Catching Up With Eric Bazilian

My pal Eric Bazilian has a rich history in pop music making. From founding member of the Hooters to the sole author of Joan Osborne’s 4x Grammy nominated “One Of Us” — a groundbreaking 1995 smash that raised the bar for working songwriters everywhere — Eric is still putting himself out there.   

I met the Philadelphia native at a Greg Wells’ hosted songwriting camp in the South of France a few years ago. Not too shabby. Since then we’ve stayed in touch and enjoy shooting the sh*t about the craft of songwriting, collaboration and where we think our profession is headed.  

During a tough year for all performers Eric released Bazilian a collection of songs embracing nostalgia, a bit of commentary on the past year and some thoughts about where he’s at on the timeline of his life. For those of us of a certain generation who swear there’s nothing to listen to, this album might change your mind. 

Eric’s cover of the Beatles’ “Help,” (completely re-harmonized and re-chorded), takes on its own desperation. But is he in fact really asking for help? It feels to me like he’s right where he needs and wants to be.

I could go on but why read more when you can hear Eric in his own humble words.

I hope you’ll have a listen to our conversation and Eric’s new album as well. 

PS! I had a follow-up question about “One Of Us.” I had forgotten to ask Eric how it happened that Joan Osborne recorded it. And this is what he replied via text: 

I brought my wacky little demo in the next day and played it for (producer) Rick (Chertoff), Rob (Hyman), and Joan. It had never occurred to me that it would be something for Joan. Rick looked up after the track ended and asked, “Joan, do you think you could sing that?” I don’t think she had any idea of what was coming. She said ok, I wrote out the lyrics and took her through the melodies. We recorded guitar and vocal direct to DAT (remember DAT?) We all looked around the room and knew, same way I knew when Rob and Cyndi played me their first draft of “Time After Time.”

“Time After Time.” There’s another one. And yes, I remember DAT. 😳

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