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Eric has been playing the drums since his freshman high school year in 1986. Like a lot of drummers who grew up in suburban America, he was inspired to take up the instrument by the great drummer, Neil Peart, of Rush after hearing the Moving Pictures album for the first time. He then branched out through influences of friends and musician peers to other groups and styles of music.
Eric started to listen to a lot of jazz music from the 20’s and 30’s up to the 60’s. He studied with two private teachers for about 7 years, collectively. He gravitated towards the roots and blues music because those styles of music are the foundation for all styles of American popular music. He feels that if one has a strong understanding of the basis of popular music, he or she has the potential to branch out to any derivative genre. And besides, he loves playing this style of music.
Eric played in various original and cover bands through out his career as a drummer. He got started in the Boston music scene with the pop/glam act Jet Velvet Trash. The other members of this band have also moved on to other bands including Melt. He also played with the Devil Gods for several years playing all around New England and New York City. He has also performed in numerous “pick-up” performances and recording sessions with various blues, cover, and original rock bands as well as some Latin groups. He also plays occasionally with the world renowned blues guitarist Ronnie Earl when his regular drummer is unable to make any shows.
Eric has several drum sets that he uses with PM Blues and other groups. He keeps a Slingerland drum set in his practice studio. For performing live, he uses one of several Eames drum sets. His primary gigging set incorporates a 8”X10” rack tom, a 14”X14” floor tom, a 5”X14” snare drum (autographed by Elvin Jones), and a 16”X18” bass drum. The shells are Eames Natural Tone and Fine Tone series made of North American Birch plywood. They are hand made and built to order in Saugus, MA by Joe MacSweeney. For more information on Eames drums, feel free to contact Eric. He uses K Zildjian cymbals and all types of assorted hardware from Pearl, Tama, Premier, Gibraltar, Yamaha, Axis, DW, and all the other manufactures of fine drum accessories.
When Eric is not performing with PM Blues, he can be found performing in and around the Greater Boston and New England areas with The Rumbletones and The Scissormen. The Rumbletones are a high energy trio featuring Mike Yocco from The Downbeat 5 on bass and vocals and Steve Nocella from The Super 8's on guitar and vocals. The Scissormen are a raw, high energy, Mississippi style blues duo featuring Ted Drozdowski on guitar and vocals. |
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Eric's Eames Kit with a 28"X20" Bass Drum | Eric's 28"X20" Eames Bass Drum |
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Eric's Slingerland Kit
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Eric's Eames Kit with an
18"X16" Bass Drum
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Eric's Eames Kit with an 18"X16" Bass Drum | |
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