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Eric Steckel Blog: Dismantle The Sun Tour

First of all, I want to thank Pete and company at BluesRockReview.com for asking me to chronicle and blog about my winter tour. These guys have been very supportive of my career and music for a number of years and I’m very appreciative of that.

This tour I believe will be a great one to chronicle seeing as we’ll be hitting lots of interesting cities, playing many shows and meeting large amounts of people at each stop along the way. Right now, it’s the first day off and after catching up on sleep and staying hydrated, it’s time to make sure all the gear survived the two long flights and is in tip-top shape and ready to rip on the first note! I’m being more selective and critical of my equipment every single tour, for two reasons. #1 being that the gigs on this run are mostly all high-profile festival type shows with large audiences and also because I believe an artist is only as good as his weakest link. Making sure your gear reflects every subtle nuance of your playing is crucial, and the audience DOES notice those small nuances, so make it count.

We kick off tour rehearsals in a few hours in downtown Amsterdam at a studio there, after picking up our tour bus and full backline. I’ll be meeting my backing band for the FIRST time ever! Phew…that’s a scary but awesome experience. I know these guys are all first-class players and serious pros – but you always want to make sure the chemistry and rapport is present. I feel it will be, in a few hours I’ll know for sure! Our first gig is Saturday the 12th at a Bluesfestival in Rijen, The Netherlands in which we are the headline act.

I’ve included a picture of me warming up in the hotel room in West Amsterdam. I’ll be using my unbelievably gorgeous Tom Anderson Cobra for most of this tour and she is sounding as sweet as ever after my tech looked over her. This tour will be a balance between the Blues and Rock sides of my playing – we’ll be doing originals from Dismantle The Sun as well as some of my favorite covers from Donny Hathaway, Otis Rush, Michael Burks, etc. I also predict we’ll add some brand new tunes to the setlist after the backing band adds their .2 cents and maybe we’ll go into territories we’ve never gone before which is always great fun.

Well here’s a great big “Cheers!” to the start of a great tour. Keep posted as I’ll be blogging once a week or more depending on what’s going on while we’re on the road here! Thanks for reading all – peace!

~Eric~

Pete Francis

Pete Francis is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Blues Rock Review. Pete founded Blues Rock Review in 2010 because he felt there was a major void in how the blues rock genre was covered. Pete is the host of Blues Rock Weekly and a co-host on the Blues Rock Show.

3 thoughts on “Eric Steckel Blog: Dismantle The Sun Tour

  • Sounds like a rippin’ good time. Hope you enjoy every minute of it1

    Reply
  • Hi Eric, have a good one tonight!! We’re looking forward to see and hear you play @ The Shack, Jan. 20th!! Cheers!!!

    Reply

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