Back in 2008, local power trio Blue Soulstace came together in a very 21st century way: Craigslist. “I answered an ad that was posted by the bass player, James Ferguson,” recalls lead guitarist Frank Weckerle. “Turns out, I worked with the bass player’s fiancée, the bass player knew the drummer, Jon Carney, and the drummer’s wife worked with my wife.” Sounding like something out of Missed Connections, the soon-to-be bandmates found one another across space and time.
Weckerle grew up listening to southern rock in Florida, Ferguson was more into jazz fusion and living in Boston, Mass. while Carney was immersed in the California classic rock scene—but together, the band skirts across genres like the phases of the moon. Playing the Santa Cruz, Felton, Gilroy triangle, the band has been working hard on gaining followers. Though often paired with more traditional blues bands, Blue Soulstace doesn’t fit neatly into one pigeonhole. Their songs, almost all instrumental, are displayed on their newest release, Let it Go—a diverse compilation of tracks, including “Homeward,” a song that sounds like an early Hot Tuna version of Jefferson Airplane’s “Good Shepherd,” a Windham Hill-ish track called 
“Amber Sky,” and road trip anthem “Aromas Stroll.” It’s not an easy feat to become an original rock band, so Blue Soulstace occasionally knocks out audience-pleasing covers, ranging from the Hendrix classic “Little Wing,” to Junior Wells’ “Messing with the Kid.” “We put our spin on all those songs as well, we don’t want to sound like a bad wedding band,” says Weckerle. And the band is already busy working on its next original album. “When the three of us get together each week to practice,” he explains, “we eventually hit a groove in our jams where we realize we have a new song.” | info: For more info about Blue Soulstace and the band’s upcoming shows, visit bluesoulstace.com.
