“If you took John Lennon, Lynsey
Buckingham, and Sheryl Crow and morphed them into one, it might sound a bit
like Los Angeles
native Erica Chase. She’s a little bit
of old school rock and roll meshed with pop hooks, and wholeheartedly
authentically unique. On original tracks like “We Can Fly,” and “Never Let You
Go,” there is a raw grittiness that comes echoing off of the speakers that
sounds like a seasoned vet. From bass
lines that shamelessly honor Paul McCartney and John Paul Jones, to lyrics
spanning from political change to undying hope for love, Chase bleeds honesty
in her music and leaves it all out on the stage and on the record. Growing up
in Los Angeles,
Erica was more surrounded and inundated with sports and athleticism, then
music. The middle child and only girl
between two brothers, Chase spent her early years as a jock. However, after a life-changing trip to Poland at age
7, everything changed. Her destiny was
sealed when Erica heard the opening riff of the Red Hot Chili Peppers’, “Under the
Bridge.” This song was number one around
the world at the time and Erica could not wait to hear it on the radio
constantly. Rock stardom was
calling. She decided then and there,
when the family returned to LA, she would become the next big thing (even
though she was a tiny little 7 year old!). After a few months of trying to
learn the guitar on a cousin’s $50 toy store acoustic, she had to give up due
to small and unequipped fingers. It
would not be long until she would pick it up again, and begin a prolific song
catalog. Erica Chase was a star athlete in high school, but was secretly
spending hours in her bedroom writing songs and studying The Beatles, The
Doors, Hendrix, and whatever was current at the time as well. “I have always
been heavily influenced by the 60’s and 70’s rock before technology; when
everything was just raw and not over analyzed.
At the same time, I have always dreamt about a top 40 kind of
singer-songwriter career. All of my
music starts on an acoustic guitar and a piece of paper and yes you can build a
track around it but the essence is in the purity and honesty.” Chase formed a
rock band in college which got local buzz, but it was not until her senior year
that a partnership would begin that would make her next move extremely
clear. The day after a phone call
introduction that would lead to an interesting partnership with Dana Strum,
Erica nearly lost her life as she was riding a bicycle and was hit by a truck,
which landed her in the emergency room. Though
she fortunately walked away with minor injuries, this would make Erica
absolutely certain that her next move was to keep that 7-year-old kid alive
inside of her and go full throttle with her music. “The highest highs and
lowest lows have always been simultaneous moments have happened right after
each other and I think that has heavily influenced my music and how I make
sense of it.” Strum, Slaughter bassist and multiplatinum producer, and Chase
spent the next two years after Erica completed school, working on demos in Las Vegas. During this time, Chase’s music was exposed
to many multiplatinum artists, including Motley Crue, Steven Tyler and even
Paul McCartney, interested in working with the young rocker from the
valley. Chase also became the only
American semi finalist in an exclusive annual new artist radio expo in the United Kingdom.
“Dana encouraged me to just write all of the time. Living in Las Vegas, I was never short of inspired, so
I literally spent 2 years writing songs…lots of songs. It helped me develop a signature thing that I
do and even though there were many wine filled frustrating nights, I knew the
journey was just beginning.” Armed with a couple guitars, always a composition
book, and her signature capo, Erica Chase is at the start of her epic journey. Her style of guitar playing is often compared
to the rough untrained styles of early Beatles recordings, while her voice is
likened from anyone to Bob Dylan, Sheryl Crow, and even Linda Perry. However, she is undoubtedly unique in her
style, drive, and unwillingness to give up until her dreams come true.”
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