Jack Erdie

This acoustic folk musician blends his thoughtful lyrics with some fast fingering that's guaranteed to make you look at life a little differently. - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

By John Hayes, Post-Gazette Staff Writer

Jack Erdie stands at a different kind of pulpit bearing musical witness to his past sins for a congregation of folk fans. His secular story songs ebb and flow with the cadence of a Bible-thumping sermon; his political, social or intensely personal messages bristle with a passion that doesn't quite draw blood.

A fixture at Pittsburgh's singer-songwriter stages, Erdie revisits his Pentecostal past and a host of vices on his contemplative second independent album, "Pumpkin."

Remnants of his theater background surface in his powerful voice, nuanced delivery and compelling stage sense. Remnants of his rural childhood surface in his songs.

Most of Erdie's songs are rooted in real-life experiences and woven into a lattice of traditionally based musical structures. "Can't Get There From Here," which has seen some airplay at WYEP, swings to the country side. "I'm Sorry Jesus" mixes memories of his childhood blood-spurting with some soul-searching and comic relief. "Pumpkin With a Face" is a tragic rural novella, and "Let Their Heads Roll" pontificates with a partly political, partly anti-authoritarian edge.


- Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

About LET THEIR HEADS ROLL:

"Way awesome! Fabulous lyrics! I love that song..."
-- Anne Feeney, protest singer

"DAMN
that is a super fantastic
song it's all in there
like chaos in a nutshell"
-- Christiane Leach, Soma Mestizo

About BATTERED UMBRELLA:

One of the greatest songs of truth I have heard."
-- Art Gazdik, fiddler -- Newlanders

General:

"His music is like a transmission on the midnight radio over cultural barriers and national borders. "
-- Japanese playwright, Kiyoshi Fujioka


- Various

[Jack's] songs commanded attention, his vocal-range wide and powerful, his rhythms compelling, and his imagery and command of language as sophisticated as anything I'd ever heard.

Did you ever have a copy of Bob Dylan's "Bringing It All Back Home?" Flip it over to Side Two. You've got an entire side of panoramic, kaleidoscopic, compassionate, poetic and riveting portraits of life in America.

Remember the first time you heard it? Life-changing stuff. Well, that's how I feel when I hear the songs of Jack Erdie.

Musically, his songs cover the map from traditional blues-forms to the kind of melodicism you find in pop music from groups like XTC, The Beatles or Petula Clark.

Jack's lyrics are peppered with the kind of realistically joyous and violent images one could only find in the real lives of real people.



- (written for Pittsburgh Calliope Folk Music Alliance)

Singer-songwriters have a tough row to hoe. Many are lost in the crowd of folks who have not mastered their musical instruments, their word-smithing or learned from those who have gone before them.

Jack Erdie stands apart from that crowd. While most of the lyrics seem to be of an autobiographical nature, he is able to avoid the pitfall of self indulgence. His song-writing is able to transcend the merely personal and stand apart in a place of common experience that will make his songs relevant and meaningful to most listeners.

The musicianship on Jack's CD, Pumpkin, ranges from solid to excellent. He provides the great playing on multiple instruments and is wonderfully accompanied by several folks to create a nice full sound that frames his vocal story lines perfectly. And there are even some cuts that demonstrate his sensitivity and accomplishment as an instrumentalist. The musical styles he works with show that Jack has certainly spent the required time appreciating, understanding and mastering the more traditional music that many singer-songwriters seem to avoid completely.
Jack's offerings cover a wide-range of topics and styles. Lyrically, his songs cover personal tragedy and loss, love songs and political commentary. Vocally, Jack is able to use multiple voicings to help deliver his messages. At times you should hear the influences of both Dylan and Ochs while at other times Jack is gifting us with his own inner voices.
One criticism that might be offered is the occasional sesquipedalian nature of his lyrics can be a bit distracting.

On balance, Jack Erdie's Pumpkin is a strong collection of enjoyable songs with great musicianship and clean production work. The CD is well worth hearing and should encourage you to see him live if you ever have the opportunity!
- Tampa Blue