Wyoming band Soul Rash have just released a banging new album titled Trilogy, which has been a three year labour of love for the band, hence the title of the record. Luckily, all their time and effort has paid off and I’m pleased to announce that we’ll be sharing a review of the record very quickly. In the meantime, find out more about Soul Rash below!

By Jane Howkins

You’ve just released a brand new album titled Trilogy. What can you tell us about the record and what does the title refer to?

The record has been in the making for over 3 years. It’s our third full length album so we decided to name it Trilogy. This is our most bombastic release yet. We were going for a big sound (bigger than the previous two records). Our collaboration as band members on this one was great with band members flying into Wyoming a few times during the production.

Soul Rash was formed during Covid and started as a single album entitled The Covid Sessions. Now, on our third release, we have perfected our workflow and production as well as ccomposition and songwriting. The album was started in 2023 just before a big move by producer Jim Roberts from Colorado to Wyoming, where he built a new destination recording studio. Our production was shut down for nearly two years so there is a lot of pent-up energy on this one. We are all very proud of getting this one across the finish line.

How has the reception to Trilogy been so far? All good I hope?

So far, the reception has been very positive but of course are looking to expand our listening base as we do feel there is an audience out there.

What can you tell us about the recording process?

The main production was recorded and mixed at Jim Roberts’ new destination studio, Timber Canyon Studios in Laramie, Wyoming. During construction, Jim flew to the NYC area and recorded drums for two songs with brother Brett Roberts at Carriage House Studios in Stamford, Connecticut. Some of the vocals were recorded at Carney Audio in the Rochester, New York area. Early on, some tracks were recorded at Jim’s Colorado-based studio 5450′
Studios before he moved to Wyoming. The album was mastered in Niwot, Colorado at Ally Sound.

We really pulled out all the stops on this one. While Christopher and Billy were busy writing and working on arrangements, Jim was putting together Timber Canyon Studios, centred around the best of both worlds, with a large analogue console, a multitrack tape machine, great microphones and outboard combined with a ProTools HDX system with all the bells and whistles. Big drum sounds, bombastic guitars and vocals!

We used everything in the arsenal to achieve the sound we were looking for and very purposely wanted to outdo our first two albums – both with the songs and the production.

You actually released one of the songs from Trilogy (also titled Trilogy) as a single back in 2024. How come you released the single so early compared to the album release date?

The multi-year effort was largely due to my wife and I selling our home in Colorado and building a new home and large recording studio in Wyoming. We started the album at our studio in Colorado in 2023, then had to put everything in storage, build our new home, move into the home, then build the studio on our property and get it up and running. We decided to put the single out before the big shutdown happened, so we had at least something to talk about.

Do you plan to release any singles from Trilogy in the near future?

We don’t plan to release any other singles now that the full album is out in the universe.

Have you started writing for the next full-length album or EP yet, or is it too soon?

We’re always writing and our main songwriters Billy McKee and Christopher Smith have already started writing more and beginning to share ideas. It’s too soon for me to think about production but the songwriting never stops.

Who were your main musical influences for the release?

Our influences vary over a wide range from Black Sabbath to Kansas and Government Mule to Pink Floyd. You can hear bits and pieces of this in our songs and we also always do one cover song per album as a tribute to one of them. On Trilogy, we pay tribute to Pink Floyd with a cover of Have a Cigar which is a poke in the eye to the mainstream big label music business.

You’re based in Laramie in Wyoming. What is the city like in terms of music presence? Are there any local acts or venues that you can recommend to our readers?

When my wife and I purchased property in Laramie with plans to build our recording studio, we researched the music scene and found a vibrant and large music scene for live music. The University of Wyoming is located nearby and there are many live music venues in town. The location also attracts many touring acts that may be passing through the area when playing in the Western USA. Our recording studio, Timber Canyon Studios, has been open for only about 6 months and we’ve had several great local acts in here including Box of Rocks, Phryne, Wahb, Jason Moore, John Laux and several others.

What can your fans expect from a Soul Rash gig? Do you pull out anything special when performing live?

Soul Rash has no plans to play live and is purely a studio band. We started it that way during the Covid shutdown and liked what we heard so we did another record called Legacy. And now we’ve released Trilogy, which I personally think is our best yet. All members have been at this a long time and have played in many touring acts in the past. Never say never, BUT conditions and terms would have to be amazingly ideal for us to consider playing out live. We hope our existing fans like what they hear and hope we can find new fans that enjoy our genre, musicianship and production.

Any last words for the fans?

We really want to connect with our listeners. We know they are out there and that they enjoy the type of music we’re producing. It’s just harder and harder to find the audience, but we’re confident they exist beyond the fans we’ve already accumulated.

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