November 19, 2005 on the Carnival Conquest cruising
in rough waters east of Mexico
Interviewed by Susan Johnson
At 22, Eric Darius has just released his second record, Night
on the Town, and has been touring not only
with his own band, but with Brian Culbertson. He has
his head on straight and is the future of smooth jazz… something
this genre needs. Eric was on the All Star Cruise
and joined in on many of the panel discussions and meet and
greets when he wasn’t on stage playing.
Smooth Views (SV): Your family is very musical! So
you decided to have a solo career rather than join the Darius
Family Band? Tell us how they contribute to your CDs.
Eric Darius (ED): (laughs) They
have actually contributed quite a bit. My dad is my manager,
so he takes a very active role in terms of my performances
and everything. We actually did have a family band at
one point! I was about 12 years old and my dad played
the bass, my mom sang and played the piano, my sister sang
and played the piano and my brother played the drums. So
the whole family was involved. But I guess by the time
I turned 14, I took it really seriously and I wanted to have
a solo career so I kind of broke from that. My family
is still very involved in everything I do. My sister
will sing with me every once in awhile and my mom and my sister
are both on my last CD singing background vocals. So
the family is still very involved in my music career. I’m
the middle child. I have an older brother who is 25 and
a younger sister who is 20.
SV: Tell us a little about your writing process
for Night on the Town. Do you hear music all the time and
write it down or do you have to be in a certain space? Do
you write on piano or sax?
ED: It’s funny. When I write the music, it
just kind of comes to me. I can’t really sit down
and tell myself... I’m going to write a song right now… because
it really doesn’t happen that way. So I’m constantly
hearing different things in my head, different songs and different
melodies. I write a lot of my music while I’m in
my car, just driving. I turn the music off… wow,
I like that… and so I start thinking of some stuff. I
have a little tape recorder that I keep in my car and I’ll
just hum a little melody on my tape recorder. Then I’ll
take it with me later on and put it down and put a song together. So
it happens that way… and it happens a lot when I’m
in the shower! Just taking a shower and relaxing and I
just think of some melodies that come along. But music
is constantly going around in my head. I might think of
a song while I’m talking to you right now! (laughs) It
just happens that way. I try to write it down immediately. Sometimes
it will just come in my head once and it will never come back,
so if I don’t get a chance to capture it right away then
it’s lost. Most of the time, though, that same melody
will stay in my head until I get a chance to write it down and
really put a song together.
SV: Tell me a little bit about the recording process
for your new CD.
ED: I had six songs that I had written and then I collaborated
with Ken Navarro on two songs and we put that together. I
have tons of other songs in addition to those six, but those
are the ones that I actually had written down and ready for the
CD. Ken produced the whole CD. It was incredible. I
had such fun working with Ken Navarro. He’s a great
person and he’s a great musician. He has such a good
sense… not just for music and songwriting, but also for
producing. He has a great ear. It was just a wonderful
experience working with him. I actually opened up for him
in Tampa, FL. We were both performing and after the show
I had a chance to sit down and talk with him. He was very
interested in working with me, so I called him maybe two months
later. I had some music for him and we started working
together. Altogether, the project took about three months
between the recording, the mixing and the mastering. So
the whole CD was done in about three months.
SV: You have been on tour quite a bit lately
with Brian Culbertson and on this cruise. Are you on
break from school or continuing through independent study?
ED: What I was actually trying this
semester was online classes. And that seemed to work
pretty well. I can’t be in class five days a week
between traveling with Brian, traveling with my band, and recording,
which has been really intense the past couple of months, so
I tried online classes the beginning of this semester in August. But
it just got to the point where I couldn’t do it. I
mean, I tried because I really want to finish my studies to
get my degree. So I did take this semester off. I
took three classes online, but I ended up dropping them because
I just couldn’t handle it. I don’t want to
sacrifice my grades because I usually make straight A’s
so I want to keep that same expectation for myself. So
I did have to drop a couple of classes, but I do think it’s
worked out for the better so I can focus on putting my new
CD together. I do plan on taking some classes next semester.
I’m a senior at University at South Florida and my major
is marketing. I started out studying music and then once
I got signed up with the record label and started traveling,
I’m like… what am I doing studying music? I’m
performing. I’m doing what I want to be doing with
music. So much of the music industry is business so I figured
the marketing side would assist me more in my music career than
anything else.
SV: Your music has been described as “crisp
and very tasty.” How did you develop your technique
and your stage presence?
ED: Just a lot of years of experience! I
would practice constantly on my own, just practicing in my
room hours at a time… when I actually did have that
time… when I was a lot younger… just getting
first-hand experience playing with different bands, traveling,
watching a lot of other people perform. When I was about
12 or 13 years old, I would watch all of these incredible artists… Richard
Elliott, Paul Taylor, David Sanborn, Dave Koz… I would
watch all these guys perform and take what I saw with me and
try to incorporate some of that stuff into my own playing. Then
after performing so much I just kind of developed my own style
of performing, my own technique and that’s just really
how it happened. Now I’ve met just about everyone
[I used to watch] and it’s just incredible.
SV: It’s unusual to see a young person
as yourself getting into smooth jazz. Why did you choose
smooth jazz instead of straight-ahead or R&B?
ED: Actually, I love R&B and I love
straight-ahead jazz. I love pop, rock, reggae… anything
you can think of, I love those different types of music. And
I think all of those different styles of music have combined
together in my style because I incorporate so many different
styles. I grew up listening to jazz. My parents
exposed me to it at a very young age. So, I’ve
always had just a passion for jazz. I play straight-ahead. It’s
really my foundation, but smooth jazz is something that really
people… the audience… can communicate with. They
can really relate to it, so that’s something about smooth
jazz that I like. I love performing smooth jazz.
SV: What do you think the future of smooth
jazz is?
ED: I really don’t know. I’m
really curious to see where it will end up in the future. Jazz
evolves every so often, so I have no clue! I’m
just going to continue writing music and continue performing
and I guess we’ll see what direction it goes. It’s
just going to be a natural process.
SV: How does your faith affect your music?
ED: Tremendously! I started out
playing in church before I played anywhere else. There’s
something about playing in church that’s completely different
than playing anywhere else. There’s just something
about the spirituality that just comes through me when I’m
playing and I feel like I’m just not even playing for
people. It’s just something that’s inside
of me, you know, so the spiritual side of me has taken a very
major role in my playing. A lot of people come up to
me and say, “You play with so much soul and passion. How
do you do that?” I’m like, “It’s
not me. I’m just blessed. It’s just
a talent that God gave to me and I’m using my talents
and every time I step on that stage it just shines through.” So,
it’s just amazing.
SV: Who are some of your musical influences?
ED: There’s been so many! Like
I said, I listen to a lot of traditional jazz so I love listening
to John Coltrane, Charlie Parker, Cannonball Adderley, Herbie
Hancock, Miles Davis. I listen to a lot of contemporary
jazz artists… David Sanborn, Kirk Whalum, Grover Washington,
Jr., Kenny Garrett, Michael Brecker. I listen to a lot
of pop, a lot of R&B. I love Earth, Wind & Fire,
Stevie Wonder… I mean there is such a wide range of
so many different influences and that’s why I can appreciate
so many different styles of music.
I took lessons for about eight months with my first teacher. It
was actually one of the people who inspired me to start playing
the saxophone. I saw him playing the saxophone at church every
week and I told my mom and dad it was just amazing what he was
doing. I mean, the saxophone is such a beautiful instrument,
but just the soul and emotion he played with, it really touched
me. I wanted to be able to do the same exact thing, so
I took lessons with him for about eight months and after that
he said he couldn’t teach me anything else because I learned
so quickly. I took lessons with a lady for another six
or seven months and that was the only formal training I’ve
had. I was 10 years old then so by the time I was about
11 or 12, everything I played I just learned on my own. I
didn’t start with clarinet! So many saxophone players
start with clarinet. I tried clarinet but I couldn’t
do it. It just wasn’t for me, but I do play the flute
also so that helps a lot with technique. I also play the
piano. I write sometimes on piano but I mostly write on
the saxophone. It is a lot easier with the piano because
you can visualize all the chords. A lot of guys write on
the piano, so I try to use that.
SV: You're building your first home? How
involved have you been in the process and are you enjoying
it?
ED: Every time I’m in town I’ll
stop by and see how the house is progressing. It’s
just one of the most amazing feelings. Just knowing that
I’ve done well enough that I can get my own home is just
such a proud accomplishment. Watching the whole building
process… it’s so amazing how they do it. I’m
just excited about it. I’m very proud to be able
to say I can buy my first home at 22 years old. The
house is supposed to be done next week! As a matter of
fact, the day we get back [from the cruise], I’ll be
closing the following day. It’s just tons of excitement
everywhere! We got to pick out the carpet color, the
paint colors, the cabinets, everything. I kind of customized
it in a way, so it’s exactly what I wanted. It’s
beautiful! I have to furnish the whole entire place. I’m
living at home with my parents right now, so this is my first
time breaking away completely. So it’s exciting! It’s
been so much fun!
SV: Do you get much opportunity to play basketball
these days?
ED: Unfortunately, I don’t. I
used to play basketball just about every single day. I
used to work out in the gym just about every day, but once
I started traveling about eight months ago it started to change
a little bit. Just the whole traveling thing. Once
I get home, the last thing I want to do is run around and play
basketball. I usually just want to relax. Every
now and then, I get to play, but that’s my second love
to music. I played in high school and played in a bunch
of different leagues so I love to play. I still try to
do that every now and then. A lot of the conditioning
for playing on stage came from playing basketball! A
lot of people ask where I get all that energy from… once
you hit that stage, it’s a whole other thing. I
think a lot of it came from me being athletic… being
on the track team, the soccer team, and the basketball team.
SV: What do you do for fun?
ED: I definitely love to play basketball! I
go to the gym… spending time with my girlfriend… watching
movies, just relaxing. I don’t usually get to do
that, so I just try to sit back, relax and enjoy myself. I’m
performing quite a bit with Brian Culbertson and my band over
the holidays, but I will make some time to just relax!
SV: Anything else you would like your fans
to know about you?
ED: I’m just really blessed
to have the opportunity to do what I’m doing. I’ve
really accomplished a lot at such a young age and I’ve
been very, very fortunate. One of the reasons why I enjoy
doing what I’m doing is because of the fans. It
just brings so much joy to my life. I just feel so blessed
to do what I enjoy and get paid for it and have everyone else
enjoy my music. One of my goals has always been to make
people happy and bring smiles to their faces when I step on
that stage. My goal is to just make a difference in people’s
lives and I feel like I’m starting to touch lives, one
by one. I plan on doing this for the rest of my life.
Visit Eric's website: www.ericdarius.com
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