Written by Sandeep Sehbi

We sit down with members of Soul Monsters and catch up on things since the single came out. There’s alot to talk about. Soul Monsters are a rad Columbus Ohio indie rock / post-rock / math rock staple that’ve seen a lot of success in the last year or so. There’s a lot of change looming on the horizon, and Soul Monsters takes us through it all, as well as looking back on the last few years.

TUNED UP: How long has Soul Monsters been around?

Tatsumi: Almost 4-5 years now. It’s crazy how long it has been.

TUNED UP: How did Soul Monsters come to be?

Tatsumi: Hiro and Chris had a band called Treemonsters, and Joe, Ethan (previous drummer), and I had a band called Soul Fighters. Whenever Treemonsters had a show they needed a drummer and a bassist, and since Soul Fighters needed a vocalist and an additional guitarist, it made sense to join forces. Max joined our band after Ethan couldn’t play drums anymore due to an injury. But before joining forces we have all played together in some form (music ministry, open mic, etc.).

TUNED UP: How would you define the sound?

Tatsumi: Our sound has drastically changed from it’s inception. Originally we were heavily influenced by bands like Black Keys, Phantom Planet, and Weezer, so we decided to make more blues-rock/indie pop rock songs. Years after that we transitioned into an ambient indie pop vibe similar to bands like Last Dinosaurs, Young the Giant, and Local Natives. Currently we’re in our post rock/math rock phase and trying to emulate techniques from bands like Toe, Six Gallery, Enemies, and Uchuu Conbini. Although our sound has jumped to multiple genres, our goal in every song we create is to evoke emotion into our audience.

TUNED UP: Take us down memory lane, the band once recorded in a cabin in the woods. What led to that occurring, how was that process?

Hiro: We just wanted a change of scenery. Spending 3 days playing music and having fun without the distractions of regular life. The process wasn’t that complicated, we kind of just set up in a room and jammed from dusk till dawn. We ended up with a bunch of ideas and even more inside jokes.

TUNED UP: You guys participated in a Folgers jingle contest. How did that come to be? How did that turn out? Share with us an anecdote from the process.

Joe: It has been a while, so I don’t remember the exact details of how we found out about it, but we decided to give it a shot. We surprisingly ended up making it as finalists and the Folgers people came out to Columbus and filmed us doing fun things around the city. They were really nice people and it was a great experience albeit not winning the contest. We all became closer friends through it.

TUNED UP: Share with us 5 anecdotes of your top five moments with Soul Monsters career

Soul Monsters: Winning battle of the bands at the Newport was a surreal experience. We got to play alongside some of Columbus’ most talented bands in a venue that we’d never have dreamed of playing at, and we had been losers all our lives until that moment.

Soul Monsters: Playing Worst Kept Secret Festival at the Dude Locker was a really amazing experience. It was one of the first times our band was exposed to such a large part of the local music scene. We played with some awesome bands and saw the Columbus Band Gelatinus Cube perform the greatest dance moves we will ever witness.

Soul Monsters: Recording our song “Erie” at Oranjudio Studios was a lot of fun. We got to enlist the help of our good friends Tomo, Toshi and Alan in video recording and played one of our favorite songs in the studio. I think it turned out really well and Brandon MacLean knows his stuff and was really cool to work with.

Soul Monsters: We had a lot of fun playing our song “Since Then” on New Years at midnight acoustically. It was really cold and we could barely feel our fingers, but that kind of made it more memorable. Alan is the best for coming and videotaping us and partaking in our struggles.

Soul Monsters: Speaking of Alan, another of our favorite memories as Soul Monsters involved having our EP art featured in his world-famous “Animator vs. Animation” series. It boosted our popularity online and were discovered by fans worldwide and we are really thankful for his support and the support of all of our international friends.

TUNED UP: What is the reason for the split-up of Soul Monsters?

Soul Monsters: Chris Culbertson.

Soul Monsters: Hahaha, we should probably go more in depth. Our lead singer Chris is a recently graduated Spanish Major and he wanted to improve his Spanish before becoming a full-fledged teacher. He is now living in Spain and we feel uneasy continuing as Soul Monsters without his voice and lyrics at the forefront of our music. Although we are disheartened, we all love him and support his decision.

TUNED UP: What does the future hold for all the members?

Soul Monsters: At this point, we don’t really know. The rest of us love making music and will continue to do so under if not the Soul Monsters name, [then] another guise. This is a chance for us to explore new ideas and not be restricted by expectations.

TUNED UP: Thoughts on the Columbus music scene?

Soul Monsters: Though we have only experienced part of what Columbus has to offer so far, our impression is that there is a lot of heart in the music here. We were fortunate to be able to play with such a variety of acts in all kinds of venues. Columbus has a huge music scene and whatever genre that you’re looking to hear, you will certainly find. The music scene here is a community that makes you feel at home.

TUNED UP: When / Where is the final show schedule for & located?

Soul Monsters: “Final show” is a little misleading since the rest of us plan to continue to write music. However, this will be the last time you see this incarnation of Soul Monsters. With the band dynamic changed, we need to re-define our writing process, which may take some time. Having said that, our “final show” will be with Zoo Trippin’ on Thursday, October 1st at CD 102.5 Big Room Bar. Show starts at 9:30.

Soul Monsters: It’s located at 1036 South Front St, Columbus, Ohio 43206

Afterthoughts

I’ve had a lot of fun following this bands career for the past few years. They’re a very talented group of musicians and I’m excited for where their future will lead. For now, I recommend you check out their ‘farewell for now’ show this next Thursday at the Big Room Bar, playing alongside Columbus Ohio heavy hitters Zoo Trippin’. I can’t say enough good things about these guys, but I can say that I’ll be there. I hope to see you there too. And if you’re reading this after that show, they’re a rad bad, you should listen to their tunes below on their bandcamp. They also have some really rad videos on their Youtube you should check out as well. 

Relevant Links:
https://www.facebook.com/thesoulmonsters
https://soulmonstersmusic.bandcamp.com/
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCgOoOm5VRbUcSB5X5Pnf2eA (Soul Monsters channel)