The band Erie Choir stopped by Live & Local this week, ahead of the release of their new album “Golden Reviser.”
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Founded a quarter century ago, Erie Choir has been a staple of the local music scene for many years. Co-founders Eric Roehrig and James Hepler actually go back even further: prior to forming Erie Choir, they also played together in the seminal late-90s band Sorry About Dresden.
“Me and James have been in bands together since 10th grade,” Roehrig laughs.
Roehrig initially launched Erie Choir as a vehicle for his acoustic songwriting – “Erie Choir” is a sort-of anagram of Roehrig’s name, minus a couple letters – but the band’s sound has evolved over the years as it’s added new members. Today it’s a five-piece outfit, with Bob Wall, Jack Watson, and Ben Spiker alongside Roehrig and Hepler.
“Once you start bringing in different people, (that) affects what the songs sound like,” Roehrig says of the band’s process. “When Bob joined, I started trying to play some songs that were play to his strength, which are many…
“(Now) I sort of come up with just the basic chords and lyrics and melody and bring it to the band, and we work out the parts.”
Listen to the album and purchase it on Bandcamp.
Erie Choir also brought in some notable friends for “Golden Reviser,” the band’s first album of new music in eight years. Lead single “Summer Bummer,” for instance, features a contribution from local-music legend Greg Humphreys of Dillon Fence fame. The album was recorded at Duck Kee Studios, with famed producer Jerry Kee behind the booth.
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Erie Choir is celebrating “Golden Reviser” this weekend, with an album-release show Friday, November 7, at Rubies on Five Points in downtown Durham.
Click here for more on Friday’s show, which begins at 6:30 with Blab School opening.
And as for the future? Even after three decades in the scene, the guys of Erie Choir have no plans to slow down.
“It’s nice,” Roehrig says of the Triangle’s current music scene. “You go to the Cave and you see younger people there, younger bands doing things, and that’s encouraging…
“You know, Kirk Ross from Lud would always talk about how it’s not a scene, it’s a community. I think we’re really grateful to have been part of this community, and in some small way helping keep the lights on at all these places that allow us to play music.”
Eric Roehrig, James Hepler, and Bob Wall of Erie Choir stopped by Live & Local this week to discuss “Golden Reviser” and play three songs live: “Artifacts,” “Bad Luck,” and one older song, “The Ballad of Erie Choir.” Listen:
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