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2005
- 2006 NEWS
In October 2005,
Waves, the 2nd volume of Eric¹s Great American
Song Series was released to widespread acclaim. He continued
the tradition of recording his Greenwich Village writing companions'
songs, a project he started with his 2004 Appleseed release,
The Street Was Always There (Mojo- 41/2 stars).
Some of the featured songs on Waves includes Fred
Neils' "I¹ve Got A Secret", Phil Och¹s
"Changes", Tom Paxton's "Ramblin' Boy",
Tim Buckley's "Once I Was", and Lou Reed's
great "Pale Blue Eyes". Eric sang his early song "Today
is The Highway" and wrote the new title track "Hymn
of Waves".
Over the past two years he has continued recording and touring.
In
late summer 2005 he did a one-month tour of Japan, in addition
to tours in the US, Norway, UK, and the Netherlands.
He has recently performed at the Notodden and Voss Blues Festivals
and Morcenx, France, Guitar Festival. In June 2006, he recorded
his first live album in Oslo with a great Norwegian blues band,
members of Spoonful of Blues, a group often asked to
play in the Mississippi Delta. It includes live versions of
his songs and some beautiful blues numbers. The new album is
to be titled Blue Rain and will be released in
early 2007.
He did two XM radio specials: one with Tom Paxton, and
another, a live North Carolina concert and interview with Patrick
Sky, both interviews with Jeff Place moderating.
Jeff Place is a music archivist, researcher, and music
producer at the Smithsonian Institution.
He has appeared in the Joni Mitchell documentary, the
rock music film Festival Express, and has recently taped and
performed in the upcoming Buffy Sainte-Marie documentary,
Phil Ochs documentary, and Edie Sedgwick (of Andy
Warhol fame) documentary. In 1965, Eric and Edie starred
in Warhol's film Space. He is featured in the new Warhol screen
test book.
In spring 2006, he performed two shows of Marc Didden¹s
Belgian theater production Beat with guitarist Roland Van
Campenhout. He has been invited to contribute an essay for
a book celebrating the 50th Anniversary of William Burroughs¹s
Naked Lunch, edited by Oliver Harris and Ian Macfadyen.
He will write about his humor, naturally. It will be published
in 2009 on Southern Illinois Universtity Press.
On the recording front: In addition his upcoming live album
Blue Rain, there were two reissues in Japan in
the past two years: Blue River that included an
oversized facsimile of the original cover art, and Be
True To You. Coming in March 2007, Raven Records, Australia¹s
premier reissue label, will release a compilation CD of Eric¹s
recordings from the 70¹s. The album will be titled So
Much On My Mind, and features songs from his Warner
Brothers, Columbia, and Arista LPs.
In 2007, Eric will be touring solo in the U.S. and Europe and
be performing at European music and blues festivals with a band.
In August 2006, Eric was married in the Netherlands to Inge
Bakkenes. They often sing and perform together. They divide
their time between the Netherlands and New York.
FALL NEWS 2004
In December 2003, Eric recorded his new album, The Street
Was Always There, a collection of songs written by people
he knew in Greenwich Village in the early 1960's. The set was
produced by longtime collaborator Robert Aaron and includes
songs by writers Fred Neil, Tim Hardin, David Blue, Phil
Ochs, Peter La Farge, Paul Siebel, Patrick Sky, Buffy Sainte-Marie,
Bob Dylan, two songs by Eric, including the newly composed
title song. Guest artists include John Sebastian, Patrick
Sky, Happy Traum, and hip-hop great, Wyclef Jean.
It was released September 21st.
Four small streets in the Village saw the birth of a new canon
of Americana music: the singer-songwriter movement. These recordings
should prove this music's timeless endurance, alongside other
established American musical roots genres such as blues, ragtime,
rhythm and blues, country, jazz, rock 'n' roll, and Broadway
standards.
In the fall, Eric will be promoting and touring the U.S. behind
the new release, including one date in Toronto.
In November, he will record volume two of the Great American
Song Series on Appleseed Recordings. This new set will contain
more songs from this early singer-songwriter period. There will
be other surprise guest artists contributing. The new album
will include songs by Dave Van Ronk, Tom Paxton, Richard
Fariña, Tim Buckley, Julius Lester, Tom Rush, Lou Reed,
and Jimi Hendrix.
In July, the music film Festival Express was released in many
cities in America and Europe. It is a documentary of what has
been called the "longest rock and roll party in history."
The film takes a sweet innocent, but rough look at the five-day
festival that traveled by train across Canada with stadium performance
stops in Toronto, Winnipeg, and Calgary. The performers included
Janis Joplin, The Band, The Grateful Dead, Buddy Guy, Delaney
and Bonnie, The New Riders of the Purple Sage, and Ian and Sylvia.
Eric was the only solo performer riding the train. There are
stage performances, interviews, and raw candid footage of the
musical jams taking place inside the train's restaurant and
two bar cars. A longer DVD version of the film will released
internationally in November.
In August, Eric performed his first all-blues concert for two
nights at Norway's famed Notodden Blues Festival. Notodden is
the sister city of Clarksdale and will be the location of the
new European Blues Museum due to open in two years.
In October, Eric will appear with Tom Rush and Arlo
Guthrie in Judy Collins' Wildflower concert film, to be
aired on PBS. The show was filmed and recorded in San Diego
in July 2003. The DVD was released on Pioneer last spring.
SUMMER AND FALL 2003 NEWS
Eric has been touring extensively behind his recently released
double CD, Beat Avenue, in both the United States
and Europe over the past spring and summer. The album has received
enthusiastic reviews from around the globe, including one by
Anthony DeCurtis in the April 28th edition of the Sunday
New York Times' Arts and Leisure section (please see Press and
Reviews section).
This past spring, Eric appeared in the wonderful Joni Mitchell
documentary shown on PBS. It is available on VHS and DVD through
mail order.
In May, German BMG released Eric's version of Bob Dylan's
"That's Alright, Ma, I'm only Bleeding." It was recorded
in Verona last January and features a guest vocal appearance
by one of Italy's greatest songwriters, Massimo Bubola.
In July, the Judy Collin's Wildflower Festival DVD and
audio CD was released on Pioneer and Wildflower records. It
is a live, filmed and recorded concert performance at Humphreys
on the Bay in San Diego in June 2002. Along with Eric, the DVD
and CD features Judy Collins, Arlo Guthrie, and Tom Rush.
Eric performs "Blue River", "You Can't Relive
the Past", "Close the Door Lightly", and a beautiful
encore duet with Judy on his song, "Thirsty Boots."
Rare interviews and photos are included on the second bonus
DVD.
Eric has been doing a lot of radio interviews including Pete
Fornatale's Mixed Bag, Fred Magliori's FM Odyssey,
and an upcoming NPR's, Weekend Edition,.
In September, the Toronto film Festival is premiering the film,
Festival Express. It is a document of the fabled rock 'n roll
tour that traveled across Canada in 1970 on a train. Eric was
the only solo acoustic performer who traveled on the train.
Other performers included Janis Joplin, the Band, Buddy Guy,
Ian and Sylvia, and the Grateful Dead. His interview, filmed
in London last year, appears throughout the film.
In conjunction with the film debut, Eric and Band member Garth
Hudson are giving a special matinee performance at Hugh's
Room in Toronto on September 15.
On October 24, Eric will receive Italy's most prestigious music
songwriter award, the Premio Tenco
prize in San Remo. Songwriter/poet Patti Smith will be
the other recipient for the year 2003. Other recipients who
have received the award in the past include Laurie Anderson,
Joni Mitchell, Tom Waits, Elvis Costello, and Randy Newman,
among others (see the Premio Tenco link on this website. Click
on Tour Schedule).
In April, 2003, Eric premiered the entire 26 minute work, Beat
Avenue, at the Bowery Poetry Club in Manhattan. He performed
it live with co-composer and multi-instrumentalist, Robert
Aaron, and jazz bassist Juini Booth. New York poets
Bob Hollman and John Giorno were also in attendance
and read from their works.
On the afternoon of October 26, at the Boston Museum of Fine
Arts, Eric and Robert Aaron will perform Beat Avenue
again, sharing the afternoon with poet Lawrence Ferlinghetti.
A film about Ferlinghetti by Chris Felver will also be
shown before the reading and performance (please check Tour
Schedule).
In the October, Eric will be performing in Belgium, Switzerland.
Back in the U.S., Eric will perform a special concert at the
Colony Cafe in Woodstock, New York with friends Happy Traum
and Garth Hudson on November 14th,.
In the second half of November, Eric will play his first tour
of the United Kingdom. The tour will
include stops at the Borderline in London, and shows in Dublin,
Belfast, Perth , Glasgow, Manchester, and Birmingham, among
other cities (please check Tour Schedule for details). Shows
in Italy are planned for February 2004, as are shows in Holland
and Belgium later in the year.
In December, Eric is planning to record a new album of material
in New York City. The songs and subjects are still a secret
at this point.
Stay tuned. We'll keep you posted. Thanks for visiting.
FALL/WINTER NEWS 2002
In the spring Eric recorded his new double album BEAT AVENUE
in New York City.
The musicians included on this hard-hitting, guitar-driven
album are guitarist Eric Bazilian from The Hooters; drummer
Shawn Pelton from The Saturday Night Live Band and recording/performance
veteran of Sheryl Crow and Shawn Colvin; bassist Mark Egan
of the Pat Methany Group; Garth Hudson of The Band; New
Hampshire violinist, Joyce Andersen, who writes, sings,
performs, and records on her own and with Harvey Reid; and multi-instrumentalist,
Robert Aaron, who has been a member of the Wyclef Jean
Band for the past 6 years. Back-up singers include Phoebe
Snow and Lucy Kaplansky, as well as Eric's daughter,
singer-songwriter Sari Andersen.
The first CD comprises 12 new songs while the 2nd features
the long cinematic narrative, "Beat Avenue." This
centerpiece recitative, set-to-music work, Eric first started
out writing as a companion piece to his song "Ghosts
Upon the Road."
"Beat Avenue" is a 26-minute song about a 24-hour
day that takes place in San Francisco on the day John F. Kennedy
was assassinated. It recaps the story of the evening where young
Eric attended a poetry reading and a party with poets Allan
Ginsberg, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, David Meltzer, Michael McClure
and Neal Cassady, the hero of Jack Kerouac's Novel,
ON THE ROAD.
BEAT AVENUE will be released on Appleseed Recordings,
February 25, 2003.
READ the lyrics of all the BEAT
AVENUE.songs.
In July, Eric performed on two of Judy Collins' Wildflower
Festival concerts in California. Tom Rush and Arlo
Guthrie were on the program. All joined in on Eric's duet
with Judy Collins on "Thirsty Boots" at the
close of the concert. A DVD of the very special San Diego concert
will be released by Pioneer, in February, 2003.
In early October, Eric taught a 3-day songwriting course at
the Omega Institute in Rhinebeck, New York. He also performed
a solo concert there.
Eric will be touring in the U.S. starting in March to promote
his new album. European dates will follow in the late spring.
SPRING
NEWS 2002
In February, Eric contributed to the new Joni Mitchell documentary
for Delilah Films, in New York. He was interviewed in Oslo and
performed 2 songs while also demonstrating guitar tunings. In
1965, he taught Joni her very first open tunings in Detroit.
A Swiss tour: Eric will
be playing 7 shows in Switzerland starting on March 2nd at the
Bar Hotel Bellevue, in Interlaken. The last show will be in
Zurich at el Lokal, on March 10th. Accordionist extraordinaire,
Robert Mauer, will be accompanying him at most shows.
A US tour and a CD: In
April, he will be playing selected concerts in the U.S. and
then begin recording his new studio album in New York for Appleseed
Recordings. He has written 17 new songs. An early autumn release
is projected. He plans to tour behind it.
An Italian Tour: In mid-May,
there are plans in the works for some shows in Italy where he
will be accompanied by the exceptional violinist, Michele Gazich.
Michele records and plays regularly with artists such as Michelle
Shocked and Italian songwriter, Massimo Bubulo. Eric and Michele
have performed often together in Italy in the past two years.
Stay tuned.
Some summer festivals may also be in the works.
MP3 : Just Out! Eric's
latest release, Live At the Mudd Club has just been released
on MP3 in late February. It was recorded at the famous New York
underground music showcase, in 1982. The album features two
songs of Eric's that were never recorded or released until now:
"Pick Up The Pieces" and "Don't Stop." And
be sure to check out "Blue River." It is the only
version with Joni Mitchell singing harmonies that has ever been
recorded live on stage.
CD Release: May 2002 will
see the long-awaited release of the double Danko Fjeld Andersen
CD on Appleseed Recordings. It will feature a new cover and
will include the re-issue of their first award winning album
plus a live midnight concert recording done at the Molde Jazz
Festival in Norway, in the summer of 1991. What is unique about
this recording is that it was done with only 1 mic, in mono!
Mastering the Craft: A Songwriting
Workshop Eric Andersen; Course: 5102-875
October 11, 2002 - October 13, 2002 Rhinebeck Campus: Rhinebeck,
NY (US) Price: $225.00 Member Price: $205.00
From his first album, Today Is the Highway, released in 1965,
to his most recent, You Can't Relive the Past, Eric Andersen
has written about dreams, memory, love, and loss with a voice
that captivates you at once and then haunts you for years. One
critic writes: "In writing for himself, Andersen has always
told bigger, deeper stories; in wrestling with the personal,
he also struggles with the universal."
Andersen now comes to Omega for the first time to share his
insights and sources of inspiration in a songwriting workshop
in which we listen to the masters of the craft, critique their
compositions, and perform some songs of our own.
During this weekend intensive, we listen to recordings from
such writers as Townes Van Zandt, Leonard Cohen, Joni Mitchell,
Bob Dylan, Suzanne Vega, Fred Neil, Hank Williams, Robert Johnson
and other Delta blues singers, Lou Reed, Laurie Anderson, Kurt
Cobaine, Courtney Love, and Eric Andersen himself, among others.
After each song, we ask ourselves: What makes a song good? Why
is it effective? What is the aim of the song? How important
is the production or the "sound" of the recording for it to
get its point or meaning across? Is music the crutch to carry
the mood, the meaning, or the atmosphere of the song? Is it
better to write in minor keys or in major keys? How important
is rhyme? Is songwriting poetry? How important is the singer's
voice in conveying the emotional message of a song? There will
also be opportunities for some people in the workshop to perform
their songs, after which their merits will be discussed.
October 11, 2002 - October 13, 2002
Eric Andersen Mastering the Craft :
A Songwriting Workshop
Rhinebeck Campus: Rhinebeck, NY
150 Lake Drive, Rhinebeck, NY 12572
845-266-4444 fax: 845-266-3769
Mastering
the Craft: A Songwriting Workshop
FALL
NEWS 2002
Eric toured for two months last fall, starting in
Montava, Italy, in September, at the Festival Letteratura. Other
featured writers in attendence were Americans Gore Vidal and
Frank McCourt. Then Eric's tour continued on to the U.S. Eastern
Seaboard and into Canada. Joni Mitchell came down to his Toronto
show at Hugh's Place and sat in on harmony for "Blue River."
Joni was in town for an award and to visit her daughter Kilauren.
At the end of October, Eric played a sold-out concert in Woodstock
that was filmed for Homespun Tapes. In addition to the show,
there was an interview by Happy Traum that will be included.
On hand, were musicians Garth Hudson of the Band, the Lovin'
Spoonful's John Sebastian, jazz pianist and composer, Marilyn
Crispell, and Eric Bazilian, formerly of the Hooters, to join
and play with Eric that evening. Garth's wife, Maud Hudson,
sang harmonies. The performance video, and companion CD, are
looking at a fall 2002 release. Eric performed a soulful version
of Fred Neil's "The Dolphins," with John Sebastian
providing a bluesy harmonica back-up.
In November, Eric had a wonderfully successful tour where he
performed in culture houses throughout Belgium with renowned
British songwriter Allan Taylor. It was followed up by four
sold-out solo shows in Holland.
You can read Eric's
"Goodbye Rick" letter reprinted here and in the
winter issue of Sing Out magazine.
Stay tuned for new developments.
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