PledgeMusic Pre-Order Exclusive Premiere

We're going to keep the new music coming this week. Some of you may have already heard "Torture" (remixed) on Gramatik's album "Age of Reason" or on the trailer for the Netflix show "Narcos."

Here is the original version, streaming exclusively for anyone who has pre-ordered "Blood From A Stone" (Eric's new record) on PledgeMusic.

The PledgeMusic pre-order features everything from Digital Downloads, CDs and Vinyl to Signed Test Pressings, Art Proofs and Skype Guitar Lessons. Get two instant downloads ("Waiting On Your Love" and "On The Rise") when you pre-order the record.

Blood From A Stone is out July 8 on Feel Music.

Hear Eric Krasno and Derek Trucks Team Up on "Curse Lifter" at Guitar World

Eric Krasno—founding member of Soulive and Lettuce—will release his new solo album, Blood from a Stone, July 8.

Although Krasno is best known as a fiery lead guitarist, Blood from a Stone is the first recording to feature Krasno's own vocals. That said, the lone instrumental track on the collection is a collaboration with Krasno’s old friend and longtime collaborator, Derek Trucks. 

"'Curse Lifter' is an homage to Santana, the Allman Brothers Band and some of the bands I grew up listening to," Krasno says. "I’ve always loved guitar harmonies when they’re done the right way. After we recorded the rhythm tracks and listened back, I knew it would be great to have Derek Trucks play on it. We recorded at his studio and just mic’d up two amps in the live room and went for it."

The release of Blood from a Stone comes at a particularly prolific time for Krasno. He's producing new records for Allen Stone, Aaron Neville and the London Souls; he also recently played to a packed house with Lettuce at Red Rocks in Colorado and joined Kamasi Washington and others as part of Bonnaroo’s SuperJam. His solo band will tour the U.S. throughout the remainder of summer and fall.

Grateful Web Interview with Eric Krasno

Grateful Web recently had a chat with Grammy Award-Winning Guitarist, Songwriter, and Producer Eric Krasno. Though his genre-bending guitar work with Lettuce and Soulive garnered widespread acclaim as a virtuosic talent, he is always anonymously working. In conversation with Dylan Muhlberg, Krasno opened up about his superlative debut solo album Blood From A Stone  (out July 8th) and talented new band, exciting upcoming records he produced, and his favorite artists classic and contemporary.

GW: Thanks for joining me Eric.

EK: Yeah. Thanks for having me.

GW: Of course. I’m a long time fan.

You’ve been long established as a solo player and producer in addition to the bands you cofounded. It seems like there’s so much background that inspired Blood From A Stone. Why did you wait until 2016 to release a solo album?

EK: It seemed like the right time. I had been working on a lot of different projects. I actually started on the album in the end of 2012. That was when the concept came together but it took a long time for it all to come to fruition. I had to find the right time to break off and establish a new band. Once I decided I wanted to tour behind it I had to think about when I could actually do that between all of the other projects. I’ve been producing a lot of stuff over these past few years and also started my own label.

I’m kind of glad I took the time because I went back to remix and touch up a few tracks then added some new tracks. There were a lot of factors, even though I was antsy to get it out back in 2013, I’m glad it took a little bit longer.

GW: What you’ve got is a depth full album. It’s not the looser jam stuff of your previous touring acts. This is heavily influenced by R&B and soul music.

And I loved hearing your voice on it. Anyone who’s seen Lettuce and Soulive could attest to your vocal talents, but you’ve never recorded them until Blood From A Stone. Can you talk about your decision to sing on these songs?

EK: Part of the reason I never recorded my vocals before is because I’ve always been in bands with great singers [laughs]. I’ve always been blessed to have Nigel Hall, back in the day Reggie Watts, Susan Tedeschi, or Aaron Neville most recently. I’ve always sung around those people and I’ve written a lot of songs over the years that have ended up on other people’s records. I would always sing the demos. A lot of the time those artists would push me to sing on my own, they’d ask me why don’t I sing it? And I would tell them one day, I’ll put out my record. I needed to figure out what I could record, and then go out and perform.

I’ve had such an eclectic background. I’ve produced hip-hop, R&B, Rock, and pop records. I’ve been all over the place because I really like all of those styles. I knew that my record would have to find something cohesive and fit my vibe and vocal range. I’m still figuring out my vocal range in performing. That was a process and I wanted to do it right. I’ve always been in bands where I would share the lead and there would always be a consensus to it. It’s a lot harder to go out on your own though I did have help on that. Dave Gutter, who co-wrote most of the album with me was a big part of it. He was lead singer of the group Rustic Overtones; he’s a great songwriter who’s worked with amazing artists over the years. When we first got together on this album I wasn’t sure if I was going to sing these songs. The more we got into the project the more Dave encouraged me to sing the songs and further to take them on tour with a band. I owned it during that process which I again why taking a while longer was good.

Continue Reading at GratefulWeb.com

Blank News Interview with Eric Krasno: Bonnaroo Superjam Curator/Soulive/Lettuce

Eric Krasno is not a name you may associate with Bonnaroo. In fact, you may not know his name at all.

Besides curating/performing in this year’s Superjam and performing with Lettuce, Krasno also has his hands in albums from Bonnaroo performers Allen Stone, The London Souls, and Lawrence. He has been involved with curating four Superjams at Bonnaroo, and performed in the festival’s inaugural year.

“It’s been incredible”, says Krasno. “Bonnaroo is a huge thing for me. I get to do it so often. Throughout all of the Superjams, I’ve had the opportunity to meet so many great musicians and players that I’ve ended up collaborating with. It’s a huge part of my musical past.”

Krasno is no stranger to working with different musicians, and creating friendships with them that have influenced his career.

“I had done a collaborative event in New Orleans with Paul Peck, the organizer of Superjam. Him and I became good friends and we got into a good rhythm of working on these things. Over the years, I got used to the rhythm of how that works, putting people together, communicating with people, and putting together setlists. He just kept putting me in there and I’ve always been like “Alright, coach! Let’s go!”. It’s been great and I feel blessed to do it.”

It takes a special appreciation and respect of different genres and musical styles to be able to organize some of the truly unique Superjams that Bonnaroo has provided over the years, which Krasno believes is necessary when curating.

“That’s the big thing,” he says. “Being able to understand, put on different shoes, and bounce between genres. I am a fan of music generally. I like so many different styles of music and I’ve collaborated with many different styles of musicians. It’s a blessing to do that. I grew up on so many different influences, and I’ve tried to absorb that as much as I can and feed that into my own music.”

He recently finished producing Aaron Neville’s new album, Apache, which is out in July. He says working with Neville on this album was a “dream come true”.

“It was a very in depth process to work with him and I’m a huge fan of his,” says Krasno.

Continue Reading at BlankNews.com

The Wizard Of Kraz (via Colorado Culture)

Ever heard of Eric Krasno? Chances are that's a yes; from co-founding Lettuce and Soulive to writing for a slew of musicians you probably HAVE heard of (50 Cent, Norah Jones, Talib Kweli to name a few), Krasno has had his hands and head fully submerged in the sea that is the music industry for the past 2 decades. Despite winning two Grammy awards, his upcoming album marks first time in his career featuring his voice. We got a chance to dig into this musical mastermind's head:

CC: You have a resume that makes Diplo look like a novice; explain how you’ve managed to stay so low-key despite 2 Grammy’s under your belt over 2 decades.

EK: Up until now, I’ve always been kind of on the back-end of the project. I usually fill the role of writing for other people and being the producer rather than being a frontman or performer. It’s only up until recently that I’ve decided to use my voice more in recordings and begin these solo projects.

CC: Which has only been recently heard - in a popular setting I should say. The first time I heard of you was on "Torture" off Gramatik’s Age Of Reason album.

EK: Yes that is a jam! That’s actually one of my songs that is coming out on my upcoming album Blood From A Stone coming out July 8th. But yeah, Denis [Gramatik] got wind of the track, did his chops and screws and we decided it would be a good fit for that album. But the original version I wrote will be featured on mine.

CC: Speaking of which, the album sounds amazing. You recently featured the first track, Waiting On Your Love. It’s a richly classic diddle that’s also deeply rooted in emotion. Tell me about the process of making it.

EK: Well, I got together with Adam Deitch [Lettuce, Break Science] who’s worked with Pretty Lights for a while. We got some of the drum samples you hear in the track and just started playing on giving it an old school Blues feel. The theme behind it is about moving on, whether it be a person, a group of people, or an opportunity.

CC: What’s in store for your band’s headliner sets at The Mishawaka and Fox Theater?

EK: I’m hoping to have a lot of special guests coming! There’s obviously a ton of local talent that I work with that I’d love to feature at these shows. That and you can expect a lot of new content from Blood From A Stone.

Continue reading at ColoradoCulture.co

NEW VIDEO: On The Rise

Here's the new video for "On The Rise" - the second single off Blood From A Stone. Curtis Peel did an amazing job on the animation. Hope you all enjoy it.

You can get this track (as well as the first single) instantly when you pre-order the new record. Check out the Pledge Music page for an exclusive t-shirt, signed vinyl, test pressings, art proofs and more. Album drops July 8 on Feel Music.