There are some parts of Erik Francis Schrody's career that he truly hates.
Like interviews.
When a reporter starts asking him about his latest solo project, it occurs to the hip-hop artist, who goes by the stage name Everlast, that the music business is indeed a business.
"I'll be really honest with you: This, we're doing right now, it's a necessary evil for me," he said at the tail end of a recent interview to talk about his new album and his sold-out show Friday at The Rock. "If I don't do an interview or try to get some press, I'm not doing all that I can to promote my music. I won't lie. It's not one of my favorite things to do. … That's the work part."
The art part lies in making music.
"I love playing music. I love making music," he says, and the tone of his voice grows more relaxed. "That's why I go through whatever else I go through, so I can play for a few people. And maybe, if you really are lucky, you connect with a few people and make their life better."
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On his month-old album "Songs of the Ungrateful Living," his first record since 2008's "Love, War and the Ghost of Whitey Ford," the Grammy-winning musician mixes soulful rap, blues and rock in a sweeping survey of the state of life today. The album has truly dark shades when he laments about the economy and world strife and how families are being torn apart in the rubble.
The album in part reflects where the 42-year-old New York native is in his life today. He's settled down in a modest house in California suburbia, raising his 2-year-old daughter with his wife.
"I'm sure some of the writing had to do with" being a family man, he said, "but musically it's just what I've been doing: Trying to evolve and master styles of music."
He eschews the rapper label often attached to him, calling it limited.
"I consider myself a musician," he explained. "I'm a hip-hop musician, in my mind. That's the way I see it. But half the time I'm not rapping at all. Calling me a rapper, there has to be a comma after that and add more things - writer, composer, producer, singer, songwriter."
"Songs" is the first record he's put out on his own Martyr Inc. label, which he started a few years ago.
"It was time for me to take the lead and not rely on anybody else. See how much of my idea I could get done," he said.
On his own, he assumes the financial risks at both ends of the deal - financing the recordings and reaping the profits, and taking the lead in marketing himself and his music.
"The truth is that's the business in music," he said. "I never made music to be in the music business. I was fortunate to be able to make a living making music. Unfortunately, you have to look at it and make it a business."
If you go
• What: Everlast with Authority Zero and Redlight Kings.
• When: Doors open at 6:30 p.m. Friday.
• Where: The Rock, 136 N. Park Ave.
• Tickets: Sold out.
