soulDecision is laughing. It was a simple question, really. "What’s this song about?" It doesn’t matter whether Trevor Guthrie, Ken Lewko, or David Bowman give you the answer -- the other two get a head start on the smirks while the guy who answers giggles out four little words: "It’s about a girl…"
Well, duuuh!?....
David: They’re all about a girl.
Trevor: At least not all about the same girl.
Ken: Yeah, but it’s always the same you…
Trevor takes most of the flack because he writes the most of the lyrics, but Ken and Dave write too. The band members, these three down-to-earth boys are lifelong friends. They have fun together, and this brotherly friendship comes out in the warm, intimate lyrics in soulDecision’s romantic debut album, No One Does It Better.
Rewind to Vancouver in 1994 when singer/songwriter Dave Bowman joined longtime friends Ken Lewko and Trevor Guthrie (both songwriting multi-instrumentalists) to form soulDecision. Ask them to describe themselves and you get more giggling and smacks. They're sorta contemporary, but influenced by the varying shades of rock, soul, hip hop, and electronica that make up the pop scene. They were actually named "Indecision" because they couldn't decide what style they were -- there's some trivia.
David: We can’t simply say "this" is what we are because what we are is three different guys.
Trevor: … Trash Metal!
They released a single a while back, "Tonight", which showcased Trevor and David’s velvety smooth voices. Anything that smooth leads to something better. This led to a record label bidding war, the intercontinental disc, No One Does It Better, and their new, better name.
Check this out -- soulDecision was nominated for the Best Dance/Hip Hop release at the 1997 Pacific Music Industry Awards. The boys got some national attention as well as some international exposure when they appeared on MuchMusic’s live 1998 New Year’s Eve Party in Toronto.
Trevor: I wouldn’t say all of the songs are love songs, though they may all be about relationships with girls. Like, "Oooh It’s Kinda Crazy" is kind of a dis.
David: What do you mean, ' kind of' a dis?
Trevor: Okay, it’s a blatant dis. But "Baby Come Back" isn’t my point of view, although I’m singing it. It’s actually the girl’s point of view about me.
So far, the best thing to happen to soulDecision was joining the Universal Music Canada family. This was big. Real big. The band first went to Los Angeles to hone their songwriting skills. Being in the big leagues means you don't have to do everything yourselves, and it meant that Trevor, Dave, and Ken, although always working and practicing, had a little more time to have fun too. Working with outside people encouraged them to refine and explore their differing styles and sounds and encouraged them to find, for the first time, a Producer to help put it all together.
A lunch meeting with hot Australian Producer Charles Fisher (Savage Garden, Ace Of Base) brought the group to the Producer’s home base in Sydney with co-producer Femi Jiya (Prince, Tevin Campbell, Ben Harper) acting as engineer. Their two month down under adventure provided another big influence on the group: their conversation is now liberally salted with friendly, "Mates" and sincere "No Worries".
The result? No One Does it Better is all about style, funk and attitude.
Trevor: We really are all over the map.
David: We write what we want to write and if that means we write a rock song, or an up tempo dance track, then we do.
Ken: As long as it’s about a girl…
