Rochelle & The Sidewinders - Soul Kiss (2024)

Austin, Texas’ Rochelle and The Sidewinders first formed in 2015 and immediately established themselves as a high energy band in concert on their many tours. The band has been a semi-finalist twice at the International Blues Challenge in Memphis.

Rochelle Creone, the lead singer and percussionist of the group, has been singing all her life with her family or in church choirs, but she made her move to the blues in May 2015 when she answered a Craigslist ad looking for a vocalist. She is frequently referenced as the Texas Songbird. Guitarist Tom Coplen started playing at age 14 in his hometown of Tuscon, Arizona. Studying the bands from his mom’s records, he fell in love with R&B and jazz and played in multiple bands prior to joining The Sidewinders. Jim Trimmier has been a professional musician for over fifty years. He plays keyboards, sax and provides backing vocals. Steven Campbell has over 30 years of professional experience and plays multiple instruments but plays bass and adds backing vocals for The Sidewinders. Drummer Kennan Stone gets a special thanks at the top of the credits’ listing. The album was produced by Jason Frankhauser who plays acoustic guitar on “The Love You Bring”.

Soul Kiss is the band’s fifth album release featuring ten original songs with composer credits listed as the whole band. The album opens with some slide guitar on “Sinner’s Tale” with Rochelle declaring “she is looking for salvation” for “all the things I’ve done”. In the album liner notes, Rochelle says a “Soul Kiss” “happens when I see a beautifully lit moon at night, or feel a soft breeze, because my soul is deeply rooted with Nature. The song was written to express my relationship with Nature and my love of it.” The upbeat song features Jim’s sax.

“Backseat Driver” gets funky as Rochelle moves into an R&B tone as she says “don’t tell me which way to go when you act like you know” with Jim again ripping through the song on his sax and Tom’s soaring guitar. “Maybe Tomorrow” slows things down with a testament, “When I promise you the day, what’s formed for me to say, though when I finally hear your voice, it’s all just faded away, maybe tomorrow will be better.” On “Just A Taste”, Rochelle declares ” I want to make you scream and moan” in an all-out rousing rock number.

“The Love You Bring” moves back into a soft, soulful song with Rochelle declaring “the love you bring to me is what sets us free”. “This kind of love stands the test of time” with an answering chorus and Jason’s acoustic guitar providing accompaniment. “If I Had a Dollar” gets things jumping again with Jim’s funky sax again providing a lead. On “Long Distance Blues”, she mournfully moans “the day went on, no end in sight, my mind is ended, and nothing is right” as “you left me”.

“The Longest Night” moves back into a quiet, soulful lament as she says, “a box of blues saturate my head, I hold a pillow tight between my legs, imagining that you are home”. They close the album with the heavy rocking “In Your Face”. She says, “you try to run, you try to hide, you can’t get away” with driving drums, roaring guitars, and the keyboards and sax sliding throughout.

Rochelle has a powerful voice obviously stemming from her time in the church choir. She shifts from one genre to another with ease. The Sidewinders are also a tightly knit backing vehicle. ~John Sacksteder