Eric George — 6 March 2019 on Rocket Shop Radio Hour

“Court imperfection. Become intimate with imperfection. Accept it and love it. If you become obsessed with perfection, you will stop creating. Run with that imperfection. Become pals with imperfection, as part of your creative routine.” -Eric George

Eric George joined host Tom Proctor on ‘Rocket Shop‘, Big Heavy World’s weekly local Vermont music radio hour on 105.9FM The Radiator. Catch up with him at facebook.com/egeorgemusic

It was a great pleasure to have Eric George, one of the most prolific folk musicians of the Northeast, as a musical guest on Rocket Shop last Wednesday. He has a very down-to-earth, analog way about himself, such as the way he writes his music on a Hemingway-approved typewriter. George found his passion for music “on accident” as a ten-year-old at summer camp. He wanted more than anything to be a part of the ultimate frisbee group that week, but was placed in the guitar group instead and fell in love with it. We certainly are happy with the way summer camp turned out for him, because he brings such wonderful music to our community on a regular basis. As a full-time musician, George can often be found playing around Church Street, as well as every Friday in March at Hotel Vermont, and every Tuesday at Radio Bean with Ponyhustle for Honkytonk Tuesdays. In the past four years, George has released six albums and a book of poetry. Evidently, the capacity of his creativity is infinite

George’s musical and lyrical inspiration spans all the way from American roots musicians such Woody Guthrie, Gene Ritchie, and Tom Waits all the way to world renown authors like J.K Rowling. Yet, while so much of his inspiration lies in American Roots, when George first began playing music regularly as a high schooler, he was drawn to punk. He even played drums in a punk band for some time. Today, his music mainly consists of a mix of folk, bluegrass, and country, however in his latest album, “Song of Love,” he circles back to his roots and goes for a punk sound. While sonically his most recent album differs from his other albums, George does not feel as though his music style has “changed.” George claims that the lines between punk, country, and folk music are blurry. All three genres question authority, and discuss important things topically. Therefore, the message of his music has not changed, but the delivery has.

One of the George’s trademarks is that his music is often socially conscious. He knows that his music will not “change everything” but it can function as a fuel for change. George goes into detail, “It’s not about what the music does, it’s about what it doesn’t do... All movements require artistic interpretation, and music informs the emotions and deeper aspects of what a movement is trying to achieve.”

Text by Marisa Iannitto

Upcoming gigs:

March 15,22, and 29 at Hotel Vermont

March 16 at Twigg’s in St. Albans

March 31 at Foam Brewers

Check out his latest release ‘Song of Love’ on Bandcamp, Apple Music, or Spotify.

Photo by James Lockridge.