This blog is dead...

It's been a long time since I've blogged. There's a lot of good stuff here, so feel free to read what I've written in the past. But I haven't blogged since 2015, so... yeah, this blog is dead.

So, for all things Eric Coomer, go to EricCoomer.com.

And check the links to the right for my music and social network info.

Who is Eric Coomer? Find out here.

In reaction to the Charleston shooting...

In reaction to the shooting in Charleston, my 7 year old son, Jackson said, "I thought racism was over, Dad."

He thought racism ended with desegregation. I told him I wish that was true. He couldn't understand how anyone could believe that a person could hate someone based on the color of their skin.

Jackson is not colorblind. He doesn't want to be. He sees the beauty in color and values people based on their actions and attitudes.

I felt good that my son thought racism was stupid, but I realized today that we need to teach our children that it is still all too prevalent in our society. We need to teach them to rage against racism and bigotry of any kind.

We need to teach them that the best thing is to live a life of love and that the second best thing is to expect that of others and to help those who do not to learn to do so.

The kind of racial hatred perpetrated by Dylann Roof was not born in a vacuum. Love and activism also are not and we need to teach and live them with vigilance.

We prayed for the people of Charleston and for our country tonight. But before we did, I sat my family down on the couch to watch a couple episodes of Diff'rent Strokes. I wanted the kids to see it because of scenes like this.

Eric Coomer

New song for Maundy Thursday just a bit late...

I forgot to share this last week. Here's a recording I did for Maundy Thursday.

I set music to Sydney Carter's lyrics to "Bitter Was the Night" and paired it with the chorus from Steve Merkel's "Lord Have Mercy".

Hope you like it as much as I do.

Robin Williams, depression, The Church, and me.

I suffer from depression and anxiety.  I thought about the many ways I could begin a post about the loss of Robin Williams and honestly, I think it's just best if I say this out loud: I was clinically diagnosed with depression, anxiety, and adult attention deficit disorder. But more about me in a minute...

Robin Williams killed himself yesterday. If that isn't a wakeup call, I don't know what is.

Depression is a subject that has a stigma to it, even though 1 out of 9 Americans report suffering from it. So why is it such a taboo subject? Why are we afraid to talk about mental health issues?

I am a worship leader and I believe that we in the Church (with a capital C meaning all churches) need to start talking about it. Regularly. 

We need to remove the stigma from mental health issues. People who suffer need to know they are not alone -- that they are not "doing something wrong". They need to know that it's okay to seek out help. And they need to know that it's okay to do more than just pray for healing. God gives us miracles every day through modern medicine.  

Four years ago I decided it was time to do something about my A.D.D.  I had lost a job over it and after leaving another job to pursue music full time I was having a lot of trouble getting anything done at home without the discipline that comes from an actual boss. So, after reading this article in Relevant Magazine, I decided I should go and do something about it. 

I went through a battery of tests and came to find out--and by "find out" I mean, admit--that I have depression and anxiety issues on top of the A.D.D.

And you know what? There is nothing wrong with that. There is nothing wrong with me that can't be taken care of by medicine. Since going on medicine my life is better. It's not perfect and I still have a lot of work to do, but it's better. 

There are still long periods of depression for me. To be even more transparent than I've already been here, I'm in one now.  Often times, the other 8 out of 9 Americans who have never dealt with depression seem to think depression is conditional. So some people might hear me say that I'm depressed and assume it's because one of my heroes died yesterday. It's not. There is a chemical imbalance in my brain that medicine does its best to fix, but it's not always gonna happen.

The medicine does allow me to better cope however. If you take nothing else from this than that, take that. If you are suffering from depression or other mental issues, take it seriously. Take it as seriously as you would a bleeding wound that won't heal and go to the doctor.

I no longer lay in bed and fantasize about not waking up. Yes, that was me a few years ago.  This comes as a shock to people when they hear it from me. They equate that I'm funny with me being happy. I am a funny person. I don't have to be modest about that. It's just a fact. Ask anyone who knows me. I'm frickin' hilarious sometimes. If I didn't have musical ability I might have wanted to be a comedian. But to be honest, being a comedian is a heck of a lot harder. 

And a TON of funny people suffer from depression and other mental issues. That's why we've lost so many of them to suicide and overdoses. Comedic greats like Freddie Prinze, Richard Jeni, and Greg Giraldo all killed themselves. John Belushi, Chris Farley, Mitch Hedberg and others did it accidentally because they tried to cope using drugs that never produced the high that being on a stage making people laugh provided.

And now we add Robin Williams to the list. He was probably my first favorite comedian. The only other stand-up that came close was Bill Cosby. But Robin made me laugh harder. He made me laugh harder than anyone on television. He taught me on Mork and Mindy that, as Time Magazine said yesterday, "weirdness wasn't just o.k.--it was amazing."

Between his movies and his appearances on late night shows from Carson to Letterman to Fallon, he shaped my view of adults. As a grown up I know that it's okay to be silly sometimes and still expect people to take me seriously. I had never thought of it until this very moment, but he really had a great impression on that aspect of my personality.

Taking a cursory glance at Robin's IMDB page, I was amazed to see how many of his movies I not only had seen, but had loved. In fact, I've seen almost all of his movies. I mean, I am a cinephile, but come on...that's pretty rare. Come to think of it, within the past year I've shown my kids Aladdin, Hook, Ferngully, Jumanji, Happy Feet and the first two Night at the Museum films. That's seven movies in one year that my family truly enjoyed. (Yeah, we watch a lot of movies.)

He was like a family member that most of us never had the good fortune to meet. My cousin Jennifer and I have noted on many occasions that as he was getting older, Robin was beginning to look more and more like a Coomer. As I created the artwork above, I could not help but be overwhelmed by that.

There's a reason why there was a point yesterday where most if not all of the top trending topics in the United States on Twitter were based on his death. Robin Williams is a part of our fabric. It's why we (and the news stations) are talking about it so much when there are other things we need to be talking about like Iraq and ISIS and Ferguson, MO. and Israel. But in some ways...like it or not, this is more important to us. We've lost someone very near and dear to our hearts.

Two good things can come out of this loss. The first is that we will experience the healing power of laughter as we watch his movies and television appearances again. The top trending Twitter topic as I finish this post is #RobinWilliamsWillLiveOnForever.

The second is that we can begin to talk about depression. We can bring it out into the open. We can destigmatize it, demystify it. And we can begin to heal. 

People are posting abt their grief re: Robin Williams but are unwilling to check in with their friends who have the same struggles.
— Lindsey Harris (@MonacleMonOncle) August 12, 2014

My friend Lindsey's tweet brings me to my final question: "When was the last time I was brave enough to ask (or even lovingly confront) someone about their depression... Or to open up to them about mine?"

How can we be the hands and feet of Christ and reach out to them to let them know we are here, to let them know God is here. How can we be the sign from God that they need? How can we be the butterfly on the cliff from which they're about to jump?

Eric Coomer

2014 Oscar Nominees You Can Watch at Home

The nominees for the 2014 Academy Awards were announced this week and as my cousin Jennifer and I were discussing the nominees, we mentioned our curiosity as to which ones are already available to view at home (whether on DVD/Blu-Ray or instant streaming).  There are quite a few. Unfortunately, all of the big contenders (films with four or more nominations) are unavailable for now, but three of the biggest movies (Captain Phillips, Dallas Buyers Club, Gravity) will be available for home viewing before the Oscars air on March 2. I'm missed all of those in the theatre, so I'll be taking advantage of that.

Realistically, I'm not going to make it out to more than one or maybe two movies between now and the awards, so (based on nomination count) I'm going to shoot for seeing American Hustle and maybe 12 Years a Slave. There's a rumor that Nebraska will be released in February. Most of the remaining major nominees are projected to be released in March or April.

So here they are in order of nominations. I didn't include any of the films in the Short categories, because they're always difficult to find. I'll update this list as more dates become available.

Already Available

• Blue Jasmine (Actress, Supporting Actress, Orig. Screenplay)
• The Grandmaster (Score, Costume Design)
• Despicable Me 2 (Animated, Song)
• The Great Gatsby (Costume Design, Production Design)
• The Lone Ranger (Makeup/Hairstyling, Visual Effects)
• All Is Lost (Sound Editing)
• The Act of Killing (Documentary Feature)
• Before Midnight (Adapted Screenplay)
• The Broken Circle Breakdown (Foreign - Belgium)
• The Croods (Animated)
• Cutie and the Boxer (Documentary Feature)
• Dirty Wars (Documentary Feature)
• Ernest & Celestine (Animated)
• The Hunt (Foreign Feature - Denmark)
• Iron Man 3 (Visual Effects)
• Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa (Makeup/Hairstyling)
• The Lone Ranger (Makeup/Hairstyling, Visual Editing)
• Prisoners (Cinematography) 
• The Square (Documentary Feature)
• Star Trek: Into Darkness (Visual Effects)
• 20 Feet From Stardom (Documentary Feature)

Coming Soon

• Captain Phillips (Picture, Supporting Actor, Adapted Screenplay, Editing, Sound Mixing, Sound Editing) - 01/21
• Dallas Buyers Club (Picture, Actor, Supporting Actor, Orig. Screenplay, Editing, Makeup/Hairstyling) - 02/04
• Gravity (Picture, Director, Actress, Score, Cinematography, Editing, Production Design, Visual Effects, Sound Mixing, Sound Editing) - 02/25

See it in the Theatre

• American Hustle (Picture, Director, Actor, Actress, Supporting Actor, Supporting Actress, Orig. Screenplay, Costume Design, Editing, Production Design)
  
• 12 Years a Slave (Picture, Director, Actor, Supporting Actor, Supporting Actress, Adapted Screenplay, Costume Design, Editing, Production Design)
• Nebraska (Picture, Director, Actor, Supporting Actress, Orig. Screenplay, Cinematography)
• Her (Picture, Orig. Screenplay, Song, Score, Production Design)
• The Wolf of Wall Street (Picture, Director, Actor, Supporting Actor, Adapted Screenplay)
• Philomena (Picture, Actress, Adapted Screenplay, Score) - 03/04
• The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug (Visual Effects, Sound Mixing, Sound Editing, 
• August: Osage County (Actress, Supporting Actress)
• Frozen (Animated Feature, Song)  - 03/18
  
• Inside Llewyn Davis (Cinematography, Sound Mixing)
• Lone Survivor (Sound Mixing, Sound Editing)
• Alone Yet Not Alone (Song)
• Book Thief (Score) - 03/11
• The Invisible Woman (Costume Design)
• Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom (Song) - 03/18
• The Missing Picture (Foreign Feature - Cambodia)
• Omar (Foreign Feature - Palestinian Territories)
• Saving Mr. Banks (Score)
• The Wind Rises (Animated) - 05/22

All I can say is... "Soon."

I used to make fun of Axl Rose & Dr. Dre for taking so long to finish their albums. Axl took 15 yrs. It's been 20 since Dre's last. It's been one year for me. But it's almost ready. I mean it.

I didn't mean to lie. I really didn't. I've stated so many dates that were going to be the official release of the EP. The truth is I just wasn't ready. There are many reasons for this. One is that I just wasn't completely satisfied with the way the EP sounded.  Don't get me wrong, it sounded great. I just knew it could sound even better. You've heard it in its present form. It's good. I like it. But it's not all that it can be. So even as I thank you for your patience I ask for more patience.

Last week I set up a studio at my church and recorded a ton of new stuff for the EP. I don't mean new songs, I mean new parts for several of the songs. But I will also be recording new music to include as bonus tracks as well.

As soon as the music is finished I will send it off to get the CDs printed and once I get those back I will send out the rewards to Kickstarter backers and the music will be on iTunes shortly after that.

Thank you for your continued support. It means the world to me.

It's finally coming out!

It was going to be November. Then December. Then January. Then March.

The EP is finally going to be released to the world this month!

Truth be told, I just haven't had enough money. Still don't really, but we're going to make it happen. When I created the Kickstarter campaign, I set the monetary amount for the bare minimum for finishing the recording, mixing and mastering. I did the bare minimum because the Kickstarter campaign I had done before that was not successful and I really needed to finish the process. The thing is, it costs a lot more to actually release a music pro ject, not to mention to pay for all the promotion.

If you would like to help fully fund this you can donate with PayPal to eric(at)ericcoomer.com.

I'll be promoting the music by booking concerts and interviews, and starting a new YouTube campaign with music videos and covers. If you are interested in helping me book some shows, whether at a traditional venue (club, church, etc.) or a house show, please let me know.

Oh and yes, that's a brand spanking new cover up there! For more info,  go to the official Eric Coomer website.

Roger Ebert

Roger Ebert made me love the art of film more than I already did.

I admired him so much.

I loved his impassioned reviews of movies he loved and hated. I loved his arguments with Siskel (and Roeper). I loved his yearly Movie Home Companion. 

I loved that he championed films like Hoop Dreams, which he and Siskel were outraged wasn't nominated for the Academy Award for Documentary Feature. 

Most critics can be taken with a grain of salt, but when Ebert loved a movie -- when he gave it a "BIG thumbs up!" -- it made me want to see it. I always looked forward to his year end lists of best and worst films. 

I remember specifically 1998. It was a year filled with wonderful, groundbreaking, and critically acclaimed movies such as Out of Sight, Life Is Beautiful, Pleasantville, The Truman Show, Rushmore, Saving Private Ryan, American History X, A Simple Plan, A Bug's Life, Pi, The Big Lebowski, etc. etc. But for his top film of the year, Ebert picked a movie no one had heard of called Dark City. It made me want to see it. And when I did I, not surprisingly, fell in love with it. What's more, he so loved the film that he provided a commentary track for the DVD.

One of the things I admire most about Roger Ebert was that when life handed him lemons...no it handed him manure...he kept on going. He battled cancer with the dignity of a prince. When it took his jaw, he kept making appearances anyway. When it took his voice he found a company that used his DVD commentaries (which also included Citizen Kane and Casablanca) to give his voice to his computer narration system.

Through and through he was a class act. Just yesterday on his blog he wrote "Thank you for being the best readers any film critic could ask for... thank you for going on this journey with me. I'll see you at the movies."

Roger died today at 70. He will be greatly missed.

- Eric Coomer

What's going on with the EP?

Hello dear friends.

As you probably know by now, my debut solo EP, The Vast Configuration of Things, was originally supposed to be released late last year but has been delayed several times. It is available only here on my website as we continue to try to raise money to fund the printing and submission to iTunes and other stores. The money we raised here was just enough to get the recording, mixing, and mastering completed.

We have just about raised enough and (thank God) our tax return will be here soon, so I fully expect to begin the process of CD printing and duplication, submission to online stores, and rewards process by late March.

Many have asked how to help me raise additional funds so I can complete this process and get this music out into the world. The best way is to encourage people to purchase the EP at http://ericcoomer.com/music.

Here are some other ways you can help:

• You probably are involved in social networking. Let your friends and followers know about the EP on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, etc. etc. (I'm on all of those too. Check out the links at the top right of this website!)
  
• Encourage your Facebook friends to like http://facebook.com/theericcoomer.
   
• Do you have a blog? Write a review! It doesn't matter if its not a music blog. It's still great! Know of another blog where I should be featured? Let me (or them) know!
  
• Work in a business that plays music in the background? Play my EP! (And talk to me about selling it there!)
  
• Are you able to host a concert or know of somewhere I could play? Let me know!
  
• Listen to a radio station that plays independent artists? Tell me and I'll get them my music to them.
  
• Make a video for one of my songs by yourself or with your friends! You could even use a site like GoAnimate or Animoto.
  
• Above all, pray for me and my family. That's the greatest way you could help us.
  

Have other ideas? Let me know by clicking contact above.

As always, thanks for your support and love. It means all the world to me and my family!

2013 Academy Awards Nominees Available on DVD, Blu-Ray & Streaming Before the Oscars Air

It's been a while since I've posted anything not having to do with my music. So, I thought I'd nerd out and talk about the 2013 Academy Awards nominees. As a movie lover, I grew up watching The Oscars every year and (as far as I remember) haven't missed a single telecast since then. So I get excited and nerdy when it comes to this time of the year. 

2012 was a great year for movies (which is good, because 2011 was not.) So it's no surprise that it's an interesting year for the Academy Awards as well.

Take the Best Actress in a Leading Role category for instance. This category contains the oldest and youngest nominees in its history. Emmanuelle Riva, will turn 86 on the day of the Academy Awards. On the other side of the pendulum, Quvenzhané Wallis, who filmed Beasts of the Southern Wild when she was a mere 6 years old, will be 9 and a half years when the Oscars are handed out.

Riva is nominated for Amour, an Austrian film which received five nominations including Best Picture, the most for any foreign film since Roberto Benigni's Life is Beautiful. If that film is any indicator (and it is) Amour should definitely take home the Oscar for Foreign Language Film.

All of the men in the supporting role category are past winners. So we'll hope for a speech that rivals that of Tom Hanks when he won his second award for Philadelphia, but I'm not holding my breath. All of the actresses on the supporting category are past winners with the exception of Jacki Weaver from Silver Linings Playbook. So let's go ahead and call her underdog of the year.

Argo received seven nominations including Best Picture, Film Editing, and Adapted Screenplay, but director Ben Afleck sadly did not receive a nod. Katherine Hardwick, who was named Best Director for 2008's The Hurt Locker, was also snubbed. Both were nominated for this year's Directors Guild of America Awards. The results of the DGA's, which are voted upon by directors only and will take place February 2, are usually the best indicator for who will take home the Oscar. The Academy decided instead to nominate Michael Haneke for Amour and Benh Zeitlin for Beasts of the Southern Wild.

It's always frustrating when the nominees for the previous year's best films come from films that haven't even hit local theaters yet. Thankfully this year is different and many of the nominees are or will be available on Blu-Ray, DVD, or streaming before the Oscars, which will air on February 25.

Below is a list of all the nominees that you can watch at home before the big show. I've included Netflix links for your convenience. Of course, Netflix being Netflix, they may not get these DVDs until well after the Oscars. I've placed them in alphabetical and chronological order, but If you really want to be prepared, your best bet is to watch the films with the most nominations first, and the films in the most important categories (Best Picture, Direction, Acting, Writing) second.

These movies are already available:

• The Avengers (Visual Effects)
• Beasts of the Southern Wild (4 important nom - Watch this one.)
• Brave (Animated Feature)
• Frankenweenie (Animated Feature)
• How to Survive a Plague (Doc Feature - Streaming now)
• The Invisible War (Doc Feature - Streaming now)
• Mirror Mirror (Costume - Streaming now)
• Moonrise Kingdom (Original Screenplay)
• The Pirates! Band of Misfits (Animated Feature)
• Prometheus (Visual Effects)
• Snow White and the Huntsman (Costume Design / Visual Effects)
• Ted (Best Song - so...just listen to the song if you want.)

These movies are coming soon:

• 01/15 - 5 Broken Cameras (Doc Feature)
• 01/22 - Amour - (5 Noms including Best Pic)
• 01/22 - Searching for Sugar Man (Doc Feature)
• 02/05 - Flight (Denzel Washington - Lead Actor)
• 02/12 - The Sessions (Helen Hunt - Lead Actress)
• 02/19 - Anna Karenina (4 Noms including Cinematography & Costume)
• 02/19 - Argo (7 noms - don't miss this one) 

If you want to see the rest of the films before the Oscars, your best bet is to head to your local dollar theatre (if you're lucky enough to have one). The majority of the rest of the films will be out on DVD in March. 

So there you go. Get to work!

"The Vast Configuration of Things" EP Available Here and Now!

The day has come! My debut solo EP, "The Vast Configuration of Things", is finally available and you can get it right here! Please let your friends know and read the entry below this one for more info on how you can help get the word out and why it's only available here and on my Facebook page!

To listen to or purchase the EP, click on Music at the top of the page.

Thanks for taking the time to check it out and I hope you love it as much as I do!

November 13! Get the pre-release of my new EP!

Hi friends.

It's easy to get jealous of those super special people who get to do things early:

• The Academy voters who get to see a movie (at HOME) before it even comes out in the theater 
• The members of the fan club you didn't even know existed who got the front row tickets to your favorite band's concert before they even went on sale
• The Game Stop employee who gets a copy of the hottest game a week before it releases to the public
• The record exec who has your favorite band's album half a year before you can
• The hot girl who walks past the line and gets into the club without waiting

Well, now you can be that hot girl Game Stop record exec Academy member! Or something like that.

Next week I will be pre-releasing my EP, "The Vast Configuration of Things" exclusively through Bandcamp right here at www.ericcoomer.com. I'd love it if you get it early and, if you enjoy it, start talking it up and telling people about it via social networks such as Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest. (By the way, I'm on all those. Yep. Follow me by clicking on the links at the top right of this page!)  You can brag about how cool you are for getting it early!

I'm really proud of "The Vast Configuration of Things"!  I made it over several months this year with Andrew Osenga and I love the way it turned out. I'm really proud of the music, the lyrics, the production. The whole shebang!

But I need a little more time to release it to stores so I can get reviews and interviews in magazines and blogs. So I'm releasing it later than I thought to stores like iTunes, Amazon and actual record stores (Yes, thank God, they do still exist) so I can do those things. But you will be able to get it next week here! And then...you won't be able to for just a bit.

The record industry has changed. This EP wasn't funded by a record label or some corporation. It was funded 31 generous people mostly on Kickstarter. So, this has been grassroots from the start.

And I still need your help! Here are some ways you can help:

• Do you have a blog? Write a review! It doesn't matter if its not a music blog. It's still great! Know of another blog where I should be featured? Let me (or them) know!
• Work in a business that plays music in the background? Play my EP! (And talk to me about selling it there!)
• Are you able to host a concert or know of somewhere I could play? Let me know!
• Listen to a radio station that plays independent artists? Tell me and I'll get them my music to them.
• Do you have a ton of followers on a social network (or even just five)? You can post about the EP there. 
• Make a video for one of my songs by yourself or with your friends! You could even use a site like GoAnimate or Animoto.
• Donate a little more than what's asked when you buy my EP! We need all the money we can get to be able to afford marketing and promotion.
• Above all, pray for me and my family. That's the greatest way you could help us.

Do you have other ideas? Let me know!

The first step is to let your Facebook friends know that they should "Like" me at facebook.com/theericcoomer. I'll be updating there and letting you know how you can help further and what people are doing to help.

Thanks for all of your support! Stay tuned here and to the Facebook page! And make sure to come back next Tuesday!!!

Why hello there...

I haven't blogged since May?!? Wow. That's ridiculous.

It's mostly because I've been tweeting a lot at twitter.com/ericcoomer and posting at The Eric Coomer Music Facebook Page. And I've updated the official Eric Coomer website.

But I should update you here as well! First of all, my solo EP, "The Vast Configuration of Things" (Hey, that's the name of this blog too!) will be releasing in November and I can't wait for you to hear it! It's almost finally done and those who supported me by donating at Kickstarter will be receiving it within the next couple weeks.

For those of you who weren't able to donate before, you can still get the EP in advance by purchasing it here within the next few weeks. More info coming on that soon. These purchases will be paramount because any money from those sales will be used to promote the EP on the actual release date.

So stay tuned for further updates. Thanks always for your support!

Kickstarter Update

Kickstart Me!

The new Kickstarter page is now up. Check it out at http://kck.st/K65dOF.

You can pre-order my debut solo EP there for less than you'll get it on iTunes or Amazon when it comes out. AND you'll get it before they have it! Or you can give more and get great rewards.

Any money you pledge will get you something in return and you won't actually be charged unless the entire project is funded. What that means is, well...that I need your help. We've raised about $4500 and only need $1500 to finish financing the EP.  Any money given above that amount will be used to promote the EP.

Please check out the site and share it with your friends. There's a "Like" button right below the video that will post the video and page on your Facebook wall.

We're doing what couldn't have been done just a few years ago. You are now my record company: funding the studio time, getting it on iTunes and other online outlets like Spotify, and helping me to realize the dream I've had since I was a little boy.

Thanks so much for your support.

For more info, go to the official Eric Coomer website.

My Pedalboard and Gear

I've been working on my guitar effects pedalboard for about a year and a half now. It's a passion, hobby, and future living. My upcoming solo EP is plain and simple American rock & roll and the electric guitar is the focal point as far as instrumentation goes.

I get a lot of questions like "What do all these things do?" and "Do you really need all those gadgets?" Once I even got "One of them doohickeys has to be a microwave, right?" So I thought I'd explain what they do and why I chose the ones I did.

Here are the pedals I keep on my board in order from guitar to amp. I've included Amazon links so you can get more info. I encourage you to do what I did: Be patient and search eBay, Guitar Center, and Craigslist often. Most of the pedals were used and I purchased them for far less than they're worth.

• T1M (This 1's Myne) Mini Buffer - You can lose a lot of signal from your guitar when you have several  pedals and cables to each other before you get to the amp. This keeps the signal strong. I do have several buffered pedals in my chain as well, so this moves around from time to time. With this current configuration, I can hear an audible difference with and without it. T1M is a great company run by a great company run by a great guy name Dan Burgess. I will definitely be purchasing more items from him in the future.
  
  
• Visual Sound Comp 66 Compressor - I use compression mostly for longer sustain on solos and this thing's great for that. This thing is great for my sound because it compresses the sound without squashing it. I used to use a Marshall ED1 Compressor and LOVED it, but the compression knob was broken and I found the Comp 66 for $50 on eBay. I may fix the Marshall and sell this one.
  
  
• Deltalab Phase Shifter - Phasers create a sort of swooshy sound. I don't use them very often, but when I do I want it to sound good. I've tried the MXR Phase 90 and EHX Small Stone Nano. Both were good, but both only had one knob. So I couldn't dial in a subtle enough tone with them. I also tried an Artec that was just plain terrible. Anyway, I saw the Deltalab phaser was ending soon on eBay and decided to look it up online. The reviews were unanimously positive so I got it. For $13 plus shipping! This pedal is kind of hard to find for some reason. I don't know why Deltalab doesn't get behind it. It's great and I highly recommend it.
  
  
• Electro Harmonix Micro Pog - I always wanted the ability to play up an octave. I loved the way John Mark Painter's guitar sounded when he used a Digitech Whammy. This pedal does that as well as an octave down and can mix the straight tone and both other octaves together. It can get a great 12-string guitar sound when I need it (I've used it effectively with acoustic guitar too). It's also well known for the ability to make a guitar sound like an organ. When I mix it with phaser, the organ sound is wonderful.
  

• Joyo Vintage Overdrive - When you play through an amp with it all the way up, it sounds distorted or overdriven. Basically, it's rock & roll. An overdrive pedal achieves that sound without actually having the amp louder. The most important thing about an overdrive pedal (to me anyway) is that it sounds like the actual amplifier and not an effect. This does that. It's basically a tubescreamer, but the kicker is this thing is around $40 BRAND NEW. And you can often find them cheaper than that. This isn't the best overdrive in the world, but I like it. I'll probably replace it eventually, but it works for now. I use it less than my other two overdrives.
  
  
• Joyo Ultimate Overdrive - Another inexpensive overdrive from Joyo. This one's a keeper. I have heard it's a clone of the Fulltone OCD. I've heard it's a Timmy clone. Either way, this thing sounds awesome. But as good as it sounds, it looked just awful to me. I hated the white stencil font (hate it on the new MXR Slash Octave Fuzz too) and I didn't particularly want a little red devil staring up at me while I played guitar at church. So I sanded it, sprayed clear coat on it, sprayed blue sparkly auto paint on it, sprayed more of both, covered it with blue powder glitter and clear coated it again.
  
  It's uber-sparkly. I'd call it the Sparkle Drive, but there's already a pedal with that name (despite being unsparkly), so I'm calling it the Glitter Drive. That's a terrible name. But seriously, photos don't do it justice. Oh, and I painted the knobs and button with some sparkly silver fingernail polish that Daphne happened to have out the night I finished the pedal. I love the way it turned out and now it looks like a $200 boutique pedal. Basically, I did the same thing pedal company Freekish Blues did. Only mine looks better and I'm not selling it as my own. I will do it for you though if you like. For the right price. ;)
  
  
• Pro Co The Rat - I had seen this pedal on a lot of boards from a lot of players I respected. I got a new model and it sounded terrible. Turns out you have to have one of the vintage models. This one is (I think) from the early 90s and sounds wonderful. I haven't heard the new reissue (the one in the link) yet, but it may be better. You're best bet is to wait for a used one on eBay. I'm not a distortion guy. Any time I go into a high-gain sound I just feel like I sound like I'm playing metal. This thing is a fabulous overdrive pedal when used that way. It can even be used as a clean boost. For real. Of course, whenever I feel like playing metal, I can crank this one up and go there.
  
  
• Electro Harmonix Big Muff Pi - This is a fuzz pedal. It's hard to describe what a fuzz pedal without simply saying it makes the guitar sound fuzzy in addition to sounding distorted. It has the capability of being (as I think Andrew Osenga once said) "offensively huge" sounding. But there's a sweetness to it. It can sound almost flute like when used with the volume pedal. I sometimes utilize it when creating ambient soundscapes but otherwise rarely use it. When I do, I absolutely love it.
  
  
• Goodrich 120 Volume Pedal - I use this for volume swells. I had an Ernie Ball VP Jr. and it sounded just fine, but after it broke I found this on Craigslist. These pedals are used by pedal steel players usually, but it's catching on with electric guitarists like me because it's more sensitive and there's no tone loss if you use a tuner with one of its outputs.
  
  
  
• Boss Tuner - I leave it on all the time so I can see if I'm out of tune as I'm playing. If I need to tune, I just push the volume pedal down. Eventually I'll to replace it with a TC Electronic PolyTune. But that's a low priority for now.
  
  
• Danelectro Tuna Melt Tremolo - I love the sound of tremolo. Buddy Miller is a big influence and he almost always leaves tremolo on. This pedal cost me ten bucks used from Guitar Center. At one point I bought a Pigtronix Tremvelope to replace it, but I just didn't hear a big enough difference to keep it. So I sold it for my new reverb pedal and went back to the Tuna Melt. This pedal sounds great but I am going to replace it with a Cusack Tap-A-Whirl eventually.
  
  
• Boss DD-20 Giga Delay - Delay is the maybe most important part of my sound. I'm hugely influenced (as most guys my age are) by U2's The Edge, and just like him, I use delay on just about every song I ever play. This thing is awesome because I can save 5 different sounds. When I play at church I can program each of the songs into a different preset. It also has external tap tempo, so I used what I had lying around the house - a sustain pedal for an electric keyboard. It's huge on the board, but it works well, it fits, and most importantly it's free.
  
  Last summer I took a bunch of musical gear that was cluttering up my garage to Music Go Round in Louisville. They asked me if I wanted cash or a trade in. I found the DD-20 and Rat in the store that day, so I asked for the trade in. So the grand total for both pedals was FOUR DOLLARS. It was one of the happiest moments of my recent life.
  
  
• MXR Carbon Copy Delay - On the EP we used Andy's vintage EHX Deluxe Memory Man - the one with four knobs. It sounds so unbelievably gorgeous in every setting. Well, this is about as close as I've heard to it. Maybe not, but it was free because it belongs to Justin Paul Mitchell, my bandmate from KNAPSACKHEROES! He also is loaning me the tuner and the pedalboard itself! Thanks Justin!
  
  There's a modulation button that engages a vibrato/chorus sound to make it sound like an old tape delay. It lights up when its engaged. As someone said on HarmonyCentral.com, you need welder's goggles to see the knobs when its lit on a dark stage. Because I always leave it on, I plucked the LED light out. There are two internal controls for the modulation. I wish they were on the outside, so I'm going to make it that way. But in a perfect world, Dunlop (the company that makes these) would release a new version that looked like the Cusack Tap pedals with tap tempo and five knobs. One can dream (or ask Dan from T1M to do it).  
  
  
• TC Electronic Hall of Fame Reverb - Someone once asked me what I my favorite pedal was and at the time I didn't have an answer. Now I think I'd say this one. I could replace my Carbon Copy with a new Memory Man (or even better, an old one!) or my overdrive with a Fulltone Fulldrive or something, but I have never heard a better reverb pedal than the Hall of Fame. The reverbs on this thing can trail on for what seems like forever, a lot longer than the Boss reverbs. And it has the Toneprint technology, which is really cool. (I can change the Toneprint setting by holding my iPhone up to the guitar!) I use mostly the "Hall" setting and the "Big Room with a View" Toneprint. My only regret is that I didn't know about the special edition version TC did with Pro Guitar Shop. It's called The Trinity and has a trinity symbol on it. I mean, come on! It's the exact same pedal but it has an extra setting, it's prettier, and has a Father, Son & Holy Spirit symbol on it. Dang it. And it was the same price. Was. Because they're all sold out. Anyway, this pedal is so good that I'll probably buy other TC Electronic pedals in the future.

That's what I keep on my board, but I also use these from time to time:

• Boss RC-2 Loop Station - I use this sometimes when I'm creating ambient music. I can play something, record it with this, and loop it so I can play over it live. I can do that several times to create a whole bevy of sounds. Nobody does this better than Phil Keaggy, but I've also seen KT Tunstall, Riley Armstrong and Howie Day do it well. As far as ambient guitar loops go, check out Andy Othling and Karl Verkade. I don't particularly love this pedal, so eventually I'd love to get a better looper like a Boomerang Phrase Sampler.
  
  
• DOD FX60 Stereo Chorus - I don't use the chorus effect often because I can achieve it with my delay pedals' modulation settings. I borrowed this from another member of my band, Kevin Tetuan. It sounds great, but I don't keep it on the board.
  
  

I use two different kinds of patch cables from pedal to pedal. The blue ones are George L Cables. I got these used on Craigslist (and found out I knew the guy when I got there!) for a bargain and they do the trick. They were already assembled, which was great. People say all sorts of stuff they can't actually prove about how these cables or Lava cables or (insert other trendy company here) are the best. The truth is, yes cables do matter, but not that much. 

What I mean is yes, if you have better cables, it will sound more pure. In other words, if you were to turn off all of your pedals it would sound more like what you'd sound like if you were plugged directly into the amp from the guitar. But guess what, I'm not worried about sounding like that. If I was, I wouldn't use effect pedals to affect my tone in the first place. Plus high end cables like George L's are freaking expensive. I can't justify paying a couple hundred bucks for cables when I haven't gotten all of the pedals I want or fixed up all the guitars I have. Nobody can tell the difference. No one. That said, the black cables I use are Hosa pancake cables. They sound just fine and they are incredibly compact, so it's easy to fit pedals more closely together. I noticed the other day that Andy Othling uses some too, which made me feel even cooler.

For lead cables from the guitar to the pedalboard and from the pedalboard to the amp, I use Planet Waves Custom Pro cables. These are stereo cables (hence the two black lines at the end of the plug, rather than one). I've been told that stereo cables are better shielded by nature, but I kind of doubt that's true. I simply bought these because they had the best reviews. These are tricky though because a lot of pedals won't accept a stereo plugs. But I was lucky that my set up did. I had a reverb pedal in the past that didn't and it was a big reason I ended up getting the Hall of Fame (so, thank you Planet Waves!).

As far as guitars go, the one I use the most is my placid blue Fender Stratocaster. It's a made in Mexico model that sounds spectacular. It's the guitar I used the most on my EP. I also used a ton of Andy's guitars including a Les Paul, Danelectro, Gretsch, and a Fender Tele.

At home I also have a black and white Indiana Tell City telecaster. I had wanted a black and white tele for a long time. I'd wanted a Tell City for even longer because I lived right across the river from Tell City in Lewisport, KY from the time I was in 2nd to 4th grade. I got this in a small town music store in Kentucky for $65. I still can't believe it. It sounds great and plays well. I just love the Strat sound more, so I don't play this as much.

The red guitar in the middle of the picture is an Epiphone ET270. This was my very first guitar. When I was in middle school my mom found it in a storage closet at the school where she worked and brought it home to me. I learned to play guitar on this thing and didn't plug it into an actual amp for the first several years. Unfortunately, it doesn't work at the moment and one of the tuners has broken off. It was never the best guitar in the first place, but I plan on getting it playable in the near future. I was pretty stoked when I realized that Kurt Cobain played one.

The guitar on the left is an Epiphone Nighthawk. I got this for Christmas (I think) when I was an older teen. It's okay. Actually, I always hated it. Maybe it can be fixed up. We'll see.

I tried a lot of amps last year and decided to use Christmas money to get a Fender Hot Rod Deluxe. I thought long and hard about a Vox AC30, but decided that I liked the boom of the Fender's low end and the clean tone in general. This isn't to say I wouldn't ever get a Vox or something else, but in this price range I really loved the Hot Rod sound.

So, that's it. Of course, there are changes from time to time, but I'm trying to really get to know this gear. I love the way it sounds, so it'll stay this way for a while for the most part.

Thanks for reading this. If you still are, you're either a guitar nerd like me, or you care about me personally. Either way, thank you.

You can hear the board in action (well, some of it...I had no volume pedal on it at the time for instance) in the video below on the blog.

 

EP Update!

It's been a while since I updated the blog and I want to keep you in the loop.

I went back into the studio last week with the great Kristin Cole to do a little Kickstarter video stuff. We got some good footage of me pretending to record since Andrew Osenga is away on paternity leave. (Speaking of which, congrats to Andy and Allison Osenga on Charlotte Olive Osenga!) It gave me an excuse to play some of Andy's fabulous geetars and his blue piano. We should have the whole video done this week. I'm excited about it. It will be an important part of the new Kickstarter.com campaign.

The first Kickstarter campaign to fund my debut solo EP was not successful...technically. We've raised some money outside of Kickstarter, and we had $650 in pledges for the first campaign. Since we didn't get the full $6000 we needed, Kickstarter doesn't charge the folks who pledged.

So, I'm asking those who have already pledged to pledge again when the new page is up. And I'm asking you to pledge money as well. You can simply give $4 and pre-order the EP for less than it'll cost at iTunes or Amazon and get it earlier than they'll have it. If you give more there will be some added incentives such as extra music, t-shirts, your name in the thank yous, etc. You can get a lunch with me and Andy Osenga or get me to record a cover song of your choice. I'll even write and record a song about/for you. There will be a bevy of choices.

The recording is mostly done, but the mix still needs to happen before we can get the music out there. I can't wait for you to hear it! Stay tuned...

Video - A day in the life of Eric Coomer

Nick Waugh, bassist from my band KNAPSACKHEROES!, is a great friend and it turns out he's a great videographer as well. Check out this video he shot of me over the course of a few hours in downtown Nashville. The soundtrack is of me playing ambient electric guitar, which was challenging because I had broken my volume pedal the night before. I think this turned out great.

Eric Coomer

Update! The Kickstarter page is now live.

As you may have heard, I am going in the studio next month to work on a solo EP.

The only way I'm going to be able to this is with your help. We need to raise $6000 and every dollar counts. That's why I've launched a Kickstarter campaign where you can donate money to help me get the record done. I have great incentives on the page, so check them out.

We are in an age when anyone can record music on their computers. So, it may seem odd to you that I am asking for so much money to record a five song EP. But to do what I am wanting to do I need to work with the best - the best studio with the best equipment, the best musicians and best production possible.

I will be working Andrew Osenga to make the EP. Andrew is known for his solo music as well as from being a member of The Normals and Caedmon's Call. He's also toured as a player with Jars of Clay and Andrew Peterson and has produced many excellent projects including his own. When I decided to do this project, he was my top choice.

The Kickstarter page is live today and will be throughout Lent. I need to raise the money by Easter Sunday. With your help, I can do what I've dreamed of doing since I was a little boy.

Thanks always for your support!

30 Days 30 Covers

I've been neglecting this here blog for a while now.

Mostly as a challenge to myself, I've started a project on Facebook and YouTube called 30 Days 30 Covers (#30days30covers on Twitter) in which every day for 30 days I'll post a new video of myself covering a song.

You can watch all of them right here: