Eric Benjamin Gordon
Eric Benjamin Gordon is a fresh voice and a genuine rock & roll throwback…all in one multi-threat package. On this, his debut self-titled CD, listeners have been dumbfounded to learn that he not only wrote all the songs himself, but he played drums, bass, keyboards, and guitars. Oh yeah….Eric did all the singing too!
We noticed Eric often on the Hudson Valley music scene through the years, sitting in with various bands or soloing at the popular open mic venues, but it wasn't until we asked him to perform "Beginning" on Family Picnic: Songs from a non-Performing Songwriter that we learned he was legally blind. Saying that Eric’s disability doesn’t slow him down is an understatement of cosmic proportions, and his youthful exuberance on stage belies his professional demeanor in the recording studio. Producers and engineers alike get way more bang for their buck when they can hire one studio musician instead of five!
Eric's songwriting ranges from tender and insightful, to off-beat and unexpected, to classic rock anthems reminiscent of the old sold-out stadium days...all with a freshness that roots him to the present and proves his uniqueness beyond any doubt. Try this CD and you'll discover what we mean!
Charlie Lang
Every once in a great while, we meet a musician who stands out from the crowd. Sometimes it's their talent. Sometimes it's their heart. Sometimes it's the road they've traveled that blows us away. In the case of Charlie Lang, it's all of the above and more. Charlie knows the piano keyboard better than most of us know our own next-of-kin, and his singing voice has a mystical chameleon quality that shifts with grace and subtlety as he brings warmth and passion to a set list that rivals your favorite jukebox. His original tunes are poignant, romantic and often soul-stirring. Steve Israel of the Times Herald Record put it like this:
"No doubt about it, Charlie Lang is one of the most talented singer-songwriters in the mid-Hudson. When I first heard him, he wowed me with his words...but now his voice and music also deliver knockout punches. His quivering vocals have so much depth they sound like soul music. His synthesized music evokes the passion and poetry of that voice."
Life is hard...and nobody gets a pass. But we each take our own journeys and we each experience our own share of hard knocks. Charlie Lang is no exception, and his openness about his path and his reflections about the people he has met along the way are remarkable. Lang's lyrics will captivate you, and his musical prowess will carry you away.
In Walking Through Portraits, Lang examines all of our lives with songs about individuals we have never met, but will recognize instantly: a sister whom he adores, a troubled neighbor, college classmates stuck in suburbia while they dream of Hollywood and stardom, his own feelings about life and love, and even a very powerful song about who we are (Or perhaps who we think we are!) as a nation. Charlie Lang doesn't miss much, and whether he's sharing insights about emotional crossroads or observations about amazing people who never quite fit in, you will see and feel a little bit of yourself in every portrait hanging on his wall. There's hope and healing in Charlie's music, and if you're anything like me, you will revisit this portrait gallery again and again.
Kevin Robinson
People mistakenly assume that my disability has
something to do with my wheelchair," says quadriplegic
mystery novelist, freelance magazine writer,
songwriter, and blues harp player, Kevin Robinson.
"The real problem is that I can't sing!" That physical
challenge hatched Robinson's debut CD project, Family
Picnic, a compilation of his original songs, performed
by his adopted "family" of talented musical friends
and acquaintances.
"I just wanted to take a shot at selling a song or
two, and I am overwhelmed by the number of great
musicians who agreed to pitch in," Robinson says. "And
thanks to help from the Brooklyn Museum of Art and
graphic artist, Jody Drake, the cover features the
fitting and famous Thomas Cole painting, The Pic-nic."
Family Picnic features twelve Robinson originals
performed by a wonderful collection of musicians,
including Mark Calkins on vocals, guitar and harps,
Charlie Lang on vocals and keyboard, Bob Malone on
vocals and keyboard, Todd Giudice on vocals and
guitar, Rhett Tyler on vocals and guitar, Bar Scott on
vocals, Steve Stiert on vocals, Cate Tyler on vocals,
Eric Benjamin Gordon on vocals, percussion, guitar,
bass and keyboard, Dorraine Scofield on vocals, fiddle
and mandolin, Alan Semenovich on vocals and bass,
Jeremy Baum on keyboard, Bob Couse, J.B. Hunt and
David Nelson on bass, Greg Busch and Donny Stroffolino
on percussion.