Very few things last forever. Family does though. In the face of trauma, trials, and tribulations, it weathers every storm. Eric Krasno consecrates, commends, and celebrates the permanence of family on his fourth full-length solo offering, Always. The Soulive and Lettuce co-founder, singer, multi-instrumentalist, and two-time GRAMMY® Award-winning songwriter-producer defines himself as not only an artist, but also as a husband, father, and man across these ten tracks with inimitable instrumentation, eloquent songcraft, and raw honesty.
As the Global Pandemic irrevocably changed the world’s plans, he found himself thinking a lot and writing just as much. At the suggestion of old Lettuce bandmate Adam Deitch, he followed musician and producer Otis McDonald on social media. They conversed online until Otis asked him to contribute to the SongAid performance series. Bob Dylan’s “The Man In Me” had recently taken on a deeper significance for Eric, so they covered the tune in support of NAACP and uncorked instant creative chemistry.
“During the past two years, my wife and I got married, bought a house, and had a baby,” he recalls. “When she was pregnant, I kept hearing ‘The Man In Me.’ I had heard the song many times before, but it had never quite hit me the way it was hitting me. I recorded it with just acoustic guitar and vocals, and I loved what Otis did to it. He sent it back to me, and I thought, ‘This is exactly how I want to make my next record.’ I wanted it to sound like a band but knock like a hip-hop record. We didn’t even have to talk about it. We were going to do the album.”
The initial sessions took place virtually, but as life took on some semblance of normalcy, Eric ventured up to the Bay Area’s legendary Hyde Street Studios famous for 2Pac, Grateful Dead, and Digital Underground to record face-to-face. Even though “90% of the record happened online,” they managed to tap into a shared spirit as co-producers. They also formed Eric Krasno & The Assembly with Otis on bass, Wil Blades on keys and organ, Curtis Kelly on drums, and James VIII on guitar and vocals.
