Ahead of Soulive‘s return to Brooklyn Bowl this weekend for the first of six total shows as part of their Bowlive VIII residency, the notable New York City venue has introduced a two-part docu-series chronicling the epic history between itself and the band.
Related: Soulive Returns To Brooklyn Bowl For Opening Night Of Bowlive VIII With Ivan Neville
The first part of the series premiered on Thursday, and features interviews with all three members of the band in Eric Krasno, Neal Evans, and Alan Evans, in addition to Brooklyn Bowl co-owners Pete Shapiro and Charley Ryan. The 10-minute episode turns the clocks way back to the before Brooklyn Bowl even opened, with Shapiro discussing how his industry colleagues (including members of Soulive) were rather skeptic at first on opening a music venue/bowling alley in a then-up-and-coming area of North Brooklyn.
One thing led to another, and a brief meeting between Krasno and Shapiro at NYC’s Beacon Theatre led to the band ultimately starting a lengthy residency at “The Bowl” in winter 2010. Almost a decade later, Bowlive remains one of the most beloved yearly traditions by the band, the venue, and of course, the fans.
“They’re the most intense shows that I’ve ever had to do in my life”, Soulive keyboardist Neal Evans is heard saying at one point. “Like the amount of prep that goes into it, just us learning tunes, I had a sheet of over 100 songs that I had to learn and I had about four days.”
Watch part one of the series below.
The Bowlive Story – Part 1: The Genesis
[Video: Relix]
Soulive is back in action on Friday as they return to Brooklyn Bowl for night two of Bowlive VIII featuring special guest Oteil Burbridge. Tickets for the show are still available here.