Eric Baines

For singer/songwriter/producer, Eric Baines, a dive bar is a familiar place. He began his career in the dive bars of Denver, CO where he grew up playing blues, top 40, jazz, country and whatever else anyone would pay him to play, sometimes scraping by on $25 a night. In the title track of his new CD, “Dive Bar Rock Star!”, he sings about the good side of his experiences and the feeling you get when the work day is done and you can retreat to a place where nobody can tell you what to say. “You don’t have to be a musician to be a Dive Bar Rock Star!” declares Baines.

His new CD was released on August 18th, 2009 on ericbaines.com. It was accompanied by a music video of the title track directed by award winning director and “High School Musical” star, Lucas Grabeel. On September 14th, 2009 Eric Baines will kick off the CD release at the Viper Room in Hollywood with his rocking band of L.A. musicians and some special guests. Tickets are $8 with a flyer.

If you like to party then you’ll like Eric Baines. His live show is just that. “I don’t want people to come to my shows, I want them to join my party”, says Baines. His music has been described as Weezer meets John Mayer with a shot of Jagermeister. That combination provides an interesting mix of moods on his CD. It will take you from a rocking party to a romantic, one night stand. Some songs are very heart filled and emotional and right when you’re ready to tear up Baines picks it back up again. He guides you through this journey quite comfortably, however, with his soulful and unique voice and it is quite a ride indeed. This album is lyrically very diverse, too. Baines gives us an honest (sometimes really honest) glimpse into his life but has a way of making them intriguing, desperate, sexy and sometimes hilarious but always entertaining. His self deprecating charm lures you in every time.

This new CD is his second solo release and marks a new beginning for Baines who has spent most of his career as a sideman backing many chart topping artists. Although he started in dive bars he worked his way up to playing arenas and stadiums as the bass player for the “High School Musical” concert tours which featured Vanessa Hudgens, Ashley Tisdale, Lucas Grabeel and Corbin Bleu. He went on to play in Bleu’s solo band for three tours. He’s also toured with Drew Seeley, Melissa Manchester, Debelah Morgan, and with jazz artists like Keiko Matsui, Lee Ritenour and Gregg Karukas. But being a sideman was never quite satisfying enough for Baines and this CD is his turn to make his music.

“Dive Bar Rock Star!” was produced by Baines and much of it was recorded in his house in Los Angeles, CA where he now resides. His music has been featured in many TV shows on MTV, VH1, NBC and most recently on an episode of HBO’s “Real Sex”. He was quite proud of that one. He’s also produced songs for Corbin Bleu and Rudy Cardenas from American Idol.

It’s been a winding journey for Eric Baines and this album captures the energy and spirit of this veteran performer. For more information go to ericbaines.com or contact him on Facebook, Twitter, myspace.com/ericbaines or reverbnation.com/ericbaines.