Hillary Schacht (fiddle and harmony vocals), Michael Lawless (mandolin), Richard Hardy (bass and mandolin), Michael Sheppard (dobro), Heather Carlson (mandolin and harmony vocals)
Influences
My parents Richard and Marjorie, Peter Rowan, Tony Rice, Roshan Jamal Bhartiya, Ali Akbar Khan, John Hartford, Dirk Powell, The Grateful Dead, David Grisman, Norman Blake, Solas, Gerry Carthy, Phish, The Be Good Tanyas, Foghorn Stringband, John Coltrane, The Reeltime Travelers, Bob Dylan, Bob Marley, Toots and the Maytals, Jimmy Cliff, Mississippi John Hurt, Boubacar Traore, Nancy Griffith, Keith Frank, and many more...
Acoustic guitar-picker Eric Carlson of Santa Fe, NM plays original and traditional folk-music with old-time roots and some bluegrass seasoning as well as instrumental acoustic guitar music from throughout the world. Northern New Mexico is home to a rich diversity of first-class international musicians, as well as a surprisingly lively old-time music scene, offering a great deal of knowledge and inspiration that Eric draws from. He performs regularly in Santa Fe and throughout the Southwest both solo, with his band, and as a member of other groups as well.
His latest CD The Ship in the Sky contains original and traditional songs and instrumentals that explore a recurrent oceanic theme amid the desert southwest. Though seafaring music in the desert may seem ironic, the grand vistas and broad horizons of the ocean and the southwest share a vast, humbling, and moody spirit. Perhaps the new CD speaks to a deep memory of the ocean that we all share regardless of where we live. All life began in the sea after all, and some would say that it still runs through our veins, our blood having a salinity remarkably similar to that of the ocean. The land itself in the high desert retains the memory of the ocean that once lay above it long ago. One can find ancient marine fossils from the desert of Southern New Mexico to the peaks of the Rocky Mountains. Indeed, bluegrass legend Peter Rowan once sung “In the high desert mountains, I dream of the sea, dream of the sea…”
The new CD features local Santa Fe musicians Hillary Schacht on violin and harmony vocals, Michael Lawless on mandolin, Richard Hardy on bass and mandocello, Michael Sheppard on dobro, and Eric’s lovely wife Heather on harmony vocals.
"Carlson and his ensemble prove themselves seaworthy messengers of bluegrassy Americana goodness."
-Rob DeWalt, Santa Fe New Mexican, Pasatiempo
"Carlson has caught a long ago past
with simplicity on Ship."
-Kyle Eustice and Patricia Sauthoff - Santa Fe Reporter
Hey Eric, thanks again for letting me fill in for you at the baking co.Come check out The Unborn Soul Saturday july 12th@ Green Palace Tea House 209 palace ave.7:30ish hope to see you there! mike The Unborn Soul
Hey, we're playing at the Green Palace Friday Aug 2nd, Thanks for the suggestion! Bag of Money, yeah, we finally got around to recording that one. Thanks for stopping by!
