Eric Addington: News

Here are some of my 2005 favorites in no particular order...send me your lists too.

Favorite Shows of 2005
Nickel Creek - Orpheum Theater; Minneapolis, MN

The Hopefuls - Fitzgerald Theater; St. Paul, MN

Loudon Wainwright III and David Wilcox - MN Zoo; Apple Valley, MN

Todd Snider - Cedar Cultural Center; Minneapolis, MN

Nanci Griffith - Fargo Theater; Fargo, ND

Dougie Maclean - Theatre du Mississippi; Winona, MN

Phil Keaggy - Benson Great Hall; Arden Hills, MN

Eric Taylor - Great Northern; Fargo, ND

Favorite Albums of 2005

Sexsmith & Kerr - Destination Unknown

Fiona Apple - Extraordinary Machine (Jon Brion Version)

Imogen Heap - Speak for Yourself

Nickel Creek - Why Should the Fire Die?

Eric Taylor - Great Divide

2005 is coming to a close, and it's been a good year. I've been going back over the shows I played this year, and it's been fun looking back. In all, I drastically cut back on the number of shows I played. I think I played 38 shows in 2005. In years past it had been closer to 100 shows per year. I guess I have mixed feelings about cutting back. It's nice being home a bit more, and I find I've had more time to work on new songs some. On the other hand, I really enjoy playing shows and I wish I had played some more. Finding a balance between working on new material and performing has always been hard for me. My 2006 schedule only has one show booked right now. I'm hoping to finish a bunch of new songs that I've been working on for a while early on this year, and then I'm hoping to have a busy tour schedule again.

Thanks to all of you who have been so supportive this past year. All the folks who buy records and come to performances really make this pursuit worthwhile. I appreciate the emails of encouragement a great deal. It's always nice to know someone is listening.

I realized winter had arrived yesterday when I watched my car slide backwards out of my driveway. It didn't hit anything, thankfuly. I thought it was pretty funny actually. It's been a cold few days in Minnesota. Though, I have to say St. Paul is tropical compared to Fargo/Moorhead where the interstates have already been closed several times. I can't say I miss the wind up there.

Musically things have been interesting. You may have noticed my schedule recently has become quite sparse. This is sort of intentional. I'm feeling really excited about some of the projects in line right now, but most of them don't involve performances right now. It seems strange to me to have so much music going on and yet no shows coming up. This is the first break in touring that I've taken in as long as I can remember. Not that I tour all that much to begin with, but I usually have several shows per month booked out. After my January 6th show in Bemidji with Lance Benson, I have nothing scheduled. I'll consider shows if a venue is interested, but I'm not devoting much energy to booking right now.

I'm feeling really good about some writing that I'm doing right now. I'm hoping to buckle down and really flesh out some new songs in the coming months. I've also been having a lot of fun learning some new cover songs. As a songwriter, I've sort of put off learning covers for the past few years in order to develop a catalog of original material. However, looking back, I got to where I am as a guitar player and songwriter by learning to play other people's songs. So, I'm revisiting some old cover songs that I used to play and I'm learning some new ones as well.

I'm really excited about these new songs and ideas I'm having. And, I'm sure, in short time, I'll be ready to be back out on the stage playing these new songs and some new covers too. Thanks for reading.
eric

I sang in a weeding this past weekend in North Central North Dakota, and it was as if I traveled through time to get here. It is full on fall at Lake Metigoshe already. I left near 90-degree weather in St. Paul and arrived in Bottineau to find temperatures in the 60s. The leaves have changed and the lake is quiet. It’s really quite beautiful, though I don’t like missing out on any of the fall season. It’s my favorite, and it never lasts long enough for me. I guess I can see this trip as a sort of preview of what’s to come in a few weeks back in Minnesota.

The wedding went well, and it was good to see some old friends. I managed to squeeze a few extra days into this trip so I could spend some time at the lake with the family. As I write this, I’m sitting on the pontoon boat on a perfectly quiet lake. There are some folks down the shore a ways taking out their dock for the season, but otherwise it’s just Kecia and I. The sun is shining and it’s great. I’m drinking a beer, and I caught a small northern off the dock about five minutes ago. I guess I don’t have much to complain about.

Tomorrow it’s a nine-hour drive back to St. Paul where I can expect this fall season to catch up soon. And, after the preview I’ve had these last couple of days, I look forward to it’s arrival.

It was a whirlwind trip to Montana this past weekend for some friends' wedding. I had an interesting journey. I flew out of Minneapolis/St. Paul International airport on Friday evening around 9:30 or so. This was my first time flying with my guitar, and I'm happy to say America West Airlines were commendable in their flexible-ness with my paranoia. I’m not really much for flying, so I decided to stop into the airport bar to take the edge off. Oddly enough, Christopher Walken was the barkeep. Seriously, this guy looked and sounded just like Christopher Walken. I connected through Las Vegas and I had about 45 minutes of layover. Coincidentally, 45 minutes in the Las Vegas airport is exactly how long it takes to lose $20 in a video poker machine. I arrived in Billings at a little past 3:00 am Saturday. I was pleased when at 7:00 am two hotel workers decided to have a deep and meaningful conversation about hotel towels right outside my room. My friend Bill called and we decided to grab some breakfast and check out a Volkswagen shop in town. Word to the wise…don’t eat at Denny’s in Billings, Montana. I realize this is common sense for most, but I just wanted to throw it out there. The wedding was great on Saturday afternoon, and then it was off to the reception, which was big fun as well. Sunday morning Bill and I had brunch with some friends before hitting the road for Fargo, ND. It was a great car ride and I’m thankful Bill was able to give me a lift. It was great singing with Bill again in the wedding, and it was great catching up on the car ride home. I think we may try and do a few shows together again in the near future. We hadn’t sung together just the two of us for a long time, and we both thought it felt pretty good. We only managed to get one speeding ticket on the way home, and the trooper was kind enough to knock a few miles off the radar to prevent Bill’s insurance from taking a hit. We arrived back in Fargo around 11:30 Sunday night and pretty much hit the bed right away. Up again at 7:00 Monday morning to catch the Greyhound back to Minneapolis. The bus ride was uneventful and didn’t take as long as I thought it might. We only stopped three times…once in Alexandria, once in Fergus Falls, and once in St. Cloud.

Overall it was a fun trip that came together sort of last minute. I’m notorious for last minute travel plans, and I should really try and be more on top of these things. I’m glad it all worked out. It was great to see friends and mountains, and I really wish I would have had more time for both.

Trip Listening: David Sedaris Me Talk Pretty One Day and Dress Your Family In Corduroy and Denim; John Gorka Temporary Road; Extreme Pornograffiti; Back episodes of Michael Feldman’s WhadYa Know;

Those who actually read this journal may have noticed that Extreme’s Pornograffiti record has been getting a significant amount of iPod time as of late. It’s really just that I can’t get enough of Nuno Bettencourt’s solo in Decadance. That’s really the only song I’ve been listening to I swear.

Kecia and I road tripped to Fargo, ND this past Friday evening to see Nanci Griffith play at the Fargo Theater. Traffic leaving the twin cities was absolutely ridiculous. Trying to travel north on I-94 on the north side of Minneapolis/St. Paul sucks. I honestly didn’t think we were going to make it to the show on time. I was doing the mileage in my head the entire trip. I’m the type of person who likes to be insanely early to events like this. Movies, games, concerts…I’m only comfortable if I’ve arrived an hour before the promoter. That’s a slight exaggeration, but only slight, as Kecia would gladly tell you. I don’t know why…I just need to be really early much to the annoyance of anyone going to a show with me. Which is why I like going to shows by myself. But, that’s neither here nor there. We made it to our seats just as Clive Gregson was starting his opening set, which was fantastic. He handles the lead guitar work in Nanci’s band. He’s really great. He plays parts that you almost don’t realize are there. Very smooth. Nanci was great as well. I hadn’t seen her play live for a long time, and she didn’t disappoint at all. Highlights for me were “Workin’ in Corners” and “It’s A Hard Life”

Hello Reader,

Well, last weekend I participated in my first songwriting competition at the Highway 61 Folks Festival. Needless to say, I did not win. Or even place for that matter. But, as they say, songwriting is a subjective thing and just being recognized is winning enough. I'm a little torn with the competitive songwriting thing...part of me thinks it's a little silly to try and judge something like songwriting. Part of me also thinks it'd be sweet to be named a finalist in some of the big folk festival competitions. In any case, I'm not sure if I'll continue to submit songs for competitions or not. I suppose it depends on how desperate I get to list some sort of accomplishment in my bio. On to the festival details….

It was held at Rob’s Mahtowa Tavern in Mahtowa, MN. For those geographically inclined, it’s south of Duluth, MN about 30 miles I think. It’s a shame to me to have been that close to Duluth without actually going into town to see the lake. There were 25 of us in the songwriting competition, and the top five won prizes. Each writer performed two original songs. To demonstrate the subjectivity of songwriting, of the 25 people involved, none of my personal top 5 were in the actual top 5 that the judges picked. Not to say that the judges top 5 weren’t good. I actually enjoyed most of the performances of the day. The weather was beautiful, though my fair skin forced me into the bar several times to get out of the sun…and to have a beer. The organizers of the festival were very organized and very kind. I felt fortunate to be involved.

When the competition wrapped up at about 7pm I jumped in the old car and proceeded to drive to Devil’s Lake, ND. I arrived there at about 1AM. I was on my way to Minot, ND for a friend’s wedding reception, and I probably could have made the whole drive the night before but I didn’t want my sleep schedule to get too out of wack. I rose early Sunday morning and made it to town in good time. I was able to spend a full day at Lake Metigoshe with the family, which is always restful and good. I really don’t have much in the way of cell coverage up in the Great North and so it feels good to unplug for a few days. Kecia and I made the drive back to the Twin Cities on Tuesday. All told I put about 1500 clicks on the ol’ odometer, but it was well worth it to get out of the city for a few days.

iPod Listening: Extreme – “Pornograffiti”; Garrison Keillor – “A Life In Comedy”; Storyhill – “Dovetail”; Dar Williams – “The Honesty Room”

Culinary Highlight – Aside from the home cooking at the lake, I had an excellent bratwurst at Rob’s Mahtowa Tavern. I’m pretty sure a lot of it had to do with the cold beer and hot sun environment.

Culinary Low Point – Burger King in Grand Rapids, MN. Enough said.

That’s all for now,
Check ya later.

Eric

Another month gone by with no update in the news section. Wow, I am sucking at keeping this updated! Let's see...what's going on? Not much with me. The tour schedule is very slow for the summer. I'm hoping to pick up a few dates yet while the weather is nice, but I'm starting to shift focus to the fall. I'm hoping to add as many college campus' as possible to the tour schedule for the coming school year. I've had so much fun this past spring playing at a few colleges, and the response has been really positive. So, I'm hoping this fall will bring more college performances to the schedule.

I've also been writing new songs, and I'm preparing to enter the studio to start some demo tracking of these new songs. I really don't know what will come of these sessions. I'm not sure if I'm going to put another cd out or not at this point. Dragonfly has done well enough to pay for itself, but I'm not sure if there is demand for another record. I'll definitely be recording new material, but I'm not clear what I should do with it yet. I really enjoyed the process of making Dragonfly, and I'm really happy with the way it turned out. It's been almost two years since it's release, and now is the time to be thinking about releasing another record. At least, industry stereotype rules would suggest it's time for another record to be released. But, then again, I'm not really in the industry for the most part. I'm just a guitar player from Minnesota who has written a few songs and played them for a few people. Fortunately for me, the few people who have listened to these songs have been incredibly supportive and I appreciate that more than I could ever say. So, I guess I'll just see where these new songs take me in when I start laying them down in the studio. All I can do is follow their lead I suppose.

The show wednesday night in brainerd with Donny, Keith, and Darrin was fun as always. I felt a little hyperaware of the cameras, and I don't feel like I played as well as I could have. It was fun hanging out backstage and filming the Q & A with the guys though.

In other news, Dragonfly recently was reviewed by Dan MacIntosh at Indie-Music.com. You can check out the review at: www.indie-music.com Thanks for your kind words Dan!

I hope everyone is well, and I'll see you soon!
eric

Hello!

Well, I've been doing a crappy job in the news section...sorry to the faithful reader.

I spent a weekend at the Redwood Room down in Rochester and had a good time playing at my favorite bar. It was a fun gig because I was just sort of background music. I was able to practice some new songs, and that's always a good thing.

Last weekend I had another show in New Ulm, MN at Martin Luther College. I played outdoors during their end of the school year bash. There were inflateable games, a dunk tank, a pig roast, and yours truly. The weather cooperated, with the exception of the wind, and I had a great time. Big thanks to Michael Wendt for bringing me back and making me sound so good again.

I'm off tonight to Brainerd for another Writers in the Round show with my good friends Donny, Keith, and Darrin. It's always fun to travel north and play with these guys. And, with Michael running sound, I never have to worry about sounding bad. Unless of course I screw up. It'll be a late night coming home tonight, but well worth the journey I'm sure!
Be well,
Eric

Hello all, and thanks to those kind folks at Martin Luther College who came out and saw me perform on the Boo Brodie Show. I had a blast playing for you! I'm always grateful for a room full of people who listen so attentively. Big thanks to Mark, Becky, Mike, Justin, and Kevin...sorry if I forgot anyone or got anyone's name wrong...you all put on a great show, and it was my pleasure to work with you. Thank you for the opportunity to play at Martin Luther College, and hopefully I'll make it back again soon.

Hellooooo
It's been awhile since I've visited this page of the website, so I thought I'd better put in an update just in case the two or three people who actually read this start sending me hate email. I went and saw Jimmie Dale Gilmore at a bar in Minneapolis the other night, and it was absolutely amazing. This guy is one of the best texas songwriters out there, and it was so cool to see him playing in a tiny little bar. It's encouraging to know that you can still see a mind-blowing show while only spending $15 for a ticket and also get to watch the show from 15 feet away from the stage.

Greetings reader of this journal. I'm here to rant about how good Brooks West's new cd is. Brooks is an old friend from Fargo, ND and we used to do a lot of shows together back in the day. He's since relocated to Pennsylvania. He just put out his second cd, and it is just awesome. He's got so many great lyrics that I wish I had written! I'm hoping he'll be touring around the midwest some to support this disc, as it's been too long since I've seen him play. In any case, do yourself a favor and look into purchasing this cd. You can find a link to Brooks' website on my link page. Check it out!

I had a blast playing out at Shetek Bible Camp again this past weekend. The weather was unbelievable. It had to have been close to 60 degrees! The folks at Shetek are always so gracious, especially my friend Chad Christianson. This was my second time out to camp to play, and both times have been great due in large part to Chad's hard work and generosity. Thanks to all of you who sat and listened so politely, and thanks to those who bought cds...I hope you enjoy them, and I hope you had as much fun listening as I did playing. I'm always appreciative of a crowd who listens so intently. Thanks!

The ride out to lake shetek was relaxing. The cd player in my car isn't working right now, but minnesota public radio stayed with us most of the way out to Slayton. The sun was shining, and it was good to get away from the city for a bit.

Hellooooo. Last Saturday turned out to be another great night at Ginkgo Coffee in St. Paul. I had the pleasure of sharing the stage with three good friends and awesome players. Niall Munson, Jason Lee, and Kevin Taylor. I was so amazed at how many people came out for this show. I am humbled by and grateful for such amazing friends!

The calendar is looking a little empty right now. I better get on booking some shows. I'll hopefully have some updates soon! Thanks for reading.

Greetings! Last night's Writers in the Round show was great fun. Thanks to all of you who came out...it was so nice to have such an appreciative audience. Big thanks to Michael and his crew for the great sound and lights. And, as always, big thanks to Donny, Darrin, Keith and Steve for sharing their stage with me. I had a lot of fun playing. It was nice to be on the road a little bit again too. I hadn't had a road trip gig for some time.

My friend Jason Lee came along for the ride. It's always nice to have someone along on the road gigs. Then, if no one shows up, I at least know one person will be there.

After the show last night the whole gang headed out for a drink and it was nice to hang out and catch up. I always feel really lucky to have such great friends in the other towns I play in. I didn't make it home till almost 3 this morning so this day is turning out a little hazy. But, I look forward to doing it again soon.

Greetings! Last Saturday's show at Mark Deering's house was a blast. Many thanks to those of you who came and hung out. It was awesome to see Mark play a few tunes and show me up on the guitar :) and it was great to have Mark, Josh Baesler, Brent Thorson, and Kevin Taylor add harmonies and percussion to some of those tunes.

I do have to say a huge thank you to Mark Deering for hosting me again at his home. Without the support of friends like him, I'd be nowhere.

The show at Ginkgo last saturday with jeff ray was really fun. I was pleasantly surprised at how many people were hanging out. It was really cool to hear jeff play. His style is so laid back, and I really enjoyed the vibe of his tunes.

I screwed up the words on 'insignificant' so sorry about that! If you want to hear how it's really supposed to sound, you can listen to it on the music page.

Ginkgo is a great place to play, and one of the subtleties that I've learned to appreciate playing in coffeeshops is when the workers wait with the noisy drinks till between songs. Thanks for that!