Eric Elias is a wonderful guitarist from Hartford CT., who shares with us his thoughts on everything from his musical beginnings to his duo with fellow guitarist Luke Nelson to how his Faith has helped him to express himself musically. A great read. Click here to read the Interview.

JazzGuitarLife.com Interview with Eric Elias: This interview was conducted via email May, 2004. Check out his website at www.ericelias.net

JGL: How old are you?

EE: I’m 38.

JGL: What geographical area do you live in?

EE: Hartford, CT, but I’m from upstate NY—the Syracuse and Rochester areas.

JGL: At what age did you first get into guitar playing and were you interested in jazz from the beginning or were there other musical interests before jazz? What was the motivating experience to get you involved in this particular music and instrument?

EE: I think I first got interested in music at age 10 or 11, but that was rock and folk music. As a kid I grew up with all kinds of music being played in my house (stuff that was popular in the 70s—Beatles, James Taylor, Bob Dylan, Taj Majal). My folks had some friends who were musicians and I was able to borrow some folk instruments from them. I gravitated toward the acoustic guitar, dulcimers, banjo, etc, pretty much whatever I could borrow. At that point I was just fascinated with playing music on anything. I was pretty determined to learn how to jam. I suppose as an 11 or 12 year old, it was easy for me just to hang out in my room and absorb the sounds of these instruments. We also lived next to a house full of college students and several played guitar, so I spent many summer days, just jamming with them on the porch and learning barre chords and scales and things. As far as guitar goes, I got my first guitar for Christmas in 7th grade (a $30 Sears guitar). A year later I got an electric guitar (a $12 Norma from a yard sale) and I was ready to be a rock star. At this point I was playing 70’s and 80’s rock (Neil Young, Bob Dylan, Hendrix, Zeppelin, Floyd, Cheap Trick, Rush). Once I hit high school, my ambition was to really be a good musician, so I tried to learn as much as I could beyond rock. I took some classical and pseudo jazz lessons (I say pseudo, because I don’t think I had an idea about what jazz really was until I got to college). I thought that once I learned my major scales I was playing jazz (laugh). I was probably the only guitar player in my high school that used the major scale and major pentatonic scales to improvise with (pretty funny). I guess at that point I just wanted to play all of the music that I liked (a lot of styles), so I tried to play everything. In reality, I was probably too distracted to really focus on one style for very long. I was definitely one of those “guitar geek” kids who just noodled all of the time on my guitar. I think from the start I was determined to just play well and that motivation has stayed. Once I hit college though I focused on jazz and also fingerstyle acoustic guitar—jazz, folk, classical and Brazilian music. I still play other instruments, but my love is really jazz and fingerstyle guitar.

JGL: What kind, if any, formal training do you have (i.e.: lessons, schooling, that sort of thing). And how did these experiences help you get where you are today?

EE: I’m definitely a schooled player. I have done my share of noodling on my own, but from the start I took lessons (and still take an occasional one). I started off by working out of the green Berkelee method book 1 (by Bill Levitt) at the local music store. This was a great book to work out of and helped plant some good seeds for my sight-reading and theory skills. I then took lessons from local “rock star” John Scaglione (A.K.A Johnny Angel—who played with bass rocker Billy Shehan in a band called Talas, out of Buffalo). John really taught me the rock repertoire and how to improvise with blues scales. I also took some classical and jazz kinds of lessons in high school. In college and graduate school I studied with the classical and jazz guitar instructors at school (while completing degrees in psychology). I also studied piano and after college studied upright bass, saxophone and percussion. I took jazz guitar lessons from anyone I could too, lots of great players in Rochester, NY (Steve Greene, Mark Manetta, Norm Tibbils, Todd Vullo). We moved to Hartford in 1996 so my wife could work on her doctoral degree. It was here that my jazz skills came together. Prior to this I was focusing on making the solo acoustic thing my style. While I played standards, I had trouble improvising on real chord changes. There were a few gaps in my improv skills. I took some lessons through Rich Goldstien at the University of Hartford. Randy Johnston also let me sit in on his ensemble there (great learning experience). I took Rich Severeson’s Guitar College courses and a year or so later was auditioning for a scholarship to study with Joe Carter at the Hartford Conservatory. I was able to study with Joe for a couple of years and kind of pull together all of the jazz and fingerstyle stuff into one crazy monster of a guitar style. That’s a pretty long answer. I guess I’m pretty eclectic, but my jazz improvisation skills have grown so much in the last 5 years or so and I’m currently still focusing on that. Right now I’m trying to take my chops out of the be bop era and land in the 21st century.

JGL: What was your first guitar? What are you playing now?

EE: My first guitar was a $30 Sears acoustic that you almost couldn’t tune (action was awful). After that I got a $12 Norma electric at a yard sale. I had a couple of decent student classical guitars in high school and got a very nice Alvarez Yairi acoustic for graduation. My first nice electric in High School was a Gibson Sonex Led Paul that had a fiberglass body. I had a Gretsch hollow body and an Ibanez Roadstar solid body through college and grad school. I’ve gone through a few different guitars here and there. My main guitars are the new Strombergs for arch tops. I have three of them. I really like the way they play and sound. I’m an endorser for Stromberg. I also use a Larrivee steel string and a Django style guitar made by Ibanez. My main nylon strings are a Ramierz and an Alvarez-Yairi. I have a strat and several basses as well.

JGL: Who were your influences on jazz guitar when you were beginning? And have they stayed the same or have they changed over the years? Who are you listening to today (guitarists or non-guitarists)?

EE: I suppose my first jazz records were fusion; Pat Metheny, Return To Forever. I really liked a west coast group called Koinonia and also Larry Carlton. Rocker and fingerstylist Phil Keaggy also inspired me the most to study jazz. I was hearing all of this Lydian stuff in his lines and lines in 4ths and I really wanted to know what he was doing. After that I got into the straight ahead guys (Joe Pass was and still is a big hero of mine and other guys like Lenny Breau, Tal Farlow, Sal Salvador). I’m really into Martin Taylor and Birelli LaGrene. I also love all kinds of players Joey DeFrancesco, Charlie Parker, Trane, Miles. I think people who are advanced improvisers or arrangers are becoming my favorite players now.

JGL: When you were younger what was your band experiences like? Did you have friends who were involved in music as well or did you have to search for people to play with.

EE: I think I’ve always been fortunate to have good players around me. I did the typical rock stuff in high school and college (cover band, coffee houses). The guys that I played with in high school were great and eventually, got signed to Mercury and then Atlantic records as a band called Hard Rain. I’ve done some playing with them in various forms since then. Lead singer John Acres has put out a couple of solo CDs and I played mandolin and acoustic guitar for his last band for a couple of years before moving to CT. I played in a frat band in grad school and played bass and guitar for the Bucknell University Jazz/Rock Ensemble. I also played with a great jazz trio in college that played standards. That trio was pretty funny. The bass player was very short and he used to borrow one of the school’s full size uprights and stand on a milk crate for gigs (pretty hilarious). During the summers I toured with a pop group around the US east coast and Canada (playing electric bass). I also toured in England with a great gospel influenced jazz/fusion style group called Ignition. That was a lot of fun.
I suppose that since I did a lot of solo stuff as well, I was able to work on my own if I didn’t have anyone to work with. I don’t think I’ve had to search too long to find people to play with though. As a solo finger style guitarist I’ve played some festivals and played with Phil Keaggy, also opened for Maynard Ferguson. After college I played guitar with The Alvin Parris Gospel Choir and we opened for national gospel groups Chronicles and Commissioned. Lately, I’ve gotten to play some large venues for the Connecticut Classical Guitar Society and some festivals, and have been featured in a few large workshops and guitar tradeshow events. I’ve gotten to play bass with some great Latin and jazz players too.

JGL: Did you know early on that music was something you wanted to do as a career choice and if so, what were some of the things you did to make this choice work for you?

EE: Its funny, I actually wanted to be a minister when I went to college. I had this sense of mission that I wanted to do some sort of service in the church for a job. I figured that I would play music regardless of career and I had this thought that if I played music I would end up being a poor musician all of my life, so ended up getting a degree in social science (while still playing music constantly). Of course I didn’t consider the possibility of being a poor social service worker (laugh). I immediately received a full scholarship to get my masters degree in educational psychology after my bachelor’s degree, so I packed up for grad school and of course hit the band scene and jazz lessons at school right away. I knew that I didn’t want to wait on tables while I did the music thing and I absolutely love working with people, so I thought that I would do both (some kind of service job and still work on music). The training in educational psychology has really helped me become a very good guitar teacher. The science of education is pretty fascinating and has probably helped me hone my “teaching chops.” Career-wise, I was able to get a school job working with special education students after college and I have continued to do that since. It has allowed me the satisfaction of helping a very needy population and has also afforded me the schedule to continue to pursue music, as I want to. I teach, play and travel regularly and I also have health and retirement benefits (something in the states that we can’t take for granted). It’s the best of both worlds.

JGL: Were your parent(s) and family members supportive of your musical career choice?

EE: Yes, I suspect that at first my parents might have been skeptical about my wanting to pursue music so seriously. I think they didn’t want me to be disappointed if things didn’t work out. When they realized that I was serious beyond a hobby or fad, they have been very supportive. My folks are college professors and ex-hippies, so they have always been creative, but also wanted me to be practical in being able to earn a living. I’m the only person out of my four siblings who has followed music seriously. My whole family is quite supportive though, my wife especially. I would say they’re all my biggest fans.

JGL: What was your practice routine like when you were beginning and what is it like now? Are there specific areas that you work on or do you just play through tunes?

EE: I didn’t really practice any one thing very consistently at first. It was here that my eclecticism was more of a curse than anything else. In college I was way too interested in doing so many things musically than to actually remain focused. As a result, when it came to practicing and learning something really difficult, I got very distracted (and wouldn’t practice). I got to where I could jam on a lot of instruments, but when you asked me to play a real piece or play over changes I’d get stuck. Learning how to practice was one of my best learning experiences and the hardest thing to work on for me for a long time. Once I got focused and really practiced regularly, the floodgates opened. At some point I realized that the only way to learn jazz was to practice, so I did. That really made the difference; specific practice with structured material to work on.
Now, I’m a bit compulsive when it comes to practicing. Since becoming a father, I try to get in two or three hours of practice before my daughter wakes up. That means getting up at about 4:30 AM almost every day and working on my music. I try to work on technique for 20 min or so a day. After that, I work on other material, like arranging tunes or single lines. I used to break my practice routine up into various subject areas; harmony studies, arpeggio studies, chord studies, etc, very specific. Lately though, I just focus on learning tunes, memorizing, improvising over specific changes and tempos. I try to turn a tune into a study, so I might create a chord study and a solo arrangement, work on chord substitutions. I usually try to create some single line studies too. I’ll often share those with my students as well. I really try to work on tunes and develop my improvisation vocabulary. I also work on writing my own tunes for solo guitar or to use with the guys that I play with.

JGL: How difficult do you find it making a living as a jazz guitar player? Or have you found it to be relatively easy?

EE: I think that it is difficult. I have to admit that I went the two-career route. Part of this is due to wanting to give to the community in some way and do the social service thing, but there’s probably some kind of unconscious fear that made me think that I would not be able to earn a decent living solely with music too. Along with that, I wanted to make sure that I supported my family, especially while my wife was in grad school and not working. That would have been difficult for me to do with music as our only source of income. I have a few friends who are doing pretty well at it, especially with their spouses working too. That seems to make it easier. I would say that unless you are touring a lot or teaching, it’s difficult to earn a consistent income with music. As a regional player, I have to be careful to not schedule the same show in the same venue too frequently or people stop coming out to see me as often, so there’s a challenge to keep my repertoire changing if I’m doing a lot of local shows. Teaching is a great source of income if you like to teach and I really enjoy it, so for me that helps.

JGL: How do you go about searching for gigs or do they come to you now that you have a reputation as a jazz guitarist? And what have you found in your experience that makes looking for gigs easier?

EE: I would say persistence is really important and being easy to work with will help you get gigs. I do a lot of side work on bass and that has helped. People remember that I play upright so a guitar player might call me to play bass if they wouldn’t otherwise need a guitar player. I have a reputation for doing nylon string too, so the folks who do Brazilian and Latin music will call me. I do a lot of restaurant work. That seems to be the most consistent kind of work around here. When you have a couple CDs out though, it’s nice to really do a concert and feature your own music or arrangements. Those are the gigs that I have to work at finding. Just getting work to sub for friends or do casual gigs comes pretty often without too much effort. The concerts and larger venue gigs take the phone calls, demo packages and follow up. I think though that I am finding my niche with a few larger regional venues so you start to get on the call list to open for bigger acts and things too. It just takes time to get your name out and try to be available. If you do your own booking you have to try to really be a business-person (that’s the hard part for me).

JGL: Could you describe some of your best musical situations or experiences and the worst?

EE: I would say playing on stage with Phil Keaggy has been my favorite gig so far. I met Phil at a workshop years ago and at his next gig in my area, his manager arranged for us to jam before the show. Phil made sure I got a direct box on stage and called me up to play with him during the show. It was quite a treat and I’ll never forget his generosity in doing that.
I would say the best situations for me musically, are the ones where I am prepared to play the gig. If it’s a solo gig, that means really having my stuff together. For combos I would say, just knowing the tunes and playing with friends who push and challenge me. It can be so much fun when you have a “chemistry” with people you are playing with and when that magic comes out at a gig it’s just fantastic. I really feed on that kind of thing a lot. It’s very reinforcing. In contrast, if I’m playing with someone who has a big ego and wants to put the other players down or show people up, that just becomes too much work to be around. I haven’t been in that situation in a long time, but that can just be a waste of time regardless of the money. I guess bad charts can turn a gig into a nightmare too. Sometimes I’ll take gig with someone doing very special arrangements or originals. If the charts are good then I don’t mind, but when you are expected to decipher their shorthand on the bandstand that becomes too much work. Inevitably those gigs and sometimes wedding gigs require 50% more work that one expects, so I often charge way too much money for that sort of thing and people usually will just hire someone else. If I a nightclub gig or a wedding reception gig requires 3 or 4 rehearsals, that’s a sure sign that more work is required than just the “pick up” gig. Chances are I will most likely not want to do it. I don’t want to portray myself as some kind of snob or anything, but I got to a point where if something is going to take my time away from my wife and daughter it needs to have some value for me beyond a few bucks. So I’m much pickier than I used to be about gigs. And in contrast, if I have an opportunity to make great music with some fun people I might play for free. I guess my time and creativity are becoming more valuable to me.

JGL: You have played and recorded in many different group configurations. What type of musical situation do you enjoy the most (i.e.: trio, quartet, duo, solo, etc.)

EE: I really like to play solo gigs when I’ve worked on new originals or arrangements. I love to just play those for people (when I’m prepared). If I’m not ready to perform a solo piece I end up making too many mistakes and of course I don’t enjoy that. I also just love playing with a few of my friends. My duo with Luke Nelson is just a joy to be in. He’s a great arranger and a lot of fun to play with. Also my new combo, Eastern Standard Time Limited, is a blast to play with. I’m always challenged by those guys. I suppose I enjoy playing more with certain players regardless of the situation. There are a few bass players that I love to play duos with, but I can’t say that would be easy with every bass player.

JGL: Do you like performing more as a sideman or as a leader? And if you could comment on the pros and cons of both.

EE: I love playing as a sideman for certain people. I would play as a sideman for a lot of the horn players that I know, because they are just great players. I like backing up a good improviser and my rhythm guitar playing is getting pretty good. I enjoy playing off of what someone is doing and making things sound musical. I guess the cons of that would be working with a leader who had poor charts or was nasty to the band or something. Its also hard to read a band leaders mind, I’m fairly intuitive, but I still might go in the wrong direction if charts are poor. So if a leader communicates well that helps when you’re a sideman. I think I like playing mandolin and bass as a sideman. On those instruments I’m not expected to be out front as much as I am on guitar, so I take the supportive role there. I do like to be a leader too. With Luke Nelson, we are sort of just a duo; we might both talk to the audience depending on whose song or arrangement we are playing. With the combo I’m the “front man”, but that really means just talking to the audience between songs. Neil Shilansky, the vibes player is the showstopper—he’s fantastic. We mostly do mine and Neil’s tunes and both of our arrangements of standards, but everyone contributes. I guess being the leader means to arrange rehearsals/gigs and have clean charts and arrangements. I don’t mind that at all, especially with these guys. The combo also consists of bassist Tim Larson and drummer Luis Moren. I play a lot with up and coming bassist Fran Leraci too. He just out of school and simply fantastic.

JGL: The CD "My Compliments", your duo album with guitarist and multi-instrumentalist Luke Nelson, has received very favorable press in the music and Jazz guitar community and has been well received by critics and music lovers alike. How did the duo come about? And was it your original intent to play in a way that sounded like the old Jazz guitar duos of the 20's and 30's, or was that something that just came out of that group configuration naturally?

EE: Thanks. I’m really proud to be a part of this duo. Yes, it has been a natural outcome of playing with Luke. We met at this open jazz jam shortly after both moving to CT a few years back. I thought, “Hey, here’s another nerdy guitar player, just like me and he sounds pretty good. I should hang out with him.” I had gotten a regular restaurant duo gig at the time and my bass player was moving, so Luke took his spot on guitar. We initially were just playing nice standards and bossas in that Joe Pass/John Pisano kind of duo (just jazz guitar stuff). It was there that Luke would pull out all of these Kress and McDonough arrangements along with originals in the same style and our sound developed from his vision to do more of this kind of music. The parts are pretty complicated. It has taken some time, but we’ve gotten pretty cohesive. Luke is a very talented player. From here our sound has just continued to develop and refine.

JGL: How is it working and playing in a duo situation with another guitar player? What, if any, are the issues or concerns that come up with having two distinct voices on the same instrument?

EE: It’s pretty easy playing with Luke. I would guess that is because we’re very different players, so it’s rare that we end up clashing or playing the same ideas when we just jam. He’s far more experienced with the older duo music and he’s a great arranger so I respect his ideas for arranging. The hard part is sounding tight or cohesive. Some of our parts are very specific and written out (and very syncopated) and we have to practice a lot to get everything down and have it sound good. The other thing is we are learning to complement the others’ playing and that just takes practice. He does a lot of chord solos, so I have to remember to back off with rhythm or maybe play walking bass lines when he chord solos, otherwise it can sound muddy. With another player, we might have to figure out different voices to play or certain ideas to do to keep from clashing. Luke does this pretty intuitively and harmonizes or plays off of what I’m doing pretty easily. I suspect that we listen to each other when we play and that makes a difference.

JGL: You play a lot of acoustic music within the jazz medium. What is it about the acoustic guitar that you enjoy so much and do you find that there is a different mind-set when playing acoustic than being plugged-in?

EE: I definitely have a different approach to acoustic music. I love the sound of the acoustic guitar and I have always been an acoustic player. It’s probably a very natural sound for me. The acoustic guitar, (probably nylon string the most) the cello and the tenor sax are instruments that really move me emotionally. I suppose that on the nylon string guitar or the acoustic arch top, I find my true voice more. Maybe I can express my heart a little better on the acoustic guitar. I would say I tend to play less pretentiously (few licks and more melody). With the electric guitar I think a different side of me comes out (not bad just different).

JGL: I couldn't help but notice that you have a "faith" link on your site, which describes your relationship with God. How has your faith helped you in realizing your dreams as a guitar player and as a person in general? And do you find that musicians react to you differently once they realize that your faith is strong and deep?

EE: Thanks for asking about that. I suppose my faith really makes up a huge part of who I am. My faith really defines who I am in a lot of ways (probably hard to explain) but I doubt that I could describe myself without incorporating something about God or my faith. I believe that music is a gift from God and allows us to express worship as well as connect with each other as people (both the audience and other players). It’s a beautiful emotional medium. Having my Christian faith has been my connection to God and in a lot of ways has helped me get in touch with my emotions and my music. It has definitely helped me connect with my “purpose” or mission as a person—musical expression is a big part of this as is reaching out to other people. That has directed my college and career choices and focus as a person. I think that people appreciate that more than not, when they find out about my faith. I try very hard not to be condescending about it (there are enough people who do that). I just try to be myself and Christian love is what I hope people will see in that. I’m pretty down to earth and personable and I suspect that people see that as an extension of my faith. I do think that my creativity as a player is also an extension of my faith as well.

JGL: You have authored quite an impressive amount of instructional material for the beginning to intermediate and advanced jazz guitarist including bass guitar as well. What was the impetus for providing this material for others and how has the response been?

EE: Thanks. I have written 11 books through Phunquie Pholk Music. My most popular are the Charlie Parker transcriptions, two for guitar and more recently, volumes for mandolin and bass. As I was compiling information for my students’ lessons, it seemed to make sense to put the material into books and make them available for my workshops and trade events as well. The Parker books got me started, but all of the books are geared toward the getting intermediate students to move into playing jazz. The response has been great. I suppose I’ve found my niche in teaching. I really enjoy it and I feel like I’m getting good at it. So I think the books are kind of an extension of my teaching. I also learn a lot from my students. I find teaching challenging in a very positive way.

JGL: You are an endorsee of Stromberg Guitars. How did this relationship come to be and what is it about that particular maker of Jazz guitars that attracts you as a player?

EE: I love the Stromberg guitars. They’re very comfortable and they sound great. I’ve been very fortunate to be able to work with them. One of my students brought one to a lesson a few years ago and I didn’t want to give it back. I contacted Larry Davis from Stromberg (via their web site) that night and we spoke and that’s how things got started. Stromberg is a small company and Larry Davis, the VP, is very personable. I do workshops and get to demo the guitars at some trade events and shows. It’s a nice relationship and Larry is a generous person. They’ve treated me very well. They also make guitars that I’m proud to be playing. I think once you play and hear one of these they quickly become the quintessential gig guitar (comfortable, relatively inexpensive, great sound).

JGL: Have your impressions and experiences of being a Jazz Guitar player been what you had expected when you first decided to become a musician?

EE: That is a good question. I think as a kid I had these fantasies about being a rock star (and having no idea of what that really might be like) you know, meeting Eddie Van Halen and hanging out with Randy Rhodes and living in a mansion, etc…things like that. I haven’t had that fantasy in about 20 years. As a jazz and fingerstyle player I got a little more realistic. I really started with small goals and I feel like I am a very blessed person to have met so many of them. Initially I had hoped to just improve my skills on a professional level. That continues to happen every day. Then I had hoped to get to meet and or play with (as well as open for) some of my heroes and I’ve been able to do that too. So I have to say it’s been above what I was hoping for. What is amazing to me is that I am a part of the jazz process and can connect with some of my heroes. As I continue to play I realize that so many great (and famous players) are really just everyday people like you and me. They have friends and families and are trying to make a living or connect with others. The world is really a smaller place than I had thought and many of these people are much more accessible than expected. It really makes the whole playing jazz process so much fun. It’s a treat to know that we are all a part of the jazz lineage and that we are the next generation—that the torch is being passed on to us. It’s a privilege and responsibility to carry on, so I guess it’s sort of a dream come true.

JGL: Have you ever had second thoughts about your choice to have music as a career and if so, what other career path do you think you would have followed had you not been a guitar player.

EE: I love everything that I’m doing. I’d love to have a bigger family some day and of course, my work might have to change to accommodate my financial needs, but I think that I have tried to follow my heart and do what I love. If I have to work harder at other things to make ends meet, I’ll still be playing and teaching jazz and fingerstyle guitar.

JGL: Where would you like to see Jazz guitar go in the coming years?

EE: I’m excited to see the things that people have been doing in the field lately. For myself I would like to be a more modern improviser and try to incorporate more of that into my writing and playing. I would like to see players focus on melodic playing and arranging (kind of like the “old school” players within the context of new compositions). I think a lot of the pros are doing that, I hope that a focus like that will make it to the college guitar programs as well.

JGL: Any advice for the younger guy or gal who is thinking about playing Jazz guitar?

EE: Love what you are doing. Embrace your creativity and don’t let people discourage you. Practice always makes better regardless of how good everybody else is.

JGL: Thank you Eric for participating in jazzguitarlife.com. It is most appreciated.

EE: Thank you Lyle. It’s a pleasure to participate in what you are doing, keep up the great jazz guitar work!