In this episode of the Talking Sound Podcast host Christopher Jordan welcomes Eric Levy to show to talk about a life filled with music as well as his journey from playing keyboards and touring the festival circuit with hippie jam band Garage Majal to being the keyboardist and backup vocalist for the ever popular band Night Ranger and playing for millions of people every year!
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Beginning at a young age Eric Levy’s life was filled with music. His father, a saxophone player by trade, made sure that a young Eric had all the musical influences and support he would need to grow and foster a love for the art. But it was when Eric hit high school that his aspiration took flight to stage and his eyes turned to the call of rock and roll. Beginning with a foot in the door through his father, Eric was off and running playing Elvis on one of the more popular bands in his hometown. This began his love of connection with the live audience and his career as a live musician, making his way to California and beginning his musical journey to stardom.
Tune in and find out how Eric hooked up with the popular touring band Garage Mahal. Hear how a chance meeting and a single moment of decision led him down the road of playing keyboards for one of the greatest ballad bands ever…Night Ranger. All this and more in this episode of the Talking Sound podcast with special guest Eric Levy.
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SHOW NOTES: (click time code to jump to segment)
00:00 Show Intro and host Christopher Jordan introduces the days topic and guest Eric Levy, keyboardist for the popular band Night Ranger.
03:00 Eric and Chris discuss the wealth of music, venues and opportunities that abound in cities like Las Vegas.
6:00 Eric goes into how his father’s career as a touring musician opened the world of music to him and instruments to him.
12:00 Eric describes how his first paying job was DJing and playing in an Elvis cover band in Chicago and his joining of the band Burnt Toast.
17:00 Eric and Chris discuss the dynamics of playing live in and working with jam bands like Garage Majal and the incredible synergy that takes place between the stage and audience.
27:00 Chris and Eric discuss the topic of an individual curated image of artist vs working musician and the ethics of backing out of a gig at the last minute.
36:00 Eric describes what his journey has been like from playing small venues in house band to touring in the festival circuit to now playing in arenas and ampitheaters in front of millions of fans a year.
42:30 Eric describes how since beginning his work with Night Ranger he has changed the way he plays and the equipment he uses opting for a much more stripped down rig with minimal equipment to assure ease of live functionality.
49:00 Eric and Chris discuss various keyboards and amplifiers and the way they encourage performers to play and create in different ways.
53:00 Eric discusses a study he had recently seen about how music affected memory and how reading about the study changed the way he viewed his experience on the stage when performing for longtime fans of Night Ranger.
1:01 Chris signs off and thanks guest Eric Levy for his appearance.
Special thanks to Cujo, LTD for providing Eric Levy’s guest appearance.
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