Eclectic Soul Kiss Takes The Best Of Many Bands

Rock preview

Soul Kiss, Sparky's Bar & Grill, 20109 Aurora Ave. N. Thursday through Saturday, 9:30 p.m. to 1:30 a.m. Cover $3. -------------------------------------------------------------------

NORTH SEATTLE - Soul Kiss.

Even if you've never experienced it, you can't help but anticipate a pleasurable encounter. Of course, that would be the band Soul Kiss we're referring to. Six highly proficient and professional players, all from other well-known local-and-beyond bands, trying for something a little new and different and hoping to take those efforts a little further.

The band is fronted by singers Pamela Moore and Karla Maylender, both once part of the Seattle Top 40 fixture Boy Toy, and both quick to say there's no comparison between the new and the old.

"We all wanted to do stuff we liked," says Moore, who has also fronted her own group and toured extensively with Queensryche. "Not material dictated by the charts."

Maylender, whose credits include Roger (Heart) Fisher's Ten Bulls, concurs. "We do things we've always wanted to do. It's a chance to stretch. We all have similar tastes. These guys are funkmeisters. Everyone has played every style."

Guitarist Jeff Hornbeck came out of Indianapolis by way of San Francisco, Portland and Marysville.

"I was a bona fide Indianapolis rock star for three years," he chuckles. "We toured the area with everyone. We even toured with Boy George. He fired us. We were a little too boisterous. I came here in '83, kicked around and did studio work, but never played in a real band before this band."

Drummer Dave Jette came from Houston by way of New England. "The accents cancel each other out. I got the roots thing in Texas. If you're from Texas, they really support you. But if you're like Pat Metheny coming to town, they'll end up canceling the show. I remember seeing "The Last Emperor" - not by any stretch of the imagination a foreign film - and I was the only one in the theater. Texas was claustrophobic. I needed a more global view musically. So, here I am."

Keyboard player Mark Zyla played with the Eastside-based Living Out Loud, then worked casual bands for a while. "I wore a tuxedo and got good money, but we were playing `Moonlight in Vermont' every night. Not what I wanted to do. I went with Bochinche, but the big deal never worked out."

"I heard him playing the David Letterman theme one day," says Hornbeck, "and I said `Hey, talk to me.' " The Letterman theme is now a set staple.

The entire band emphasizes that they do songs they like. "Everyone came in with a list," says Hornbeck. "If something makes us groan, it's out." The band easily does Steely Dan, Joe Cocker and Earth, Wind & Fire. "It isn't what people are used to hearing," says Hornbeck. "They like the surprise."

"It seems the whole point of doing music, when you first get into it, is doing songs you like," adds Jette. "Then for 20 years you have to do stuff you don't like. We're going back to the original concept."

And part of the original concept is original material. "We all have some," says Hornbeck. "And we're getting around to it. In the meantime, we just want to be in the groove together."

Bassist Jon Bayless, easily the quietest member of Soul Kiss, most succinctly sums up the band's attitude.

"This should be known as the mutual admiration band," he says. "We actually listen to each other."