Ez Jon Erikson

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Ez Jon Erikson is a traditional singer-songwriter who believes in being innovative, not immitative.

Since they founded, Detours have performed at small theatres, cafés and bars around the Manchester area. Highlights include performances at the prestigious Saddleworth Festival Of Arts 2003, Manchester 's Night and Day Café, Ashton's Witchwood, the Rock For Tsunami, Rock For Malawi & Saddleworth Unplugged festivals, Players’ Theatre and Playhouse2 Theatre to name only a few. They have recently collaborated with the very talented, young singer/songwriter Kristyna Myles and rock singer Morgan on 'The Bells Of St Mary EP' (Kristyna won BBC Radio 5 Live's 2005 Busk Idol and has since gone on to appear on 'Songs Of Praise', UKTV's 'Wogan: Now and Then', and record and tour with multi platinum selling Chris De Burgh), and have supported Mesh-29 who enjoyed Top 40 Chart success in Summer 2007. Their music has been played on BBC Radio Manchester and All FM Radio.

Detours perform as an acoustic act in concert, which captures an urgency and immediacy, comprising of harmonised vocals, acoustic guitars, trumpet, harmonica, and minimal percussion. Their studio recordings bring in fuller arrangements, with the inclusion of drums, bass, electric guitars, piano, accordion, keyboards, hammond organ, mandolin, dobro, steel guitar, ukelele, banjulele, balalaika, cello, violin, saxophone, and didgeridoo, yet they always remain true to their acoustic roots.

To date, with the assistance of their producer/session musician/sound engineer Paul Adshead, Detours have recorded four albums together, and two EPs including a Christmas EP, with solo work to add to that, and a forthcoming boxset of unreleased performances - an extensive body of work!

An independent band, Detours handle all their booking, management and recordings under Detours Music, an independent record label which Ez set up out of frustration with the in-house politics that occurred with record labels that Detours previously negotiated signing with. They now feel they have their artistic freedom rather than the restrictions that would otherwise be placed on them. All of their CDs are available to purchase from their website Detours.Info through Paypal, for which a Paypal account is not required, and they have started to release their work digitally on iTunes and Tunetribe.

Detours have no particular political theory or ideology, but write from observations of the human condition. Their songs are influenced by life's many experiences, its highs and lows, its joy and challenges. They are songs of situations, analysis, questions, opinions, friendship, hope, unity, fear, successes and failures, love found and lost. Songs that everyone can relate to. They believe that the spirit of rock music is democratic, its pain redeemable, and its joy communal. Their name Detours represents their approach to their music, taking musical detours, covering a lot of ground and not staying in one place but moving on.

Ez, also affectionately known as Ezza, or EJE, complete with trademark shades and bandana or ski hat over his shaved head, is a very energetic, emotional, sentimental and unpredictable performer and generally brings a kind of softer, folk pop feel to Detours' music. However, to appreciate the true depth and versatility in Ez's songwriting it is essential to study his own solo work. His lyrics contain a clever mixture of humour, observation, isolation, rejection, anti-racism, romance and love. There is almost a schizophrenic quality to Ez's music, as he is able to balance humour and energy (Fun In The Sun, Mama's Goin' To The Ball Tonight, His Bark Is Worse Than His Bite, That's The Way The Cookie Crumbles, Snowballed, Fun In The Snow) with intensity (Half The World, Live To Die, Fear Of The World, Ramshackle World, To Feel Young Again, Escape (In The Night), One More Time, Reality, Been Here Too Long, A Dark Storm) and easy listening (Otiose). Above all, his songs make sense and the average person can easily relate to them, which is one of the reasons why they are so good. There is also a strong sense of melody and a variety of musical style in Ez's music.

EJE's albums are to be officially released digitally on iTunes and Tunetribe from 9th June 2008 starting with Ramshackle World and Ezposure (The Acoustic Performancez), followed during the summer by Summers Of My Life. The digital release of Detours recordings began in October 2007.

Sense Of Purpose

Detours’ latest release ‘Sense Of Purpose’, their fourth studio album, is an incredibly mature acoustic rock pop album, full of thoughtful lyrics, melodies and harmonies, with rock, soul, gospel, folk, country, and bluegrass influences. Ez Jon Erikson wrote the title track after he took inspiration from the Native American Indian Chief Seattle ’s reply to a Government offer to purchase their remaining lands. In 1854, the United States Government offered to buy two million acres of Indian land in the Northwest. Chief Seattle ’s reply to president Franklin Pierce in December of that year has been described as the most beautiful and prophetic statement on the environment ever made.

Kristyna Myles performs flute and additional vocals on the title track, which is also included on their EP ‘The Bells Of St Mary’ in aid of St Mary’s Church Greenfield Restoration Fund, as the building in Saddleworth needs to raise over half a million pounds from public support to survive.

"I believe that the way the world is developing, mankind is losing its sense of purpose to a degree" Ez comments. The closing track to the album, 'Thrownaway', echoes these concerns asking the question "is nothing sacred anymore?" "I feel that we now live in a throwaway world" Ez continues. "It is easier and less expensive to replace a damaged product with a brand new one rather than mend it, and technology moves on at such a frantic pace that people throw away items that are in perfect working order. What disturbs me though is that many relationships seem to suffer due to the hectic pace in life. Although the computer age has improved communication and opportunities in many, many ways, we keep in touch by text messages and e mails rather than taking the time to talk to people or spend quality time with them. So items and people are thrown away by society, as are buildings that have stood the test of time which are torn down to make way for shopping centres or housing developments, as the fat cats get richer. Is nothing sacred anymore?"