Everlast Tones Down Hip-hop On Tommy Boy's 'whitey Ford'

LOS ANGELES‹A lot has happened to Everlast‹born Erik Schrody‹since he abruptly left his hip-hop crew House Of Pain in 1996. For one thing, he momentarily died. But it was losing his girlfriend, his home, and most of his money that served as the inspiration for his first solo album in eight years, "Whitey Ford Sings The Blues." The album, which marks quite a departure from House Of Pain by blending hip-hop beats with acoustic guitar and soulful singing, is due Sept. 22 on Tommy Boy.
And sing the blues, theoretically, he does. With songs about heartbreak ("7 Years," "The Letter") and death ("Death Comes Callin," written before his heart attack six months ago, during which he actually was dead for a few seconds in the hospital), "Whitey Ford" reflects on the trials and tribulations the artist has gone through and shows a more sensitive, introspective side of the former House Of Pain leader than fans might expect.
It was a hard record to make, admits Everlast, whose solo debut, 1990's "Forever Everlasting," came before House Of Pain's three discs.
"First of all, quitting the band was hard. I mean, I lost a house, I had the tax man coming because I owe the government a lot of money, I lost the woman I thought I was going to be married to by now. Then, my album's almost done, and I have a full-blast heart attack. The way I look at it, though, is it's all a trial, and I'm still in the middle of it."
These experiences are represented throughout the album. On the hip-hop track "Money (Dollar Bill)," featuring Sadat X of Brand Nubian, and the equally catchy "Ends," Everlast sings about his relationship with money good and bad. Meanwhile, his newfound interest in spirituality shows up on "Today (Watch Me Shine)" featuring Bronx Style Bob, and "Praise The Lord."
While his financial, romantic, and health woes certainly have given Everlast a scare, taking a different musical direction was just as frightening. "I never had enough guts to just depart from the band. But I came to the realization that it's much harder to be vulnerable than it is to be some fake punk that acts like he's a tough guy. So, I finally got over that. I guess I matured, but I just decided I'm gonna do what I want to do."
With the album's diversity, hip-hop purists may have a hard time at first. However, Everlast has included enough of those elements on the album to satisfy fans. "People could listen to my new record and be like, 'Yo, Everlast flipped out. He's not doing rap,' " says Everlast. "But, essentially, if you look underneath any of those songs, it's all beat-boy music."
It took producer Dante Ross, who executive-produced the album with Everlast and his manager, Carl Stubner, and produced it with John Gamble and the Stimulated Dummies for SD50, to nudge him into following his gut on "Whitey