Alligator Records' Eric Lindell: Low on Cash, Rich in Love (and Other Things)
By Shirley Kennedy
Jan 14, 2008
Alligator Recording Artist Eric Lindell is something else. Not only is he a very talented musician, but he’s quite the comedian. A self-taught musician who plays multiple instruments, Eric has been seriously pursuing music since he was 15 years old. Eric discusses how he got started. “Well, I got a guitar when I was 10. I started playing with that.
Alligator Records' Eric Lindell (Image: Shirley Kennedy)
I put it down and I got back to it when I was 15 and started a band with some guys that I used to run around with, and the drummer in the band, his mom was in—they had a blues band—so we used to go in there and make all kinds of noise on their equipment. . . . I started playing then seriously, and I started doing shows at an early age, so I’ve been gigging since I was 15. I’m 38 now, and I’ve been doing shows, professionally . . . since ’95. That length of my career I’ve just been . . . doing music and made it my career, if you will (laughs), made it my business.” Music is certainly Eric’s business, and he also makes it his business to know a variety of different instruments.
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Eric plays guitar, bass, drums, harmonica, and keys. He recently purchased a saxophone and is teaching himself to play. Describing how he went from one instrument to another, Eric shares, “I played bass for a long time, probably like eight years. I started out on bass. That was my main instrument. Then, I went to guitar and I went to harmonica. I love playing harp. I love playing guitar too. Then, I had a piano for a while, so I messed around with the piano a little bit, wrote some songs on the piano, and I like to play the drums.
I’ve got a nice drum set-up. I like to keep it simple, just kick and snare. I like to dabble in all of them. I don’t like to say I’m so much of a guitar player or a piano player.” Eric is being modest; he’s one heck of a guitar player. You might say he can make the thing talk. Those guitar skills can be prevalently heard on “Change in the Weather,” Eric’s debut release with Alligator. Eric’s new CD on the Alligator label, “Low On Cash, Rich In Love” is slated for a January 15 release.
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On his new CD, Eric embraces his blues roots but manages to keep his funk/soul style alive. From the bluesy strains of “Lay Back Down” to the funky riffs and anthem-like lyrics of the title cut, “Low On Cash,” Eric’s second Alligator offering is solid. Eric’s smoky vocals are highlighted throughout the disc with some stellar musicianship and signature Eric Lindell purely for-fun tunes like “I Got A Girl,” on which Eric’s first love—the harp—takes center stage. The only non-original in this collection, “Lady Day And John Coltrane,” has been reworked to such an extent that it too becomes classic Eric Lindell. Fans of Eric Lindell can also count on a wistful love song or two, and “Low On Cash” is no exception, featuring “It’s My Pleasure” and “Lay Back Down.”
Eric’s take on the differing styles on this offering is simple: “We created a contrast on this CD. We were in the studio, working so hard on these songs and arrangements, and I said, ‘Let’s come off this for a second, and let’s play some blues,’ and we just dove into those and we just left them. I didn’t think Bruce was going to go for them at first.” Eric reveals that the band recorded 18 songs on the spot, and narrowed them down to come up with the collection for this CD. “Two songs, we just played and that was it.” One of those songs is “It’s My Pleasure.” “They had never heard it before,” reveals Eric. “We just played it, and left them on there. Same with ‘I Got A Girl,’” which Eric describes as a “Junioresque” (as in Junior Wells) tune. Eric confirms that “All Night Long” has a distinct country flavor and was inspired by listening to “a lot of country in the van,” especially Hank Williams. As with all of Eric’s earlier works, Eric penned the songs, with a little help from his band mates, and he did the horn arrangements.
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Eric writes all the lyrics, music, and melodies for his songs, though he does enjoy collaborating with other musicians. “I think you always get the best out of collaborating with people, so that’s kind of one of my favorite things to do. I have written a lot of songs by myself, but I prefer to write with other people, so I’ve been lazy. I’ve been writing for this new record with my band mates, and that’s been really fun.” He also, like many other songwriters, writes in metaphor, so if you think you understand everything Eric is singing about, you may be surprised.
For Eric, writing lyrics comes naturally. In his world, the lyrics write themselves. Eric “constantly hears melodies,” which eventually develop into the songs he writes.
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Like all the artists on the Alligator label, Eric receives direct support and assistance from Bruce Iglauer, the President of the label. In the case of “Change in the Weather,” Bruce re-mastered several songs from Eric’s previous works and brought them together to create this CD. Bruce also mixed and mastered the new CD. Eric calls “Change in the Weather” a “best of” CD because the songs all came from different, previously recorded work. “ . . . [T]he fact that it is cohesive, that it is over such a period of time, it sounds good as a collection, a good body of music. I’m proud of the way it came out. Bruce did a good job re-mastering. I’ve got to hand it to him; he’s got a good ear for that stuff.” Fortunate to work with different groups of talented musicians, Eric believes a collection of different musicians serves to give each song a unique flavor.
“Low On Cash, Rich In Love” does not deviate from the beauty of collaboration. Several guest musicians appear on the disc, including Blake Nolte on tenor and alto sax, Jimmy Carpenter on tenor sax on “What I Got,” Mark Adams on Piano and Organ, and Sean Carey singing background vocals on “Lay Back Down.” On “Change in the Weather,” Eric describes some of the musicians who helped to create the flavors of the CD. “There are some gospel singers on there from the church. There’s Stanton Moore, a drummer from New Orleans on some cuts. There’s Harold Brown, the drummer from War playing on some drums in there, too. There’s just a great cast of characters, basically, over the years that I’ve been working with.” Eric gives much credit for his music coming together to Bruce Iglauer. As he did with “Change In The Weather,” Bruce was heavily involved in the mastering and mixing of “Low On Cash, Rich In Love.” “He did a good job with mastering,” shares Eric. “Bruce really knows this end of making a record. He talks about stuff that I don’t even understand.” Eric does, however, obviously understand how to make good, raw music.
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Eric is a natural when it comes to his music. When he plays live, it’s easy to see how much he enjoys his work. Even though Eric must know that he’s a master at his art, he’s very humble and gives most of the credit to his band. “We really pride ourselves on being a live band, so we like to just come in there and put it on ‘em good. We have so much fun. We enjoy playing so much. It’s such a natural, good thing, a good time, you know? We can’t deny it. . . . We hear a lot of people saying words like, ‘It’s just so real,’ and that’s a great feeling. Like you said, it’s good to get that kind of vibe.”
Eric’s band consists of Chris Mulé on guitar, Aaron Wilkinson on bass, and Chris Plyant on drums. Chris Plyant is the newest member of the band. Aaron has been with Eric for three years, and Chris Mulé has played with Eric for over five years. As a group, they gel as if they’ve played together for many more years.
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Eric plays as hard as he works. When he’s not working, Eric loves the water. “I like to go surfing and just get out to the beach and stuff. . . . I live in Pensacola right now, so I’ve got to get out there as soon as I get home. You get so cramped up and just so compressed being in a van all the time, you know? I like to get home, and I like to go straight to the beach and get in the gulf, and it just equalizes you, gets you back, gets you right again.” If one can’t tell from Eric’s music how well-rounded he is, his interests will convince. In addition to the water, Eric enjoys painting and restoring old cars. “ . . .[O]ne of my favorite things is I like painting and doing art, and I like old cars and old motorcycles, so that’s where I really get in the zone or I get separated when I come home, and I just separate myself completely and get in tune with something else. That’s just what I love, that I’m passionate about.
I’ve got an old 1965 Chevy panel truck, like an old Suburban, and it’s all ‘hot rod.’ I’m always breaking it down and working on it. Then, I’ve got an old ’67 Triumph Chopper. I like that kind of stuff, going surfing, and I’m a big pawn shop guy, too. I like going to pawn shops. That sounds crazy, but I like to just go fart around town in my old truck, and that’s what I like to do.” What Eric most likes to do, as evidenced by the final products he makes, is music.
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Eric Lindell came to Alligator records with numerous recordings under his belt. To introduce him to the music-loving public, Bruce Iglauer re-mixed and re-mastered several of Eric’s songs and brought them together as a cohesive unit on “Change in the Weather.” With a bit of touring and more experience behind him, Eric was ready to record his second Alligator offering. Relying on his blues roots and his love for funk/soul, Eric has scored a winner with this second offering, “Low On Cash, Rich In Love.” If ever an artist’s work has perfectly suited his personality and style, this piece of work is it. Eric seduces with “Lay Back Down” and “It’s My Pleasure” and flat out entertains with “Mind Your Business,” “Lady Jane and John Coltrane,” and “Low On Cash.”
Eric is obviously excited about this new release and is preparing to tour in support of his new body of work. To kick things off, Eric will be performing live at his album release party at Star Bar in the Little Five Points area of Atlanta, Georgia, on January 31. Eric’s latest work is deservedly receiving early accolades from blues and non-blues publications alike. Blues roots aside, “Low On Cash, Rich In Love” has something special that makes it enjoyable by music lovers from all walks of life. To sample the tunes, visit Eric’s site at www.ericlindellband.com or the Alligator Records site at www.alligator.com.
Shirley holds a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and Creative Writing from Agnes Scott College and a Master’s of Business Administration from the University of Phoenix. Shirley currently works as a freelance writer and is the owner of SJK Public Relations, LLC. Writing about different artists and their music has led to Shirley’s representation of the Dane Varese Band, the Lucas Cates Band, the Patrick Vining Band, and Ryan Sallis Music. Shirley also represents Riejunio Premium Apparel, a fashion line in Atlanta, Georgia.
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