A P P L E TO N

APPLETON
-
NEENAH
-
MENASHA,
WISCONSIN
THE
POST-CRESCENT
Songwriter Eric Sommer would love
to play while you fold and separate...
Jim Lundstrom
Got a laundromat where a talented musician can play? Eric
Sommer is your man.
"Wouldn't that be fun?" said the Washington, D.C.-based
guitarist/vocalist.
"The great thing about laundromats, they reflect a lot of
noise," he said. "When you're in there all alone and you
pull out an acoustic guitar with some guts to it, it sounds
magnificent because the sound just bounces off all that
tin."
Sommer likes the idea of unusual venues off the beaten
path. He has chosen the less traditional path for himself as
a musician. On the well-worn path, you record, do some
touring in support of your recording, sit back and hope it
gets some airplay.
"The other is being on the road, doing good road work,"
he said. "I think living that life is very important. It's true to
the music, true to where it came from. I think playing out
is what it's all about. The size of the room doesn't matter.
It's just the beauty of being there."
Sommer has been through the band routine,
playing on tours with the likes of J. Geils, the Cars,
John Mayall, Little Feat, Buddy Guy, Leon Redbone,
The Dead Kennedys, John Hammond, Spider
John Koerner & The Byrds, to mention just a
few.
Ask what moved him into the shoes of a solo
performer and he mentions the difficulty of
keeping four or five players focused and
organized, the expense of a touring band
and things like that.
But you also get the sense that working
alone is the best format for his unique
style of guitar playing, which he said
owes something to predecessors such
as John Fahey, Davy Graham & David
Bromberg, perhaps with a little
Johnny Winter slide thrown into
the mix.
He also doesn't mind that his songwriting and
singing have been compared with Elvis Costello.
"He is remarkable, and although I think my space, focus
and style are completely different, I know I get compared
to him a lot," he said. "It doesn't bother me. In fact, I am
honored to be included in the same sentence."
And he really means it about thatlaundromat.
"I'm eager for the call," he said."I have a bunch of days
open on this tour. I'm free from the 17th to the 23rd.
Anybody got a laundromat, a bowling alley, a gas station,
let's go."
Stage, Ton’s Garage, Appleton, WI
Sommer's work ethic will be on display Sunday when he
makes his Appleton debut at Tom's Garage.
"I first came out that way last August when I closed the
Bayfront Blues Festival (in Duluth, Minn.) on the acoustic
stage," he said. "I didn't think anybody was going to show
up. I walked out onto the stage and there were about 750
people. The tent was just packed. It was just one of those
days where your heart was in the right place, you were just
on, everything was there."
Jim Lundstrom can be reached at 920-993-1000, ext. 374, or by e-mail at
jlundstrom@ postcrescent.com.