Having a Chat with Eric Reed

Eric Reeds style takes you back to Rocks Roots with a mashup soud of Rock, folk, blues and Country Music. Echoing Retro Vibed sounds of The Byrds and Tom Petty with Dire Straits to Ryan Adams influence. Eric finds a way to draw people in  and let them experience the lyrics on a personal level, finding  a way to connect to those who hear his music. 

What is your “backstory”?

My backstory is pretty simple.  Late bloomer out of Bakersfield Ca, where I was going nowhere fast.  I was the middle of 5 kids in a working class home who’s parents were very strict.  I wasn’t allowed to do a lot so I started playing guitar and writing music young though I didn’t get the courage to do anything about it until I was about 22 when I moved out to Venice Beach.  Before that I had done just about everything from being a box boy to telecommunications  even ended up working for MTV at one point.

Can you share the funniest or most interesting story that occurred to you in the course of your music career?

I guess it’s not the funniest thing but probably more embarrassing than anything but I was sitting in on sessions with legendary producer Bob Rock and the rock band Our Lady Peace and at the time I guess I was a little green and just kind of learning my way through producing so I was asking a lot of questions.  Well one question I asked Bob was particularly stupid and it had to do with milliseconds and drums, I don’t know but I was young and it was really stupid and embarrassing ha ha.  I learned!

What are some of the most interesting or exciting projects you are working on now?

I’m in the very beginning stage putting together the follow-up to my last album.  Years past I would work with other artists producing their albums but these days all I want to do is my own which is quite time consuming. 
Who are some of the most famous people you have interacted with? What was that like? Do you have any stories?

I’ve interacted with too many people to name over the years. I came from a studio in Santa Monica where my band was the only unsigned band in the entire complex so I was amongst the biggest acts in     the world from Mötley Crue to Jane’s Addiction so these are guys are guys I used to see everyday for 6 years, and yes I have many stories, some I can’t tail but the stories that Nikki Sixx from Motley  Crue used to tell me were the best and most epic. They involved a lot of girls I will leave it at that lol.

 Which people in history inspire you the most? Why?

Leonardo da Vinci was someone I’ve always admired because he was a guy who was a painter, musician, an architect the list goes on.  He was an artist that was multi dimensional that showed you don’t have to be limited.   There’s also Martin Luther King.  I’ve always found him very inspiring because of his bravery to stand up to racism and his commitment to the human cause.   Anybody who stood up for what they believed and spoke for the ones who couldn’t was inspiring to me.

What would you advise to an aspiring artist who would like to emulate your career?

That’s easy, I would say first of all don’t waste any time.  Go into it fully with all your heart and stay true to yourself, never give up and pay attention to what’s going on around you.  Immerse yourself into the knowledge of how the new music business works.  I say new because it’s completely different from when I started this journey.  As an artist it’s hard because you always want to focus on writing and creating but now there are so many other things like knowing social media and the process of making and releasing an album on your own.  It’s all very important if you want to be heard.

How have you used your success to bring goodness to the world?

When I’m successful I’ll let you know ha ha, but really I don’t know anything other than just leading by example and being a good person, treating people the way you wish to be treated.  I also think the music I create brings goodness if someone relates to it and it helps them feel not so alone.  That is actually something that is very important and gratifying to me so I’ll continue to use my music to touch people.

What are your “5 things I wish someone told me when I first started” and why. Please share a story or example for each.

Man these are tough questions! Ha ha seriously though I’ve been fortunate to have a difficult time answering this question because I’ve had people that have guided me throughout my career.  I do have one though. I do wish someone would have told me that nobody is going to do more for you than you.  I hired several “producers” to do demos for me wasting a lot of time before learning to do it on my own and create the sound I envisioned.  

Is there a person in the world you’d love to have Brunch with, and why? He or she just might see this.

It would have to be Keith Richards because he’s a hero of mine.   I’ve always thought he was really cool and had a cool style.  He has a carefree confidence about him that a lot of guitarists have copied. I’d love to ask him how he’s survived all these years but I’d be surprised if he was awake for brunch.