Interview | On The Record With Eric Krasno
By Team JamBase Dec 17, 2014 • 10:40 am PST
Words By: Chadbyrne R. Dickens
Sitting in the cozy wooden enclave, above four flights of metal stairs behind the stage at the glorious venue in New York City, Brooklyn Bowl, I sat down to have a chat with one of the most prolific guitarists in our scene as he prepared for a gig with his band. With a demeanor that is soft-spoken and articulate, it was like sitting with Clark Kent pre-transformation into Superman. Eric “Kraz” Krasno has been delighting fans in the jam sphere with his subtle and nuanced professional style of guitar, and patented pleasant facial grimaces, for nearly two decades – most notably as the co-founder of funk powerhouse Lettuce and as the co-founder of jazz juggernaut Soulive.
Among other things, this busy renaissance man has written songs and produced albums for other artists, released a solo album, created a record label, been a DJ and even managed to be a part-time bass player for Tedeschi Trucks Band. He has opened for bands like The Rolling Stones and his list of sit-ins is a veritable who’s who of industry stalwarts. One could take for granted someone so prevalent in the arena and that would be a mistake. Kraz is always presenting varied and fresh material and annually impressing sold-out audiences as part of the Bowlive experience of Soulive shows at Brooklyn Bowl. We had a fruitful and informative chat session that was only interrupted once by fellow guitarist Adam “Schmeans” Smirnoff, so they could discuss chord progressions on a song featured on the soon-to-be-released Lettuce album. Kraz has accomplished so much already and isn’t even 40-years-old. We can all relish in what he has in store for us in the years to come.
JAMBASE: What guitarist impresses you with their live performance?
ERIC KRASNO: I love Tash (Neal) from London Souls and he is one of my favorites. I always like hearing Derek Trucks who to me is the best slide player and one of the best ever, so I’m fortunate to be around people like that. John Scofield too, but as far as new guys, Tash has been blowing my mind.
JB: You recently sat-in with Dumpstaphunk and 11 year old Brandon “Taz” Niederauer. What’s your thoughts on Taz?
EK: I love Taz. He is incredible. I have never seen anyone play like that at that age.
JB: What original song composition are you most proud of?
EK: Oh man. That’s a really tough one. There is a lot of new stuff that I have been working on that I feel really good about. The Aaron Neville record that I am producing and that we co-wrote together with Dave Gutter has a lot of stuff on it that I am excited about. I have a lot of stuff on my solo record too that I really dig and am really proud of. I’m gonna finally get Nigel’s (Hall) record out that we worked on years ago. We are set to hear lots of new stuff, as 2015 has a lot of records coming out.
JB: What is your favorite venue to perform at?
EK: You know, I have to say that the Brooklyn Bowl is kind of like my home venue. I feel comfortable here. I know and love the people that work here and I live down the street. I’ve played here I think more than anywhere else and more than anyone else. For me, Red Rocks and The Fillmore in San Francisco are also standouts.
JB: With two exemplary guitar players in Lettuce – what is it like playing off of/with Schmeans?
EK: Incredible. He is my favorite rhythm guitar player out there and an incredible lead guitar player too. So I’ve learned from him over the years – he has been a mentor, a peer and a friend. You know, the whole Lettuce experience, we are all best friends, we have known each other since we were 15. Playing with all these guys, I feel like I owe everything to playing with them because they pushed me when I was young and we all still push each other in and out of Lettuce.
JB: You have opened for The Rolling Stones, DMB, John Mayer etc – what is the best lesson you learned from the old guard/more established musicians?
EK: Have fun has always been it. If you are not having fun with what you are doing then you are doing something wrong. Music is for uplifting people and in order for people to feel that you have to feel that. It is always hard work, don’t get me wrong, but you need to have fun with it and love what you are doing. I have been so fortunate with Lettuce and Soulive to be with people that I love working with and we have all been able to make room for each other to do other things and that is a key to longevity. From doing a lot of projects with other people, I have come to realize how lucky I am to work with people and be part of a scene where I learn from all of them.
JB: You went to Berklee School of Music – do you recommend that route for aspiring musicians?
EK: I was there for one semester before heading to Hampshire College which was perfect for me. But it was at Berklee where I met the members of Lettuce and a lot of other great players I still work with. Everyone has their own path, but I found a mentor and a bunch of talented musician friends that were my age and being around them was the best part of that. It is a great place and I think right now it has evolved to be even better.
JB: How is your solo record different from the Soulive/Lettuce records?
EK: I was doing a lot of songwriting and singing and I was working with a Japanese label and I ended up putting it out independently in the US. Many songs were recorded at different times, but I thread it together as eras that groove differently for a guitarist. I did some ‘60s rock, some Hendrix, some blues, some Jeff Beck…it is a compilation of sorts and I called it “Reminisce” because I was looking back on the eras that influenced me. It is different because it is an eclectic mixed bag. My next record is so different and so me – songs I have written that I have held onto rather than giving to others as I have so often done in the past. It should be finished in January.
JB: Was there a specific moment in your career when you felt content like you had officially arrived?
EK: That hasn’t happened yet. Well, there have been a few moments. Stevie Wonder sat in with us one time and I remember waking up and being like “I can retire happy now.” Also, we played with Chaka Khan and the Allman Brothers (who I grew up listening to) and playing with Phil Lesh recently was cool, as I was a big Deadhead when I was a kid. The Rolling Stones was the moment where my supportive parents were ultimately convinced.
JB: Tell me about the new Lettuce record – when will it drop?
EK: I don’t know the release date but in the spring time. We will be done mixing the 20 tracks this week. It is down to two titles and we need to decide. There will be a lot of new music coming from us and we need to decide how to release it. It is by far the best thing we have done. We are back working with Joel Hamilton who we worked with on the “Rage!” album.
JB: What are some of the musicians you have listened to in the past week?
EK:Tame Impala, especially the Lonerism album. Also, The London Souls – because I have been in the studio with them producing their record and they are incredible.
JB: What is your favorite guitar solo from a studio cut?
EK: “Something” by The Beatles -One of my favorites and it is so lyrical. (note: Kraz covered “Something” on Soulive’s Rubber Soulive album in 2010)
JB: Nice. You got that fast. The majority of guitarists I interview say Gilmour.
EK: Gilmour is a big one. He is so good at that. When you first asked, that popped into my mind. As a studio guitar player he is one of my favorites.
JB: Will we see you play more bass with TTB or elsewhere? How did that start?
EK: I hope so. I’ve worked on both of their albums and written songs with Susan. The last two albums with them I wrote a bunch. I wrote with David Gutter and Sonja Mitchell on those. I would always be in the studio putting down the demo tracks with those guys and one day just started playing bass on the demos. I often play bass on my projects I produce like the London Souls. We are such tight friends so they just asked me to play on the road. I’m actually a bass player first. I don’t play a ton now so it was a challenge to play two hours a night. It was an awesome experience but when I sit-in now I play the guitar. It is awesome to do lead stuff with Derek and we did some acoustic stuff together at the Beacon. I’m starting a new label called Feel Music Group and partnering with Sony Red and a company called Round Hill Music and we are creating a new label and the first release is the London Souls to be released in late spring that I produced and played some bass on. We are set to release a lot of new material.
JB: How did Bowlive come to fruition? Peter Shapiro?
EK: It was Shapiro and my brother, Jeff Krasno, who was managing Soulive at that time. At the time, Peter came up to me at the Beacon Theatre when I was with ABB and was like, “I want to do 2 weeks next year at my bowling alley!” I was like, “huh?” When he first said it I was totally like, “what?” Weeks later I came and saw the space being built out and when things had got running. I am so thankful. It has become a thing that people come from all over to join in. It is stylistically all over the place with guests and people dig that because the main thread is that it is soulful. We change it up, but Marco and George Porter will probably always be there.
JB: What are your plans for New Years Eve this year?
EK: I am playing with Soulive in Portland, Maine and the Rustic Overtones – my writing partner Dave is the singer and they are a legendary band in Portland. We are doing a masquerade thing at the State Theatre.
JB: Who would you want to play you in a movie?
EK: Oh wow. Wow. Do they have to look like me? That’s really tough. This is going to sound random, but I’m gonna go with Ryan Zoidis, our saxophone player, he would do the best job because he can imitate me perfectly.
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