Erik Pearson has been a key player in the San Francisco music scene since 1990. His gritty and orchestral guitar style and composer's touch has shaped the sounds of recordings by bands including Mushroom , University of Errors (with Daevid Allen of Gong), Sonya Hunter , Alice Bierhorst , , Irene Sazer, Pat Thomas, Nearly Beloved, and Billy Talbot , . He plays banjo with old time mavericks The Crooked Jades and accompanies internationally renowned storyteller Diane Ferlatte on banjo and guitar. Together Pearson and Ferlatte have performed at schools, libraries, and festivals around the country including the National Storytelling Festival in Jonesborough, TN, and The Kennedy Center in Washington D.C. In 1996 Pearson released his own solo recording, Water , which incorporates many of his frequent collaborators and features his talents as a songwriter, composer and arranger.
Pearson studied music composition at Oberlin Conservatory. He has received awards and commissions for chamber music compositions that have been performed around the US, and has been praised in local press for scores and soundscapes written for San Francisco and New York choreographers. In addition, He is currently a member of the teaching faculty at the Community Music Center in San Francisco.
Photo by
Tom Erikson
