The Eric Summers Band

Ten Miles From Charleston (2005) marks Erics first solo CD (co-written and produced by collaborator Gord Forstner).
In Erics music you can hear the grit and drive that comes from his roots near Hamilton, Ontario, the steel town on the shores of Lake Ontario that also incubated Michael Langois, songwriter Tom Wilson of Blackie and the Rodeo Kings, The Florida Razors, Teenage Head, Marble Index, Finger Eleven, and influenced the development of bands such as Big Sugar, U2 and a raft of others.
He performs nearly 150 nights every year, and the Eric Summers Band live is the way to get know him best.
He smiles when he plays. I love playing live. Its the only time I feel truly confident as a human being, he laughs. I try to watch peoples faces when I think we are doing something really neat, just to see if they are sharing the moment. He is at once self-effacing, and an extrovert who loves to connect with an audience; soft-spoken with a great big sound. The edge is tempered. The performance is always vice-grip tight, but the spirit is inclusive. Human. You instantly know he respects his audience his gives everything whether he is playing a small town club in a snowstorm, or a stadium. Its harder to play in front of a couple of people than it is a thousand, but you have to step up, he says.
The Eric Summers sound has been described variously as Seal meets Lenny Kravitz, with overtones of Gordie Johnson (in his Grady incarnation). Eric himself cites Stevie Wonder and old Bad Company. You can hear the former in the inflection of his voice and sense of melody, the latter in his ear for guitar-based hooks. Others cite Coldplay (in his more reflective songs such as Anna), and even shades of Justin Timberlake in the tight layered harmonies Eric will occasionally wrap around his voice (in songs like What You Got On). His sound is at once melodic, complex, gritty and driving.
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