Thu, Sep 17th | LA Weekly & Goldenvoice Present:

Soulive with The Shady Horns and Special Guest Nigel Hall, & Mike Relm



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 South Deerfield, 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 “old-school” 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.


http://www.royalfamilyrec...om/soulive

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09/17/09 Soulive Los Angeles CA The El Rey Theater
09/18/09 Soulive Sebastopol CA The Hopmonk Tavern
09/19/09 Soulive Monterey CA Monterey Jazz Festival (With Special Guest John Scofield)
09/22/09 Soulive Oakland CA Yoshi's
09/23/09 Soulive Oakland CA Yoshi's
09/24/09 Soulive San Fransisco CA Yoshi's
09/25/09 Soulive San Fransisco CA Yoshi's

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tA

Tribal Disorder

http://www.soundclick.com...dID=182431

that keyboard player is unreal

Saw 'em about 8 years ago as a trip opening for Leon Russel in a small club.

They wuz awesome! Been buyin' their discs since.

I tried to get our local club to snag 'em for a weeknight gig a few months ago when they were on their way from El Paso to Denver. Santa Fe would have been a convenient stopping place.

Club owner didn't pursue it. I think he's nutz.

I'd love to see 'em with a horn section.

I hope you go, tA and give us a review.

japanrocks said:

"Mr. Magic"

tA

Tribal Disorder

http://www.soundclick.com...dID=182431

DakutiusMaximus said:

I plan on being deep in that mother.


tA

Tribal Disorder

http://www.soundclick.com...dID=182431

theAudience said:

Pics, too!!!!!




...

paligap said:

I'll see what I can do.


tA

Tribal Disorder

http://www.soundclick.com...dID=182431

I can't make it. You still down FL next week?
Like I said in PM, I'm faded from here. Still, make sure you cop CHAIR IN THE DOORWAY. I know you'll dig it. It'll make the trip much more enjoyable (though you may kick yourself for missing LC live!)

PFunkjazz said:

Yeah, i'm taking off this Sunday and won't be back for a week.
Will check the album though for sure.


tA

Tribal Disorder

http://www.soundclick.com...dID=182431

One thing I have to say about these guys, who I consider true musicians, i've never heard them put on a bad show. There have been times when the sound wasn't the best (due to the venue's system), but they've never played badly.

Another thing is that they never let their technical ability as musicians get in the way of their main objective...To ROCK the MF House!!!

The opening act was their part-time vocalist Nigel Hall doing a few songs accompanying himself on Fender Rhodes.

Guitarist Eric Krasno came out to help on Never Know (from No Place Like Soul).
The highlight of Hall's set was a super soulful treatment of Leon Russell's A Song For You (dedicated to Donnie Hathaway) assisted by Alan Evans on drums and Neal Evans on keys/key-bass.


And then the party started...



...Neal Evans - keys/key-bass ("Mr. Magic")




...Alan Evans - drums & vocals




...Eric Krasno - guitar




...Ryan Zoidis - bari/tenor sax & Sam Kininger - alto sax (The Shady Horns)




...Nigel Hall - vocals



It's extremely refreshing to see what is primarily an instrumental group thrive in this current American music climate.
It's interesting to note that in Japan they're considered supermen.









Their encore consisted of a James Brown medley.
What was left of the house (pre-encore) was subsequently burned to the ground.



tA

Tribal Disorder

http://www.soundclick.com...dID=182431

Lovely photos and I'm so envious I wasn't there. A JB medley for the encrore? Dayam!!!

Alan has this tiny little kit but his drum sound is totally crucial to the Soulive sound. It's like watching magic to see all that rhythym coming out of those few drums.

DakutiusMaximus said:

It was a great show.

Mike Clark proved on the Thrust album that you don't need an a$$load of drums to groove a band.


tA

Tribal Disorder

http://www.soundclick.com...dID=182431

Yeah, tru dat, tA.

I was thinking back to when I first saw Soulive 7 or 8 years ago. Alan was travelling with a kick, a snare, a tom, a high hat and two cymbals, that's it.

It looked like a little kid's first set but it sure didn't sound like that.

I see by the excellent photos you provided that he's added another tom and cymbal but by any standard this is still a pretty spare set.

At the other end of the spectrum (hey, I just made an unintended musical pun ) I saw Billy Cobham with George Duke in the early 70's and he has so many drums you could barely even see him.

I see he's cut his battery down quite a bit since the old days. Now we can at least tell what he looks like





When I saw him he had a semi-ciruclar array of about 10 scaled toms up top and another similar sized row of roto toms behind that and a veritable forrest of cymbals.
[Edited 9/19/09 11:06am]