Artist description ERIC BLAKELY Austin, Texas has been the springboard for launching the careers of Nanci Griffith, FastBall, Guy Clark, Timbuck 3, Lucinda Williams and Willie Nelson. Another Austin Singer Songwriter, Eric Blakely has paid his obligatory dues and is beg inning to receive national and international attention. Blakely’s music is rooted in the best Folk, Rock and Country traditions, yet is also strikingly modern and innovative. Music truly befitting the label Americana. The national country market got i ts first taste of Blakely’s new era country sound when the video for his song UNCLE JOHN’S FARM was featured on CMT. Born in Berkeley, California, Eric grew up in the same neighborhood as the members of Creedence Clearwater Revival. As they were the loc al boys that made good, their music was some of Blakely’s earliest influences. Blakely started playing clubs around the Bay Area in his teens in the early eighties. There was a strong New Wave and Power Pop scene then which also influenced Eric’s mus ic as well. John Fogarty, being Eric’s guitar hero led him to explore some of Fogarty’s country and blues influences. Blakely realized that there was something magical about “The South” and moved to Austin, Texas in 1989. Three CD’s later of his own music as well as numerous appearances on other artists recordings as Lead guitarist, Blakely has etched out his place in Austin’s fertile music scene. Blakely is currently promoting his newest indi CD, Levity with appearances around the United States and Europe. Blakely is currently compiling a 16 song CD anthology to be released in May of 2002. It will contain 16 songs spanning three albums. It will also include a single released on Sweden’s Dusty Records as well as a previously unreleased bonus t rack. Up and coming shows include May 9th at The Bluebird Cafe in Nashville, TN. More dates soon TBA. For more information and concert dates please visit www.ericblakely.com yˇ

Music Style Americana Country Folkrock

Musical Influences John Mellencamp, Creedence Clearwater, John prine

Similar Artists Hard to say

Artist History hThe road Eric Blakely travels has already taken him to many destinations - from Berkeley, California, rock 'n' roller through power pop to Austin, Texas, in-demand lead guitarist and singer-songwriter. Along the way, his own music has sometimes taken a back seat as he backed up other artists on tour and in the studio and because his popular Austin studio, Folk Reels, has hosted such talents as Slaid Cleaves, Guy Forsyth, Erik Hokannen, and other independents. In between, he's managed to squeeze in three CDs of his own but has seldom made time to really showcase his own songs. That all changed during a restless night in the London living room of music journalist Nick West in October 2001. Blakely wandered into the kitchen, made some tea, and began reading a book when the idea for The Payne Anthology hit him. "It was an epiphany," he said. "From that night on, I've been extremely motivated to recap my career and restart it in the singer-songwriter direction." The Payne Anthology collects Blakely's favorite songs from his first three albums, a single originally released in Sweden, and one previously unreleased song to create a cohesive whole most reminiscent of Rodney Crowell's autobiographical mega-hit The Houston Kid in its stark recognition of and reconciliation with the past. Blakely's plaintive, sometimes playful voice even sounds a little like Crowell's. His first real country influences were early 1980s work by Crowell and Roseanne Cash, so the similarity to Crowell is legitimate if unintentional. (Blakely recorded these songs, and released most of them on earlier CDs, before The Houston Kid ever hit the streets.) "I write honest, simple songs that are very autobiographical and specific. I am constantly surprised how many people can relate the songs to their own lives," Blakely said. "My intention was to make a new, strictly personal record out of the existing records." The obvious double meaning in the title comes from the Folk Reels studio street address, **** Payne Avenue. A couple of blocks away, Payne intersects with Goodnight Lane. "The title is kinda tongue in cheek," Blakely said. "While I was struggling for a title, I read an old interview with John Lennon. The interviewer asked him what life was about and Lennon said, 'Pain, man.' I thought that was perfect. There's a certain truth to it, and a certain irony." The mostly serious, sometimes funny songs deal with growing up in a dysfunctional family and wanting more, loneliness and love, and the depth of the human experience. One song, "Uncle John's Farm," was a featured video on CMT in the early 1990s. Another, "Let It All Be," was used as an anthem by Parents Anonymous, an organization that helps stressed-out parents cope with daily pressures to prevent child abuse. Growing up in the same Berkeley neighborhood as the members of Creedence Clearwater Revival, John Fogerty was among Blakely's "four Johns" influences, which also included Johns Prine, Mellencamp, and Lennon. Blakely began playing in Bay Area clubs in the early 1980s. Fogerty's country and blues influences led Blakely to move to Austin in 1989, where he quickly began hosting an open mic night at the Austin Outhouse. Hosting the open mic, opening Folk Reels studio, and playing lead guitar for other people cut into Blakely's own creative time but also helped him develop important relationships and to see how other people create. "I was pretty much a rock guitar player who wrote some songs," he said." When I got to Austin and saw the acoustic scene, it totally changed me. Instead of relying heavily on a band and the guitar, I wanted to do that." The Payne Anthology's 16 personal songs create both tears and laughter, from the humorous seeking in "Build Myself a Castle" to the sobering "Growing into My Father's Clothes" to the upbeat-sounding, gospel-stained "Her Reflection in the Water" about a woman who wishes life were the way it used to be, even though that life has been hard. Precisely because the songs are so specific to his own life, they also capture the universal human experience. Blakely is currently promoting his newest indi CD, The Payne Anthology with appearances around the United States and Europe. Please visit the Shows link for current concert dates.

Group Members Eric Blakely Marty Frank Marc Lemmen And a cast of many Austin greats

Instruments Eric Blakely, Guitars, Vocals, Often times Bass as well.

Albums Levity 2000 Growing Into My father's Clothes 1993 Uncle John's Farm 1990

Press Reviews "Blakely like all good song writers can deliver a song that'll make you cry and promptly follow it with one that evokes laughter." Jim Beal - San Antonio Express "Eric Blakely is an Austin based songwriter and performer of bright,witty,and erudite country - pop songs." Nick West - Bucket Full Of Brains, London "Blakely like all good song writers can deliver a song that'll make you cry and promptly follow it with one that evokes laughter." "One of the most promising young Austin Songwriters." Claudia Perry - Houston Post

Additional Info eric@ericblakely,com E Mail Address

Location Austin, Texas - USA

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