Eric Erdman
If it’s true that an artist’s job is to captivate us for however long they have asked for our attention
no one has looked away from Eric Erdman since he first took the stage to front a band. Maybe
that is because there is nothing between Eric and his audience, between Eric and the world. He
lets it all in and what comes back is a poet’s soul in a troubadour’s voice.
Face to face with the crowds, singing of the challenges facing the youth, the country, and the
heartbroken have fueled four albums, constant gigging that included three international USO
tours, and only seared in Eric’s need to write about what he sees, what he feels. He’s penned a
theme song for a nationally televised show, produced every genre from big band to country
because you can’t pigeonhole a true artist. You can’t slow them down. He hears what a song
should sound like before it’s really a song. Actor Bruce Greenwood speaks of Eric’s inspiration
that makes the musicians on his projects “as emotionally involved” as he is, his guitar work,
“stunning and specific” pulling the listener “inside the song”.
His new record gives us something to think about and something to feel. While that’s not
unusual from an Eric Erdman project it does seem to have brought together everything he does
and knows well, offering us even deeper insight into ourselves and others and Eric.