Like protagonists from some epic western novel, the Eric McFadden Trio arrives on the jaded contemporary music scene preceded by anxious rumors and curious anticipation. A veteran of celebrated underground bands including Liar, the Eric McFadden Experience, Alien Lovestock and IZM, Eric McFadden's sinister songs, vampiric vocals and flamenco-rock guitar improvisations have made him an icon along America's western seaboard. Lest you dismiss the preceding as absurd hyperbole, consider the fact that McFadden has performed with the lordly likes of Bo Diddley, the late Joe Strummer, psychobilly rockers The Reverend Horton Heat, blues troubadour Keb Mo', Primus kahuna Les Claypool, Widespread Panic, Jackson Browne and others. He was voted "Best Guitarist" by the New Mexico Weekly and "Guitarist of the Year" by San Francisco's Zero magazine. As well, in 2000, McFadden was recruited as a touring member of George Clinton's P-Funk All Stars, a distinction that thrusts him into the pantheon of funk-rock guitar idols.
In 2004, Eric was asked to join The Stockholm Syndrome. A band co-founded by David Schools and Jerry Joseph with Wally Ingram on drums. They recorded an album on Terminus records and toured the US and Europe that year. Eric also toured the world as lead guitarist for The legendary Eric Burdon & The Animals from 2005-2007.
Now, McFadden has teamed with acoustic bassist James Whiton and drummer Paulo Baldi to form a trio whose electro-acoustic sound, impressionistic songs and virtuoso antics suggest an obscenely voluptuous hybrid of the Beatles, Jimi Hendrix Experience, Black Sabbath, Cream, Tom Waits, Django Reinhardt and spaghetti western composer Sergio Leone.
Indeed, EMT recalls a now hard-to-imagine time when songwriting involved the realization of some well-conceived personal vision, and when musical mastery and experimentation were the order of the day. In James Whiton, McFadden has found an ideal musical foil. Performing on amplified acoustic double bass, Whiton employs techniques thoroughly unique to the instrument -- percussive slaps, bowed flourishes reminiscent of a string orchestra, and electronic effects like wah, distortion and synth pedals. Taking a similarly ambitious approach, drummer Jeff "The Commander" Anthony reconciles 4/4 rock rhythms with prismatic jazz rudiments and scampering, electronica-inspired beats. At the center of this elegant musical equation is McFadden himself. A guitar hero in an anti-heroic time, the guitarist combines rapid-fire rock improvisations with luxuriant gypsy jazz runs, quicksilver bluegrass fills, romantic neo-classical chords, hardcore R&B rhythms and heartrending mandolin trills.
Given the band's all-things-considered approach, it's not surprising that McFadden finds it difficult to describe the Trio's sound. "It has elements of other things I've done," McFadden says. "It's got the rock energy of past projects like Liar and Angry Babies. It's got the carnivalesque gypsy Latin thing of Eric McFadden Experience and Alien Lovestock. There's a little of the dark Americana vibe. But I think for the most part, it's a rock band."
The EMT saga begins in the mysterious environs of McFadden's native New Mexico, where mother Victoria (an original member of the Fuggs), and stepfather George fueled the guitarist's musical passions. By his teens, the budding guitarist and songwriter was absorbing everything from Bob Dylan, Beethoven and Miles Davis, to the Mahavishnu Orchestra, Hank Williams and the Clash.
Unbeknownst to McFadden, James Whiton was also cutting his musical teeth in the Albuquerque area. The son of a concert bassist, Whiton was following in his mother's classically-trained footsteps when he was blindsided by bebop, fusion jazz and Seventies prog-rock. But while jazz and virtuosic rock remain an influence, classical still comprises the foundation of Whiton's disciplined style. "
Drummer Paulo Baldi has played with McFadden in numerous musical configurations over the last several years. Paulo is in high demand and also tours with Les Claypool (Primus) and Cake.
The paths of these three musicians began converging in the early Nineties, when McFadden and Whiton formed a mutual admiration society in New Mexico. Though their budding friendship was cut short after they both moved from the Albuquerque area, the pair reunited in 2001 for some impromptu Seattle and Portland gigs.
Now, as they cultivate their bastard brew of American, European, Pan-African and Latin influences, EMT seems destined to thrive collectively as they have individually -- i.e. on their own exacting terms.
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