When brothers Neal and Alan Evans first invited guitarist Eric Krasno to get down at their Woodstock, NY studio (a session that led to the trio’s break-out record Get Down! in 1999), it was out of mutual love for the great soul-jazz organ trios of the ’60s and ’70s (Jimmy Smith, Groove Holmes, Brother Jack McDuff).

Not many bands can say they’ve recorded with Chaka Khan, Dave Matthews, Talib Kweli and John Scofield. Nor can many bands open for The Rolling Stones on one tour and have Stevie Wonder sit in with them on the next tour. The developed musical relationships, from the aforementioned artists to Derek Trucks, Maceo Parker, Susan Tedeschi, Karl Denson, Robert Randolph, Joshua Redman, Kenny Garrett, Fred Wesley, The Roots, Ivan Neville and so many others, speak volumes about both how versatile these talented musicians are. Jazz, hip-hop, rock, soul, funk, R & B, Blues – musically, there is not much the band hasn’t done.

March 2011 marked the 12 year anniversary of the trio, who celebrated their careers at Bowlive II alongside their longtime co-conspirators that comprise  Royal Family Records: the Shady Horns (Sam Kininger and Ryan Zoidis), Nigel Hall, and all the Soulive side projects, including Lettuce, Fyre Dept, Chapter 2, and Adam Deitch’s Break Science.  The Bowlive residency at Brooklyn Bowl was their second annual residency which drew over 8,000 fans over ten nights with guests such as Maceo Parker, John Scofield, Ivan Neville, Talib Kweli, and Pharoahe Monch.

In 2010, Soulive released Rubber Soulive their take on Beatles classics to rave reviews.  2011 will see the birth of a decades plus worth of planning and work for Soulive and Royal Family Records. The future of funk is in good hands.