Eric Garland

ric was born in the refined environs of Marin but when he was 7 years old the Garland family moved to the rougher climes of the Sierra Nevada Mountains into the little town of Arnold.It’s there that Eric discovered his love of rhythym and drumming and frankly, just bangin’ on things! Growing up mountain style was basically a simple existence of classic rock (favorite rock band: Led Zepplin of course!) and eating many bowls of cheerios with copious amounts of sugar…….mmmmm sugar.

After almost going crazy from the lack of anyone to play music with in the sticks, Eric moved to San Francisco to attend the illustrious San Francisco State University, where he almost just almost did enough work to graduate…….it’s at SF State that Eric encountered jazz for the first time and he completely turned 180 degrees musically and focused solely on that style for several years, eventually making his way from jazz to soul jazz and fusion to reggae and world music to hip hop and electronica (long live the dead style of drum and bass!)

Now Eric makes his living from playing with local bands, doing the occasional tour to hither and thither and teaching drumset lessons at Community Music Center in SF. He has played with a whole lotta groups, most of which you’ve never heard of and never will, but here’s a few past and present projects/bands/melodramas that he played/plays with: Neomythic, Neo Trio, Subnautic, Realistic, Will Bernard 4-tet, Steve Lucky and the Rhumba Bums, Low End Theory, The Shotgun Wedding Quintet and Hip Hop Symphony, Stara Nova, and most recently a tour with 60’s psychedelic luminary Donovan (yes, “Mellow Yellow” Donovan, really.). Currently Eric is playing with The Markstep Trio, Realistic Orchestra, Karina Denike, Joe Cohen Trio and Brass Monkey Brass Band.

Photo by Petr Jerabek