The Nautilus Studio M31 Files interview singer Steve "Mr Soul" Kahler (part 2)

Studio owners Mr Bill (Nautilus Studio) and Yves LF Giraud (Studio M31) interview R&B singer Steve "Mr Soul" Kahler, (part 2).

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:23

Flowers of the night Glimming from the Moisture and the Foods. So Steve, uh if you don't mind me asking you. Yes. Um when you when you were doing you were um program director for you said again, I'm sorry, the place. Oh, Scoot and Blues? Scoot and Blues, right? And you did that till 2009?

SPEAKER_01 0:44

Yeah, yeah. Did it no, no, that was only about six and a half years to two thousand six.

SPEAKER_00 0:51

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 0:52

Yeah. Yeah. Then when it shut down, um I just uh worked, you know. And uh I the nice thing is I had developed a a friendship with a lot of musicians, so luck you know, I still could sit in. Sure. You know, somebody say Steve, come up and sing a song. Um uh and our uh you you you played when uh what's his name passed away. Um the biker. Yeah, no, yeah. Yeah um you did it in Coltez. Bass player that that died that rode the Harley. Oh.

SPEAKER_00 1:36

He died in uh North of Durham. Yeah, just coming home ago. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 1:42

Well, uh Kirk James. Kirk James. Yeah, and he wasn't a bass player, he was an example. Oh guitar player's guitar player. I'm sorry, yeah. Wonderful guy. Yeah, yeah. Yeah. Miss him badly. Yeah, yeah. Well, they did a tribute. Well, actually, was as I understand it, he was booked at a gig. He died, so they did an open mic deal that you and uh I forget who all I kind of took Kurt's place with the drummer and uh bass player that uh he had played with all these years, and so uh and it had to be put together really quick. I remember that. Yeah, and so uh I tried to do as many of Kirk songs as I could, but just tried to play uh blues because that was Kirk's thing. Yeah, and we uh had a lot of people sit in, Steve came up and we had all the people that were there to celebrate uh Kirk James' life. Uh a bunch of sit-ins and uh some wonderful people that just uh loved uh uh Kirk James uh yeah, it was a real sadly happy event. Yeah, for sure. And uh and Kirk James just had this personality that was so dry that if you could crack him up, you were something special. But he was funny as could be. Oh yeah, yeah. He cracked us up. Oh, he cracked us up, yeah, yeah. He just looked at you like, what the hell are you talking about? You know, so I wanted to say the up word, but I didn't, okay? You're good. And if you do, I can always put up beep. Yeah, there you go. Oh boy, that's what we should do.

SPEAKER_00 3:29

Yeah, yeah, exactly. I see, I'm I'm gonna pretty much do that on everything you've said so far. Yeah, there you go. It's gonna be a lot of beeping.

SPEAKER_01 3:36

So we're we're um, I mean, there's just a million of the things, and Bill is the same way. Uh we've got so many great memories. And the all of my there's three things in my categories to remember. Family first, okay, fishing next, which is still going on. He on the way in here, he was talking to a guy about going fly fishing this weekend. You and your fish. Yeah, we're gonna be on the animus. And music, those are the only thing I don't even remember uh anything else, yeah. But you know, the the thing is now that's so sad is I think back on my life, I was born in 1944, and every school I went to had someone teaching me that loved me and loved the other kids. And we loved them. And then in high school, I have friends in high school that have I have kept are not friends but teachers that I have kept in touch with until they died. And those days it it just doesn't seem like that means anything anymore.

SPEAKER_00 4:51

You know, and yeah.

SPEAKER_01 4:52

And you know the other thing is, I don't ever remember being in my house on a nice day. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 4:58

Uh-huh.

SPEAKER_01 4:58

You know, watching TV, like watching TV.

SPEAKER_00 5:01

Well, we don't watch TV anymore. You guys are still back at that.

SPEAKER_01 5:05

Now people are like this.

SPEAKER_00 5:06

Oh yeah.

SPEAKER_01 5:06

Oh, that's right. The TV turn, yeah, exactly. And then you've got your wife right here. Well, here's the best, here's the best thing.

SPEAKER_00 5:12

So the wife is doing the same thing.

SPEAKER_01 5:14

I'm out, I'm out, I'm out with with Bill. We go out and hear the local entertainment, and I was sitting at a table, and there's about six girls all sitting there, and they came with, I think, some of the guys that were going to perform on the open mic. Okay. And they're all on their phones. And I go, how can you people enjoy it? Well, and and here's your husband or boyfriend or son or whatever up here playing, and they go, Oh, well, we're listening, we're talking to each other. On the phone. Yeah, I know. On the phone! Welcome to the new world. Steve. God, you just want to take this thing and see if it'll throw. Your dad was a phone guy? No, my dad was the same thing. He says, I'll take it. Oh, yeah. You want to throw everything out of my phone if he didn't like it.

SPEAKER_00 6:10

Yeah. That was his way of doing it. Frisbee's.

SPEAKER_01 6:13

Yeah, yeah. We don't need it. So we're we're kind of up to date. I I am fortunate enough, like Bill, to know just about every older musician around. And if we show up, many times they'll say, Would you like to come up and play a song or sing a song or you know, be a part of something, and which makes you feel good. And uh that's that's about where I'm at right now. Um 81 years old, and uh I uh rent a place from Bill or right up the street from you, and it's got two ponds, and me and Bill have pretty well done what we shouldn't have done is bring fish from other ponds up. No, we didn't. That was it. Shouldn't have said that.

SPEAKER_00 7:04

No, but anyway, Kim Blackman.

SPEAKER_01 7:07

So anyway, we got a great life. Bill's got a great uh uh 70 acres and uh a couple of horses. We've got our dogs that we love. Our dogs, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 7:18

And we uh the dogs are and Bill's got a only reason I like you guys is because of the dogs.

SPEAKER_01 7:22

Yeah, and and they're rentable, we rent them out, you know.

SPEAKER_00 7:27

I'm playing I'm planning on stealing them in okay.

SPEAKER_01 7:30

Well, we'll buy one before we let you steal them. I think they know their way home. They'll they'll get back to you. I hope so. I'm sure they will.

SPEAKER_00 7:37

But I have a question for you. Yeah, and it's it's kind of a general question, and yet it's detailed, but I don't want to spend too much time on it. But you brought us some pictures. Yes, yeah. I know we can't you kind of went through the thing in a perfect way. Well, can you give us some highlights? Because I want people to realize you've done some.

SPEAKER_01 7:55

This is my uh stuff, this is my favorite picture of me as Tina Turner. And I don't know LCA. And this is a band picture of the Follies. Yeah, these are the Mike. What was this? Can you give us a Durango? This was about 20 years ago, 25 years ago. I bet it was, yeah, nine uh late 80s or 90s. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Okay. And then uh the China Tango thing, also around that time. That would have been uh one of the years of the Follies. Okay, yeah. Yeah. And this is when I was uh we opened at the Belly Up, which is one of the most famous uh recording places, and we opened for Dick Dale and the Deltones, and they were the loudest band we had ever heard. I left after about like a surf band uh in the middle and stuff. And those guys all super it was unbelievable. I was I went to the other end of the place, if you've ever been the belly up, and that was a hundred feet away. And you couldn't stay there. And I couldn't even, I just we just begged the whole band just said, yeah, we just you know, don't Bill plays that stuff. Now there was that stuff, that surf music. Yeah, it's too bad we didn't have a surf. Yeah. So anyway, that was that. And then this is another picture of uh my group. It's called Powerhouse. Power House, and this was a real good, I think what are there, seven or eight of them. Yeah, this was it out of out of Durango. Okay, and these were all great musicians. Um and then uh this is uh another one with probably one of the best Hammond B3 players. He just passed, and he's got some great videos on TV, but uh this was our other band and the name of the picture. We're still being incorporated. Oh just a different group of guys in the band. So that's kind of a a bit of of what we of what my life was.

SPEAKER_00 10:06

Well, the the one thing I was gonna ask you is so um did you want to try to sing a song if you maybe play a guitar and you you sing something right here in front of the right?

SPEAKER_01 10:16

Well, that'll sound like shit, but I love it. It will actually sound better than you think. You will? Yeah. I mean, I think. I'm yeah that would be that will be a new experience. Not because of you, because of him exactly as well. Yeah, yeah, you'll be able to show you. So what do you want to do? Uh it's up to you. You're the singer. Yeah. I think something uh I don't know, uh something that you can play a little soulful uh how about a change is gonna come. Okay. We can do that. Yeah. Well, I guess we're stuck playing something live, but I'm gonna play something here for you. This is the old Sam Cook song that was done by Otis Redding and about a million other people. Yep. Including us, man. Including us, yeah, yeah. And uh Eve's uh I think played bass with us on the stage before. But so anyway. Been running ever since it been a long, very long time coming, but I know a change gon come and it been too hard living, but I'm afraid to die. I don't know what's up there beyond the sky. You've been a long very long time coming, but I know a change gonna come. Oh yes it is. I went see my mother, my dear mother. I said mother, won't you help me? Help me please. She turned me down, then I went see my poor brother, my dear brother. I said, Brother, I'm down on my knees, but there was a time that I thought Lord it would last for very long and now I think I might be able to try carry on. It been a long, very long, long time coming, but I'm sure change gonna come. Oh yes, it is Mr. Bill, Mr. Soul. Well, uh I would like to say one thing though. Uh Steve did not do his trademark squeal in that last song that we did with a pool. Can you give us just an oc octave? Yeah, a little higher. Can you go ahead?

unknown 14:14

Hey!

SPEAKER_01 14:16

I I it's my my throat's not there. Okay, yeah, yeah. He hasn't got too yet, but you can go to say octaves higher than that. Yeah, and it's about eleven in the morning. So miles away will wake up and go further. Yeah. I I thought they would come to you and see what happened. Yeah. But I one little gap that she kind of left there is uh uh you were right at uh uh heart of the karaoke uh popularity. Oh yeah. And and extended it maybe towards the end of the yeah, people still do that. But uh Steve was doing weddings uh booking years. Booking weddings where he had weddings all through the year until he had a stroke. And so you were you were running sound, you were no, I was taking all my equipment, setting up three different all by yourself. Oh yeah, setting up three different positions, you know. One out in the field where they're getting married, you know, I had to mic everybody, and then they come in and have dinner so I'd have music at this other place, and then they come in to dance so I'd have a big system at this other place. He's doing it all by himself. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 15:31

I know the airfield and I'm I'm so lazy from getting I wouldn't.

SPEAKER_01 15:34

I still have I still I probably have two hundred chords, you know, from six to a hundred feet, you know, that type of thing. Yeah, sure. And I used to have a lot of sound equipment. I still have a few of my favorite lights. Oh yeah, that's right. Yeah, yeah. Did you ever turn them on? I did, I did. Did they work? They work, they they're weak. Oh, they're weak?

SPEAKER_00 15:58

I think you really have to be in darkness to really see them well. Yeah. Like these, for example, I'll be able to do that.

SPEAKER_01 16:03

That's what you want light for mostly, like that. The darkness.

SPEAKER_00 16:06

But but there are places, there are moments where these are too bright and I can't control the brightness of these. So no, I'll I'll use them at some point. But I just I just have them. The case is somewhere. Actually, the case is awesome too.

SPEAKER_01 16:19

I can't try to hold.

SPEAKER_00 16:21

Oh, you know what? I think it's in the other room.

SPEAKER_01 16:23

But anyway. Well, they should be a major part of this whole thing. I'm thinking next time I'll just have to guess hold them. Or just the tape it to my head. Anyways, uh we uh enjoyed uh having you here, Steve. Oh, yeah, yeah. And getting to find out more about your bad self. Yeah. And um we uh enjoyed uh this is uh local uh Mancus uh we have Mancus talent and we're still tapping it. It's crazy. And we want to thank you for coming out and uh bringing your embroider embroidered uh uh Mr. Soul. Mr.

SPEAKER_00 16:57

Soul. Well, I know it's on your truck too. Yeah, yeah. Yeah. Oh, and on your hat. Wow, that's it.

SPEAKER_01 17:05

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 17:05

All right, by the way, brother.

SPEAKER_01 17:08

Was that fun? That was that good. I'm still I'm still old school, you know.

SPEAKER_00 17:13

I I don't know what I'm doing either.

SPEAKER_01 17:15

Yeah, yeah.