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Jaded Soul/History
Jaded Soul is the culmination of more than 60 years of combined musical experience between Sal Caruso and Emanuel David, guitarist-vocalist and bassist-vocalist, respectively. Both of them met in the final days of 1979, when David was recruited to play bass in a band being assembled by a college acquaintance that played keyboards, was writing music and traded lead vocals with Sal. Together, the trio eventually found a drummer in Jeff Weil, another college kid. Calling themselves The Allies, the quartet embarked on a journey through the alternative/New Wave/punk scene of the era. The band composed its own material, and it can be honestly said that the music they wrote was not your standard fare … as far as the day’s genres went. The music was hailed as unorthodox at worst and intriguing at best. Everyone agreed -- critics and admirers alike -- that the music was, removed from anything else, intelligent and sincere. The Allies, like so many fledgling bands, had its differences and donnybrooks amongst the members. After only two and one half years, the keyboard player split away to form another band with like-minded musicians. Sal and David discussed the risks and rewards of parting ways or staying together. They chose to reform as a completely different entity, inviting Barbara Gullino to play keys and sing lead vocals. The new set was dubbed This Part of the Body, a reference to Jesus and His Kingdom. The band went through different hybrids and personnel. At one time, the band was a five-piece outfit with Sal’s younger brother John playing backing guitar, and a virtuoso keyboard player named Derrick. Derrick, it seems, was the only man to have ever worn out a Fender Rhodes piano, according to the technician who opened up his keyboard after Derrick brought it in complaining “it don’t have any volume, man!”
After various permutations including a [very] brief stint with Anton X, the founder of Genesis tribute band Nursery Crime, and the growing restlessness in the band after a protracted period of not playing live, TPOTB was dissolved upon David’s departure in the autumn of 1985. Sal for a short time continued to work with Rick Barnet, the last drummer of TPOTB, on a few tunes that were left dangling with David’s departure, but nothing materialized. TPOTB was no more. Sal continued to write, arrange, record and produce his own body of eclectic works, while David got lost somewhere south of the border. After his sojourn in the Mexican desert, David returned to the USA in early 1989. He and Sal began working on a number of compositions geared toward the soundtrack market by writing incidental and background music. Sal was by now working as a session guitarist. Once again, at the end of 1991, David took an offer down Mexico way and found his calling playing with some of Mexico’s best and brightest.
To dismiss these two collaborators by saying they do nothing more than play instruments and sing would be an injustice. Sal has written, composed, arranged and orchestrated a vast body of musical work and realized them in self-produced recordings. David has played in a fair number of different ensembles both here and in Mexico. He worked alongside and wrote new music and blues-flavored tunes with a good deal of Mexico’s up-and-coming and a few of her rock icons. After more than 15 years apart and mostly incommunicado, they reunited four years ago when David returned to the USA and asked Sal to help him score the music for ‘Rush Junkys’, film-maker Dan Llewellyn’s first Indy flick. Once the film was scored and released, Sal and David mulled over the idea of reforming TPOTB, but under a different rubric and with a different approach. Sal had accumulated a vast catalog of self-recorded works, but had been out of the live music scene for a number of years. Although Sal had not been working with any one band since his days with Hard Times [his and Jaded Soul’s second guitar/vocalist Pete Jackson’s band in the early 90s], he never stopped being the prolific and diverse artist. He painted and wrote, composed and arranged continuously. His canvases, mostly landscapes ranging from the serene to the surreal, are featured on this website.
Having made the decision to once again embark on a voyage toward musical unknowns [although employing many fundaments learned along the way] Sal and David located and contacted Rich Barnet. The three began rehearsing originals and off-beat covers, taking the name Jaded Soul. Working on the new material in earnest, Jaded Soul took their show on the road, playing mostly small clubs and cafes. Jaded Soul received its warmest welcomes and enthusiastic audiences in, of all places, bars frequented by bikers and other free spirits. But tragedy struck. Personal loss and illness crippled both Sal and Rich, and the project was put on hold for over a year. Sal, recovering from extensive surgery, is once again hitting his stride and enjoying a new phase of creativity. Unfortunately, Rick’s physical condition has kept him sidelined. Jaded Soul is currently working with several drummers and guitarists, looking for that spark that will re-ignite the smoldering flames.
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