3GM: Soulive, NYC’s Band

[Alan Evans is the most dynamic of performers. Understated when called for, full-speed-ahead when things pick up, and always crisp and clean on the finish.]

Since 1999, Soulive has released 14 albums (both live and studio), toured the entire world, and collaborated with some of the biggest and best musicians to ever be heard on the radio or elsewhere – Stevie Wonder, John Scofield, Talib Kweli and Chaka Khan. They opened for The Rolling Stones. They were signed to Blue Note Records. So why doesn’t your father have any clue who they are? It’s not because he’s out of touch (even if he is). It’s because the band’s name says it all. You can listen to a Soulive album and be impressed, but you have to see them live to have your ass thrown to the ground. The bands to break out of the 2,000-seat club circuit are the ones who can sell records, and sell them consistently. It’s unfortunate to admit it, but Soulive’s sound does not translate as well to the portable. It is the in-person energy that defines them, and it is in person that they should be experienced.

[Everyone onstage was obviously having a good time, as evidenced by Randolph and Glover’s interaction. The best part might have been when they busted out the ‘Kid n’Play’ leg dance before RR launched into a solo.]

Personally, I don’t see how this is a bad thing. The trio is in no way suffering. Even if their records don’t go multi-platinum, they still sound good. In fact, since opening their own record label in 2009 – Royal Family Records – they seem to be thriving better than ever before. They tour constantly. They sell out venues consistently. They restructure and rework great pieces of music and do so successfully, like last year’s album of Beatles’ covers, Rubber Soulive. Just because they’re playing the smaller venues doesn’t necessarily mean they haven’t broken out, it means they are consistent. And who doesn’t want to see a fun, talented band in a small venue with a chance of Warren Haynes sitting in, or Robert Randolph or even Dave Matthews? You’d have to be nuts to turn that down.

Smallwood on Soulive as NYC’s Band:

Standing under a disco ball at the Brooklyn Bowl on Friday night, it occurred to me that there may not be a band more deserving of the title “NYC Band” than Soulive. The brand isn’t easy to throw around, especially with New Yorkers. Such a title carries with it a heavy burden of proof that opens the door for debate. But that’s how things are when you’re dealing with the city; it’s a cageless concrete zoo holding 9 million people with differing opinions on everything from good bread to the finest shade of black.

[Kraz is the ultimate communicator between two brothers, playing rhythm guitar in sync with Alan Evans’ Drums and at the same time adding intricate melodies to Neal Evan’s B3 organ.]

When I suggest that Soulive could represent NYC musically, I’m less concerned with proving a thesis than I am with offering a consideration. The biggest obstacle I’ve crossed in this conversation is: Do you have to be born or formed in New York City to even be considered? Well Biggie and Jay-Z were – but they never played jazz or funk, nor have they collaborated with Soulive so let’s keep it relevant:

Jazz was the most popular form of music in New York City before and during the sexually repressive 1950’s/early ’60s. So when your parents were leaving their respective Manhattan malt shops and trying to figure out how to avoid curfew, odds were pretty good that at some point they ended up in a NYC jazz club. While inside, they might have come across some of the most famous banner carriers of the once famed jazz scene: Thelonius Monk, John Coltrane or Miles Davis.

Not a single one of them was a New York City native.

[Dap Kings saxophone player Cochemea Gastelum was one of several all-star guests for the first Friday show at Bowlive II.]

Soulive isn’t from New York City and they are certainly not some kind of blue jazz trio. They are a Northeastern jazz & funk rock band that cut their teeth sharp enough on the New England circuit to move to the big city and start surviving.

[Robert was definitely in premature Mardi Gras party mode.]

These guys embody the Gotham hustle. With all their success – they still choose to cram their friends onto tiny stages in sweaty rooms and play until 2AM. Soulive has played with the top touring acts, the top hip-hop artists, the top festivals – and yet they don’t chase the money. They’re loyal. After 12 years they can turn a room to rubble for $10 at the door and they don’t play the same way anywhere else.

[Corey Glover should seriously think about touring with Soulive more often. The band’s cover of Jimi Hendrix Band of Gypsy’s Who Knows brought the funk just like the original.]

Why? Because New York isn’t like anywhere else. These guys are addicted to New York the same way most of male Brooklyn is addicted to flannel, beards and bikes. They feed off the city’s energy and give it right back. Rather than treat NYC as a platform like many artists, they treat it as a symbiotic relationship. James Brown used to do the same thing at the Apollo.

Just a consideration, of course.

[Robert Randolph stayed true to form as a lead pedal steel guitarist, guaranteed to get people jumping, but also settled nicely into his role as rhythm guitarist to Kraz’s lead when it was time.]