Don’t Call Them Doo-Wop

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Sitting as near-Rhode Island royalty with a strong second place finish at the WBRU Rock Hunt under their belt, Eric & The Nothing have molded themselves into the kind of hometown band everyone loves just for being themselves. With a foot in the throwback, “studio-magic” sound of doo-wop, Eric & The Nothing leans on an approachable and raw garage rock sound born out of playing live, being honest, and getting it right.

“I think all of us have a huge appreciation and respect for later styles of rock and we also have a wide spectrum of influences that we like to pull from,” singer-songwriter Eric Shane says. “We’ve described ourselves as ‘doo-wop’ in the past and there are definitely a few songs that fall under that umbrella, but we have many others that don’t at all. That era just has such a great sound.”

Starting out as a trio featuring Billy Moretti on drums and Chuck Perry on bass, Eric & The Nothing went through an evolution of player changes before arriving at a line-up that pushed the band to record a full-length album.


“I’m playing with some seriously talented friends, these guys are the real deal,” Shane gushes. “All of these guys are seasoned vets. Bob Giusti on drums is a RI Hall of Fame-certified boss. On bass we have the one and only Joe Principe. Billy and I have been working on this since the start, we bounce ideas off each other and he is now bringing some great guitar work and doo-wop vocal harmonies. We’ve evolved to our final form.”

Eric & The Nothing has been playing many of the songs on their self-titled debut – which drops the night before Thanksgiving – for the better part of two years, and in that live atmosphere the band has cultivated an intimacy with both the songs and the sound of their band. At an Eric & The Nothing live show, the vibe and reverbed lushness of their sound is almost a band member in itself.

Eric & The Nothing further intrigues with a cult-like collection of lyrics and references with Easter eggs worthy of any obsessed following. Science fiction themes bubble up in Eric’s writing right alongside more serious contemplations on love and loss. What is most apparent is the earnestness in the plain-spoken lyrics.

“I think when you're writing about something that makes you feel a well of emotions, it can and should pour right out into the song so that someone who hears it can instantly understand and even identify with it,” Shane says. “Sometimes it’s an X-Files episode or Twin Peaks that inspires a song... a lot of these songs I wrote just going insane in a basement years ago, so some are about love, life and death, UFO cases, mental health... there’s a variety of themes.”

Album Release Show – November 21
Askew
150 Chestnut Street

Adam Hogue, Providence Monthly, Music, Eric & The Nothing, doo-wop, raw garage rock, Billy Moretti, Chuck Perry, Eric Shane, WBRU Rock Hunt, X-Files, Twin Peaks, album release show, Askew, top tracks, "Holes", "Fire in the Sky", Bob Giusti, RI Hall of Fame, Joe Principe, Providence RI, Providence Monthly, PVD Monthly, Providence Monthly Magazine, PVD RI, Rhode Island, Providence Rhode Island, Pvd monthly magazine, pvdmonthly, PVD, RI

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