The Soulphonics, Jen Standley-Smith, Nicole LeAnne, Daniel Driver

Guitarist Glen Worley and drummer Kevin Connolly travelled 40,000 miles together from 1979-1983 as founding members of the Austin band The Rattlecats, which Texas Monthly once described as "sounding more like The Clash than anything on this side of the Atlantic." Along the way they played shows with such bands as The Fleshtones, Dave Edmunds, The Bongos, Joe King Carrasco and the Crowns, Jason and the Scorchers, The Leroi Brothers, and lots of other bands in towns and cities from Austin to Omaha.… Show more The Rattlecats 45 rpm single 'Run My Life/Back to Life' can be found on the Hyped2Death compilation album Teenline 101.

After the breakup of The Rattlecats in late 1983, Kevin and Glen formed The Rivals in early 1984 and Reid Watson joined the band in the spring of 1985 after the first Rivals' bass player left. The Rivals played frequently in Austin and Houston headlining local shows and opening shows for such bands as The Beat Farmers, and Webb Wilder and the Beatnecks. The Rivals also put out a six song cassette tape: "One Side Of" that received favorable reviews. In 1988 Reid left the band and no suitable replacement could be found.

Thus began the wilderness years for the yet-to-be Soulphonics: Reid got married and played an occasional solo acoustic gig, Kevin and his wife became foster parents to three girls, Glen and his wife raised a baby horse. Flash forward to September 2007 when the now-single Reid ran into Glen on the UT Austin campus, where all three work, and suggested getting together to play some music. After nearly 20 years apart the two reunited at Glen's house outside of Elgin, Texas, and find that they have a blast playing the kind of music that they love: American Garage Rock. Word of this reunion leaked to Luke Torn, long time Rattlecats and Rivals fan and former Austin Chronicle writer, now editor of Pop Culture Press. Luke also happened to be in charge of booking bands for the Cherrywood Arts Fair, held each December in Austin, and asked Reid about the possiblity of the two making an appearance at the 2007 Cherrywood Art Fair. When Reid asked Glen about this, he said that he had vowed that, if he ever played again, if would be under the name "The Soulphonics" a band name he had wanted to use ever since high school. Reid's reply was, "Who am I to stand between a man and his dream!" and The Soulphonics were born.

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