DECATUR - The Lakeside Music and Arts Festival is a time for Decatur band Soul Purpose to show off.

The group has added two members in the past year, resulting in a fresh sound and song list that deserves to be flaunted a little.

"Any venue where you can actually be right in front of the crowd, it's the perfect venue for somebody who likes to show off. And face it, I like to show off," said the band's co-founder, Randy Van Alstine. "I think all of the guys are excited about it for that very standpoint.

"I feel like every year (the festival) gets better and better, and we're happy to be a part of it."

Soul Purpose will close the festival with two performances Sunday night on the Main Stage.

The band, formed in 2004, lost two of its founding members, bassist Dick Borders and keyboard player Rick Smith, about a year ago to "other interests they wanted to pursue," said lead vocalist Jerry Johnson.

"That was a sudden void that we had," Van Alstine said. "We really lost two of our really big voices. They were very important to our overall sound."

Fortunately, the first two people they asked to replace those who left didn't hesitate to say yes.

Bill Cunningham, keyboard and bass player, and Steve Jobe, guitarist, were added to the line up with Johnson, saxophonist Van Alstine, Michael McDonald on trumpet, guitarist Jerry Brinegar and Steve Schepper on drums.

Cunningham, who owns Decatur's Sound Check Music Center, used to tour regularly performing with a band. He continues to work in music as a worship leader at various local churches and finds his time to be limited.

"It wasn't a likely thing for me to join a band," he said of his hectic schedule.

But the "rock 'n' roll with blue-eyed soul" band Soul Purpose presented Cunningham with a promise: no more than 13 gigs a year and no traveling. It is a promise the four-year-old band came to terms with from the beginning.

"The commitment is so small compared to everything else I do," he said. "It's a lot of fun playing with these guys."

"The unique thing about Bill," Van Alstine said, "is that when Bill came on board it meant we no longer needed a bass player because Bill plays bass with his left hand and plays keyboard with his right."

When Jobe, who also plays at First Christian Church, agreed to join the band as well, Van Alstine said, "then things got really interesting really fast."

Johnson said the band has drawn comments on its different sound, which features an extra guitar. The musicians have also added some '50s tunes to their song list, such as "Tossin' and Turnin'," "The Wanderer" and "Rockin' Robin."

"We're constantly freshening up our song list," Van Alstine said. The band learns two new songs at each rehearsal.

Getting everyone together to rehearse has been tricky, as many band members are involved with other bands and activities, as well as jobs. But they've managed to make it work.

"The bottom line is we're trying not to make this into a job," Van Alstine said. "We are of an age where most of us we actually have a life besides being musicians. We do it because we love what we do."

WHO: Soul Purpose.

WHEN: 6:45 and 10:30 p.m. Sunday, July 6.

WHERE: Main Stage, Lake Decatur.

COST: Free.

ON THE WEB: www.soulpurposerocks.com.

Alicia Spates can be reached at aspates@herald-review.com or 421-6986.