Released April 24, 2020 — into the teeth of the pandemic lockdown — on SideOneDummy Records, Keep On Keepin' On is the most emotionally direct record Andy Frasco has made. Co-produced by Widespread Panic bassist Dave Schools and former Awolnation keyboardist Kenny Carkeet, it pulls Frasco's funk-soul-rock party machine into territory the earlier records mostly avoided: depression, mental health, sobriety, the cost of touring 250 nights a year. The horn punches and piano boogie are still there — they're just in service of weightier material.
Frasco talked openly in interviews around the release about drug use and depression, framing the album as a kind of self-examination disguised as a road-band record. The title cut and lead single set the tone — keep going, even when the gas tank is empty.
Cool stuff:
- Released April 24, 2020, right at the start of the COVID-19 lockdown — a brutal moment to put out a touring band's record, and the album took on an unintended pep-talk dimension
- Produced by Dave Schools (Widespread Panic) and Kenny Carkeet (ex-Awolnation), a partnership that pushed the songwriting toward more personal territory
- First Frasco LP on SideOneDummy Records, the LA punk/indie label home to Gogol Bordello and Flogging Molly — a step up in distribution and visibility
- Frasco was very public in interviews around release about depression, drugs, and his ongoing mental-health work — the album reads as a companion piece to those conversations
- "The World Saving Podcast," Frasco's long-running interview show, leans heavily on the same themes — musicians and mental health
Spin it for: Frasco's funk-soul party band turned inward — still grooving, but with the weight of the road and a lockdown attached to it.
Standouts: "Keep On Keepin' On" · "Oh, What A Life" · "Good Old Days" · "Don't Wanna Know"
Sources: Glide Magazine · Live For Live Music · V13.net · Relix — The Tao of Andy Frasco · Wikipedia