In this interview spotlight, I chat with Eric Stradinger about the latest music, challenges, technology and more.
Full Q&A along with links and music below.
Where are you from and what style of music do you create? (In your own words, not necessarily in marketing terms or by popular genre classifications.)
I will forever call Vermont home, despite the fact that I was born and raised in Connecticut and have simply taken root up north. I detest the need for labels regarding music, but if I had to put a label on what I do, it would have to be something along the lines of; “Progmatic Instrumentalism”. Is it a thing? I really don’t know but to my mind, it fits perfectly. My style has never really adhered to any industry standard of formulaic templates. I allow the music to dictate what it needs and where it goes, essentially letting it write itself. My work ranges from being deeply introspective and conceptual in nature to the far end of the spectrum which embraces all things lighthearted and full of whimsy and of course any combination thereof. I consider myself to reside more in the progressive vein, not because I would be referred to as what most would consider progressive, but more due to my rather uncontained writing style, the “play what you want” and “write what you enjoy listening to” mindset. There are certain traditional progressive elements that are relevant to my work that I call upon and utilize when needed; the use of odd time signatures and a virtual library of synths and keyboards for atmosphere and effect etc. A lot of what I produce contains countless guitar tracks, most of those being background melody lines and harmonies for added texture and depth, sometimes a little more, other times a lot less, all depending on what is called for. Nothing is done simply for the sake of doing it……………mostly. This, to me is one of the beautiful things about the art of instrumental music, the ability of the listener to free associate. To really listen, absorb and then to take with them their interpretation of what’s being told within the notes. Where the spoken word holds limitations, a single note is limitless.
What led you down this path of music and what motivates you to keep going?
I know for a fact that I’m far from alone on this one! All of the blame is to be dumped on the Beatles. Growing up I had access to some of their albums which I played till the needles gave up! I was told who they were, what they did and what was what and then after seeing Sgt. Pepper’s on tv for the first time, all I wanted to be was John Lennon. I remember getting my first guitar at around 7 or 8, this God awful acoustic with action high enough to park a Buick under……..untouched. I spent some time doing the normal little kid with a dream routine of getting in front of the mirror with your guitar and pretending it was you who was playing what you had spinning on the turntable. I started taking lessons at around 9. I stopped taking lessons at around 9-1/2. I learned the basics, names of the strings, note names up to the 3rd fret, how to tune and the basic first position chords. Somewhere during the introduction to sight reading I got bored and quit, so I am pretty much self taught. Music, like any art form, does have its up’s and down’s. For example; inspiration is such a fragile and unpredictable mistress. One can’t hardly predict her arrival……ever. But those times that she does happen to get on the right bus one must use her for all she’s worth. Which of course leads me to time and the Godless writers block. You could be teeming with inspiration but then faced with the lack of time in the day to see it through. Or, have the time, be overflowing with inspiration and then……..nothing! Seems you just can’t win sometimes. But then there are other times when the stars align and you enter into a Utopian-esque space of sheer free flowing creativity. Ah sweetest bliss! The motivation in question can only be compared to man’s drive and determination to survive. Much like animals, there is no duality, they exist on instinct. The same holds consistent for any true artist, it’s who and what we are, this is what we do, this is what makes us, us. We will all enter the ground as artists.
How is this new release different than previous ones? Were you trying to accomplish anything specific?
My latest is entitled Road To Coventry and was released late last year, it’s more of an EP than anything else. It tells a story of a period of silent reflection of a rather unsettled time in my life. It centers around cause, affect, and healing. I approached this one differently than what I would normally, in that, I wanted the overall feel to be softer, more organic sounding, it’s mostly an acoustic album with some sections that allow for electric work, solo’s mostly.
Name one or two challenges you face as an indie musician in this over saturated, digital music age? How has technology helped you (since we know it does help)?
Sadly I would have to say the lack of financial backing. Having the extra funds to really be able to promote and advertise yourself 110%. Say what you will, and I will most probably agree with you, about any major record company but, having that backing and support must be nice. Of course the flip side are those who are willing to turn themselves inside out for the “little guys and gals” offering help and assistance, exposure, airplay and support, of which we wouldn’t readily have had. To this, I think I speak for us all, THANK YOU! As oversaturated as this market may be, having these “new found” tools at our disposal is just a Godsend. This has proven to be a game changer in every aspect to all who are involved. Not to mention the sheer convenience of it all, who would’ve thought we would ever been able to share and broadcast ourselves to literally the entire world, with the ease of a simple click of a mouse.
What was the last song you listened to?
The Dr. Who theme.
Which do you prefer? Vinyl? CDs? MP3s?
Vinyl, all day long.
How about this one…. Do you prefer Spotify? Apple Music? Bandcamp? Or something else? Why?
I’m a fan of Bandcamp, but it’s rather limited in its reach, where as Spotify, Apple, Pandora and the like, really cater to the general listener. It’s almost a guarantee that most of the population uses at least one of these platforms.
Where is the best place to connect with you online and discover more music?
https://music.apple.com/us/artist/eric-stradinger/1561318529
https://www.pandora.com/artist/eric-stradinger/AR7rg62tqggdbpm
Anything else before we sign off?
Be good to one another, we’re all in this together.
