famous beagle
Well-known member
I'm in the process of writing a book about him, and I had the good fortune to interview him in his private studio in Austin. I live just north of Dallas, so it was about a 4-hour drive for me. I just thought I'd share my experience with those who may be fans.
I’d forgotten how much prettier Austin is than Dallas and was really struck by that when I went down to meet Eric. It had been a while since I’d spent any time there. Anyway, Eric was so great. He really is just one of the nicest guys you’ll ever meet. The first thing he did once we got inside (after offering me a drink) was ask a bunch of questions about me: if I had family, if I was in a band, what kind of music was it, etc. And he was just 100% there through the whole interview—not distracted at all. When I was speaking, he was looking at my eyes; when I was playing something (to help make my question clear), he was looking at my fingers. He was complimentary of my vibrato, and he was really complimentary of my Hagstrom Swede (reissue) too. I don’t know if he was just trying to be nice, but he made several comments on it as he was playing it about how it felt better than a Les Paul and some other things as well. It was funny how differently in sounded in his hands. We weren’t amplified, but as soon as he started playing it, the tone was instantly rounder, darker—very much like the way his sound is when plugged in. Some of that may have had to do with the pick (he was using his little Dunlop jazz picks, and I was using a more typical medium pick), but I have to believe that a lot of it came from his technique.
The interview lasted about an hour, and then he gave me a tour of his studio, which was just beautiful. It had a nice, big live room with amazing acoustics—a bunch of diffusers on the ceiling and walls, but they were all very nice-looking with stained wood, etc. It was certainly a very inspiring-looking place. There were a bunch of his Marshalls set up and Twins and a stand with about 10 guitars. Unfortunately, I didn’t get to play through his rig, but that was probably for the better, because I’m sure I would have been a nervous, fumbling mess.
He had a really nice Tonelux mixing board, and of course a bunch of nice rackmount goodies as well. We talked about the analog and digital thing for a bit. He said they’re trying to still do some analog recording (he had a nice Studer 24-track and several half tracks), but they’ve had a lot of issues with bad tape (dropouts, etc.) because the people that really knew how to make the tape aren’t around anymore. Anyway, I just couldn’t imagine him conducting himself better in any way. He was a total class act all the way around.
I’d forgotten how much prettier Austin is than Dallas and was really struck by that when I went down to meet Eric. It had been a while since I’d spent any time there. Anyway, Eric was so great. He really is just one of the nicest guys you’ll ever meet. The first thing he did once we got inside (after offering me a drink) was ask a bunch of questions about me: if I had family, if I was in a band, what kind of music was it, etc. And he was just 100% there through the whole interview—not distracted at all. When I was speaking, he was looking at my eyes; when I was playing something (to help make my question clear), he was looking at my fingers. He was complimentary of my vibrato, and he was really complimentary of my Hagstrom Swede (reissue) too. I don’t know if he was just trying to be nice, but he made several comments on it as he was playing it about how it felt better than a Les Paul and some other things as well. It was funny how differently in sounded in his hands. We weren’t amplified, but as soon as he started playing it, the tone was instantly rounder, darker—very much like the way his sound is when plugged in. Some of that may have had to do with the pick (he was using his little Dunlop jazz picks, and I was using a more typical medium pick), but I have to believe that a lot of it came from his technique.
The interview lasted about an hour, and then he gave me a tour of his studio, which was just beautiful. It had a nice, big live room with amazing acoustics—a bunch of diffusers on the ceiling and walls, but they were all very nice-looking with stained wood, etc. It was certainly a very inspiring-looking place. There were a bunch of his Marshalls set up and Twins and a stand with about 10 guitars. Unfortunately, I didn’t get to play through his rig, but that was probably for the better, because I’m sure I would have been a nervous, fumbling mess.
He had a really nice Tonelux mixing board, and of course a bunch of nice rackmount goodies as well. We talked about the analog and digital thing for a bit. He said they’re trying to still do some analog recording (he had a nice Studer 24-track and several half tracks), but they’ve had a lot of issues with bad tape (dropouts, etc.) because the people that really knew how to make the tape aren’t around anymore. Anyway, I just couldn’t imagine him conducting himself better in any way. He was a total class act all the way around.
I let it go because he probably didn't know who I was. And for that matter, I didn't know who he was until someone pointed him out.