March 2009 marks Soulive’s 10th Anniversary – ten years since Eric Krasno, Alan Evans
and his brother Neal Evans got together for the first time at a home studio just outside of
Woodstock, NY and recorded Get Down.
Over the past 10 years, Soulive
has covered a lot of ground – musically and literally.
The band has traveled to nearly
every corner of the world, touring Ghana, Russia,
nearly all of Europe, Brazil, and Japan (nine
times!). They’ve been across America on dozens of
tours. New Orleans Jazz Fest has become a home away from home. And in their actual
home, New York City, they are closing in on their 100th show.
Not many bands can say they’ve recorded with Chaka Khan, Dave Matthews, Talib
Kweli and John Scofield. Nor can many bands open for The Rolling Stones on one tour
and have Stevie Wonder sit in with them on the next tour. The musical relationships the
band has developed, from the aforementioned artists to Derek Trucks, Susan Tedeschi,
Robert Randolph, Joshua Redman, Kenny Garrett, Fred Wesley, The Roots, Ivan Neville
and so many others, speak volumes about both how versatile these talented musicians are.
Jazz, hip-hop, rock, soul, funk, R & B, Blues – musically, there is not much the band
hasn’t done.
In developing their own history,
Soulive has been in the company of legends both
new and old. In 2000, Bruce Lundvall signed the
band to Blue Note Records and Soulive became
part of recorded music’s greatest jazz legacy.
Soulive joined the ranks of Miles Davis, John
Coltrane, Jimmy Smith, Wayne Shorter and Grant
Green and was part of the niche label’s rise
as Norah Jones captivated the nation. Six years
later, Soulive would be the first band signed
to the new incarnation of Stax Records, joining
the incredible soul tradition built by the likes
of Isaac Hayes, Sam and Dave, and Otis Redding.
Soulive has always been creatively
restless, never content to ride a sound (or a
look) for too long. The band has led their fans
through many incarnations: both male & female
singers, a horn section, and repeated returns
to the trio format. The band and the fans have
endured, grown and morphed. Consistent through
all of the different line-ups, though, was the
groove – Neal’s club-shaking left hand pounding
out bass lines, Alan’s
ride propelling the music forward, and Eric’s
solos soaring on top. Every show has that moment
where Neal leans on the organ up high and the
whole band breaks free. Every Soulive fan knows
that moment. That is something that has never
changed.
While ten years is something
to celebrate, Soulive is not a band to look backward.
The band is more concentrated on the future than
concerned with revisiting its past. Unencumbered
by record contract and fully equipped with a
state-of-the-art recording studio, Soulive is
embracing the new music business model by launching
their own record label, “Royal Family Records.” With a focus on
digital distribution, the label will be an outlet
for all Soulive recordings as well as numerous
Soulive affiliated projects such as Lettuce,
Eric’s project “Chapter 2”, Alan’s and Neal’s
solo records and Break Science featuring Adam
Detch. The label will also sign emerging talent
and develop them on tour with Soulive. The first
artist to join up is soul singer Nigel Hall,
who will release an EP this spring and join the
band on the road.
Soulive will launch their label
with the release of their new studio effort Up
Here. The LP was recorded in Alan’s new
studio in Hatfield, Mass in the fall of 2008.
"This is the Soulive album I've always wanted
to record – it’s
what I've been hearing in my head for years,"
says Alan, who also tracked and mixed the record.
"It's like when people say ‘if I
could go back in time knowing what I know now.’ Well,
that's what we did with Up Here. The session
had the vibe and energy of Get Down but
with all of our experiences from the past 10
years put down on tape in a very meaningful way."
The record’s opening track “Upright” immediately
sets the tone with a completely infectious hook
featuring Neal on an old upright piano. There
are some nods to the “oldschool”
on the record. “For Granted” is a tip of the
hat to Grant Green, and Eric plays licks reminiscent
of his early solos on Get Down and Turn It
Out.
Guest vocalist Nigel Hall tears it up on “Too
Much” while Eric’s guitar sings like D’Angelo
on the laid-back grind of “Put on Yo Pajamas.” The
entire record features tight horn arrangements
from long-time Soulive collaborators and friends,
Sam Kininger and Ryan Zoidis.
No matter how you
listen to Up Here, it sounds like you’re listening
to vintage vinyl. One of the most difficult things
about making a record with a great live band
is capturing all that live energy while still
making the record that’s about songs. Up
Here does as good a job as any record could in accomplishing
this. “Straight up,” says Alan, “this is
the first Soulive album that I can say every
tune on it is my favorite on the album.”
Up Here isn’t the only thing Soulive has on tap
for 2009. The band has a double-live LP recorded
in Japan last summer that will be released as
four separate EPs throughout the year. There
is also a full length live DVD from the same
sessions. Soulive also hopes to have another
studio record ready for public consumption by
the fall.
In his recent book Outliers,
Malcolm Gladwell says it takes ten years of experience
before anyone can really hit their stride. If
he is right, then Soulive fans better watch the
hell out. |
