Seven-man ensemble is a real band of brothers (Updated May 30, 2013)

Celebrating more than two decades as a band ruled by old school funk, the Brooklyn-based Lettuce is the seven-member ensemble of Eric Krasno, Neal Evans, Adam Deitch, Erick "E.D." Coomes, Adam "Shmeeans" Smirnoff, Sam Kininger, Ryan Zoidis, and Nigel Hall. They are hailed for energetic live shows and unrivaled chemistry, often referring to themselves as a true band of brothers.

Lettuce was founded in 1992 when all of its members attended Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts. They cited influences of various other funk bands including Earth, Wind and Fire and Tower of Power, and eventually began playing together in Boston jazz clubs in the fall of 1994. The band's name stems from asking club owners and other musicians if they would "Let us play?", spawing the name Lettuce.

Thanks to a true grass roots effort and word of mouth advertising, Lettuce had developed a following in New York, Chicago, San Francisco and Tokyo by the time they released their first album. The 2001 effort, "Outta Here," was followed by "Live in Tokyo" in 2003, while "Rage" bowed in 2008 and included covers of Charles Wright's "Express Yourself" and Curtis Mayfield's "Move on Up."

The band's latest project, "Fly!" was released in 2012, with the title track recorded all analog to two-inch tape, dubbed out with reverb and delay. Other tracks like "Madison Square" and "Ziggowatt" are more futuristic, while "Bowler" is said to be well-suited for a live audience. The band toured coast-to-coast in 2011, then conquered the east coast of the U.S. in late 2012. They kicked things off with a date at Terminal 5 in New York City on October 20, then visited select cities like Philadelphia and Washington, D.C. in early November.

Lettuce played with the Soul Rebels Brass Band on Jam Cruise 2013, and recently performed at the Summer Camp Music Festival in Chillicothe, Illinois' Three Sisters Park. They'll also play the All Good Music Festival in Thornville, Ohio on July 18, the Fuji Rock Festival in Japan on July 26 and the Catskill Chill Music Festival in Hancock, New York on September 6.