7 minute read
ISAAC SLOANE & THE SOUND BRIGADE
A POWERHOUSE BAND SETTING THE MUSIC SCENE ON FIRE!
Written By: Laura Bradley
Photography By: Mikayla Peterson
Scrolling through Facebook one day, I stumbled across a video a friend had shared of a local band based out of Denton called Isaac Sloane & The Sound Brigade and I was instantly intrigued by their unique sound. From the smooth, sultry & bluesy vocals to the rhythm and blues of the saxophones and bass, I knew I had to learn more about these guys, and I became an instant “fan girl”!
Isaac Sloane & The Sound Brigade is a 6piece psychedelic jazz infused blues /rock n' roll band out of Denton, Texas. Formed in October of 2021, the group has quickly become a local favorite in the music world with their unique blend of in-your-face, ground shaking rock n' roll, and soulful blues with elements of virtuosic jazz. The band is comprised of Michael Peterson and Donicio Trujillo on saxophone, Jake Kerley on organ, Anthony Peterson on drums and his brother Michael (yes there are two Michael Peterson’s) on bass, and band leader and guitarist/vocalist Isaac Sloane. The powerhouse group writes their own songs that call back to the days of Chicago, Led Zeppelin, The Beatles and Jimmy Hendrix with a modern and unique twist to the classic hard-hitting sounds of the late 60s and early 70s.
Isaac Sloane & The Sound Brigade Is A Powerhouse of Creative Genius
Isaac grew up in the small North Texas town of Tioga and his life was shaped and influenced by music from a very early age, specifically The Beatles. “I remember being barely able to walk and listening to The Beatles album Rubber Soul. The Beatles have always and will always be who influenced me musically” Isaac says. Dan and Janet Sloane, Isaac’s parents, raised Isaac to have a love and appreciation for all types of music. At ten years old Isaac played drums to Cream's song SWLABR in the local talent show and went on to perform locally with his father in their band Isaac Sloane & Tioga Dan until he formed Isaac Sloane & The Sound Brigade. Isaac received a baseball scholarship right out of high school to Oklahoma Wesleyan University in Bartlesville and played his freshmen year there before transferring to Grayson County Junior College for their Engineering program. To become an Engineer was Isaac’s goal at the time so after a year at Grayson, he transferred to the University of North Texas’s Engineering program. This is where he learned music was indeed his passion, not Engineering, so he decided to pursue that full-time instead.
“I remember being barely able to walk and listening to the Beatles” Isaac Sloane
Brothers Anthony and Michael Peterson grew up in a very musical family in Arcadia Indiana, and their father Craig is a professional saxophone player. Their love of music came from their father and many hours of playing guitar hero. Anthony started playing piano when he was very young, and in the sixth grade he started playing drums while Michael started playing bass. They then started playing music together and jokingly say “we are a package deal”.
Friends Michael Peterson, who plays tenor sax and Donicio Trujillo who plays saxophone moved to Denton from Wyoming just a few years ago. Donicio is in a relationship with Michael’s sister Mikayla who also is a saxophone player, and he plays with several different local artists when he is not teaching choir at a local intermediate school. Donicio started playing the saxophone when he was nine years old and joined his first band at the age of eleven. He graduated from the University of Wyoming with his music degree and started pursuing music as a career. Michael is a Dallas based saxophonist, composer, and educator who performs frequently throughout the region with his own ensemble, The Michael Peterson Group, and in multiple genres as a sideman. He began playing the saxophone at the age of 11; he was the first in his family to take up music and currently teaches privately in the North Texas area, as well as online.
Organist, Jake Kerley is from Fort Worth, and he began playing drums before he could even walk. At the age of thirteen, he discovered the piano and a talent and love for music that would eventually propel him into a career as a professional musician. Jake taught piano for almost five years at the Creative Soul Music School in Fort Worth and currently plays with several different local artists.
Isaac Sloane & The Sound Brigade came about by Isaac placing an ad on Facebook asking if anyone would like to meet up and play some music together. The first to respond was Michael, who plays tenor saxophone and after playing he mentioned that his roommate Donicio also plays saxophone and asked if he could join them. They all three got together, played some songs and Michael invited a couple of his coworkers, (the other Michael and his brother Anthony) from the local music school he worked at, to join. They all hit it off and blended together so well that they knew they were on to something big. Their first official rehearsal was in October of 2021, and they played their first show as a band in December of 2021 and have not stopped since. They played forty shows in 2022, (their first year!) and fifty shows in 2023 and travel all over Texas, from Austin to Wichita Falls.
With all the musical talent this band has, I had to know who their musical influences were to bring them all together. I was shocked to learn their influences range from The Beatles to Michael Jackson and Stevie Wonder to Chicago and Steely Dan. All of their musical influences come together and allow them to blend so nicely into the unique sound you hear from them today. Their resonating sound has landed them as nominees for The Best Blues Band in Dallas by the Dallas Entertainment Awards and has them featured on the television show Texas Music Café out of Waco Texas.
Isaac Sloane & The Sound Brigade released their first album in the summer of 2022 and will be recording their first full length live album at Harvest House in Denton in March of 2024 and they invite you all to come join them! All of the group’s music can be found on their website, isaacsloaneandthesoundbrigade.com YouTube Channel and all music platforms along with local Denton radio stations and 91.7 out of Dallas. You can also see them on February 23rd at Andy’s in Denton.
To catch their next show, follow their schedule on their website isaacsloaneandthesoundbrigade.com or the app Bands In Town.
