Eric Sommer & The Fabulous Piedmonts at Fainting Goat • November 10 • 7:00PM

Eric Sommer at The Hot Tin Roof!

Eric Sommer & The Fabulous Piedmonts at The Fainting Goat! This is Eric Sommer, Jimmy Hauer and Bryant Dennis – a trio in the “power trio” format. It’s a mix of a few songs by our favorite artists and a collection of songs – all original – we have arranged and developed!

The Piedmonts

Jim Hauer is a lifelong musician from tickling the ivory at a piano recital at age 4 to thumping the bass some 60 years later. In between Jim was active in high school playing in jazz band, orchestra, and concert band. He extended that activity to the University of Illinois where he played in concert band, marching band, and in various jazz ensembles, pit orchestras, and church.

Jim continued playing in various groups through the years in Chicago, Iowa, and North Carolina. He played in a Glen Miller tribute band, the Dubuque Jazz Ensemble, pit orchestras in various theater productions.

Bryant Dennis is a percussionist, vocalist and The Piedmonts’ rock-steady time keeper, pocket rocker and no-frills metronome, comfortable is all manner of styles and formats. Along with Jimmy Hauer, Bryant is a fixture in the Raleigh music scene, and both have been playing and singing in the area for quite a few years.

A Journeyman Songwriter…

Eric Sommer is a singer, writer, and guitar player. With so many creative outlets, his style is crazy difficult to define. It’s a cross between Billie Joe Shaver, Taj Mahal, Willie Porter, and Steve Howe. And delivered like a velvet hammer – Crown Royal poured over #2 sandpaper. With a unique set-up that generally includes 4-5 guitars, 3-4 small amps, and a stompbox, it’s a visual experience: wonderful to watch! And an audio, aural experience, too: mesmerizing to watch, and to hear!

It is a mash-up of guitar, slide & open tuning stuff wrapped around songs for people who care about things that matter: insane ex-girlfriends, wrinkled shirts, failed love, broken hearts, bad coffee, flat tires, gas station hot dogs, dumb pets… and checkout lines.

And that curves us right into Eric Sommer at The FABULOUS PIEDMONTS Because on NOVEMBER 10 • 7:00PM at The Fainting Goat… we’ll look for you in the crowd watching Eric Sommer AND THE FABULOUS PIEDMONTS doing what they do best!

“If there’s a place for musical perfection, it’s wherever you’ll find Eric Sommer. A blistering acoustic style plus a variety of slide and open tuning formats will knock you for a loop…” wrote Studdie Burns, New Melody Maker/UK in 2013. “How one guy can do this so well is remarkable.  But if you look a little deeper there’s a batch of road miles around this lad… and it all makes sense.” And in the middle of all this, Eric never lost sight of his roots. Of his country roots. This date is part of that celebration!

Where did all this start?

Eric started his musical career in the Boston area under the eye of legendary promoter Don Law. Being young and talented, Eric was onstage at The Paradise Theatre in Boston for a record 40 appearances. He has been a regular player on many national and international tours and showcases. Those shows opened many doors. Eric eventually worked in Europe for two years with Nick Lowe and acts Bram Tchaikovsky and Wreckless Eric. During this period Eric worked on Danish, German, and British rock stages then returned to Boston and formed The Atomics.

From Punk to Pop to Acoustic Virtuoso

Eric is a founding member of Boston’s legendary pop/new wave cult trio “The Atomics”. They toured non-stop with Mission of Burma, Gang of Four, and The Dead Kennedys and were on the leading edge of a number of musical transformations. Eric never lost sight of his acoustic roots, returning to his heroes and mentors often: David Bromberg, Steve Howe(YES), Duane Allman(Allman Bros.), Bert Jansch, Davy Graham, and Robert Johnson. Mr. Sommer’s current project with power trio “The Solar Flares” shakes up Chet Atkins and David Bromberg’s influences with those of Randy Travis and British Rocker Elvis Costello – a remarkable mix.

He has been on the road, in the studio, on stage, in front of or behind everyone from Jerry Douglas, Leon Redbone, John Mayall, Dr. John to David Bromberg, John Hammond, Jr., Little Feat, Andy McKee, too many to name… but he’s going be here at 7pm on November 10 • 7:00PM. Eric Sommer at The FABULOUS PIEDMONTS are bringing it in for November!!

Open Tunings, and so much more

With open tuning, slide guitar, lap-slap tone guitar, this show is exciting. And a remarkably aggressive fingering style approach makes watching Eric Sommer so fun and crazy! It’ll make you jump out of your seat and holler for joy! There are very few players who have maintained this authentic American style of guitar and Eric Sommer is one of the very best

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“How do you call this sidekick to unique personalities ranging from Nick Lowe to John Koerner an underachiever? This multi-instrumentalist bad boy could easily be a superstar in his own right…” Midwest Record, Lake Zurich, IL

“Eric Sommer is an astounding guitar player, a virtuoso on acoustic and electric… Eric has worked with everybody who is anybody; His resume’ reads like a musical encyclopedia…” Nashville Music Reviews, Don & Sherry’s Blog

“It’s a wonderful evening whenever Eric Sommer is part of it… Not to be missed!” Austin Record, Steve Barron

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CityBeat/Best of Cincinnati

Guitarin’ and Singin’ are what Eric Sommer is all about.

Singer/songwriter Eric Sommer is an unbelievable intersection of improbable influences. That and insane experiences channeled into an amazingly diverse catalog. His is a résumé that reads more like a musical adventure novel than a series of career bullet points.