We played The Saint, last night.  It was our first time playing out together.  Hell, it was my first time playing out with a band, period.  It felt really good, and everyone who was there seemed very impressed (not the friendly, “you were so good”, but a serious amount of surprise from people so used to hearing me acoustic that they had no idea how much rock I had pent up inside me).  I picked up a recording of the night, on CD, from the soundboard, but they didn’t have my guitar up enough in the mix and didn’t mic the bass amp, so even though the sound was great in the room, it didn’t translate well to anything worth posting here.  However, I’ll put up some video in a few days.  There’s also completely unconfirmed talks of last night being the start of something good.  More full band stuff?  We’ll see (I hope).

It was such a thrill seeing Peter Searcy, live.  I’ve been such a fan for so long, and I would have been there, hands down, whether I was on the bill or not (it was our first time being in the same state as one another in 8 years…I wasn’t going to pass it up).  Even just hearing him sound check was a thrill.  He played his way through songs off all four of his albums, switching off between guitar and cello, with a terrific piano player and a drummer who really knew how to pull back and let the songs speak.  It was such an insane pleasure hearing him sing, live.  He’s got such an incredible voice.  Oh, and not only did I pick up Trust Falls, Peter’s not-really-released third album, but I also found out that my copy of Could You Please and Thank You, his debut album, is completely out of print, and a collector’s item (his piano player told me that even she had to download it on iTunes).  So, if you missed the show, who knows when Peter will be back again, but do be sure to pick up his new album, Spark (which I found at FYE and on Amazon.com, so I’m sure it’s out there for you to find).

Thanks to everyone who came out, to Scott Stamper for the opportunity, to Peter Searcy for being so personable and not letting me down in the slightest, to Leo Zaccari for speaking kindly of me during his radio interview with Peter and, of course, to my incredible band, featuring Graham Schumann (of The Key to Our Secret), David DiGioia (also of The Key to Our Secret, and an incredible singer/songwriter in his own right) and Mike Shearer (of Semipop, whose forthcoming debut album is going to kick all of your asses).

If any of you have video footage or photos from last night, please be sure to post them in my You section.

One Response to “The Band & Peter Searcy (a recap)”

  1. Damien says:

    Hey Eric -

    It was a really good band debut. Count me among the surprised - I didn’t know you had so much rock inside of ya! The band’s raw edge added another dimension to your well-crafted tunes.

    Speaking of your songs, I’ve been enjoying your first CD (which I bought that night) - my fave track is the hauntingly catchy “Late Night Desk Clerk.”

    I have two regrets - I didn’t take any pix, and I didn’t stick around for Searcy…

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