Eric's Trip INTERVIEW ARCHIVE August, 1993 - Canada

Personnel

Interviewer(s)

Liz McQuade

Interviewee(s)

Julie Doiron

Chris Thompson

Sources

Medium	Publisher	Date of Issue	Title	Transcript
Print	Telegraph Journal (Saint John)	08/xx/1993	MCA Takes Eric's Trip Seriously	Yes

Transcript

Moncton - Julie Doiron and Chris Thompson arrive at the interview looking a little flushed and tousled from the bicycle ride over. They are shy, reserved, and, well, down-right nice. It's not what you'd expect from half of the foursome that makes up the rock band Eric's Trip.

The group doesn't like to be lumped into the grunge rock category, preferring to say their sound is "melodic, noisy, punk, pop music." Eric's Trip may not be a household name yet, but the band is gaining a growing audience and getting airplay on college radio stations and on some CBC shows.

They are fresh off their first cross-Canada tour, which lasted three weeks. In September they will do a two week tour in the United Kingdom, but before that they have to finish a video.

MCA has the world-wide distribution rights to Eric's Trip's first album, to be released in Canada in October and in November in the United States on the Sub Pop label. MCA wanted the video shot before the band left for Europe. Part of it was filmed at the Shipyard Teen Club in Moncton, where the band played one night last week. The rest will be shot at a friend's apartment in Halifax.

Doiron, 21, plays bass for the band, while Thompson, 22, plays electric guitar. The other band members are Rick White, 22, who also plays guitar, and drummer, Mark Gaudet, 29. "We all write a lot of music, but it seems like Rick is on a faster pace," Doiron said. They also share vocal duties.

White's song My Room will be the video release for the album Love Tara. The music isn't political. It's personal, Doiron said. Both Thompson and Doiron seem somewhat daunted by the sudden attention. "When I think back to three years ago, I never would have imagined this," Doiron said.

When the band formed, there were no big plans for the future, they just wanted to play, Thompson said. The idea was to perform around the Moncton area, where all of the band members live. "I remember when we got invited to Fredericton, that was exciting," Doiron said.

If fame comes along, Thompson will go for the ride, but there's reluctance. "Enough people know us to make us happy," he said. Doiron isn't eager for the spotlight either. One fan approached her for an autograph when the band was in London, Ont. "It's nerve-wracking enough to have someone come up to you in a record store and recognize you," she said. "You feel kind of silly because we don't think we're that big a deal."

So far, the band isn't making enough money to live on. All live at home, except Gaudet, who is also the only one with a job away from the band. Doiron may take a job in November when things slow down. That's after they travel to New York for th College Music Journal, a four-day seimnar where they will perform for programmers from college radio stations.

For now, the band has a one-day-at-a-time attitude. "We don't really think of having anything to fall back on." Doiron said. Although Thompson did say his family is concerned about his future. "My dad wants me to be a businessman," he said. They are just four young, clean-cut musicians who enjoy playing their tunes. They are all light drinkers and non-smokers, except for Gaudet, who has the ocassional cigarette. Doiron had her first ber on the cross-Canada tour. Not exactly your rock 'n roll stereotype. Doiron said living in Moncton provides them with the stability to shun the trappings of touring. "It wouldn't be good for us to move," she said. And the band doesn't like to be away from home for too long. Thompson readily admits he was home-sick during their three week tour.

So where do the four musicians find the moxie to electrify an audience with a high energy performance?

"The minute we get on stage, it's kind of like our turn," Doiron said. "We enjoy the power of the loud music."

The name Eric's Trip was taken from a song by the band Sonic Youth. But Doiron hastens to say Eric's Trip isn't a Sonic Youth type band. White draws a sketch of Eric that the band calls their "gaurdian angel." Maybe the pixy-like Eric can keep the band members' feet planted firmly on the ground no matter what happens next. With a wave, Thompson and Doiron bicycle off into the future.

© Liz McQuade, 1993