Life & Work with Eric Caroffino

Today we’d like to introduce you to Eric Caroffino. Them and their team share their story with us below:

Eric began a musical journey at the age of 15 when his Mom bought him a Fender Squire and a Marshall combo amp.

Why would she do this? No one in the family played guitar. No one in the family talked about playing music. No one went to drum circles. Why? Because Eric asked her for these things ALL THE TIME. So when his birthday rolled around, Mom took him to the store to pick out the gear. Along with these items came a Jimi Hendrix songbook from The Jimi Hendrix Experience. It didn’t take long for Eric to realize a lot of work goes into writing and playing a song. Chords were difficult. The solos were hard. Remembering the right frets and gaining callouses was frustrating. Just learning to tune and change strings was a full-day event. As a freshman in high school, Eric gravitated to friends that shared his love of music and creativity. He spent much of his time dreaming about playing on stage… and being able to play a whole song through. There wasn’t even singing at this point in his career. Eric will openly admit most of his musical knowledge comes from sheer trial and error. This is the process since day 1.

Eric loves to create. The feelings of awe he encounters when discovering new art are the feelings he wishes to ignite in others. Fast forward 15 more years… 5 gigging bands, private guitar lessons taught, music and poetry written non-stop, a music education position held for 5 years, and a worldwide pandemic endured… half Eric’s life was a search for how he can express and support himself with music. The pandemic was the ultimate end to his last music group, The Vandevier Breaks. As the group dissolved over quarantines and lack of work, Eric knew it was an opportunity to fill in gaps in his otherwise functional processes.

In 2021-2022 he put together a working set list of music – including originals – and continued to hone his performance as a solo artist. He played and hosted events in Flagstaff AZ for a year as part of Pizza Patio, Firecreek Coffee, Dark Sky Brewery, Hotel Monte V, and Altitudes Bar & Grill to name a few. We must mention DuB and Down with the Blues! This band has helped hold Eric accountable to a professional level of performance and musicianship. Be sure to find this still-active group online.

I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
One could view Eric’s path as full of bumps – a total lack of proficiency, experience, and guidance meant the path was a ubiquitous challenge. But this is not to say he had enemies along the way. He knew that following passions was a way to gain rewards and find one’s place. Many years of effort went into the mixing board, the fretboard, the microphone, and the drum set to make him the writer, teacher, and performer he is today. Who helped him overcome the odds?

Tangerous (JJ Vowell, Brandon Lambrecht, Rey Gonzalez), YSL (Matt Tingle et al), Submission, SirMice (Jorge Delgado), The Vandevier Breaks (Spencer Vandevier, Kevin & Laura Kinghan), DuB and Down (Jerry Nichols et al), Sophia Melfi for helping him to write and overcome COVID’s time, and of course… Mom, for being the reason he could even begin.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
Eric’s life energy is focused on how he can use “free time” to communicate and connect with others through art and genuine encounters. The first goal has always been to maximize “free time”, yet not to the serious detriment of developing the art. Eric has spent more than half his life learning to use words and music to create a work that hits the listener in a special way. Eric does not give the listener what they want. He gives them a view into aspects of life the user is unaware of. He wants to put new experiences into music, like the music that impressed him at a young age. If Eric is known for anything, it is his unmistakable touch on any expressive medium. Eric’s uniqueness shines through his consistent choices to shy away from the “low-hanging fruits” of art.

Buzzwords, controversy, and common concepts have got to be turned on their heads to be a part of what inspires Eric’s art. A song about love? How about using bees to deliver the message? A song about school shootings? How about a near-noisecore rock ballad, with the best musicality at the end? How about a protest song that elicits the artist’s most relaxed, cool, and peaceful voice? How about writing songs with no chorus? The point is that Eric sees a need to make every work unique. This is best accomplished by avoiding go-to tropes and patterns established in the craft.

Are there any books, apps, podcasts, or blogs that help you do your best?
Recently I’ve loved to watch gamers playing on YouTube (Drae, Real Civil Engineer, Let’s Game It Out). It’s one of the few regular brain shutoffs I allow myself. I also love perusing sci-fi, math, and psychology videos.

I use a tuning and metronome app called Soundcorset. I’ve just about always used Cubase as a recording DAW. Wix websites and apps are super awesome! And finally, Canva makes it easy to whip up a graphic in minutes.

One book which transformed my thinking is The Book of Five Rings by Miyamoto Musashi. The copy I read, in particular, was a “Martial Artist’s Guide To…”. It was encouraging to read the greatest warrior of Japan had no teacher – he simply practiced all the time. Another book was Eric Berne’s Games People Play. In terms of therapy and self-help, this book taught me loads of information and strategies not only to prevent degeneration but truly to build all kinds of relationships.

Contact Info:

• Website: ecaroffino.com
• Instagram: @ecaroffino
• Facebook: facebook.com/ecaroffino
• Youtube: youtube.com/ecaroffino

Image Credits
Sarah Marshall, Angela Hutchinson, and Deidra Peaches