Biography
I grew up in West Virginia, where I was exposed to the spectrum of American roots music. I got bluegrass in the mountains, jazz & old-time country from the scant public library, & gospel from endless holy-roller revivals. And the radio was always on. I’ve synthesized them all to make them my own, & drawn on my study of poetry to add lyrical complexity to infectious melodies.
This mix is what helped make my latest CD, Pumpkin, a top ten Pittsburgh release of 2005:
www.wyep.org/yir/local.asp .
The reasons I play are many. A younger brother died when I was thirteen. The same year I traded a pellet gun for a guitar, started playing &, almost as suddenly, writing songs. Music was my consolation prize for a loss that still grows like weeds through my lyrics.
A musician uncle exposed me to Bob Dylan and Neil Young. An older singer/songwriter turned me on to Tom Waits and Leonard Cohen. And I’d been a fan of Johnny Cash long before discovering any of these. They are all still strong influences on my craft.
Instrumentation
Jack Erdie: acoustic guitars -- flatpicking, fingerpicking, & slide -- banjo, and harmonicas.
Discography
New Solo CD, PUMPKIN, completed! Lauded as one of the top ten local releases of 2005 by Pittsburgh's WYEP 91.3 fm. Beautiful Americana blues and roots music, with guitar, harmonica, banjo, fiddle, and mandolin. Receiving airplay on folk programs around the country. To be reviewed in the spring '06 edition of Sing Out!
Full-length CD release: When The Hurricane Hit.
The musicians on this disc are exceptional. Three were from a jazz trio. The others were all well-seasoned in many styles. They really enrich the songs.
Planetary disintegration, making amends, elegies for lost loved ones, indictments against racism, sexism, and easy spirituality, a post-apocolyptic love hymn, an anthem for the broken homes of our day. These are the themes that weather the hurricane and remain intact long after the storm of the folk-pop instrumentation dies away.
All tracks can be heard on & purchased from CDBaby.
Links
| http://www.jackerdie.com |