In November 2005, I released my debut solo LP On the Edge of Something More. This was a major shift in my artistic development because all of my creative endeavors prior to this had involved collaborative efforts with other musicians. My first recordings were a series of demos with a funk-rock group called The Bomb Squad. This project, in time, morphed into the band Moflo which released a debut LP titled Full Effect in 2002. Moflo unofficially disbanded in 2003. In the meantime, another band rooted in similar funk-rock elements called Off Limits was born. We formed in 2001 and worked hard through 2006, releasing two albums, Piece of Mind in 2002 and The Aurora Beckons self-titled LP in 2005. This latter album marked a major transition for us, hence the name change (The Aurora Beckons). We had evolved into a tight group of friends and our live-show chemistry is indicative of this. As is the case with many creative situations though, our writing process was changing as I was beginning to bring more completed songs to the table and wanting to explore different areas, many of which the band didn't feel worked for us stylistically. Though our live-performances were gaining potency, our creative process was growing increasingly stagnant. No immediate and deliberate effort was made to become a solo entity, but in the wake of this changing tide, I wanted to begin recording my songs that the band wasn't using. These early recordings, done at the home of my good friend Mark Miller, became the album On The Edge of Something More.
With the new-found freedom I experienced in the making of this record, I became incredibly dedicated to my songwriting and development as a solo musician. So in the summer of 2006, I entered the studio with engineer Dave Ahlert to begin recording what would become my new 2007 follow-up release Redemption and Disorder. Redemption and Disorder delivers an eclecticism and structural freedom unexplored in my previous work. This in part was achieved by bringing in a wide range of guest musicians to play on these songs with me, including Johnny Z and Darcie Rae from The Aurora Beckons.
Up until now, most of my solo shows are performed completely solo, or as a duo with my good friend Sean Hennesy, but with the release of Redemption and Disorder, I will begin to feature The Eric Slater Group. I'm very excited about this band for many reasons. Partly because it synthesizes a lot of different elements that were only partly explored on my recordings or hadn't been developed at the time these recordings took place. In addition it will allow me the freedom to appear simply as a solo musician or enhanced by a larger presentation.
Thank you so much for the visit. I hope you enjoy my music and relate with my ideas. Please catch a show when you can, and comment or write in which ever manner you see fit. All words are welcome.
