Press Kit
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For Concert Promoters:
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Quick History:
*1995: Ridgely, Ridgely (EP)
*1996 : toured with Caedmon’s Call
*1997: Ridgely, The Only Thing
*1998 : toured with Bebo Norman and Mark Williams
*1999: More than Watchmen (EP)
*1999 : toured with Bebo Norman
*2001: Land of the Living
*2002 : toured with Andrew Peterson
*2003: Miracle of Forgetting
*2004: Bookmark
*2006: Scarce
*2006 : toured with Andrew Peterson’s “Behold The Lamb of God” Tour
*2009: Revenge of the Birds (children-of-all-ages epic space novella)
*2009: Chrome
EP is a card-carrying member of The Square Peg Alliance
Album Reviews:
The Rabbit Room (Chrome)
Infuze Magazine
Christianity Today (Scarce)
Phantom Tollbooth (Scarce)
Phantom Tollbooth (Land of the Living)
Interviews:
Saving The Set List
Infuze Magazine
Soul-Audio
Life These Days
Biography:
Eric is a former member of the now defunct acoustic duet, Ridgely, a nationally touring act widely regarded for its tight folk-pop harmonies and interweaving melodies. The duet toured together from 1993-99 and built a respectable grassroots/college following in the process, selling more than 10,000 combined units of their self-titled EP (1995) and full-length album, The Only Thing (1997).
Originally hailing from south Louisiana, Peters’ ability to create unique character sketches is likely birthed out of his consistent touring schedule, meeting scores of people on the road and an active imagination. On stage or off, it doesn’t take long to see that Eric is as genuine as he is down to earth. What you see is what you get. Unafraid to laugh at himself, he also knows when it is time to be quiet. Eric remains a songwriting craftsman at heart and one who humbly acknowledges the honor of playing his songs for those who would graciously lend their ears to him no matter the setting: coffeehouse, theater, quiet sanctuary, or living room.
Eric’s first solo effort, a 6-song EP, More than Watchmen, was independently released in 1999. His follow up full-length, Land of the Living (2001), is a folk-pop album traversing the realms of folk, Americana, cajun Zydeco and covers much fertile ground in between. Miracle of Forgetting (2003), co-produced by Don McCollister (Sister Hazel, Caedmon’s Call, Indigo Girls) at Nickel & Dime Studios (Atlanta), is his third national independent release. Bold and big in delivery, it is replete with radio-friendly material. Eric’s fourth release, Bookmark (2004), is a departure of sorts with its minimally sparse production. An acoustic collection of both old and new originals, the album aims at capturing the emotions, inflections and expressions of his intricate solo shows. Eric’s release, Scarce (2006), is produced by Brent Milligan. It is a body of songs focused on the writing craft and continues to unfold the story of redemption and grace. Eclectic elements of shimmering folk-pop and lonely piano within. Eric’s newest record, his eighth overall, Chrome, is produced by Ben Shive, and released on Aug. 25, 2009. It is Eric’s most honest and personal record to date.
On multiple levels, redemptive themes permeate Eric’s writing. As a body of work should, intentions and interpretations are discovered long after the first impressions fade away. Like a earthen bed of rock, the varying layers continually reveal new discoveries the deeper and harder one looks. Honest, heart-on-the-sleeve moments relate the common human struggle to find hope, worth and place in life. “I trust that my songs are interpretative, not instructional. While instruction can be instantaneous and fleeting, interpretation allows for the factor of time: to heal, time to breathe, time to forgive, time for anger, time for failure, time for success, time to change and time to become. Recurring themes of faith and hope-triggered plotlines are simply an echo of who Eric Peters is, the experiences of his life and his own attempts to bring understanding to his own fallible world. “I am doomed without the strong and tender hand of mercy. I’ve tasted grace in the many instances where I’ve fallen flat on my face. I hope to share that of myself: the tangible and intangible, the noble and despicable, the manageable and the mysterious. As the mining term goes, I too am the detritus finding blessed life inside of life – my own angle of repose.
Influences:
Jackson Browne, Bill Mallonee & Vigilantes of Love, David Mead, Patty Griffin, The Samples, Toad the Wet Sprocket, Freedy Johnston, Crowded House, John Hiatt, the prose of Frederick Buechner, Wendell Berry, Annie Dillard, Kathleen Norris, Anne Lamott, Flannery O’Connor and Wallace Stegner. The subjects of ornithology, nachos, and the season of fall are also greatly influential.
