My Brother's Keepers

Today is going to be epic.  My friend and favorite musician, Eric Erdman, releases his first solo album. 

My first order of business today, as always, was to check my FB page while drinking my coffee.  I was ecstatic to see that my news feed was bombarded with stories of Eric and his new CD as well as the big party that is happening at The Blue Gill on The Causeway tonight.  I am so glad that he is receiving this much support from everyone.  It is a testament to how fantastic he is.

Let me tell you a little about my friend Eric.  He is from Mobile, Alabama.  Dauphin Island Parkway to be exact.  (If you ask him where he's from, he'll say D.I.P - as the song goes.)  He grew up on Mobile Bay and he went to B.C. Rain High School, which is where I begin my fondest memories of him.  If I close my eyes and concentrate real hard, I can see him standing in the hallway in front of Ms. Carter's class.  And in true Eric fashion . . . he is cuttin' up!  I can hear him before I see him - talking and laughing.  And as I walk by with my friends he hollers out to me, "Heeeeyyyyy Nikki Nikki"!  I turn to look at him and he gives me that big ole Eric Erdman grin and he waves at me.  Of course I smiled and waved back but I also thought to myself . . . I like that guy!

I guess one of the first times I ever saw him perform was with the band Method To Madness at The Garage.  I immediately became a fan.  Soon thereafter, I began planning my weekend outings to include any show/venue where they were performing.  I used to love to see them at Southside Music Hall because it was always a D.I.P reunion.  Good times! 

My favorite way to experience Eric in his element is when he performs solo.  Some of my favorite past (way past) performances of his have been at house parties (D.I.P, baby!), the Holiday Inn in Tillman's Corner (a long ago birthday party of mine), and Copeland's restaurant (where he would ask the crowd for a word, any word, and incorporate it into a free-style rhyme).  I recall a specific evening when I took a few coworkers with me to see him at Copeland's.  This was a great place to see him solo as it was a small intimate venue outside on the patio.  When he asked for words from the crowd so he could do a little free-stylin', I called out "indelible".  (Others called out "dog" and "onomatopoeia"! WTF?)  It was a word that arbitrarlily came to me.  I hadn't ever used that word much so I was a little surprised when it came out of my mouth.  But obviously, it was the perfect word to describe what I think and how I feel about him and his music.  The definition of indelible is making marks that cannot be erased, removed, or the like; that which cannot be eliminated, forgotten, or changed.  Pretty damn accurate. 


Let me put it to you this way. . . he is DYNAMIC.  I have never seen him give anything less than 100% at any of his shows.  It is always rewarding to see him perform.  His hard work and dedication to his craft is more than admirable.  I would call it awe-inspiring.  He is smart, well spoken, and extremely clever.  He is friendly, kind-hearted and patient.  And he is so interesting!  He recently started his own blog and I have read every post at least 3 times.  (I love big words and he uses them frequently - it makes me smile.)  Here is the link to his blog:  http://ericerdmanmusic.blogspot.com/.  Go check it out!


I encourage all of you to go buy this album and to come out to The Blue Gill tonight to see him in what promises to be another epic Eric Erdman performance.

Way to go, buddy.  I never doubted you.

50 Shades of . . . Eric Erdman?

Hey, y'all!  So I hope I have garnered some attention with the title of this blog!  Who is Eric Erdman, you ask?  He is a singer/songwriter from Mobile, Alabama. (D.I.P. baby!)  His first solo album is about to drop on June 21st and I couldn't be more excited about it.

The other part of this blog title comes from the extremely popular book 50 Shades of Grey.  If you haven't heard of this book, I encourage you to research it.  It is the first in a trilogy from author E.L. James.  I have read all three books and am currently in the process of re-reading them.

So what do Eric Erdman and 50 Shades of Grey have in common?  Absolutely nothing.  But there is a song on Eric's new album that reminds ME of one part of the book.  The name of the song is "Nothing Personal". I don't claim to know what or who Eric wrote the song about, but I relate it to the book.  Specifically, the first verse.  You can listen to the song here:

http://www.reverbnation.com/ericerdman#!/artist/artist_songs/2560238

Those of you that have read the book are familiar with the contract that Christian Grey wants Anastasia Steele to sign.  And if you just listened to the song then you see how it sort of ties together.  Here are the words to the first verse:

It was written in Aerial Bold, 20 point, double spaced font
Signed and notarized
Little room for misunderstanding
What else did she want
Surprising she'd act surprised
It was supposed to be
Two people together tonight
And that was all
He knew exactly what he said
She knew exactly what he meant
Nothing personal
Nothing personal, he'll never let her in
Nothing personal, but with him nothing ever is

Ironic, right?  I love this man's music and I love that I have found a song that I can relate to this book.  Every time I listen to this song I can see the scenes of the book played out like a movie.  I LOVE IT!  I know several people that are reading or have read this book and I thought it would be cool to share this with them.  Let me know what you think!

Laters, baby.  ;)