Eric Lindell (born 1969, Northern California, United States) is an American singer-songwriter. His recording career began in 1996 as a regional Sonoma County-based artist. Since 2006, when he was picked up by

Alligator Records Alligator Records is an American, Chicago-based independent blues record label founded by Bruce Iglauer in 1971. Iglauer was also one of the founders of the '' Living Blues'' magazine in Chicago in 1970. History Iglauer started the label using ...

, he has toured nationally and internationally. He recorded three albums for Alligator and has since issued several CDs on smaller indie labels.

Background

Lindell grew up in the

San Francisco Bay Area The San Francisco Bay Area, often referred to as simply the Bay Area, is a populous region surrounding the San Francisco, San Pablo, and Suisun Bay estuaries in Northern California. The Bay Area is defined by the Association of Bay Area Gov ...

. He began playing in bands at the age of 15. Among his early musical influences were

Fishbone Fishbone is an American rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1979, that plays a fusion of ska, punk, funk, metal, reggae, and soul. AllMusic has described the group as "one of the most distinctive and eclectic alternative rock bands of the l ...

and Black Flag. Lindell started playing in Northern California bars and clubs, first on guitar, and later moving to bass, while working as a baker during the day to make ends meet. After a few years, he moved to New York City briefly, and then relocated to

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

Harold Ray Brown Harold Ray Brown (born March 17, 1946) is a founding member of War, an American funk band in the 1970s and 2000s. Harold had a number of roles over the years, acting as drummer, percussion, vocalist, and bandleader. Brown is the oldest of six ...

(formerly of

War War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...

) as well as members of Galactic, including

Galactic Galactic is an American jam band from New Orleans, Louisiana. Origins and background Formed in 1994 as an octet (under the name Galactic Prophylactic) and including singer Chris Lane and guitarist Rob Gowen, the group was soon pared down to a ...

Stanton Moore Stanton Moore (born July 9, 1972) is an American funk, jazz, and rock drummer from New Orleans. Most widely known as a founding member of Galactic, Moore has also pursued a solo recording career (beginning with his 1998 debut ''All Kooked Out! ...

and

Ivan Neville Ivan Neville (born August 19, 1959) is an American multi-instrumentalist musician, singer, and songwriter. He is the son of Aaron Neville and nephew to members of The Neville Brothers. Career He has released four solo albums and had a Top 30 ...

(with whom he now occasionally plays in a side project called Dragon Smoke.) By 2005, he had become well known on the New Orleans music scene, having appeared in local clubs and at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival. As a result of the exposure, he was signed by

. Alligator's initial release by Lindell was ''Change in the Weather'', a compilation of tracks from his various self-produced albums and EPs, some released on his own Sparco Records label. Notably the self-titled album and Piety Street Sessions with Marty Joyce on drums, Cass Faulconer on bass and Marc Adams on B3 as well as others. ''Change in the Weather'' yielded the radio single "Give It Time" which received major play on

adult album alternative Adult album alternative (also triple-A, AAA, or adult alternative) is a radio format. See pages 9 and 10Mills, Joshua. "A New Radio Music Format: Rock for Prosperous Adults" New York Times, Feb 28 1994, p. 2. ProQuest. Web. Accessed September 4, 2 ...

-formatted stations around the country and was featured in an episode of the ''

Boston Legal ''Boston Legal'' is an American legal drama and comedy drama television series created by former lawyer and Boston native David E. Kelley, produced in association with 20th Century Fox Television for ABC. The series aired from October 3, 2004 ...

'' TV show. His second Alligator release was produced for the label by Lindell. The radio single, "Lay Back Down", was again well received by AAA, and also appeared in the TV shows ''

True Blood ''True Blood'' is an American fantasy Horror fiction, horror Drama (film and television), drama television show, television series produced and created by Alan Ball (screenwriter), Alan Ball. It is based on ''The Southern Vampire Mysteries'', a ...

'' and '' Friday Night Lights''. ''Gulf Coast Highway'', his third Alligator release (also self produced), found him accompanied by members of Galactic as well as members of Lindell's touring band. "If Love Can't Find A Way" was the featured radio track. He typically performs about 100 live appearances a year. He has made recent trips to perform in Europe and made his first Australian appearance in 2007. He made his network television debut on ''

Late Night with Conan O'Brien ''Late Night with Conan O'Brien'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by Conan O'Brien. NBC aired 2,725 episodes from September 13, 1993, to February 20, 2009. The show featured varied comedic material, celebrity interviews, and musi ...

'' in February 2008. Lindell's ''Change in the Weather'' was nominated for the 7th annual Independent Music Awards for Jam Album of the year.

Critical reviews

Lindell's music has been described by ''

USA Today ''USA Today'' (stylized in all uppercase) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth on September 15, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headquarters in Tysons, Virg ...

'' as "pumping soul into funk, blue and roots-rock." (April 23, 2009). The ''

Chicago Sun-Times The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has the second largest circulation among Chicago newspapers, after the ''Chicago T ...

'' called Lindell "a tremendous raw talent…with a fully realized musical vision." (January 20, 2008). The ''

Los Angeles Daily News The ''Los Angeles Daily News'' is the second-largest-circulating paid daily newspaper of Los Angeles, California. It is the flagship of the Southern California News Group, a branch of Colorado-based Digital First Media. The offices of the ''D ...

'' stated, "Lindell serves up bluesy blue-eyed soul. The shuffling interplay of electric guitars, percolating organ and Creole horns never fails to make you feel like dancing." (January 27, 2008). Lindell's musical style borrows from 1970s blues-rock,

soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun '':wikt:soul, soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The ea ...

, and R&B. His style has also been called "

blue-eyed soul Blue-eyed soul (also called white soul) is rhythm and blues (R&B) and soul music performed by white artists. The term was coined in the mid-1960s, to describe white artists whose sound was similar to that of the predominantly-black Motown and St ...

", a common shorthand used for Anglo blues singers that has been applied to artists like

Van Morrison Sir George Ivan Morrison (born 31 August 1945), known professionally as Van Morrison, is a Northern Irish singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist whose recording career spans seven decades. He has won two Grammy Awards. As a teenager in ...

, among others.

Discography

* 2018 ''Revolution in Your Heart'' (

) * 2016 ''Matters of the Heart'' (2016 Red Parlor Records) * 2012 ''I Still Love You'' (Sparco Records) * 2011 ''West County Drifter'' (M.C. Records) * 2011 ''Cazadero'' (Sparco Records) * 2010 ''Between Motion and Rest'' (Sparco Records) * 2009 ''Gulf Coast Highway'' (

) * 2008 ''Low on Cash, Rich in Love'' (

) * 2006 ''Change in the Weather'' (

) * 2005 ''Tragic Magic'' (Sparco Records) * 2003 ''EP Volume 1'' (Sparco Records) * 2003 ''Piety Street Session'' (Sparco Records) * 2002 ''Eric Lindell'' (album) (self-released) * 1996 ''Bring it Back'' (Grizzly Records)

References

External links

*
Eric Lindell's record label Sparco Records

Eric Lindell at Alligator Records
* Eric Lindell at All Music Guide
Interview from ''An Honest Tune''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lindell, Eric 1969 births Living people American rock guitarists American male guitarists American rock singers American rock songwriters American male singer-songwriters Musicians from New Orleans Singer-songwriters from California American bakers Singer-songwriters from Louisiana Guitarists from California Guitarists from Louisiana 20th-century American guitarists 20th-century American male musicians