{"id":99480,"date":"2018-10-04T15:36:51","date_gmt":"2018-10-04T19:36:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wanderlust.com\/?p=99480\/"},"modified":"2020-01-14T13:35:50","modified_gmt":"2020-01-14T18:35:50","slug":"backstage-with-the-wanderlust-house-band","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wanderlust.com\/fr\/journal\/backstage-with-the-wanderlust-house-band\/","title":{"rendered":"Backstage with the Wanderlust House Band"},"content":{"rendered":"

His band Soulive<\/a> has been on tour with the Rolling Stones and Dave Matthews Band. He’s played the mainstage at the first-ever Bonnaroo, and accompanied Phil Lesh<\/a> to thousands of die-hard Grateful Dead fans. He\u2019s well-acquainted with the sound of roaring crowds, and no stranger to luxe tour vans or the shiny brass of a Grammy trophy<\/a>. Yet Eric Krasno still recalls playing at the community center with his high school band as the most nerve-wracking moment of his musical life.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThis hasn\u2019t been said in so long!\u201d Eric laughs as he recounts those early days, taking on the tone of someone fondly recalling a formative moment or relationship. \u201cWe only did one show, maybe two,\u201d he says, \u201cwe were called Skew, which is a horrible name! We didn\u2019t have a huge career,\u201d he says. <\/span><\/p>\n

Skew may not have made it big, but Eric\u2019s career took off\u2014as did other Skew members (the drummer went on to drum in Gogol Bordello). Soon after Skew, Eric was a founding member of the band Lettuce<\/a>, which has earned a reputation over the past two decades a not-to-be-missed live experience. But that\u2019s just one part of an illustrious career moving people with soul-grooving funk. <\/span><\/p>\n

Eric\u2019s latest endeavor, the Wanderlust House Band, promises to be one for the books, and will be gracing the stage at\u00a0Wanderlust Stratton<\/a> and Wanderlust Squaw<\/a>\u00a0this summer.\u00a0<\/span>The lineup varies by festival, but the House Band features the likes of Grammy-nominated Allen Stone<\/a>, Robert Randolph<\/a>, and Marc Broussard<\/a>, \u201cLate Night with Stephen Colbert\u201d band member Louis Cato<\/a>, and Trey Anastasio Band member \/ Phish guest vocalist\u00a0Jennifer Hartswick<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

Eric\u2014always quick to laugh\u2014chuckles when I ask him if the Wanderlust House Band could be considered a supergroup. \u201cSupergroup?\u201d he says, \u201cI think I would say that! It\u2019s not the most humble statement, but let\u2019s go with it.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

How the band formed<\/h3>\n

Eric has been going to Wanderlust since the beginning, and believes that the intersection of music and yoga can be one that elevates and complements both experiences<\/a>. \u201cMusic and mindfulness go hand in hand,\u201d he says. \u201cIf you\u2019re doing a yoga practice and the music really flows through you and you flow with it, you\u2019re going to get to a whole higher place. I also think that feeling, that rush, those endorphins<\/a>, are sourced from both yoga and meditation, and from music. Not only do they go together, they\u2019re both trying to feed your soul in a certain way.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

Eric kept this complementary aspect top of mind when selecting members for the Wanderlust House Band. He picked people who he thought would connect with the ethos of the festival, and who he thought would take advantage of the festival itself. This is a departure from the same-old roster at Wanderlust, where bands sometimes make the festival a stop on a much larger tour, and who don\u2019t really engage with the many facets of Wanderlust. <\/span><\/p>\n

Not only do music and yoga go together, they\u2019re both trying to feed your soul in a certain way.<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u201cWhat we\u2019re going to bring to these festivals is not a set that we tour all over the country,\u201d he says, noting that their set will be different for each performance. It\u2019s also the band\u2019s intentionality that makes this a different kind of Wanderlust music experience. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cA lot of bands come to Wanderlust and may not necessarily know what it\u2019s all about,\u201d says Eric. \u201cBut then there are people like Nahko<\/a> and Michael Franti<\/a> who are very much a part of it. That\u2019s something we\u2019re looking to work toward as we build the House Band thing. Something where we\u2019re not only a band but also a part of this. Kind of spreading the love, spreading the word.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n