After two decades of playing guitar in multiple bands, writing songs for dozens of artists, and producing several Grammy winners, Eric Krasno took on a different endeavor: lead singer. The veteran of such groups as Soulive and Lettuce headed to the country, turning a barn in rural Maine into a makeshift studio and emerging with the basic tracks for his solo effort and the debut of his vocal talent on Blood From A Stone. We spoke to Krasno from his Brooklyn home the morning after the album’s release about the new record, the new challenge of singing, and the prospect of Maine becoming the new Brooklyn.
One aspect of your new record that I like is that it feels like an album should, like the old LPs used to feel; with a gatefold, credits, photos, cover art, etc…
Thank you. I like to hold things in my hand, peruse the credits. I like artwork attached to the album. Someone said to me the other day that albums are just playlists. I said, “No, that’s not what I’m doing here.” I still listen to vinyl all the time. I love to sit there and get lost in that world.
Is it wrong to be surprised an album this soulful and funky comes out of Maine and not your home studio in Brooklyn?
One thing that sparks creativity for me is being in a place that doesn’t overrun my senses. Going to Maine, for me, could’ve been Vermont. It could’ve been New Hampshire. I was outside the city. I generally had my phone turned off. I wasn’t rushing around trying to do other things. I was in a world I was ushered into by a guy named Dave Gutter, who co-wrote the album with me, and Jon Roods, who are part of a group called Rustic Overtones, and Ryan Zoidis, who is also in Lettuce. Rustic Overtones is a band I’ve been a fan of for many years.
Was there something about that place that was particularly inspiring?
It was really about being in the space. Originally I was just going there to hang out and write—kind of take a little vacation. I filled up my car with some gear and went up there. Dave and I got together, and in the first day we wrote four songs that are on the album. I knew this wasn’t just throwing stuff at the wall. We were really getting at something.
So once you felt that, you started making the album?
We literally ran around town filling Ryan’s station wagon with gear. Everyone in town knew Lettuce. Everyone knew Soulive. All these people started coming by the studio. Nigel Hall was in town. The London Souls were there. It was like this weird vortex, and we were just having a blast. We’d take a break and go to the lake or go for a hike. There was no pressure. That’s how it came together.
Were you thinking you were making your solo record?
We were experimenting with the sounds as we were writing the songs. We were like kids playing around in the mud. What started out as a writing session became an album. I came home to Brooklyn with 30 songs. Some became songs for Tedeschi Trucks. Some for Aaron Neville. So it was a really productive week.
You went to Maine to get away from everything and actually found quite a bit of activity. Was that ever a distraction?
It just excited me more and more.
So, it was the right kind of distraction?
Yeah. I plan on doing more and more there. I like the idea of getting away.
Is Maine the new Brooklyn?
It could be. There’s amazing food up there. There’s amazing coffee. All the things we love here. And the summertime is just beautiful.
The old gear, the space, the time; it sounds like it all allowed you to be inspired sonically to write the songs, as opposed to using the modern technology of a home studio to mimic the gear and the space.
That’s a really, really important thing that people don’t talk about. The sounds have to inspire you as you’re playing it. As a producer, I have so many artists say, “Let’s just get it done and we’ll mix it however.” I’m like, “No, no, no. The performance is affected by how you’re hearing it.”
That’s why this record is so important. “Jezebel” wouldn’t have been written like that if it didn’t sound that way. The drums sounded a certain way, so we started playing this Zombies, ‘60s sort of vibe. It was all one inspiration unfolding in front of us. Not to mention the old tape machine was making noise. You can hear the noise on the record. (Laughs)
What took so long for you to sing on record?
Part of it was being around such great singers. I’ve tried to do this many times, and a lot of times my attempts at doing this turned into making other people’s albums. Nigel Hall’s album—half the album was out of demos that I made. When I met him and he started singing them, I was like, These are your songs.
So singing isn’t brand new for you?
I’ve been singing since I was a kid. I was in musicals, and choir in high school. Part of it, for me, was that it wasn’t “cool,” once I got a guitar in my hand. I was always writing songs on the side, and demoing them in my home. I’ve got hundreds of tracks on my hard drives.
How do you go from years of demos to trying the real thing? What changed?
Dave Gutter really kicked me in the butt. He would say, “Dude, you should be doing this.” I wasn’t a fan of those acrobatic singers. That’s not me. I’m not going to even try and do that. I love Bob Dylan and Jerry Garcia. They are what they are. The most important thing about listening to them is their style, the honesty in their performance. It took me awhile to own mine. Not to mention being just straight-up busy. It’s hard to say to your best friends, “You know this thing we built for 20 years, you go do that and I’m going to go do something else.”
As a lead singer, it is intimidating? Is it a different mindset from being the guitar player?
I would say intimidating. First off, there are people who have really worked at the craft for a million years. When you jump out of doing what you’ve been known for doing, it becomes something else, and people are going to question it. You’ve got to take that as inspiration. Making the record, I was in a contained environment. I could try all these things. Live, you are out there. And, it’s a physical thing, too. If you are not feeling well, or can’t hear yourself well, you can totally fall flat, literally.
What’s that been like, singing live?
It’s been really exciting. I hear myself getting better, performance-wise. I learn new stuff on guitar, but I know my guitar now. I don’t know my voice yet, all the way.
Do you think maybe you were looking for a new challenge, subconsciously? That guitar wasn’t providing you the same motivation as it had in times past?
That could be true. It’s kind of igniting this thing inside of me that hasn’t been there in a while. I don’t know if that was my initial intent, but it’s there. Everyday I’m practicing again. It brings me back to college. It’s fun.
How have you managed to avoid the star trap of such a successful career as yours?
I don’t love attention in that way. Sure, I love the respect, when people say nice things about the music. That makes me feel awesome. I would never want to be the guy that can’t go to the coffee shop. Also, my blessing and my curse is that I love so many different styles of music. I’ve never been able to say, “This is what I do.” I’m switching it up constantly. That’s why I love being a producer. It excites me and it allows me to be in the shadows. The people that do know me are pretty informed about music. I enjoy that.
It sounds more organic than by design.
I think that it’s meant to be.
Will your singing aspirations cross into bands like Soulive or Lettuce?
I doubt it, but I can’t say for sure. We have a Soulive album that’s mostly done, that we did with Pretty Lights. That’s going to be mostly instrumental. I don’t know how things will collide. That’s a good question. I’m really fortunate that I’m in bands with my friends, and we communicate. We have this open door. Soulive is never going to end. Same with Lettuce. We’re family. I may not do this upcoming tour with Lettuce, but they’re cool about it. It’s all hugs. I’m lucky to have people that I play with that are all so understanding.
Speaking of instrumentals, the lone track on the album without a vocal is the phenomenal “Curse Lifter,” on which you play with Derek Trucks. What I love about it is how ‘lived in’ the song sounds. There isn’t that, “here’s the guest guitar spot.” It’s got this quality that makes it feel as though you two have been playing it together for years.
That’s my favorite comment I’ve gotten so far about the album. That is really what I wanted. I always knew I wanted to do something with Derek, but not, here’s my song, and there’s him playing a solo that he overdubbed from Florida and sent by email. I don’t know if it fits my album, but I just want people to hear this.
If not for the fact that it’s an instrumental on an album of otherwise vocal tracks, I could see “Curse Lifter” as a valid album title.
The title track isn’t on the album. I was calling it Blood From A Stone for a year because of that (title) track. I was so used to the name. We tried the song “Blood From A Stone” in every possible spot, but it never worked. I’m just going to put it out as its own track.
You worked with Aaron Neville on his record, and now will join him on August 4 at the Apollo Theatre to celebrate his 75th birthday. Tell me what that experience has been like.
That’s one of those gigs I’ll never, ever forget. It is one of the most incredible things I’ve done, or will ever do. It’s one of those dream gigs. I’ve been a fan of his forever. He actually heard the demos of Blood From A Stone, and brought me in the studio. When I met with him, he said, Here is what I want to do. He hands me all these poems. He said, I want you to turn these into songs. We went to Vermont, didn’t really sleep, and wrote 17 songs out of those poems. The greatest thing about it is that before this he has never really been a part of the entire process of making a record. In this case, he co-wrote all of the songs and was there for the mixing and mastering. He’d never done that in fifty-some years. He was excited, having a blast. By the end it was high fives and hugs. It was pretty surreal.
Both you and Aaron have found the benefit of challenging yourself, of trying new things, at the same time.
It’s pretty cool. The timing couldn’t have been better. All the elements came together perfectly.
