Eric Merrill profile picture

Eric Merrill

About Me

I live in Boston where I make violins and records. I'm terribly lucky to be a part of a world in which people play music at once deeply rooted in tradition and startlingly creative. I've worked as a producer with many of my favorite musicians from this world, most recently with Crooked Still , Lissa Schneckenburger , and Rachael Davis . All three released CDs in the past few months.
I split my performing life between fiddle, banjo, and voice in Irish and Appalachian styles and a devotion to the textural possibilities of viola and harmony vocals. The first is evident. The second is a survival from a former life. I grew up in Seattle singing in boychoir and later playing in string quartets. I always sang and played the middle voices. Second soprano, viola, french horn, and oboe. Thus, I love tone. I studied viola at Indiana University which is an unusually complete and open minded school and left me uninterested in an orchestral career but more in love with music than I would have imagined beforehand.
Now, please remember that the Myspace player makes EVERYTHING sound like cottage cheese. And not in a good way.

My Interests

Music:

Member Since: 05/08/2006
Band Website: www.ericmerrill.com
Band Members: Eric Merrill: Engineer, Producer, Fiddle, Viola, Banjo, Harmony Vocals.

Musicians I often call...

Ted Davis, Matt Heaton, Austin Nevins, Corey DiMario, Zack Hickman, Eric Platz, Aoife O'Donovan, Hanneke Cassel, Natalie Haas, Nat Barret, and Cornelius Boots on Bass Clarinet.

Think Tank: The Center for American Progress
Influences: Paul Krugman, Erik Satie, Guillaume de Machaut, Olivier Messiaen, Willie Nelson, Marty Robbins, Justice John Paul Stevens, Lindsey Buckingham, Levon Helm, Pops Staples, Othar Turner, Dirk Powell, Tommy Jarrell, and Denis Murphy. The Borodin Quartet, Yuri Bashmet, Gidon Kremer, Pierre Boulez, and Janos Starker. Nigel Godrich and Paul McCartney (together!), Roy Thomas Baker, and Nic Jones. But mostly Dan Williams
Sounds Like: Crooked Still
Hanneke Cassel
The McKassons
Lissa Schneckenburger
Jake Armerding
Val Mindel and Emily Miller
Rhys Jones and Christina Wheeler
The Magic Square
Me

Record Label: yodel-ay-hee
Type of Label: Indie

My Blog

Good news from the USDA

The USDA has been run by and for the interests of the corn lobby for some time. Given Obama's position on corn ethanol, Tom Vilsak was not a surprising choice for Agriculture. He was not, however, ins...
Posted by on Tue, 24 Feb 2009 00:02:00 GMT

I unbeg your pardon...

Jack Balkin unleashes the fury with this blog post title: I unbeg your pardon-- I never promised you, said the man in the Rose Garden Regarding Bush's attempted unpardon of Robert Toussie. This dovet...
Posted by on Sat, 27 Dec 2008 23:34:00 GMT

ASCAP is a Disney stooge

I am an ASCAP member, which means that I get daily emails. I am still waiting for the really fat checks to start rolling in, but at least they know how to get in touch with me.These emails seem to con...
Posted by on Fri, 05 Dec 2008 14:58:00 GMT

Who Killed Jdimytai Damour?

From Balkinization;Ian Ayers asks, "Who Killed Jdimytai Damour?"
Posted by on Thu, 04 Dec 2008 11:39:00 GMT

Recursive McCarthyism

James Taranto makes the counter-intuitive point that Sen. Chambliss's victory in GA was also a victory against the McCarthyism. Democrats have been guilty of smearing Chambliss by pointing out the dis...
Posted by on Thu, 04 Dec 2008 11:10:00 GMT

The Fed’s Where I Should Be

Speaking of Glenn Hubbard...
Posted by on Thu, 27 Nov 2008 20:46:00 GMT

From Philadelphia to Manassas

I am glad Obama chose to end his campaign in Manassas. While the Civil War symbolism is clear, my first thought was that it was a perfect bookend for Reagan's campaign launch in Philadelphia, MS.
Posted by on Mon, 03 Nov 2008 22:40:00 GMT

Go Big Red!

11,000 IU Students registered to vote since August 15.http://www.fivethirtyeight.com/2008/10/on-road-bloomingto n-indiana.html
Posted by on Mon, 06 Oct 2008 19:56:00 GMT

Kissinger's Rehab

Why would anyone want to know what Kissinger thinks, anyway? Ahmadinejad and Kim Jong-Il are do not have the gravitas and stature of Suharto, Pinochet, Mao, and all the awesome dictators of the cold w...
Posted by on Fri, 26 Sep 2008 22:40:00 GMT

Balance on Georgia

General coverage of the situation in Georgia has stuck with the narrative of Russia as aggresor against freedom loving Georgia. There is undoubtedly some truth in this but it is important to try to ma...
Posted by on Wed, 13 Aug 2008 11:29:00 GMT