounds coming out of the Pacific Northwest via Estrus Records, The Soul Gamblers put together a sound that has been described by noted film/music critic Rudolph Carresso as "the aural by-product of a three-way collision between a Woody Wagon, a '65 Pontiac Hearse, and Dracula's record collection". The Soul Gamblers played throughout the Charm City region during the summer of '97 but as suddenly as they were formed, they dissolved that fall and returned to devote 100% of their energy to the promotion of Little Gruntpack's first CD release "Slipping Off The Map". In the spring of 2000, a conversation between Stoo and Chuck led to a Soul Gamblers reunion gig at an outdoor barbecue given by two friends celebrating their 40th birthdays. Once again a tremendous crowd response lured the Gamblers back into circulation. This time around the band has focused on original material and obscure gems culled from all genres of music. Stoo's playing and writing continue to be heavily influenced by a childhood spent listening to The Ventures and watching cheesy and not-so-cheesy horror films on TV. The Soul Gamblers are currently hard at work on their first House On The Hill release tentatively titled "SOULED OUT!" CLICK ON THE "SOULED OUT" COVER FOR MORE INFO ON THIS WORK IN PROGRESS. ALSO CLICK, HERE FOR SOUL GAMBLERS NEWS & UPCOMING SHOWS. PLUS, check out the newly added LINKS page, and Email The Soul Gamblers to join their official mailing list.
