Home

Steamboat Springs — On the surface, New Jersey band deSoL plays pop-rock. Thing is, deSoL's brand of palatable, danceable tunes has a firmer spot on the streets of Queens than it does on FM radio.

In touch with their roots and influences in a way that few band make-ups are, the members of deSoL cite their Latin heritage, New York upbringing and love for Afro-Cuban music as the source of the band's blend of rumba rhythms and rock 'n' roll. A penchant for early hip-hop and Paul Simon, and cultural elements from El Salvador, Mexico, Cuba, Puerto Rico and Peru give deSoL's music an easy Latin groove.

The band performs Saturday at Steamboat Mountain Theater, showcasing the result of an influences list that includes Ruben Blades, Run-D.M.C. and Howard Stern.

About the band

deSoL's influences, compiled by band members Albie Monterrosa, Andy Letke, Chris Guice, James Guerrero, Kevin Ansell and Ron Shields:

1. Los Lobos/Santana/War - Fantastic bands who mixed traditional Latin sounds with American rock and blues way back when. It's the creative foundation of our sound.

2. Buena Vista Social Club - The music of this group and each individual artist schooled deSoL in the rhythms and passion of traditional Afro-Cuban music. When the band first started, we learned these songs and put our own rock 'n' roll spin on them.

3. Hip-hop - The do-it-yourself ambition of the early NYC rappers that were coming up in Hollis, Queens, when Albie and James were young has had a lasting impact on the whole band. The early days of rap music was a mixture of creating a party atmosphere with a serious ambition to succeed at a grassroots level.

4. U.S. Virgin Islands - The location of Albie's inspiration to mix his rock songs with the sounds of his Latin heritage. Kevin, James and Andy also have spent time there and credit it with inspiring them creatively and spiritually.

5. New York City - Albie and James's hometown growing up. Music of every style and people of every stripe bounce off of each other and cause a great creative tension. The spirit of such a multi-cultural city is at the heart of this band.

6. The politics and spirituality of artists such as Bob Marley, John Lennon and Ruben Blades whose music, art and lifestyles encouraged people to unite, embrace peace and celebrate life while being actively aware of social and political events of their times.

7. Paul Simon - He mixed ethnic styles into pop songs in an almost covert way. He created his own sound, was topical, creative, urban and always, always catchy.

8. Karma - The spiritual concept that what you put out comes back to you; positive and negative. It's also the song that got us out on the road for the first time.

9. Comedy - The great leveler. Keeping a sense of humor with each other has gotten us through the toughest of times and trying to one-up each other helps our creativity. The 'Howard Stern Show' was something we all loved growing up and still do.

10. Each other - The members of the band are pretty different from one another. Somehow, a shared love of music and a desire to connect with people drew us together, and we are constantly learning about music and culture as well as tolerance and understanding from one another.