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"I wish I could install him in my living room
and insert a quarter in his ear to get my daily fix." ~ Christopher Smith, Inside New York He spins tales from a tangled inner web, approaching each song as if it was its own one-man show. Refusing to be pigeonholed by form, genre, or instrument, including that of his own voice, Eric Schwartz has been entertaining audiences for more than ten years in the US and abroad. His versatility is evident in his accomplishments of 2001 alone: composing a score for a musical adaptation of Beowulf presented in NYC and working with Broadway stars Andre DeShields and Billy Porter; performing in showcases at the Falcon Ridge and Kerrville festivals; being selected for a formal showcase at Northeast Folk Alliance and Kerrville mainstage; releasing a cd under an alter-ego 'Red' which enjoys continual airplay on radio including the syndicated 'Dr. Demento' show; and releasing 'Napster Rap' via MP3 gathering Eric hundreds of new fans along with NPR radio attention. A degree in biology from Tufts University and a former career as a touring bilingual actor has furnished Eric Schwartz with a deftly analytical mind, an awesome imagination, and a soul which thrives in the spotlight. Piano was Eric's first instrument. After studying guitar in Madrid, he spent a year performing on the streets and in the cafés of Europe (he can sing songs in five languages and speaks Spanish and French). Eric then moved to Greenwich Village and quickly became a staple on the vicious Village bar scene for five years as he honed his craft as an original singer/songwriter, and began pulling attention from some of the world's toughest audiences. Eric's debut album "That's How It's Gonna Be" was produced in 1999 by Crit Harmon, who produced Martin Sexton's 'Black Sheep.' Upon listening, one quickly realizes that Schwartz' influences are as various as his subject matter-there's an ultra-hooky pop lament about the difficulty of having a new-age, spiritually driven girlfriend entitled 'Cuz Mary Said So', a 'ragtimey' 3-minute profile/history lesson about two 80-year old lesbians 'Hattie and Mattie' who kept company with Gertrude Stein, a piano testimonial to the bond of family in 'Brother Mine,' a 70's-style folk ballad longing for life to 'Only Be,' a plea of preservation from a blues-infused cockroach named 'Kafka,' and a gospel power ballad of unrequited love as the album's title track. What's left... Eric found something. In 2001, a new cd 'Pleading the First - Songs my Mother Hates' introduced the alter-ego 'Red' to audiences who wanted to purchase the Eric-rated-R songs that so many hear around festival campfires and in music convention hotel hallways-like the jazz-stylized 'Who Da Bitch Now' with its provoking lyrics on police brutality 'you thought you'd hide your violence behind that Big Blue Wall of silence,' and the Southern Bluegrassy tale 'I Swear She Said She Was 18' with the unforgettable line, 'how could I have prophesied by the lovely way she looked, that the little lamb chop's tenderloin was slightly undercooked.' These songs and others on this cd, reserved only for appropriate audiences, are even being covered by other artists! PA disc jockey Otto Bost wrote, "Eric is a writer who has mastered many styles, and his songs are as varied as the people of New York...The thread that holds them together is the solid craftsmanship of a young men with a pen in his hand, and an intriguingly offbeat view of the world." Fans and music journalists have tried to describe an Eric Schwartz show. Some talk about Eric's gorgeous voice with its baritone to Bee-Gee's vocal range, the intelligent way in which he uses satire and irony to convey a message, or the tremendous energy and personality he infuses into every show. But most will add, "You'll just have to experience it for yourself.' |
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