Eric Darius Interview Page 4

Smitty:  All right, very cool.  And then they’ll get a beautiful note from you saying “Thank you for joining” and all that good stuff, right?

ED:  Absolutely, and membership will include a lot of different things and we’re finalizing all the details now, but it’s going to be all access passes and t-shirts and music and autographed posters.

Smitty:  Oh, I’m signing up!  (Both laugh.)

ED:  You’ll be the first one on the fan club.

Smitty:  Yeah, man.

ED:  So we might just even throw in a lollipop or something for you.  (Both laugh.)

Smitty:  Oh, thank you.  Don’t go through all that trouble.

ED:  Oh, well, you know, I appreciate the fans.  I’m just looking out for them.

Smitty:  Oh, that’s cool, man.  And by the way, speaking of going to your Web site, you’ve got a totally new site now, wow.  It’s got some bling and everything.  (Both laugh.)

ED:  Yeah, every single Web site that I do, I want it to coordinate with the album and to go with everything that’s going on, so I think the Web site perfectly correlates to the album and has that same exact type of vibe.  With the album, I’m “goin’ all out,” I’m stretching out, I’m doing new things, I’m trying to transcend all different music boundaries, and with the Web site it kind of has that same type of vibe, and that’s the excitement about it for me, so I hope that fans enjoy the Web site.  It’s very interactive and we will be adding a lot of new features to it, so I definitely want to encourage everybody to check it on a regular basis and you might find something new.

Smitty:  Yeah, find out where you’re going, where you’re going to be on your tour, and you’ve got a link to your My Space as well, huh?

ED:  I sure do.

Smitty:  How cool is that, huh?  And, of course, they can buy the CD from the Web site.

ED:  Of course.  Of course you can buy it in the stores, you can buy it at iTunes, Amazon, but I think the best place to find it is at www.ericdarius.com

Smitty:  I totally agree, my friend.  Oh, that’s too cool.  Well, Eric, I’m telling you, man, I love this record, I love what you’re doing, man.  All of your projects have just been the bump and this one is no exception.  You continue to wow your fans and produce some great music, you’ve got a great team, and I congratulate you on what you’re doing with your music, my friend.

ED:  Thank you very, very much.  I mean, this project was very exciting for me to work on and I’m really glad that I can have an opportunity to share music with fans and I hope that they enjoy it as much as I enjoyed making it.

Smitty:  Yeah, they’ll probably enjoy that mug shot on the front cover of the album as well too, man.  (Both laugh.)

ED:  Well, I actually thought about putting a picture of you on the cover.

Smitty:  (Laughs.)  Yeah, right.

ED:  But you know what?  I didn’t want people to show up to my gigs and be like “You know, that’s not him.  The guy that’s on the cover looks a lot better.”

Smitty:  Yeah, and plus you probably wouldn’t have sold a single CD either.  (Both laugh.)

ED:  Yeah, that’s why I re-thought that idea.

Smitty:  Oh, man, that’s too cool.  Well, Eric, I’m looking forward to seeing you on the road and hearing some of this great music and we’ll do a little hang and catch up on some stuff that’s not business all the time and that’ll be totally cool.

ED:  Absolutely.  I really look forward to it.  It should be a great exciting year and I’m really looking forward to what’s in store and hopefully we’ll meet together out on the road at some point and just get to hang.

Smitty:  Yeah, that would be cool.

ED:  Sit back, relax and breathe.  (Both laugh.)

Smitty:  Be careful, you’re going to have people want to do breathing exercises at your gigs.  Oh, man, well, Eric, hey, man, congratulations on the record and I anticipate a great year for you with this album and even going into 2009 as well.

ED:  Thank you very, very much.

Smitty:  All right, we have been talking with the fantastic and amazing Blue Note recording artist Eric Darius.  His great new record is called Goin’ All Out.  It is in stores now and you can certainly get it at his Web site, and I know you will certainly enjoy this one.  I highly recommend it.  It is a great collection of wonderful tunes from the sax man himself.  Eric, once again, man, congratulations and hopefully we’ll meet soon and all the best to you this year.

ED:  Thank you, Smitty.  It was a pleasure and I look forward to doing it again.

Baldwin “Smitty” Smith

For More Information Visit www.ericdarius.com and www.myspace.com/ericdarius and www.bluenote.com