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DTSTART:20240913T230000Z
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SUMMARY:Eric Sommer
DESCRIPTION:Singer/songwriter Eric Sommer is an unbelievable intersection of improbable influences and experiences. And all channeled into an amazingly diverse catalog and a résumé that reads more like a musical adventure novel than a series of career bullet points. \nEric Sommer is a singer-songwriter. In the truest sense of the phrase.\nHe is an explosive player; and one of the top guitar pickers on the Americana Music scene today. It might seem like he just appeared, but he has been bubbling under the radar for years.\nAnd now that’s changing a bit, and we’re damn glad to hear it!\nAfter a year on the sidelines, Eric is back with a whole new catalog of songs, a new studio relationship and a new band: Eric Sommer and The Fabulous Piedmonts ( https://www.ericsommer.com/Eric%20Sommer%20and%20The%20Fabulous%20Piedmonts )!\n \nIt’s like being on a bus driven by Amy Winehouse, with Ray Charles as the Tour Director, Ron Carter and Jacko Pastorius hanging out the back window smoking cigarettes, Stevie Ray Vaughan as the bartender, David Bromberg and Steve Howe as Tour Managers, Johnny Cash and Dwight Yokum loading baggage and William Shakespeare taking Tickets while acting as Road Poet and Scribe…\n\nBesides being a wonderfully engaged player, Eric’s soulful, rich, baritone voice complements his unique songwriting. And perfectly suits his musical stylings. He’s got a remarkable ability to turn a phrase on a dime, and craft a lyric for many, many artists.\nHis lyrics can shimmer in front of you. They can be funny and thought-provoking, or deliver a powerful image with knock-your-socks-off clarity and acute perceptiveness. His albums have been praised by the City Beat, Musical Xpress, The Midwest Record, London Music Page, and many others.\nYeah, Eric Sommer is a singer, songwriter, and road poet and the very essence of that phrase. And he’s a musical cyclone. So, the hard thing is this: any bio for Eric Sommer is a real challenge: he’s been everywhere. And played with everybody!\nAny biography or musical history of Eric Sommer ( https://www.ericsommer.com/ ) is difficult. Difficult at best, simply because there is so much to it! If you were a music reviewer or writer, you might suddenly wake up from a sound sleep, and find yourself staring straight up at the ceiling, trying to remember if you got it all right, listed all the things this artist has done, covered all the musical touchpoints so your editor keeps you on the payroll…\n \nSinger/songwriter Eric Sommer ( https://www.facebook.com/EricSommerMusic ) is an unbelievable intersection of improbable influences and experiences, channeled into an amazingly diverse catalog and a résumé that reads more like a musical adventure novel than a series of career bullet points.\nBest of Cincinnati\n\nEric Sommer is a singer, writer ( https://ericsommer.com/shop/road-prose/ ), and guitar player with a style that’s a mix-a-mash of everything. It’s a cross between Billie Joe Shaver ( https://www.facebook.com/OfficialBillyJoeShaver ), Taj Mahal.  ( https://www.facebook.com/tajmahal )Between Willie Porter and Steve Howe ( https://stevehowe.com/ ), delivered like a velvet hammer. Crown Royal ( https://www.crownroyal.com/canadian-whisky/?ds_e=GOOGLE&ds_c=00753814_CRNRL_CRORYB_ALBOS_NAT_USA_NU_CrownRoyalHV_BMC_AO_SEAH_PSEAC_TEAD_NU_SA3_GADW_NU_CPC_NU_KEW_A21%2B_CXD_EN_EX_BRAD&ds_k=crown+royal&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIgc6P98yE8QIVOAaICR1uuQxZEAAYASAAEgKQUvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds ) poured over #2 sandpaper.\nHe brings a unique style and a set-up to his shows. And that generally includes 4-5 guitars, 3-4 small amps. Oh, and a stompbox. ( https://www.musicradar.com/tuition/guitars/the-top-10-stompboxes-we-cant-live-without-234098 ) Eric Sommer shows up to play. And he means business!\nIn fact, it is guitar, slide & open tuning stuff wrapped around songs for people who care about things that matter.  Nothing is off-limits. You’ll hear about insane ex-girlfriends, wrinkled shirts, failed love, broken hearts, bad coffee, flat tires, gas station hot dogs, dumb pets… and checkout lines.\n \nMy first guitar was a Sears Silvertone ( https://www.chicagomag.com/city-life/may-2012/how-sears-changed-the-sound-of-american-music-twice/ ), and my Dad hunted around for someone to teach me – I was around 6 years old. But I heard “Addison and Crowfoot” at a USIS concert, got up and played “Stewball ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RP7AAYhmX8E ) was a Racehorse” and never looked back.\n\nSommer emerged from the Boston ( https://www.bostonusa.com/ ) music scene with a vengeance. A blistering Folk guitar wiz with a percussive, open-tuning style. A style adapted from the likes of David Bromberg ( https://davidbromberg.net/ ), and Steve Howe.  ( https://stevehowe.com/ )With Townes Van Zandt ( https://townesvanzandt.com/ ) and Brit Folk legend, Davy Graham  ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qXhWgbmc9yU )rolled into it, too! But Boston was also a hotbed of New Wave ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_new_wave_artists ), Power Pop ( https://www.nicklowe.com/ ), and Punk ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pHYwxbVW-ho ) at that point, and Sommer absorbed those influences as well. He was busy creating a Byrdsian ( https://www.thebyrds.com/ ) jangle sound that earned him opening slots for national touring acts Tom Petty ( https://www.tompetty.com/wildflowersandalltherest?ref=https://www.google.com/ ), Little Feat ( https://www.littlefeat.net/ ), Jackson Browne ( https://www.jacksonbrowne.com/ ), and Bonnie Raitt ( https://www.bonnieraitt.com/ ); and regular bookings at the renowned Paradise Theatre ( https://crossroadspresents.com/pages/paradise-rock-club ). Eric eventually played more than 40 shows at The Paradise when he worked for Don Law ( https://archive.boston.com/ae/music/articles/2009/05/22/live_music_czar_law_returns_to_roots_of_his_success/ ).\nLondon, Denmark, & Points Continental\nSommer relocated to Europe ( https://europa.eu/european-union/index_en ), drawn by the London ( https://www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/ ) music scene. He survived playing the rock circuit along the Northern Germany route of Hamburg ( https://www.hamburg.com/visitors/plan-ahead/12972156/unification-day/ ), Bremen ( https://www.uni-bremen.de/en/obstacles-to-modernization-in-the-economy-and-science-of-the-gdr-mod-block-ddr/news/project-news ), Bonn ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bonn ), Munich ( https://www.muenchen.de/int/en.html ), and into Sweden ( https://www.nationalgeographic.com/expeditions/destinations/europe/?cmpid=org=ngp::mc=ppc::src=ngp::cmp=exp_multi::add=ngpexpfy21-destination-europe&mrkgadid=460293300&mrkgcl=528&mrkgen=1&mrkgbflag=&mrkgcat=&&device=c&network=g&matchtype=b&locationid={loc_phyiscal_ms}&creative=522804011491&targetid=kwd-478886866297&campaignid=13173412939&adgroupid=122915258055&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIhZDqps6F8QIVzCCtBh38kQDoEAAYASAAEgL88_D_BwE ), Oslo, Norway ( https://www.visitnorway.com/places-to-go/eastern-norway/oslo/ ), and Denmark.  ( https://denmark.dk/ )Eric put his roots down for a bit in Denmark. He lived in Aarhus for 2 years. Eric was gigging steadily in Aarhus, first at Den Hoyt and then at De Gavaritte, local clubs in the downtown center, while working in a laundry during the day.\nFrom this central location, Eric played in the UK, Amsterdam ( https://www.tripadvisor.com/Tourism-g188590-Amsterdam_North_Holland_Province-Vacations.html ), and Paris.  ( https://leftbank.fr/ )And as luck would have it, during this time he joined up on tours with Bram Tchaikovsky ( https://www.facebook.com/Bram-Tchaikovsky-Official-201890943246493/ ), Wreckless Eric ( https://wrecklesseric.com/ ), and Nick Lowe ( https://nicklowe.com/ ), calling Denmark ( https://denmark.dk/ ) and the Netherlands ( https://www.holland.com/global/tourism.htm ) home for a while. After honing his personal songwriting style and playing every conceivable club on the European circuit, Sommer returned to Boston homeless… and broke!\n \nHow do you call this sidekick to unique personalities ranging from Nick Lowe to John Koerner an under achiever? This multi instrumentalist bad boy could easily be a superstar in his own right but he seems to be under the spell of Holy Modal Rounders, Guy Clark and others that could have really made it but seemed to make a concerted effort not to.\nMixing organic writing and playing skills with personality, he has what it takes to be a massive, under the radar treat. Singer/songwriter? Rocker? Folkie? He’s got all the bases covered and has back up in place to insure no errors are made. Killer stuff you really have to be a grinch to dislike, this cat is the real deal throughout.\nChris Spector, Editor, Midwest Record\nLiving on the streets and in abandoned lofts in South Boston ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Boston ), eventually renting a top floor loft on South Congress Street ( https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Congress_Street_Fire_Station_South_Boston_MA.jpg ) in the shadow of the Federal Reserve Building ( https://www.bostonfed.org/ ) on the Fort Point Channel ( https://www.boston.gov/historic-district/fort-point-channel-landmark-district ), Sommer played every available open mic he could find. For cash, he worked odd jobs as a bartender, a record store manager ( https://ericsommer.com/the-amazing-vinyl-of-ann-arbor-mi-and-pittman-nj/ ), a copy shop manager, ( https://www.presstek.com/Collateral/Documents/English-US/Quick%20Printing%200307%20Copy%20Cop.pdf ) a waterbed installer, ( https://waterbedbargains.com/content/Waterbeds/Massachusetts/Boston_MA_02127.html ) a waiter, and a copywriter for Apple ( https://www.apple.com/ ), Oracle Direct ( https://www.oracle.com/index.html ) and ad agencies Needham Harper ( https://adage.com/article/adage-encyclopedia/needham-harper-steers-advertising-ddb-needham-worldwide/98792 ), BBD&O ( https://bbdo.com/ ), Ted Bates, and Arnold Advertising in Harvard Square ( https://www.harvardsquare.com/venue/harvard-square-business-association/ ) and downtown Boston.\n \nEric Sommer is a singer, songwriter, road poet and musical cyclone, so any bio for Eric Sommer is a real challenge: he’s been everywhere…\n\nDuring this time, especially with money very hard to come by, Eric began to collect his notes from his years in Denmark. He also made time to work on his recollections of London. ( https://www.facebook.com/themonarchbar/ ) There were reams of notes from his time in Germany and Paris, too. Then playing in Boston and New Jersey ( https://ericsommer.com/i-was-looking-around-the-house-yesterday/ ), notes on music, song ideas, and notes on the things he saw on his journey; he included various characters he met along the way. These notes eventually became his first collection of stories and road poetry titled “Red Chairs ( https://ericsommer.com/product-category/road-prose/red-chairs/ )” based on his experiences in fine dining at Waffle House ( https://www.wafflehouse.com/ ).\n \nI got into that habit and I never stopped… Songcraft, writing and singing in particular, has always been my driving force, but I enjoy free-form, non-fiction creative and since this slow-down I have had a year to crisp my notes, do plenty of re-writes and see what could come of it…\n\nHe’s developed that part of his writing to the point that his articles and stories are being published in literary journals and collections. New Debris ( https://ericsommer.com/product-category/road-prose/new-debris/ ) is the most recent collection and joins Blue Turtle ( https://ericsommer.com/product-category/road-prose/blue-turtle/ ) and Black Pancake ( https://ericsommer.com/product-category/road-prose/black-pancake/ ), both earlier collections of Road Prose.\nReturning from 2 years in Arhus, Denmark, Eric was flat broke. While living on the streets and in abandoned lofts in South Boston ( https://www.bostonusa.com/plan/boston-neighborhoods/south-boston/ ), Sommer got things going again. He worked relentlessly on his writing and played every available open mic he could find. Along the way, he went to Berklee College of Music and studied guitar with David Landau and Gary Burton ( https://www.garyburton.com/ ) sideman Mick Goodrick. ( https://www.berklee.edu/people/mick-goodrick ) This led to the formation of a trio called The Atomics, which offered up an American version of Elvis Costello ( https://www.elviscostello.com/#!/ ), Joe Jackson ( https://joejackson.com/ ), and Nick Lowe ( https://www.nicklowe.com/ ) during its very successful run. \nThe Atomics toured relentlessly and shared the bill with the Dead Kennedys ( https://www.deadkennedys.com/ ) and Gang of Four. In the process, they became one of Boston’s best local New Wave outfits. Along the way, Sommer was finding constant inspiration in the works of Jeff Beck ( https://jeffbeck.com/ ), Pat Martino ( https://www.patmartino.com/ ), Joe Pass ( https://www.allmusic.com/artist/joe-pass-mn0000209773/biography ), and Charlie Christian ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charlie_Christian ).\nThe Atomics incredible run ended in Providence, RI at the show with The Dead Kennedys ( https://www.deadkennedys.com/ ) when everyone realized they couldn’t keep up their touring and recording schedule. Everyone had problems with alcohol, and it was becoming impossible to keep it together.\n \nhttps://ericsommer.com/ ( https://ericsommer.com/ )\n
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