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Getting axed by your band mates doesn’t qualify as career advancement.
But while the wounds from his split with the funk band Soulive are still fresh, Toussaint Liberator is already bouncing back stronger than ever.
Best known around Boston as a reggae singer, Toussaint has a crack new band, Buru Style (spearheaded by longtime Boston fixture Bill Carbone on drums), which plays the Middle East on Wednesday. He also has an organized vision, and perhaps most importantly, a burning motivation to prove himself.
Up until he joined in 2006, Soulive was an instrumental trio. With Toussaint as their full-time vocalist, Soulive recorded a critically lauded record on the revamped Stax label, “No Place Like Soul,” and toured the world. He was understandably crushed in 2007 when the band decided to go back to its original format.
“It ended because, in my estimation, they wanted a pop record that flew off the shelves immediately,” Toussaint said from his home in Holyoke. “And it didn’t fly off the shelves immediately. I don’t think it was because the music wasn’t good.” Despite the disheartening setback, Toussaint can now look back on the Soulive venture with fresh eyes.
“It was an experience that really helped me and clarified what I could be doing,” he said. “It made me more of a complete vocalist. It raised my business acumen and it also raised my visibility. All those things are very positive.”
The 30-year-old Toussaint harbors little resentment toward his ex-band mates. In fact, he’s thinking about reaching out to his old running buddies.
“I love those guys,” he said. “They’re great musicians. Things maybe didn’t work out on a business level, but the reality is that I look forward to working with them in the near future.”
There’s reason for the former Bostonian to feel optimistic. Judging from the quality of his recent EP, “Toussaint the Liberator featuring Buru Style,” getting jettisoned from Soulive may be the best thing that could have happened to him. His versatile band jumps easily from dubbed-out reggae explorations to hopped-up funk and soul romps, all anchored by Toussaint’s charismatic tenor.
“For years I’ve been pegged as a reggae singer,” Toussaint said. “With Soulive I was able to prove to myself, if not everyone else, that I could do more than just sing over a skank. With Buru Style, you can’t say it’s reggae, you can’t say it’s funk or soul. It’s a blend of all those things and it’s all original.
“I know people think I’m just going to fall off ’cause I don’t have Soulive now,” he said. “I was down for a year, but now I’m determined to prove to myself and to people that I’m a serious force with my music. I’m not going anywhere.” 11/24/09
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