Erik Norlander (born 26 July 1967) is an American musician known for his work in the

progressive rock Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog) is a broad genre of rock music that primarily developed in the United Kingdom through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early-to-mid-1970s. Initially termed " progressive pop", the ...

genre. From 2007 to 2014, he was the touring and recording keyboardist for Asia Featuring John Payne.

History

Starting in 1993, Norlander's earliest releases were with his band

Rocket Scientists A rocket (from , and so named for its shape) is a vehicle that uses jet propulsion to accelerate without using any surrounding air. A rocket engine produces thrust by reaction to exhaust expelled at high speed. Rocket engines work entirely fr ...

. He also collaborated in multiple roles on albums released by Lana Lane, his wife. In November 2007, Norlander was announced as the keyboard player for the

Asia Asia ( , ) is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometres, about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area. The continent, which ...

spin-off, Asia Featuring John Payne. In 2009 Norlander was involved in a group named Roswell Six, who record album accompaniments to the work of

science fiction Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...

writer and lyricist Kevin J. Anderson. Norlander produced and composed the music for the group's album ''Terra Incognita: Beyond the Horizon''. The album featured a variety of guest vocalists including

James LaBrie Kevin James LaBrie (born May 5, 1963) is a Canadian singer, best known as the lead singer of the American progressive metal band Dream Theater, which he has been fronting since 1991. Early life Kevin James LaBrie was born in Penetanguishene, ...

, John Payne, Michael Sadler of

Saga Sagas are prose stories and histories, composed in Iceland and to a lesser extent elsewhere in Scandinavia. The most famous saga-genre is the (sagas concerning Icelanders), which feature Viking voyages, migration to Iceland, and feuds between ...

and Lana Lane. Norlander also toured in Europe in 2009 with vocalist

Joe Lynn Turner Joe Lynn Turner (born Joseph Arthur Mark Linquito, August 2, 1951) is an American singer best known for his work with Rainbow (rock band), Rainbow, Deep Purple, and Yngwie Malmsteen. Turner joined Rainbow (rock band), Rainbow in the early 1980 ...

and the band Big Noize, featuring bassist

Phil Soussan Philip Raphael Soussan (born 23 June 1961) is an English bass guitarist, songwriter and producer, known as a member of the rock bands Last in Line, Ozzy Osbourne, Vince Neil Band and Big Noize, as well as writing and producing for Dokken and Tot ...

, guitarist Carlos Cavazo and drummer Simon Wright. In 2011, Norlander again played with Big Noize, reformed with drummer

Vinny Appice Vincent Samson Appice (born September 13, 1957) is an American rock and metal drummer best known for his work with the bands Dio (band), Dio, Black Sabbath, and Heaven & Hell (band), Heaven & Hell. Of Italian descent, he is the younger brother ...

. In 2014, Norlander played Hammond organ on the blues rock album by

Alastair Greene Alastair L. Greene (born April 18, 1971) is an American blues rock singer, guitarist, and songwriter. His debut album, ''A Little Wiser'' was released in 2001, the first of nine under his name over the next 20 years. Greene's guest appearances in ...

, ''Trouble At Your Door''. Norlander worked extensively with the non-profit organization, the Bob Moog Foundation, from 2009 to present as both artist and advisor. In 2016, Norlander joined heavy metal band

Last in Line Last in Line is a British rock band formed in 2012 by former members of Dio (band), Dio's original lineup. Their name comes from the 1984 Dio album, ''The Last in Line''. Following the death of frontman Ronnie James Dio in 2010, drummer Vinny A ...

as their touring keyboardist, debuting with the band in Miami, Florida, on 20 January 2016 with

Vivian Campbell Vivian Patrick Campbell (born 25 August 1962) is a Northern Irish musician. He came to prominence in the early 1980s as the guitarist of Dio. He has also been the guitarist of Def Leppard since 1992 (replacing Steve Clark after his death). C ...

Jimmy Bain James Stewart Bain (19 December 1947 – 23 January 2016) was a Scottish musician, best known for playing bass guitar in the bands Rainbow and Dio. He also worked with Kate Bush and Thin Lizzy frontman Phil Lynott, co-writing on his solo albu ...

and

Andrew Freeman (musician) Andrew Freeman is an American rock singer and guitarist who has played for a number of bands, including hard rock guitarist George Lynch (musician), George Lynch's Lynch Mob (band), Lynch Mob. Freeman is currently the frontman for the hard rock ...

. It was also announced that Norlander had joined the rock ballet production Heart of Storm with live dates in 2017 announced. He is also involved in the duo, Dukes of the Orient. Norlander was also a key designer of the IK Multimedia UNO Synth.

Discography

Solo albums

Studio albums

* ''Threshold'' (1997, re-released as a 2-CD package in 2003 as ''Threshold Special Edition'') * ''Into the Sunset'' (2000) * ''Music Machine'' (2003, 2CD) * ''Seas of Orion'' (2004) * ''Hommage Symphonique'' (2006) * ''The Galactic Collective'' (2010, re-released as a 2-CD and DVD package in 2012 as "The Galactic Collective - Definitive Edition") * ''Surreal'' (2016)

Live albums

* ''Stars Rain Down'' (2004) * ''Live in St. Petersburg'' (2006, CD and DVD) * ''The Galactic Collective: Live in Gettysburg'' (2012, 2-CD and DVD)

Rocket Scientists albums

* ''Earthbound'' (1993) * ''Brutal Architecture'' (1995) * ''Earth Below and Sky Above: Live in Europe and America'' (1998) * ''Oblivion Days'' (1999) * ''Revolution Road'' (2006) * ''Looking Backward'' (2007) * ''Supernatural Highways'' (2014) * ''Refuel'' (2014)

Lana Lane albums

* ''Love Is an Illusion'' (1995) * ''Curious Goods'' (1996) * ''Garden of the Moon'' (1998) * ''Echoes from the Garden'' (1998) Japan only * ''Live in Japan'' (1998) Japan only * ''Ballad Collection'' (1998) Japan only * ''Queen of the Ocean'' (1999) * ''Echoes from the Ocean'' (1998) Japan only * ''Best of Lana Lane 1995 – 1999'' (1999) Japan only * '' Secrets of Astrology'' (2000) * ''Ballad Collection II'' (2000) Japan only * ''Ballad Collection – Special Edition'' (2000) * ''Project Shangri-La'' (2002) * ''Covers Collection'' (2003) * ''Winter Sessions'' (2003) * ''Return to Japan'' (2004) * ''Storybook: Tales from Europe and Japan'' (DVD, 2004) * ''Lady Macbeth'' (2005) * ''10th Anniversary Concert'' (DVD/CD set, 2006) * ''Gemini'' (2006) * ''Red Planet Boulevard'' (2007) * ''Best of Lana Lane 2000 – 2008'' (2008) Japan only * ''El Dorado Hotel'' (2012) * ''Neptune Blue'' (2022)

Dukes of the Orient albums

* ''Dukes of the Orient'' (2017) * ''Freakshow'' (2019)

References

External links

Official Erik Norlander's websiteErik Norlander
NAMM Oral History Interview (2009) {{DEFAULTSORT:Norlander, Erik 1967 births Living people American rock keyboardists 20th-century American keyboardists American record producers American audio engineers American heavy metal keyboardists