waiting on your love

Eric Krasno and Band with Host Darren DeVivo at WFUV

Guitar whiz Eric Krasno has made a name for himself not only through his time in the bands Soulive and Lettuce, but also from his work as a songwriter, session guitarist, and producer with many different artists. Now, he takes a little time out for himself. Krasno has just released his first solo album, Blood From A Stone. He's also just produced Aaron Neville’s new album, Apache.

This first foray as a frontman sees Krasno singing for the first time, but it’s not the first time he has written songs for vocals. In fact, the origins of Blood From A Stone came from sessions in which he thought he was working on songs that others would sing. In time, it became obvious that these were songs that Krasno was meant to sing.

Dave Gutter from the band, Rustic Overtones, helped Krasno write most on the songs on Blood From A Stone, which also features a guest appearance from Derek Trucks.

When Krasno and his band visited FUV's Studio A, he discussed the sessions that led him to this brand new album.

Blood From A Stone Out Now

Eric Krasno has officially released his second solo album, Blood From A Stone, via his own label, Feel Music / Round Hill. The record, which features appearances by Derek Trucks, as well as members of Soulive, Lettuce and The London Souls, reveals a previously unknown and utterly compelling side of Krasno's artistry, as he both literally and metaphorically finds his voice.

Eric Krasno Takes His Music In New Directions On 'Blood From A Stone' [Live For Live Music Review]

Grammy-award winning guitarist Eric Krasno (Soulive/Lettuce) has unveiled a tremendous solo offering in Blood From a Stone, a significant departure from the sound that fans have come to know over his nearly two decades making music. Released on his own Feel Music Group imprint, the new record finds Krasno exploring various blends of pop-song craftsmanship dipped in bluesy psychedelia, thundering drums, and an analog vibe that courses through its vintage veins. Most surprisingly, it is not Krasno's legendary guitar prowess that takes center stage, but instead his voice; Krasno sings lead on nearly every song on the record, and the results are downright staggering. 

As one-third of NYC jazz-hop legends Soulive, a founding member of funk behemoth Lettuce, an in-demand studio producer (Krasno has produced records for everyone from Aaron Neville to The London Souls to Nigel Hall), celebrated hip-hop producer (Fyre Dept. with Adam Deitch), and also logging time as touring bassist with Tedeschi Trucks Band, the soft-spoken guitarist has been in the game for what seems like forever. More recently, he has become a sought-after writer for a diverse and eclectic group of recording artists. After holing up in Portland, Maine with Dave Gutter (Rustic Overtones) for a long songwriting session, Kraz found himself penning material he soon imagined sung in his own voice. 

"I've been writing songs with vocals for other people for a while. With these songs, we initially wrote them thinking others would sing them, so when I was in the studio with different artists, sometimes I'd introduce one of the tracks and they'd record it, but it wouldn't necessarily work out. Eventually, I realized it was because I'd written these songs for myself," said Krasno. 

Ryan Zoidis (Lettuce's Shady Horns, and also a member of Rustic Overtones) configured a minimalist assortment of vintage gear and set up a barn studio space, while Gutter and Krasno hammered out the material. Within a short time, a story arc of love, loss and redemption was developed, as both men were picking up the pieces at the end of relationships. The duo began to shape the vision and sound of the forthcoming album, a tight and calculated assortment of pop songs rich in lyric, melody, with sugary choruses and a strong emotional quotient. The sessions were initially intended to be demos, though it became apparent early on that this session was destined for Blood From a Stone. 

Krasno: "The recording process was fun because we really thought we were just doing writing sessions. There was no pressure. We set up a studio where the Rustic Overtones [Gutter and Ryan Zoidis’ former band] are based up in Maine and brought in a bunch of gear. I contributed some guitars, amps and mics, while Ryan pieced together a tape machine and basically built a studio for this session. Chris St. Hilaire and Stu Mahan from The London Souls came up and helped out putting down the initial tracks. It was great because we were writing the songs and recording at the same time. The band would be putting down parts, while Dave was writing a bridge in the other room. It was like we were in a little song factory for those few days. We came out of that sessions with maybe a dozen songs and the tracks sounded killer. I have to say that Ryan Zoidis and Jon Roods, also in Rustic Overtones, did a great job recording everything. We used minimal gear, but it was done right and that is mostly what you hear on the record." 

It's plain to hear from the opener (and first single) "Waiting On Your Love" that Kraz is serious about this singing business. Where he has been hiding this mojo is beyond me, as his confident swagger is light years beyond the rare glimpses of vocals we have heard from him over the years. Much like his emotive guitar playing, Krasno's voice is a classy instrument wealthy in tone and conviction. The big and greasy first salvo harkens back to the colors and textures found on Lenny Kravitz's masterful Circus, a record that itself marries the contemporary and vintage with style and grace. Throw in a tidbit of late-70's fuzz-box guitar-rock, a smidgen of Tame Impala, and a healthy pour of the bluesman's burden, and you have Blood From A Stone's sonic DNA. 

A Huffington Post Conversation with Eric Krasno

Mike Ragogna: Eric, you’re mostly known as a Grammy-award winning artist who produces, composes and plays innovative guitar. However, your new album Blood From A Stone features your vocals for the first time. How do you think you did? Which vocals are you most proud of?

Eric Krasno: I really love how the vocals turned out. My main goal was to deliver the songs with as much honesty and conviction as I could. I think the vocals on “When The Day Comes” were my strongest. I recorded this one toward the end of the album process after I’d been working on my singing a bit more. I’m no Stevie Wonder, but I think we put together some great vocal performances. I’m excited to record the next album now and get even deeper into the vocal side of my work.

MR: Was this collection of songs created specifically for this album or are any of them songs you and co-writer David Gutter stockpiled from other writing adventures?

EK: Most of the time we were just recording and writing without an exact purpose. Sometimes after the song was done we’d say, “This one would be great for Susan [Tedeschi] or imagine Aaron Neville singing this!” In certain cases that actually happened. We’d also have moments like, “Oh yeah, this one is for your record [EK]” 

MR: How do you and David write together?

EK: It’s slightly different every time. Sometimes I send him an instrumental with a melody, maybe with a hook idea and he’ll write verse ideas and send it back. If we’re in the same place we’ll sit with a guitar and play each other ideas until something sticks. 

MR: What was the recording process like? 

EK: The recording process was fun because we really thought we were just doing writing sessions. There was no pressure. We set up a studio where the Rustic Overtones [Gutter and Ryan Zoidis’ former band] are based up in Maine and brought in a bunch of gear. I contributed some guitars, amps and mics, while Ryan pieced together a tape machine and basically built a studio for this session. Chris St. Hilaire and Stu Mahan from The London Souls came up and helped out putting down the initial tracks. It was great because we were writing the songs and recording at the same time. The band would be putting down parts, while Dave was writing a bridge in the other room. It was like we were in a little song factory for those few days. We came out of that sessions with maybe a dozen songs and the tracks sounded killer. I have to say that Ryan Zoidis and Jon Roods, also in Rustic Overtones, did a great job recording everything. We used minimal gear, but it was done right and that is mostly what you hear on the record.

MR: Do you feel there is a conceptual theme linking the material on Blood From A Stone?

EK: Both Dave and I were going through break ups when the album was being written so a lot of the material came out of that and relationships gone wrong—“Please Ya,” “Waiting On Your Love,” “Torture,” “Jezebel,” “When The Day Comes”… Some were also written in the rise from the ashes so to speak—“On The Rise,” “Unconditional Love”. Musically, my guitar also plays a thematic role throughout, there’s always a guitar solo or melody coming at some point in every song. 

MR: Did you bring in any techniques or things you learned from working with other artists?

EK: Definitely. I learn a ton from every album I work on. I try to absorb as much as I can every time I work with a new artist. I’ve been very lucky to work with some great ones.

MR: What do you think of today’s popular music?

Grammy Winner Eric Krasno Drops Bluesy 'Waiting On Your Love': Exclusive Billboard Premiere

Watch "Waiting On Your Love" at Billboard.com

Soulive and Lettuce co-founder and guitarist, Grammy winner, and producer for just about everyone (he's worked with Talib Kweli, Norah Jones and 50 Cent, to name a few): Eric Krasno has an impressive CV for someone who's only releasing his second solo album two decades into his career.

The experienced Krasno crafted the bulk of upcoming album Blood From a Stone in a handful of days alongside Rustic Overtones' Dave Gutter. "We didn't realize we were actually making the record, so there was no pressure, and that let us experiment in really cool ways," Krasno explained. "There's a lot of rawness to the recordings, and that really bled into the performances and my vocal delivery."

Blood From a Stone and lead single "Waiting On Your Love" (premiering exclusively below) mark a change from Krasno's earlier funk-imbued style to a more structured blues and R&B-influenced sound. "Growing up, I listened to Hendrix, the Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, and the Grateful Dead, along with a lot of hip-hop," Krasno recalled. "When I linked up with Soulive, we played instrumental music, and that's the path I’ve mostly been on ever since. This record loops back to those initial bands and songs I loved, but with the added experience and influence of the past 20 years."

Krasno described "Waiting On Your Love" as "a song about moving on. Realizing you can’t wait any longer on something that isn’t there." Sonically, it's a mix of his varied influences. "It's blues, but psychedelic, and has a hip-hop feel at the same time. The hypnotic vibe is a good introduction for what’s to follow."

Krasno utilized the city of New Orleans and its resources for the single's music video, enlisting skilled local faves Mike Bertel, Alex Glustrom, and Ben McKay for the colorful clip. "For the initial shots in the video, we actually hopped a fence and snuck in to an old rundown factory building in New Orleans," Krasno said. "At one point I’m standing with my guitar on a rail at the top of a seven story building acting like everything was cool, but thinking ‘damn, I could fall deep into the abyss from here.'"

"Waiting On Your Love" marks Krasno's first single featuring his vocals. "It's something I didn’t know was there," Kresno said. "I would have been totally content just being a guitar player and writing songs for other people, but this inspiration just happened, and I'm really glad it did, because it's changed things. I didn't know I had this in me."

Watch "Waiting On Your Love" at Billboard.com

New Single, 'Waiting On Your Love,' Out Now!

Yesterday, Eric Krasno announced the release of his new solo record, "Blood From A Stone" with a premiere at the Wall Street Journal. Today, that single - "Waiting On Your Love" - is available digitally at all major outlets.

iTunes | Apple Music | Spotify | Amazon