Eric Perry and the Digital Silence

Icons of the music world have been
winning over fans based on their particular
brand of cool. There are the tattooed rockers,
dreadlocked rasta and neon new wavers.
Then there's Eric Perry, a senior
performance major, fresh in from the cold,
snuggled up with a Starbucks cup and a red
wool scarf knotted under his chin. It is not
even noon but Perry is outfitted in a gray
blazer and loafers, with simple eyeglasses
perched on his nose.
Perry and his band, Eric Perry and the
Digital Silence, exude the simplistic melodies
of times past. The quartet would rather
perform pure vocals with acoustic guitar
instead of shattering screams and fuzz petals.
"I feel like we're the feel good band of
Fredonia," Perry said. "You go to concerts
and you get angry, bitter. Our music isn't
too emotional and we don't take ourselves
too seriously. If we have a good time, [the
audience] will have a good time. We like to do
crazy things- we'll set out crayons and paper
and have people draw while we perform. I'll
hand out percussion instruments. It's for those
who like honest music and want to leave
a concert feeling good about yourself and
humanity."
One thing is necessary in order to
appreciate Perry and his band and that is a
sense of humor.
"I always perform in a jacket," he said.
"I might wear a tee shirt, or sweater, or
chain-mail type thing, but I'll always wear a
jacket."
The band formed in 2006, and features
Nick Fields, a sophomore voice performance
major, on trumpet, Jon Rizzo, a senior music
education major, on drums and Joe Pow,
a senior applied voice and music business
major, on bass. Influences include Ben Folds,
Paul Simon, John Mayer and Barenaked
Ladies.
Perry and his band are pop with a twist;
and that twist happens to be a Mason Hall
pedigree and an affinity for classical and
opera.
"We're a stripped down, back to basics
kind of feel," Pow said. "It's for anyone who
wants to listen."
Perry and the Digital Silence most
recently released "Change Is..." a jaunty, jovial
exploration of various personal experiences
and realizations.
"The album has to deal with change," he
said. "All the songs have the theme of either
acceptance or getting over strange situations.
'Change Is...' pretty much means that; when
you're listening to the album, you can figure
out what your own change is."
One interesting experience comes in
the form of "Tiff," a single on the album.
Memorable lyrics include, "Can I ask you a
very important question/ How do you deal
with her all summer/ Living in constant
primping and vanity/ I'm pretty sure I would lose
my sanity/ Does she have a life, or is she too
busy being pretty/ Either way it's impossible/
So it's possible that we poison her with
kindness/ Or anthrax."
"I think 'Tiff' is a lot of fun, Perry
said. "I'm really pushing that song right now
because it's jolly and boisterous. We talk
about anthrax, virginity. You know, the real
pressing life issues."
"Change Is..." was recorded in the Mason
Hall studio and released last fall, is the first
album to come from the band. It is boppy
and winsome, appropriate for summertime
barbeques and skipping down the avenue.
"You can apply it to yourself, it's
ambiguous in that way," Pow said. "It means
something to you and to me and then it
might mean something else to him or her, or
something like that."
Perry and his posse do not discriminate.
They make music because they love it and
hope others will love it too- simple as that.
"We revolve around acoustic music. We
don't get into fancy computerized sounds. I
don't use foot pedals. We have reservations
about music amplifiers. But we're not a folk
band. I don't want you to think we're some
Appalachian family jug band. We want a pure
story, not get boxed into the screaming and
get lost in all that technical stuff," Perry said.

"Pop music today deals a lot with
feelings," Perry said`. Just singing about
love and that's it, not singing about the story.
A lot of my songs come from really odd
stories. I sing about true stories and my own
personal experiences. I don't like to spend
time singing about how I feel. Nobody cares
about that. There are other genres of music
that deal predominantly with that topic. I feel
sad today! You know, let someone else sing
that."
Those may be fighting words for some,
but to all the hardcore punks out there, there's
no need for a mosh pit brawl.
Perry realizes that this area is not huge
on acoustic folk rock. "I'm not taking anything
away from the other genres of music on
this campus. We're different because of the
instruments and the guitar solos are played
by a trumpet guy. We're slowly trying to put
ourselves out there."
Perry has a dramatic story that separates
his band from all the rest; it's one that few, if
any, other musicians can say.
"We were one of the bands that played
at the 2007 Utica Boilermaker, a 15K race,"
said Perry. "We had to play continuously in
the 80-90 degree weather, for three hours. We
played energetic, fast tunes for all the people
running miles. This one guy ran by us, and
he was looking tired, our music was pumping
through, and he smiled as he was running by.
Then we find out later on this guy actually
died of a heart attack about a mile after he ran
by us. So it was really nice because we were
the last piece of music that he heard before he
died. That was kind of grim. It really hit home
for how powerful music can be."
However, the Digital Silence will not
necessarily make you drop dead.
"I feel that our music is really honest,"
Pow said. "This is what I want to do. I want
to be a musician. Hopefully that carries over
to the recordings and performances. Some
people like that kind of honesty in music, so
give it a listen."
Eric Perry and the Digital Silence will
be performing at the STEPS Coffeehouse
for a Cure. More information will soon
be announced. Check out www.myspace.
com/ericperrymusic to listen to singles or to
purchase their latest album, "Change Is..."
-Reporting done by Ann Marie Trietley,
Staff Writer



- Tara Rook: The Leader; Fredonia, NY