Sol Drop

Just how prepared can three juniors at Northern Arizona University be? While the new college semester began with the annual arrival of daily parties and all the young dudes shouting over the din of giant stereo speakers, as well as the rivers of people running in and out of the bars downtown, the members of Sol Drop, a band that’s not even two years old, has been carefully hatching a plan.

This week they will be releasing their first CD, It’s Alright, at an album release party Friday at the Firecreek Coffee Co. In a carefully thought out marketing strategy, receipt of the new work will be included in the cost of attending the event. After U2 rankled the world of Apple users by automatically depositing their last record, Songs of Innocence, into their music player files, the incident, even if it did tee-off some music fans who simply didn’t like (hated) the band, did highlight the crisis of the ongoing search for some kind of new distribution paradigm in the age of the Internet.

In response to these kinds of issues, Sol Drop’s lead singer, guitarist and NAU honors student Kathryn Meyers, who is “leaning” toward marketing in her studies at NAU, decided to draw from the past.

“We are forcing people to buy the CDs by including it in the cost of admission,” she laughs. “I know Prince would do it back in the day. He’d give his new CD to people at his shows, and then by doing that he’d make it No. 1 on Billboard."

Sol Drop is a power-trio described by its members—Meyers, Sean Buechel (bass) and Brian Dorsey (drums)—as fast-blues. Meyers’ vocals are drawn from a kind of ’80s female punk weirdness, with snarls and yelps and extended phrasing reminiscent of anyone from David Byrne, Wendy O. Williams or to her several years of listening to the “Riot grrrl” genre of music of Sleater Kinney and Bikini Kill. But her playing is inspired by Jimi Hendrix. Meyers says she started listening to Hendrix as a young teen growing up in the Arcadia district of Phoenix/Scottsdale. From there she moved on to learning to play guitar by listening to blues standards by B.B. King and other blues masters.

“I was into Joan Jett and all of those women who came out,” she says. “That interested me, those women inspired me that way. A lot of people tell us that I sound like the singer for the B-52s, but I’ve hardly ever listened to them other than hearing the song “Rock Lobster.” I certainly don’t try to sound like the B-52s.”

As far as the “how-we-got-together” story goes for Sol Drop, it’s one of the better stories you could ever hear.

Meyers, who clearly came to NAU with the idea of starting a band in mind, had noticed Dorsey walking in a dorm hallway with a drum key on a carabiner. Then she asked if he was a drummer. He was, having played in various bands in Santa Rosa, Calif. She got his number with the idea they would later jam, then sent him a text message several months later. He didn’t realize who it was at first, but then remembered the connection.

The problem was, even if they wanted to play music together, they had nowhere to practice. It was pretty impossible in the dorms they were living in.



But then one day Meyers found a power outlet on the top floor of a parking garage on campus.

As Buechel describes it, “We took our stuff on the top of the parking garage and found a common place where we could play. We did it just loud enough with the drum set to where we could hear each other playing,” says Dorsey. “From just doing that we got some fans who came by to listen, and many of them have been coming to our shows ever since. Nobody told us to stop, for some reason. People really enjoyed it, which was cool.”

Meyers says that within a week of playing on the parking garage, they had their first gig at Firecreek.

This summer they went on a DIY tour up and down the West Coast, first starting in Phoenix, then going from Southern to Northern California, finally ending up in Las Vegas, where they played at a deli.

“We did 10 shows in nine days,” Meyers says. “We did one in a party room in a bowling alley. That was an interesting story. The owner cut the power on the band playing after us because they were too loud.”

During the band’s short time together, they have played at least 60 shows, many of them in Tempe, Phoenix and Scottsdale. Their new CD was recorded in Chandler, at an independent studio called Clamsville and run by John Herrera, who Meyers says has given the group “a lot of good tips.”

Standout tracks on the new seven-track CD include the opener, “Fake,” which starts out with striking punk guitar then leads into a very Hendrix-like section. Her vocals are bratty in the punk form. Another good song is “Rewinder,” in which Meyers’ pursues a bluesy chord progression, then sings in a snarling melody laced with sarcasm. Indeed, the seven-song release is a showcase for Meyers’ brilliance as a new young talent in Flagstaff.

Working the social media, especially using Facebook and Snapchat to keep in touch with their emerging following of say, 100 people, the band is trying to do all of the right things. For Sol Drop, there is a plan, with the CD, “ready for a couple of months, and now they are ready for the show,” Meyers says.

Catch Sol Drop on Fri, Sept. 2 during First Friday ArtWalk and the album release party for their freshman effort, It’s Alright, at Firecreek Coffee Co., 22 E. Rte. 66. Local rockers Four Cornered Room and Tiny Bird will open things up. Doors open at 7:30 p.m. and the tunes get going at 8 p.m. Tickets are $10 (and include the album) and can be purchased at the door the night of the show or online at www.soldropofficial.com. For more, cruise their site or buzz 774-2266. - The Daily Sun

The Flagstaff music scene is a diverse group of friends and music lovers that share their creations as often as they can.
Sol Drop played two shows March 4, one at The Hive and one immediately after at Flagstaff Brewing Co.
The night started off with Flagstaff local bands: Naming Our Monsters, AstroNots and Tiny Bird. Then Sol Drop brought in a heavily energetic crowd at The Hive, as well as a celebration of the new mural painted by local artist Kristian Candelaria inside the venue.
Sol Drop is a three-piece group that brings back the raw style of rock ‘n’ roll that makes you want to dance. Band members include guitarist and vocalist Kathryn Meyers, bassist Sean Buechel and drummer Brian Dorsey. The style brings you back to the '60s, watching Hendrix shred the guitar, wooing the crowd.
Meyers knows how to bring the energy to the crowd, making everyone feel as if they are a part of something that you can only experience at a Sol Drop show.
Their fans are extremely dedicated, going to every show that Sol Drop has. The consistency and energy of the band gives you an adrenaline rush on its own, putting everyone in their own zone within the music.
Jimi Hendrix, Joan Jett, Girl In A Coma, The Clash and Lady Gaga heavily influence Meyers’ style.
"There aren't very many female-led bands in Flagstaff, but the music scene is diverse," Meyers said.
When Sol Drop is performing, Meyers, Buechel and Dorsey are all focused in on keeping tight, and putting everything they have into the performance. It is exactly what the crowd expects to see from a good live act.
"It’s always fun when touring acts come through Flagstaff and want to play shows with us," Buechel said.
The dedication that the members have in Sol Drop gives off a vibe that makes you want to be involved in something that you are passionate about. The experience of watching them heightens the mood of everyone in the crowd.
A highlight of the night that hyped up the crowd the most was an immaculate cover of The Beatles' "Twist and Shout," giving the crowd a chance to dance the night away and to feel as if they were Ferris Bueller themselves.
With only 25 minutes to spare before having to move over to Flag Brew, Sol Drop wanted to give the audience more of what they came for, which led them into closing out the show with a lively cover of Jimi Hendrix' "Foxy Lady." Meyers showed off her skills and nailed the solo while running around the stage as the music took over her soul for the four minutes that Jimi gave her to play.
"They really know how to play a show and buildup the crowd," said show attendee and Flag Brew customer Katie Avila.
The Sol Drop show was full of passion. Their shows are loads of fun, and anyone from the community can come out to these shows to have an exhilarating night. - The Lumberjack

I caught up with Sol Drop before their West Coast Tour Kickoff show. The sun is setting over a hot, hazy, day in Tempe, Courtney Barnett plays in the distance; we dicuss the hardships and excitement of tour, the importance of DIY shows, and their debut new album "It's Alright".

It’s the big band dream to go on tour. I first ask about the amount of time it took to organize the tour, the group laughs - Kathryn explains, a solid 7-10 hours were put into booking each show.

From several shows in CA, to Nevada, and back to AZ in Flagstaff, Sol Drop has a number of DIY shows on their list.

Kathryn: “We’re playing at a record store, a bowling alley, a house show, even at a deli!”

Many indepdent artists have taken refuge in DIY shows, especially those of them touring

Brian: “DIY shows are super helpful to touring bands - they don’t really care about how many people you’re bringing in, but about supporting the artists. It’s one of the only viable ways for up-in-coming artists without big followings to start somewhere.”

With “more shows than days” Sean exclaims, all in all the group is excited for their first major tour.

We transition into talking about the new album, the recording process, the sound, and the creation.

Sean: “We talked about recording an album longer than it took to make it, but it was still a lot of time between figuring out what we wanted to put on it, getting the album artwork - Kathryn interjects: “Practicing with the metronome..”

What I could best describe as Janis Joplin meets the Beach Boys, meets Fugazi, Brian explains the sound of their new album

Brian: “You can’t define it to one category. There’s pop, there’s punk, blues, and funk. I think it’s a fun mix”

"It's Alright" will be relased 9/2 accompanied by an album relase show at Firecreek Coffee in Flagstaff.

You can listen to Sol Drop's released single "Fake" off the album here: https://soldropofficial.bandcamp.com/

Catch up with the lastest, and everything Sol Drop on their website: http://www.soldropofficial.com/

AUGUST 23, 2016 - Peach Girl Photography