Eric Heywood
Encyclopedia
Eric Heywood is an American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 guitarist
Guitarist
A guitarist is a musician who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselves on the guitar while singing.- Versatility :The guitarist controls an extremely...

 and musician
Musician
A musician is an artist who plays a musical instrument. It may or may not be the person's profession. Musicians can be classified by their roles in performing music and writing music.Also....* A person who makes music a profession....

.

Biography

Heywood grew up in Mount Vernon, Iowa
Mount Vernon, Iowa
Mount Vernon is a city in Linn County, Iowa, United States, adjacent to the city of Lisbon. The city's population was 3,390 when the 2000 census figures were released, but that number was later revised to 3,808 because the Census Bureau had incorrectly reported that 418 residents of a Cornell...

, a little college town of about 3,500. His parents both taught at a small liberal-arts college, and artistic ambitions were encouraged and pursued. His older brother Phil Heywood
Phil Heywood
Phil Heywood is an American fingerstyle acoustic guitar player, singer and composer.- Biography:Raised in Iowa, Heywood has been based in the Minneapolis area since the mid 1980's....

 provided the main early musical influence by way of his obsession with the country blues—first Mississippi John Hurt
Mississippi John Hurt
John Smith Hurt, better known as Mississippi John Hurt was an American country blues singer and guitarist.Raised in Avalon, Mississippi, Hurt taught himself how to play the guitar around age nine...

 and Leadbelly
Leadbelly
Huddie William Ledbetter was an iconic American folk and blues musician, notable for his strong vocals, his virtuosity on the twelve-string guitar, and the songbook of folk standards he introduced....

, then Willie McTell and Gary Davis
Reverend Gary Davis
Reverend Gary Davis, also Blind Gary Davis, was an American blues and gospel singer and guitarist, who was also proficient on the banjo and harmonica...

 and many more. These records and Phil’s intensely hammered out renditions of them played constantly around the house and no doubt had a huge part in the development of Eric’s musical pallet and aesthetic.

After attempting to play ragtime piano he finally gave in to the guitar while a senior in high school. Phil taught him a John Hurt
John Hurt
John Vincent Hurt, CBE is an English actor, known for his leading roles as John Merrick in The Elephant Man, Winston Smith in Nineteen Eighty-Four, Mr. Braddock in The Hit, Stephen Ward in Scandal, Quentin Crisp in The Naked Civil Servant and An Englishman in New York...

 song and the guitar became an important procrastination tool during his years at Macalester College
Macalester College
Macalester College is a private, coeducational liberal arts college located in Saint Paul, Minnesota. It was founded in 1874 as a Presbyterian-affiliated but nonsectarian college. Its first class entered September 15, 1885. The college is located on a campus in a historic residential neighborhood...

 in St. Paul, MN, where he graduated with honors in studio art.

Art degree in hand, he quickly landed a job driving cab in St. Paul. Musically, Eric and a couple of friends formed a country blues outfit called Hometown Skiffle and tentatively ventured into performing. Eventually this led to a country band called the Ranchtones in the late 80’s. The bulk of their song list was made up of George Jones
George Jones
George Glenn Jones is an American country music singer known for his long list of hit records, his distinctive voice and phrasing, and his marriage to Tammy Wynette....

, Gram Parsons
Gram Parsons
Gram Parsons was an American singer, songwriter, guitarist and pianist. Parsons is best known for his work within the country genre; he also mixed blues, folk, and rock to create what he called "Cosmic American Music"...

, and Buck Owens
Buck Owens
Alvis Edgar Owens, Jr. , better known as Buck Owens, was an American singer and guitarist who had 21 No. 1 hits on the Billboard country music charts with his band, the Buckaroos...

. During this time Eric quit the cabby gig, retreated to the woods of western Wisconsin, became a carpenter, and bought his first pedal steel guitar
Pedal steel guitar
The pedal steel guitar is a type of electric guitar that uses a metal bar to "fret" or shorten the length of the strings, rather than fingers on strings as with a conventional guitar. Unlike other types of steel guitar, it also uses pedals and knee levers to affect the pitch, hence the name "pedal"...

, securing lessons Leo Kottke
Leo Kottke
Leo Kottke is an acoustic guitarist. He is widely known for his innovative fingerpicking style, which draws on influences from blues, jazz, and folk music, and his syncopated, polyphonic melodies...

's guitarist and guest musician on the first album by The Jayhawks, Cal Hand.

After a few years of a weekly Minneapolis bar gig Eric started to become a musician. As Joe Henry
Joe Henry
Joseph Lee "Joe" Henry is an American singer, songwriter, guitarist, and record producer. Henry's musical style spans several genres, including alt. country, rock, jazz and folk.- Early years :...

's backing band, The Jayhawks, began to see their own career take off Henry assembled a new band consisting of Tim O'Reagan, Jim Boquist, and Eric, hitting the road in 1993 and a year or so later spending five weeks opening for Uncle Tupelo
Uncle Tupelo
Uncle Tupelo was an alternative country music group from Belleville, Illinois, active between 1987 and 1994. Jay Farrar, Jeff Tweedy, and Mike Heidorn formed the band after the lead singer of their previous band, The Primitives, left to attend college. The trio recorded three albums for Rockville...

 on their final tour. After the breakup of Uncle Tupelo, Jay Farrar
Jay Farrar
Jay Farrar is an American songwriter and musician currently based in St. Louis, Missouri. A veteran of two critically acclaimed music groups, Uncle Tupelo and Son Volt, he began his solo music career in 2001...

 asked him to be a part of his new band, Son Volt
Son Volt
Son Volt is an alternative country group formed by Jay Farrar in 1994 after the breakup of the band Uncle Tupelo.-History:The group formed after Farrar met Jim and Dave Boquist during the final Uncle Tupelo tour. Together with former Uncle Tupelo drummer Mike Heidorn, the band rehearsed and...

, in 1994. For the next four years he toured and made records with them.

Richard Buckner
Richard Buckner
Richard Buckner is an American singer-songwriter born in California. After living in Edmonton, Alberta for a number of years, he currently resides in Brooklyn, NY...

 did many shows with Son Volt in that period. Richard and Eric ended up playing together on those shows, and ate their way back and forth across the country as a duo through the late nineties. Alejandro Escovedo
Alejandro Escovedo
Alejandro Escovedo is an American singer-songwriter.-Biography:The son of Mexican immigrants to Texas, Escovedo is from a family that boasts several professional musicians, including brothers Coke Escovedo and Pete Escovedo, and Sheila E...

 also opened for Son Volt during that era and hired Eric in 1999—the beginning of a two year stint with Alejandro’s
band. There were other tours sprinkled in there with Freakwater
Freakwater
-Career:In 1989, Janet Beveridge Bean and Catherine Irwin founded the band, and they have been supported by several musicians since then, including members of Califone . Bassist David Wayne Gay, formerly of Stump The Host, is another long-time member of the band...

 and Calexico before Eric changed things up by moving to L.A. in 2001. He took a year off from music to fix up a house and get settled in L.A., then re-entered by playing with his wife, Kristin Mooney
Kristin Mooney
Kristin Mooney is an American pop music, folk rock and Americana singer and songwriter. She first began performing professionally in college. After college she moved to Nashville, TN where she continued performing live and started working as a session musician...

, Jeffrey Foucault
Jeffrey Foucault
Jeffrey Foucault is a singer-songwriter from Whitewater, Wisconsin. His 2001 debut album, Miles from the Lightning, won much praise from critics and helped to kick-start a career of tours across the United States, Canada, and Europe. Along the way, he has played with such artists as Greg Brown,...

, and touring with Ray Lamontagne
Ray LaMontagne
Raymond "Ray" Charles Jack LaMontagne is a Grammy-award winning American singer-songwriter. LaMontagne has released four studio albums, Trouble, Till the Sun Turns Black, Gossip in the Grain and God Willin' & the Creek Don't Rise. He was born in New Hampshire and was inspired to create music after...

.

Equipment

Heywood currently plays a custom eleven-string single-neck guitar valued between $3,000 to $5,000. This is run through one of two custom-made amps: A Savage Audio Rohr 15, designed and built by Jeff Krumm and Andy Wolf in Minnesota, and a Richtone 30-watt 2-12 combo, designed and built by Rich Lovato in Los Angeles. For pedals he uses a Goodrich LDR volume pedal, a Goodrich matchbox, delay and reverb.

Discussing his personal feelings towards equipment he noted to No Depression magazine: "I'm not a real super gearhead. The search for tone is a lifelong thing, but to me it has more to do with pickups and amps and the way you play. The differences between pedal steel guitars are a little more subtle, more for the players themselves. It's hard to experiment too much because they're so expensive and they take up a lot of room. I'm pretty happy with my sound on the Williams, so I don't go searching around too much."

Discography

  • John Doe And The Sadies, Country Club (2009)
  • Jeffrey Foucault
    Jeffrey Foucault
    Jeffrey Foucault is a singer-songwriter from Whitewater, Wisconsin. His 2001 debut album, Miles from the Lightning, won much praise from critics and helped to kick-start a career of tours across the United States, Canada, and Europe. Along the way, he has played with such artists as Greg Brown,...

    , Shoot The Moon Right Between The Eyes (2009)
  • Ray LaMontagne
    Ray LaMontagne
    Raymond "Ray" Charles Jack LaMontagne is a Grammy-award winning American singer-songwriter. LaMontagne has released four studio albums, Trouble, Till the Sun Turns Black, Gossip in the Grain and God Willin' & the Creek Don't Rise. He was born in New Hampshire and was inspired to create music after...

    , Gossip In The Grain (2008)
  • The Pretenders
    The Pretenders
    The Pretenders are an English rock band formed in Hereford, England in March 1978. The original band consisted of initiator and main songwriter Chrissie Hynde , James Honeyman-Scott , Pete Farndon , and Martin Chambers...

    , Break Up the Concrete
    Break Up the Concrete
    -Disc 1 – The Best of Pretenders:-Disc 2 – Break Up the Concrete:-Personnel:*Jim Keltner – drums, background vocals*Chrissie Hynde – rhythm guitar, vocals*Eric Heywood – pedal steel guitar, background vocals...

    (2008)
  • Kristin Mooney
    Kristin Mooney
    Kristin Mooney is an American pop music, folk rock and Americana singer and songwriter. She first began performing professionally in college. After college she moved to Nashville, TN where she continued performing live and started working as a session musician...

    , Hydroplane (2008)
  • Anders Parker
    Anders Parker
    Anders Parker is an American singer-songwriter, guitar player, singer and multi-instrumentalist with a career spanning two decades. He has performed and recorded as a solo artist and as a key member in bands such as Varnaline and Space Needle...

    , Anders Parker (2006)
  • Fulano, Individual (2006)
  • Jeffrey Foucault
    Jeffrey Foucault
    Jeffrey Foucault is a singer-songwriter from Whitewater, Wisconsin. His 2001 debut album, Miles from the Lightning, won much praise from critics and helped to kick-start a career of tours across the United States, Canada, and Europe. Along the way, he has played with such artists as Greg Brown,...

    , Ghost Repeater (2006)
  • John Gorka
    John Gorka
    John Gorka is a contemporary American folk musician. In 1991, Rolling Stone magazine called him "the preeminent male singer-songwriter of what has been dubbed the New Folk Movement."-Biography:...

    , Writing in the Margins (2006))
  • Nadine Zahr, Underneath The Everyday (2006)
  • Peter Bruntnell
    Peter Bruntnell
    Peter Bruntnell is a British singer–songwriter born in Auckland, New Zealand.-Biography:Bruntnell's family is originally from Wales; His family moved to New Zealand when his father, Owen Bruntnell, was sent to work at the British High Commission in Wellington for four years...

    , Ghost In A Spitfire (2006)
  • Various Artists, Down By The Riverside (2006)
  • Glen Phillips
    Glen Phillips
    Glen Phillips is a songwriter, lyricist, singer and guitarist. He is best known as the singer and songwriter of 1990s alternative rock group Toad the Wet Sprocket.-Personal life:...

    , Winter Pays for Summer (2005)
  • Kathleen Edwards
    Kathleen Edwards
    Kathleen Edwards is a Canadian singer-songwriter and musician. Her 2003 debut album, Failer, contained the singles "Six O'Clock News" and "Hockey Skates".- Personal life :...

    , Back To Me (2005)
  • Koufax
    Koufax (band)
    Koufax are an indie rock band whose members are from mainly Toledo, Ohio. The band's self-titled debut EP was released in 1999 on independent label Doghouse Records, and got them noticed by The Get Up Kids, who signed them to their label, Vagrant Records subsidiary Heroes and Villains...

    , Hard Times are in Fashion (2005)
  • Sarah Lee Guthrie & Johnny Irion
    Sarah Lee Guthrie & Johnny Irion
    Sarah Lee Guthrie and Johnny Irion are a musical duo....

    , Return in Kind Exploration (2005)
  • Shooter Jennings
    Shooter Jennings
    Waylon Albright "Shooter" Jennings is an American singer-songwriter active in the country music and Southern rock genres as well as making his first foray into psychedelic rock in 2009...

    , Put the "O" Back in Country (2005)
  • Son Volt
    Son Volt
    Son Volt is an alternative country group formed by Jay Farrar in 1994 after the breakup of the band Uncle Tupelo.-History:The group formed after Farrar met Jim and Dave Boquist during the final Uncle Tupelo tour. Together with former Uncle Tupelo drummer Mike Heidorn, the band rehearsed and...

    , A Retrospective, 1995-2000 (2005)
  • Son Volt
    Son Volt
    Son Volt is an alternative country group formed by Jay Farrar in 1994 after the breakup of the band Uncle Tupelo.-History:The group formed after Farrar met Jim and Dave Boquist during the final Uncle Tupelo tour. Together with former Uncle Tupelo drummer Mike Heidorn, the band rehearsed and...

    , Okemah and the Melody of Riot (2005)
  • Ted Russel Kamp, Northsouth (2005)
  • Yerba Buena
    Yerba Buena
    Yerba buena is a rambling aromatic herb of western and northwestern North America, ranging from maritime Alaska southwards to Baja California Sur...

    , Island Life (2005)
  • Various Artists, This Is Americana 2 (2005)
  • Heather Waters, Shadow of You (2004)
  • Jim White, Drill a Hole in that Substrate and Tell Me What You See (2004)
  • Kristin Mooney
    Kristin Mooney
    Kristin Mooney is an American pop music, folk rock and Americana singer and songwriter. She first began performing professionally in college. After college she moved to Nashville, TN where she continued performing live and started working as a session musician...

    , Kristin Mooney (2004)
  • Meow Meow
    Meow Meow
    Meow Meow can refer to:* Melissa Madden Gray, English cabaret performer, stage name Meow Meow* Meow Meow, a song from the soundtrack of Kanthaswamy* Mephedrone, a synthetic stimulant...

    , Snow Gas Bones (2004)
  • Neal Casal
    Neal Casal
    Neal Casal is an American songwriter, singer, multi-instrumentalist and photographer who has maintained an acclaimed solo career as well as playing guitar for The Cardinals.-1990 - 1999:...

    , Return In Kind (2004)
  • Ralston Bowles
    Ralston Bowles
    Ralston Bowles is an American songwriter, producer, musician and singer from Grand Rapids, Michigan.-Biography:Ralston Bowles was born on August 31, 1952 to parents, Buel Bowles of Green Sulphur Springs, West Virginia and May Jean Morgan of Vincennes, Indiana .Bowles wrote the songs "Fragile",...

    , Carwreck Conversations (2004)
  • Simon Joyner
    Simon Joyner
    Simon Joyner is a singer-songwriter from Omaha, Nebraska, United States. Considered by some to be the forefather of the burgeoning Omaha music scene , he has profoundly influenced the music of Bright Eyes. Joyner also collaborated with John Darnielle, of The Mountain Goats, and Beck listed Joyner...

    , Lost With The Lights On (2004)
  • Cathy Rivers, Bleached (2003)
  • Horse Stories
    Horse Stories
    Horse Stories is the third major album by Australian trio, Dirty Three."I Remember A Time When Once You Used To Love Me" is a cover of a modern Greek song written by Yiannis Spanos and originally sung by the singer-songwriter Arleta....

    , One Hundred Waves (2003)
  • Jay Farrar
    Jay Farrar
    Jay Farrar is an American songwriter and musician currently based in St. Louis, Missouri. A veteran of two critically acclaimed music groups, Uncle Tupelo and Son Volt, he began his solo music career in 2001...

    , Terroir Blues (2003
  • Jay Farrar
    Jay Farrar
    Jay Farrar is an American songwriter and musician currently based in St. Louis, Missouri. A veteran of two critically acclaimed music groups, Uncle Tupelo and Son Volt, he began his solo music career in 2001...

    , Live In Seattle (2003)
  • Mandy Moore
    Mandy Moore
    Amanda Leigh "Mandy" Moore is an American singer-songwriter, actress and fashion designer. Moore became famous as a teenager in the late 1990s, after the release of her teen pop albums So Real, I Wanna Be with You, and Mandy Moore. In 2007, she took an adult pop-folk direction with the release of...

    , Coverage (2003)
  • Patrick Park
    Patrick Park
    -Early life:Park grew up in Morrison, Colorado. He was exposed to the arts at an early age: his mother was a published poet, and his father was a doctor who enjoyed playing folk and blues records and the guitar at home...

    , Loneliness Knows My Name (2003)
  • Peter Bruntnell
    Peter Bruntnell
    Peter Bruntnell is a British singer–songwriter born in Auckland, New Zealand.-Biography:Bruntnell's family is originally from Wales; His family moved to New Zealand when his father, Owen Bruntnell, was sent to work at the British High Commission in Wellington for four years...

    , Ends Of The Earth (2003)
  • Teddy Morgan
    Teddy Morgan
    Edward "Teddy" Morgan was a Welsh international rugby union player. He was a member of the winning Wales team who beat the 1905 touring All Blacks and is remembered for scoring the winning try...

    , Freight (2003)
  • Bellwether
    Bellwether
    A bellwether is any entity in a given arena that serves to create or influence trends or to presage future happenings.The term is derived from the Middle English bellewether and refers to the practice of placing a bell around the neck of a castrated ram leading his flock of sheep.The movements of...

    , Home Late (2002)
  • Marlee MacLeod, Like Hollywood (2002)
  • John Doe
    John Doe
    The name "John Doe" is used as a placeholder name in a legal action, case or discussion for a male party, whose true identity is unknown or must be withheld for legal reasons. The name is also used to refer to a male corpse or hospital patient whose identity is unknown...

    , Dim Stars, Bright Sky (2002)
  • Valet
    Valet
    Valet and varlet are terms for male servants who serve as personal attendants to their employer.- Word origins :In the Middle Ages, the valet de chambre to a ruler was a prestigious appointment for young men...

    , The Glamour is Contagious (2002)
  • Alejandro Escovedo
    Alejandro Escovedo
    Alejandro Escovedo is an American singer-songwriter.-Biography:The son of Mexican immigrants to Texas, Escovedo is from a family that boasts several professional musicians, including brothers Coke Escovedo and Pete Escovedo, and Sheila E...

    , A Man Under The Influence (2001)
  • Greg Brown, Covenant (2000)
  • June Star, Telegraph (2001)
  • Madruga, Nightly Disease (2001)
  • Ol' Yeller, Ol' Yeller (2001)
  • Randy Casey, Say No More (2001)
  • The Jayhawks, Smile (2000)
  • Peter Bruntnell
    Peter Bruntnell
    Peter Bruntnell is a British singer–songwriter born in Auckland, New Zealand.-Biography:Bruntnell's family is originally from Wales; His family moved to New Zealand when his father, Owen Bruntnell, was sent to work at the British High Commission in Wellington for four years...

    , Normal For Bridgewater (2000)
  • Various Artists, NPR Studio Cuts, Vol. One (2000)
  • Freakwater
    Freakwater
    -Career:In 1989, Janet Beveridge Bean and Catherine Irwin founded the band, and they have been supported by several musicians since then, including members of Califone . Bassist David Wayne Gay, formerly of Stump The Host, is another long-time member of the band...

    , End Time (1999)
  • Original Harmony Ridge Creekdippers
    Original Harmony Ridge Creekdippers
    The Original Harmony Ridge Creekdippers are an Americana group formed by songwriter Mark Olson and his wife Victoria Williams after Olson left his previous band The Jayhawks...

    , Zola and the Tulip Tree
    Zola and the Tulip Tree
    Zola And The Tulip Tree is the third album by the Original Harmony Ridge Creekdippers, released in 1999.-Track listing:# "Zola And The Tulip Tree"  – 2:32# "Lorna Doone's Garden"  – 2:43...

    (1999)
  • Son Volt
    Son Volt
    Son Volt is an alternative country group formed by Jay Farrar in 1994 after the breakup of the band Uncle Tupelo.-History:The group formed after Farrar met Jim and Dave Boquist during the final Uncle Tupelo tour. Together with former Uncle Tupelo drummer Mike Heidorn, the band rehearsed and...

    , Wide Swing Tremolo (1998)
  • Richard Buckner
    Richard Buckner
    Richard Buckner is an American singer-songwriter born in California. After living in Edmonton, Alberta for a number of years, he currently resides in Brooklyn, NY...

    , Since (1998)
  • Richard Buckner
    Richard Buckner
    Richard Buckner is an American singer-songwriter born in California. After living in Edmonton, Alberta for a number of years, he currently resides in Brooklyn, NY...

    , Live at Schubas Tavern (1998)
  • Thea Ennen and the Algorhythms, Maintenance Angels (1998)
  • Varnaline, Sweet Life (1998)
  • Son Volt
    Son Volt
    Son Volt is an alternative country group formed by Jay Farrar in 1994 after the breakup of the band Uncle Tupelo.-History:The group formed after Farrar met Jim and Dave Boquist during the final Uncle Tupelo tour. Together with former Uncle Tupelo drummer Mike Heidorn, the band rehearsed and...

    , Straightaways (1997)
  • Joe Henry
    Joe Henry
    Joseph Lee "Joe" Henry is an American singer, songwriter, guitarist, and record producer. Henry's musical style spans several genres, including alt. country, rock, jazz and folk.- Early years :...

    , Trampoline (1996)
  • Judd Herman, Homeless in the Heart (1996)
  • Tommy Keane, Ten Years After (1996)
  • Son Volt
    Son Volt
    Son Volt is an alternative country group formed by Jay Farrar in 1994 after the breakup of the band Uncle Tupelo.-History:The group formed after Farrar met Jim and Dave Boquist during the final Uncle Tupelo tour. Together with former Uncle Tupelo drummer Mike Heidorn, the band rehearsed and...

    , Trace (1995)
  • Thea Ennen and the Algorhythms, Hold Back The Sun (1995)
  • The Birdy Num Nums, Superdisappointment Deluxe (1995)
  • Joe Henry
    Joe Henry
    Joseph Lee "Joe" Henry is an American singer, songwriter, guitarist, and record producer. Henry's musical style spans several genres, including alt. country, rock, jazz and folk.- Early years :...

    , Fireman's Wedding (1994)
  • Thea Ennen and the Algorhythms, All Aboard (1994)


Discography provided courtesy of the official Eric Heywood homepage.

External links

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