Jazz Monthly: Yeah, it’s a great track, man, wow. Well, even before that, when I hear the first track, “Just Like That,” it’s a great opening for the project because I started to reflect on it as a party record, but it got kind of mature and heavy in there once I got into the project.
ED: (Laughs.) Yeah.
Jazz Monthly: The first song is like “It’s party time!”
ED: Yeah, it’s funny because “Just Like That” kind of sets the mood for the project, but the thing about this CD is that it’s very diverse. I mean, it’ll take you through so many different moods, so many different mind frames, and this CD really reflects me and my experiences and the things I’ve been going through in the past several years, so with this album, it really, really reflects me. And you will find yourself dancing, you’ll find yourself grooving, then at times you’ll find yourself reflecting on your life and different moments, and I think it’s a pretty well-rounded album that really caters to every single mood.
Jazz Monthly: Yeah, it does, it really does, because a lot of times when you hear the first song, it really just sort of continues that same thing or that same theme as you’re going throughout the project. But I noticed a great deal of diversity as I listened to the record because like I said, I thought it was going to be just a get down party record, you know?
ED: (Laughs.)
Jazz Monthly: But then I started to feel the changes and the changes are great.
ED: Thank you very, very much.
Jazz Monthly: Yeah, and speaking of Darren Rahn, the title track is totally cool, man. It’s vintage Eric Darius.
ED: (Laughs.) And you know, that’s exactly why I chose that song as the title track of the album, because even though on this album you’ll hear me stretching out and going in different directions and trying new things, “Goin’ All Out” is kind of the song that kind of bridges everything all together from the last album to the new album. It still has that trademark “Eric Darius” sound and it mixes some of the old with the new, and it’s just kind of that perfect bridge between both albums.
Jazz Monthly: Yeah. I’ve got a question for you, man. I’m noticing more and more artists on their album liner notes there, they’re not wearing shoes anymore. Is there something in vogue with this no shoes thing, you know? What’s up with that?
ED: (Both laugh.) You know, I’ll be honest with you, the photographer, he’s an incredible, incredible photographer, had great insight and vision, and he had the idea of me taking off my shoes and I was very opposed to that.
Jazz Monthly: (Laughs.)
ED: I’m like, “You know, I don’t care. I am not taking my shoes off for anybody. I’m just not into that.” I mean, I’ve seen a lot of artists even perform on stage with no shoes.
Jazz Monthly: Yeah.
ED: Even the thought of that, I’m just like, “You know, that’s not me and that’s just not gonna happen, so you’re really gonna have to convince me to do that.” Finally he convinced me and I’m like “All right, I’ll take the picture, but this picture’s not gonna make it on the album. I’ll just take it for you. This is not for me.”
Jazz Monthly: Yeah, man, I’ve been noticing that lately. Everybody’s showing off their toes. It’s like what’s up? It’s like “I’m keeping my shoes on.”
ED: And I was not trying to show them off at all, but I guess there’s something about not having your shoes on that just kind of gives you that down home kind of vibe or you’re kind of one with the music and with everything else that’s going on, and you feel comfortable enough to do that.
Jazz Monthly: Oh, okay. I thought it was a sexy thing working. I just gotta ask, you know?
ED: Well, some people are into their own things, so who knows?
Jazz Monthly: Yeah, you know? Perhaps I should do a survey. (Both laugh.)
ED: That’s funny. It’s funny because every time I see other CDs and people have their shoes off, I’m like “Uh-uh, they need to go and put their shoes on.” And now I’m one of those guys with their shoes off, so it’s funny.
Jazz Monthly: Well, let’s say you’re keeping up with the times, huh?
ED: I guess I am.
Jazz Monthly: Yeah, we’ll leave it at that. Maybe it’s a photographer thing, I don’t know.
ED: It must be because that’s what it was in my case.
Jazz Monthly: Oh, man. So “Vibe With Me.” Talk to me about “Vibe With Me,” man, because that’s a very upbeat kind of get down kind of song. I like that.
ED: Yeah, when I came up with the idea for “Vibe With Me,” over the past several years I’ve really been immersing myself in different styles of music. I’ve been listening to a lot of hip hop, a lot of R&B, pop, Latin music, and I really wanted to make myself more well rounded and to just really try to incorporate as many different styles into this project as I could. And one of the artists that I’ve been listening to a lot and I’ve really enjoyed his music is Timbaland. He’s an incredible producer and he has this ability to fuse so many different styles of music and everyone enjoys it. I mean, he just has this real great type of vibe and it’s great club music. So you know what? I thought, when I was working on this project, I wanted to make a song that kind of had that Timbaland type of vibe, that had that real club type of feel, but I wanted to make sure that the song was melodic and that it had a strong melody. And “Vibe With Me,” when you listen to it, it kind of puts you in the mindset of kind of just hanging out in the club, you’re having a drink, you’re hanging out, and you’re just kind of vibing, but it has that real strong melodic sense on top of it that it just all makes sense. So that’s kind of what I wanted to portray with “Vibe With Me.”
Jazz Monthly: It’s a great song and I’ve noticed that especially with this project, you’ve jumped a level or two in your musicianship. Especially with the diversity of the project. I feel the maturity level—the elevated maturity level, I should say—in your music with this project.
ED: Thank you….
Jazz Monthly: And I think it’s going to be a great welcome to your fans out there.
ED: Thank you. I mean, that was definitely my goal. I’ve really been working hard in the past several years and I wanted people to be able to hear the difference with this album compared to the last. And whenever I approach my music, I always look at artists like Miles Davis and Herbie Hancock, where their music, every single album that they released was completely different than the previous one. You listen to Miles Davis’ first record and compare it to his last one, he went from doing bebop to straight pop. You listen to Herbie Hancock’s original first album and listen to what he’s doing now, it’s just completely different.
Jazz Monthly: Exactly.
ED: And so I look at those type of artists where I want to try new things, I kind of want to push the boundaries and just try new things, because I think it’s exciting for me as an artist to do new things and I think it’s exciting for the listeners to hear something different. So that’s definitely what I wanted to convey on this project, was you know what? I’ve had a lot of great experiences and I think I’ve grown as a person, as a musician, and I hope that it’s reflected on this album.
