Quick Q and A with ERIC LEE (The Strangelings)
 by Kathy S-B  ·  16 February 2008

I first caught the musical force that is Eric Lee at last summer’s Falcon Ridge Folk Festival in Hillsdale, New York. (For those of you who would like to experience a first-rate folk festival, go to their website and learn all about it.) I arrived at the fest a day early and happened to run into someone who told me about some impromptu campsite jams up on the “hill” (it’s not called Hillsdale for nothing) that very afternoon and one of them was to be the Strangelings. Since I had already booked the Strangelings for a Spring 2008 gig, I was anxious to see them in person as a total unit. I was already familiar with the others in the band — Pete and Maura Kennedy, Rebecca Hall and Ken Anderson, Chris Thompson, and Cheryl Prashker . . . so when I saw this young virtuosic fiddler playing with the others, I was intrigued. For more info about Eric, go to his myspace page. You can also check out this You Tube video of that very first performance at Falcon Ridge

How about a quick recap of how Pete and Maura Kennedy discovered you at Falcon Ridge last summer? I happened to be part of the gaggle of fans who caught your first performances up on the hillside and was truly amazed at how naturally you fit in with the rest of the Strangelings.

It really was unplanned. I met Pete and Maura at the very first Strangelings show at the P.A.C.E. theater in Easthampton. I remember they saw me playing after that on the street with some friends of mine, but we had never played together or anything. At Falcon Ridge, I remember walking into the Strangelings’ concert at the VFP tent while Maura was talking about the band’s first show between songs. Pete saw me, and asked me if I had my violin with me. Thankfully I did, and they invited me up to play “Matty Groves” with them. The rest is history!

Did you go to Falcon Ridge with any intent on joining a band?

It’s funny how it worked out. I had heard so much about the festival from my friends that I just wanted to go for kicks, but in the back of my head, I kind of really wanted to play at least one show that was on the program. I was hoping to be lucky enough to jam with some of main bands offstage in the campgrounds or something, but I definitely didn’t figure I’d join any bands.Has violin always been your instrument of choice? It’s the first instrument I really learned how to play, and it certainly feels the most natural, but sometimes I just want to rock out on guitar or play mandolin or something.

How long has it taken you to master playing the violin behind your back?

Man, I started doing that years ago. . . . I learned a lot of fiddle tunes from Al Cherney records when I was first starting out, and one of his album covers showed him playing a violin behind his back. I thought that looked pretty cool, so I figured I’d try it.

Besides playing gigs with the Strangelings, what other musical adventures are you up to these days?

I do some studio work with different artists, or sometimes I’ll play out with different bands as a guest, but mainly I play in my rock band, The Thungs. We also have a side project called The Others, which is all about the TV show “Lost.” I’m also working on a solo CD with Pete.

Where do you see yourself five years from now? What goals and aspirations do you have?

Still playing and recording with the Strangelings! I’d love to do the whole world touring thing, that’d be pretty sweet. It’s also a goal of mine to see Godsmack in concert, so hopefully that will have happened five years from now. . . .