Happy New Year one and all! Today is January 6th, which is the Epiphany. You know how we sing the "Twelve Days of Christmas?" Yeah, that doesn't mean leading up to Christmas- it starts Christmas day and goes into the next year. Hence why I always consider January 6th to be the end of the Christmas season. This will be last night I will have my Christmas lights on before taking things down.

Though the holidays are coming to a close, New York musician/producer Eric James is still celebrating with "Holiday Man." When you jump into this track, don't expect anything like Rudolph or Frosty; however, expect to find a rocking good time.

Eric James and the Holiday Man

Eric's bio on Spotify gets right to the point, "Eric has two missions: to make music you can chill to, and music that can hype you up... Expect loud guitars, fast tempos, and meaningless lyrics."

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Eric James grew up in Rockland County, and attended SUNY Oneonta and SUNY New Paltz. Besides being a fruitful musician, he teaches high school biology.

When he is not teaching, he is preparing for his upcoming album, Holiday Man. It's no surprise that the lead single off that album is also titled "Holiday Man."

It started as a joke song I wrote that me and my bro Chris could jam to... kind of like a parody song of all the punk influences I grew up with, especially from the Tony Hawk Pro Skater series. But then I wanted to make a full album of that vibe... The concept of Holiday Man is he's a character that's supposed to represent everyone's Friday night versions of themselves.

Tony Hawk Pro Skater is a great example of where to start with Eric's music. Eric says a few of his greatest influences have been Nirvana, Mac DeMarco, Boards of Canada, The Beatles, Green Day, The Pixies, Jimi Hendrix, and Radiohead. Eric reflected on his inspirations as he told me how he has been playing guitar most of his life, starting at age 8.

My dad was a guitarist, his dad was a guitarist, and his dad’s mom all the way back in Italy was a mandolin player. It felt like destiny. Once I started I couldn’t stop. My dad said if I grinded for 2 years he would get me an electric. I’ve been jamming on the same strat I’ve had since I was 10 and playing music is the closest I’ve felt to Nirvana…lame pun intended.

Eric has much in store for 2023 with the release of the Holiday Man album, along with more music and playing out. To keep up with his music and releases, you can find Eric on Spotify, Apple Music, and YouTube. Don't forget to follow him on Instagram. The album art was done by Bransai. 

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