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Eric Scortia
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- Grant Green, Jimmy Smith, Reuben Wilson
Based in Dallas, TX
November 28
Folks in Dallas call him "Scorch," and his electrifying approach to down-home Texas blues-rock with a touch of jazz and soul via the Hammond B-3 organ leaves no doubt that Eric Scortia lives up to his provocative nickname. Leading his own ensembles as well as performing with blues masters like Stevie Ray Vaughan, Bo Didley and Delbert McClinton, Eric has captivated audiences throughout the U.S. and Europe.
The Texan transplant discovered a natural affinity for the B-3 by age eight, and spent his early years playing by ear the gems of organ-influenced groups like Booker T & The MG's, Jimmy Smith (the master from whom Eric later took lessons), J. Geils and Uriah Heep. He won a partial scholarship to study pipe organ at North Texas State University, where he also discovered jazz. He spent his non-academic time jamming with five different bands in Denton.
Eric has toured the U.S. and Europe with CBS recording artists Omar & The Howlers, hitting cities such as Stockholm, Paris, London and Amsterdam during the much heralded Texas Blues Cruise; performed on the Arsenio Hall Show; participated in the video "Hard Times in the Land of Plenty," which gained heavy MTV rotation as well as hitting #17 on Billboard's AOR chart; had a song on the "Like Father, Like Son" soundtrack; appeared in a Miller Lite commercial during the 1988 Winter Olympics; opened for Stevie Ray Vaughan's Live Alive tour; and, along with Vaughan and The Fabulous Thunderbirds, helped to spearhead the Texas blues explosion of the late Eighties.
Information from Heads Up record label
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