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On his fourth full-length solo album, ‘Always,’ songwriter-producer Eric Krasno celebrates the permanence of family, in a time when the world seems especially unstable. The album’s third single, “Alone Together,” released today, is about the beauty that can be created between two people in solitude. “You and I, alone together now,” Krasno sings. “I didn’t know we could create something divine an innocent in a time so cold.”
“Alone Together was written a few weeks into lockdown in 2020 as my wife was 2 months pregnant,” Krasno says. “The song is about silver linings, starting a family, and finding light in dark times. The production (Otis McDonald) leans into a psych-rock sound, which makes it a stand-out track.”
With his forthcoming release, Eric Krasno — the Soulive and Lettuce co-founder, singer, multi-instrumentalist, and two-time GRAMMY® Award-winning guitarist — defines himself as not only an artist, but also as a husband, father, and man, across ten tracks with inimitable instrumentation, eloquent songcraft, and raw honesty. “Before 2020, I was having a good time, but I wasn’t grounded at all,” he explains. “I was going from gig to gig. I was always running around without a purpose. During the last year, I found my people in terms of my wife and son. I’ve created a family who will always be there for me. That’s what the album is about.”
Something of a musical journeyman, Krasno’s extensive catalog comprises three solo albums, four Lettuce albums, twelve Soulive albums, and production and/or songwriting for Norah Jones, Robert Randolph, Pretty Lights, Talib Kweli, 50 Cent, Aaron Neville, and Allen Stone. As a dynamic performer, he’s shared stages with Rolling Stones, Dave Matthews Band, John Mayer, and The Roots. Out of seven nominations, he picked up two GRAMMY® Awards for his role as a songwriter and guitarist on Tedeschi Trucks Band’s ‘Revelator’ and guitarist on Derek Trucks Band’s ‘Already Free.’
But as the Global Pandemic 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 connected with musician and producer Otis McDonald and collaborated on a version of Bob Dylan’s “The Man In Me,” a song that had taken on a deeper significance for Krasno in recent years. “My wife and I got married, bought a house, and had a baby,” he recalls. “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’.”
Recording first virtually and then at the Bay Area’s legendary Hyde Street Studios, famous for 2Pac, Grateful Dead, and Digital Underground, Krasno and McDonald tapped into a shared spirit as co-producers, ultimately forming 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. The release of “Alone Together” follows “Silence,” which explores the emotional havoc that a lack of communication can wreak on the human psyche. “The silent treatment can make your mind spiral into the darkest place where you assume the worst situation is inevitable,” Krasno comments.
In the end, Krasno welcomes everyone to be a part of his family on ‘Always.’ “If you take away a message of love and the Always concept, that’s great,” he leaves off. “Most of all, I want to put you in a happy place. In the past, I personally just felt like I was a guitarist, songwriter, and a producer. Now, I feel like a fully formed artist.”
‘Always’ by Eric Krasno
1. Silence
2. So Cold
3. Lost Myself
4. Man in Me
5. Alone Together
6. Where I Belong
7. Leave Me Alone
8. Good Thing
9. Hold Tight
10. Always With You
Eric Krasno Online:
https://www.erickrasno.com/
