Soulive

An Interview with Alan Evans

BY SETH LYDA
Issue #22

Soulive’s performance at 2012’s Bear Creek proved to be one of the highlights of the weekend, and their influence on the festival was profound; as some of the biggest bands on the bill feature members of Soulive on their rosters. The trio also made multiple cameos throughout the weekend, sitting in with the likes of Dumpstaphunk, George Porter, and many others - the fact that Alan Evans (Drums), Neal Evans (Organ), and Eric Krasno (Guitar) were consistently asked to sit in with their peers is a testament to their talent. The funky organ trio has perfected a sound that was made popular decades before their time, and yet, have made it uniquely their own.
 
I talked with Alan Evans via cell phone a few days before Bear Creek, and he gave me a sneak peek as to what was in store for the weekend. The Soulive drummer is a producer, recording engineer, writer, percussionist, vocalist, and guitarist; not to mention that he owns a recording studio, as well as record label - the dude stays busy. Soulive’s most recent release, Spark, is a 4 track EP featuring Karl Denson and is dedicated to the late Melvin Sparks; a highly sought after guitar player. Alan had this to say of group’s latest efforts, “Man it was just an idea we had, to do something different after Rubber Soulive, kind of a 180. Rubber Soulive was all Beatles tunes, so we wanted to do something short, just playing tunes. We had wanted to do something with Karl for a long time, and a little while before the session, I found out that Melvin had passed away. We already had that vibe in mind, so it made sense."

Soulive’s musical trek has continued for almost 14 years, and they’re still going strong. “We keep the momentum going by not overdoing it. We used to be on tour most of the year, really road dogging it. But we’ve learned that we don’t have to do that, honestly we don’t want to, and we all go our separate ways and do our own thing, so when we come back together we’ve got a lot to talk about, both with music and life. Sometimes I’ll be somewhere and hear an old Soulive tune, and I won’t even realize that it’s us. So we’ve obviously evolved as musicians.”
 
The group’s hard work has made them a staple of the festival scene; known for their improvisational live shows, defined by spontaneous jamming that can erupt at any moment. “In terms of our music, there’s a lot of improvising within the structure; there’s the A section and the B section, sometimes we stick to the song, but if someone plays something different, we’ll go off of on that and go into some new territory, but we always know how to get back. And the crowd has a lot to do with that. When the crowd is feeling it, that’s when we go off.” 
 
In 2008, Alan and company opened their own record label, Royal Family Music, and he says there really isn’t a whole lot to it. “The biggest challenge is what we’re dealing with now: getting the albums out internationally. Other than that it’s pretty smooth. Neal, Eric and I just kinda run it from the creative side, and it’s cool because we get to do what we wanna do. The only other issue is trying to figure out whose project is gonna come out next because we all have other projects outside of Soulive.”
 
When Alan isn’t touring with Soulive, running a recording studio, or calling the shots at Royal Family Records; he’s playing with his own band: The Alan Evans Trio, which also performed at this year’s Bear Creek. (Did I mention that he stays busy?) When asked to differentiate between the two projects, he responded, “Well obviously the biggest difference is Bo isn’t Neal, and Danny isn’t Kras, and all the tunes are mine; with Soulive it’s a collaborative thing. We all bring tunes to the table, and The Alan Evans Trio is all my stuff. I’ve been asked why I would start another organ trio, and I say ‘Back in the day there were tons of organ trios, just like there are tons of 4 piece rock bands now. Playing in an organ trio isn’t easy; it’s completely it’s my own thing.’”
 
Soulive is currently working out their next move, and they’re kicking around the idea of recording Spark - Volume 2, which would feature Karl Denson again. Their annual concerts Bowlive and Snowlive are on the agenda for 2013, and Eric Krasno is also working on his new solo album, which should be dropping soon. Needless to say, the guys aren’t slowing down anytime soon.