Rockin' & Rollin' with Eric Hutchinson
August 2009
If you like Jason Mraz, meet Eric Hutchinson, a 28-year-old musician from Maryland who's being lauded as the next artist to follow in the catchy and intellectually lyrical world of pop singer-songwriters.
If he wants to rock, he rocks. If he wants to roll, he rolls. And he can definitely roll with the punches - as proven by his recovery of a potentially career-stalling setback a couple of years ago.
Originally signed to Madonna's Maverick Records, Hutchison lost his recording deal when the label shut down. Undeterred, Hutchinson independently released his debut "Sounds Like This," and upon acknowledgement from celebrity blogger Perez Hilton, the album climbed to a top ten position on iTunes in late 2007.
Best known for the song "Rock & Roll," as featured on The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2 soundtrack, Hutchinson's on the rise, and WaldenPonders caught up with him prior to his ascent into Philadelphia (World Café Live, May 5th), discussing his craft, opening for Kelly Clarkson, and swapping jobs with Conan O'Brien.
What are your thoughts on the transitional period between leaving Maverick and releasing the album on your own?
Looking back on it all, it's kinda interesting to me. It took a lot of persistence. I was depressed and frustrated, and I just kept going. I decided to just keep trying, and that's for me, the only thing I know how to do in this career that I've chosen. It's been really gratifying, though, to have these songs that I believe in and saw through - to have people responding to them.
What are your inspirations for writing?
Inspiration comes from all over. I try to find specific situations in life that don't get written about or don't get discussed in music or movies or something. I find a lot of songs about "I love you, I cant live without you." I find a lot more often, it's "I love you, but you make me crazy" or "I love you, but I'm married to your sister." So, I try to find that gray area.
How do you feel about your popularity skyrocketing as a result of this trend of online blogging?
[Perez] really helped get the ball rolling and put a lot of attention on the album when nobody was really aware of it, so I owe a huge debt to him. I definitely wouldn't use the word skyrocketing. There was about maybe a week when it was really happening and really exciting, and then I think it kind of went away. It's been kind of a weekly thing of trying to keep people interested and excited about the music.
Your website is very fan-friendly, including lots of content, a personal blog, and even a month-by-month list of your "7 Favorite Things." What motivates you to share so much and make the time to do so?
I wanted something to stay connected to the fans and show them that I'm a normal person, and I do normal things. It's just kind of a fun, personal way to have my personality in the website.
Given your "7 Favorites" lists, how about seven words to describe yourself?
Hmm...seven words...I would say: soul, feel-good, thoughtful, energetic, pop, sarcastic. I don't know. It's hard to have seven things to describe me...that's so sad...stumps me. You should know, it takes me a whole month to come up with my list. I can't come up with that at the top of my head.
You graduated from Emerson College in 2002 with a film degree. Why didn't you decide to pursue an education more focused on music?
I always did film and music kind of evenly. I thought about going to music school, but I didn't want to have to study it and end up hating it as a result. At the end of college, I decided I needed to concentrate on one or the other, and I thought it would be a little easier to do music, which may or may not have been true, but it's been cool.
And you founded a comedy troupe in college?
I spent a lot of my time doing that stuff. We played the Conan O'Brien show earlier this year, and all day we were there, I was like, "Man, I should've been a comedy writer. It seems so cool and fun." And then when we were done performing, Conan came over and shook my hand, and he said, "Oh man, I wanna be doing what you're doing." So, I think it's kind of always like the grass is greener. But, I feel really lucky to be able to do what I've done and to have things going the way they are.
How do you balance having a home life in New York and touring?
Really, what I've learned over the years of traveling is you kind of have to be in the moment. Sounds a little cliché or something, but you gotta keep doing what you're doing. It works well for me, because when I get off the road, I don't think about the road, and I can go home and see my friends and my family. Then, when I'm on the road, I try not get too homesick or anything and keep moving.
You'll be opening for Kelly Clarkson in late summer, what are your other upcoming tour plans?
Yeah, we're doing Kelly Clarkson. So that'll be really cool. We're gonna be doing a Midwest headlining tour in June, and we're actually almost booked all the way into September already.
What other musician would you someday like to work with?
I'd love to work with Kanye West. He's probably my favorite modern guy out there, and I think it'd be fun to do something with him.
One of your goals is to tour all 50 states. How's that going?
We just booked a show in Vermont, which will be number 45. The last five states are gonna be difficult: Alaska, Wyoming, North Dakota, South Dakota, Montana...so they're all the places that nobody lives. (Laughs)
You just returned from a trip to Australia, where incidentally, "Rock & Roll" recently earned the #1 spot on the airplay chart. What was your experience like?
It was really good, and it was great to see the crowds and people really responding. It was my first time down there, and to have people know the music like that and to be excited about seeing us was really exciting and encouraging. We're hoping to maybe even get back down there by the end of the year and do headlining shows.
What are your goals for the future?
I want to be making music that I believe in. I'd like to think that I could hopefully walk away from it when it's at it's peak. I've always said I want to do music until it doesn't make sense anymore. Right now, I'm working on writing new songs for a new album.
What can fans expect from your concert?
It's just a feel-good show. It's upbeat, and I believe strongly that the show is 50% crowd and 50% performer, so we try real hard to get the audience involved. I always try to consider what I would find interesting if I was in the crowd, so we keep things moving. So, I look at it more like I'm throwing a party or something. You wouldn't invite people over to your house and then say, "Ok, I hope you have a good time." You're constantly checking to see if they need a drink or what's going on, so if you're gonna have people come out, you gotta take care of them.
Definitely attend one of Eric's parties this summer. Tour dates and the hilarious "7 Favorite Things" lists are viewable on his official website.
Links: Official Site | Facebook | Twitter
If he wants to rock, he rocks. If he wants to roll, he rolls. And he can definitely roll with the punches - as proven by his recovery of a potentially career-stalling setback a couple of years ago.
Originally signed to Madonna's Maverick Records, Hutchison lost his recording deal when the label shut down. Undeterred, Hutchinson independently released his debut "Sounds Like This," and upon acknowledgement from celebrity blogger Perez Hilton, the album climbed to a top ten position on iTunes in late 2007.
Best known for the song "Rock & Roll," as featured on The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2 soundtrack, Hutchinson's on the rise, and WaldenPonders caught up with him prior to his ascent into Philadelphia (World Café Live, May 5th), discussing his craft, opening for Kelly Clarkson, and swapping jobs with Conan O'Brien.
What are your thoughts on the transitional period between leaving Maverick and releasing the album on your own?
Looking back on it all, it's kinda interesting to me. It took a lot of persistence. I was depressed and frustrated, and I just kept going. I decided to just keep trying, and that's for me, the only thing I know how to do in this career that I've chosen. It's been really gratifying, though, to have these songs that I believe in and saw through - to have people responding to them.
What are your inspirations for writing?
Inspiration comes from all over. I try to find specific situations in life that don't get written about or don't get discussed in music or movies or something. I find a lot of songs about "I love you, I cant live without you." I find a lot more often, it's "I love you, but you make me crazy" or "I love you, but I'm married to your sister." So, I try to find that gray area.
How do you feel about your popularity skyrocketing as a result of this trend of online blogging?
[Perez] really helped get the ball rolling and put a lot of attention on the album when nobody was really aware of it, so I owe a huge debt to him. I definitely wouldn't use the word skyrocketing. There was about maybe a week when it was really happening and really exciting, and then I think it kind of went away. It's been kind of a weekly thing of trying to keep people interested and excited about the music.
Your website is very fan-friendly, including lots of content, a personal blog, and even a month-by-month list of your "7 Favorite Things." What motivates you to share so much and make the time to do so?
I wanted something to stay connected to the fans and show them that I'm a normal person, and I do normal things. It's just kind of a fun, personal way to have my personality in the website.
Given your "7 Favorites" lists, how about seven words to describe yourself?
Hmm...seven words...I would say: soul, feel-good, thoughtful, energetic, pop, sarcastic. I don't know. It's hard to have seven things to describe me...that's so sad...stumps me. You should know, it takes me a whole month to come up with my list. I can't come up with that at the top of my head.
You graduated from Emerson College in 2002 with a film degree. Why didn't you decide to pursue an education more focused on music?
I always did film and music kind of evenly. I thought about going to music school, but I didn't want to have to study it and end up hating it as a result. At the end of college, I decided I needed to concentrate on one or the other, and I thought it would be a little easier to do music, which may or may not have been true, but it's been cool.
And you founded a comedy troupe in college?
I spent a lot of my time doing that stuff. We played the Conan O'Brien show earlier this year, and all day we were there, I was like, "Man, I should've been a comedy writer. It seems so cool and fun." And then when we were done performing, Conan came over and shook my hand, and he said, "Oh man, I wanna be doing what you're doing." So, I think it's kind of always like the grass is greener. But, I feel really lucky to be able to do what I've done and to have things going the way they are.
How do you balance having a home life in New York and touring?
Really, what I've learned over the years of traveling is you kind of have to be in the moment. Sounds a little cliché or something, but you gotta keep doing what you're doing. It works well for me, because when I get off the road, I don't think about the road, and I can go home and see my friends and my family. Then, when I'm on the road, I try not get too homesick or anything and keep moving.
You'll be opening for Kelly Clarkson in late summer, what are your other upcoming tour plans?
Yeah, we're doing Kelly Clarkson. So that'll be really cool. We're gonna be doing a Midwest headlining tour in June, and we're actually almost booked all the way into September already.
What other musician would you someday like to work with?
I'd love to work with Kanye West. He's probably my favorite modern guy out there, and I think it'd be fun to do something with him.
One of your goals is to tour all 50 states. How's that going?
We just booked a show in Vermont, which will be number 45. The last five states are gonna be difficult: Alaska, Wyoming, North Dakota, South Dakota, Montana...so they're all the places that nobody lives. (Laughs)
You just returned from a trip to Australia, where incidentally, "Rock & Roll" recently earned the #1 spot on the airplay chart. What was your experience like?
It was really good, and it was great to see the crowds and people really responding. It was my first time down there, and to have people know the music like that and to be excited about seeing us was really exciting and encouraging. We're hoping to maybe even get back down there by the end of the year and do headlining shows.
What are your goals for the future?
I want to be making music that I believe in. I'd like to think that I could hopefully walk away from it when it's at it's peak. I've always said I want to do music until it doesn't make sense anymore. Right now, I'm working on writing new songs for a new album.
What can fans expect from your concert?
It's just a feel-good show. It's upbeat, and I believe strongly that the show is 50% crowd and 50% performer, so we try real hard to get the audience involved. I always try to consider what I would find interesting if I was in the crowd, so we keep things moving. So, I look at it more like I'm throwing a party or something. You wouldn't invite people over to your house and then say, "Ok, I hope you have a good time." You're constantly checking to see if they need a drink or what's going on, so if you're gonna have people come out, you gotta take care of them.
Definitely attend one of Eric's parties this summer. Tour dates and the hilarious "7 Favorite Things" lists are viewable on his official website.
Links: Official Site | Facebook | Twitter
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