Up and Coming Weekly is a weekly publication in Fayetteville, NC and Fort Bragg, NC area offering local news, views, arts, entertainment and community event and business information.
Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/83385
Erik Smallwood Is a Big Hit by STEPHANIE CRIDER from Erik Smallwood. Big things are happening for this local musician. UCW: Who are your band members and what instruments do they play? ES: Erik Smallwood is the singer/ songwriter/guitarist and Neil Ray is the percussionist/singer/lyricist. UCW: Give us a brief history lesson on the band. When and where did you get started? ES: Erik got started playing at the young age of 13 in various groups and bands but didn't come into his own as an established artist until he moved to Raleigh, N.C., from Muscle Shoals, Ala., in September 2006. UCW: How did the band get its name? ES: We play under the name Erik Smallwood UCW: How would you defi ne your music? ES: Alternative Country and Soul, but when I'm playing cover tunes it can be a wide variety of stuff from motown to modern country to hip hop to southern rock. UCW: Who are your favorite bands/infl uences on your music? ES: I gather from a little bit of everything I've listened to over the years. Sam Up & Coming Weekly recently heard SEPT. 22 • BLAZING TRAILS FOR BLAISE RIDE/CRAFT FAIR at Cape Fear Harley-Davidson. Find out more at www.capefearhd.com or by calling 603-5202. SEPT. 23 • REDNECK TRIVIA RUN & GAMES at Legend's Pub. Find out more at 867-2364. OCT. 6 • USO OF N.C. RIDE at Cape Fear Harley-Davidson. Find out more at www.capefearhd.com or by calling 603-5202. Cooke, Ottis Redding, Stevie Wonder and even some of today's artist have inspired me to step out of my tradional way of writing and thinking. ie. Zac Brown, Keith Urban, John Mayer, Chris Stapleton UCW: Do you write your own music and where does that inspiration come from? ES: I love writing. Inspiration can come from a variety of things, places or situations. I gather from personal experiences and sometimes I just try to be creative and just write a good story. UCW: If you only had two words to describe your band what would they be? ES: Must see. UCW: What are your hopes/goals for the future of your band? ES: We want to start playing on bigger stages, opening for more nationally known acts and play the music we write on a broader scale. We'd also like to do radio, TV, fi lm and lots of touring. UCW: Where do you see the band fi ve years, 10 years from now? ES: In fi ve years, we want more radio play and to do more festivals. In 10 years we want to be in fi lms, award shows amd national tours. UCW: Where can Fayetteville music lovers check you in the near future? ES: We play the third Saturday of the month at Paddy's Irish Pub unless otherwise noted on our webpage eriksmallwood.com. A few of our other fayetteville locations include, but are not limited to Luigi's, Mellow Mushroom, Wet Willies and a few other spots. We welcome you if you are interested in having us play at your venue or event. STEPHANIE CRIDER, Associate Editor. COMMENTS? Editor@ upandcomingweekly.com OCT. 27 • FANTASTIC SAM'S 4TH ANNUAL SAVE THE TA TA'S POKER RUN at Fantastic Sam's in Hope Mills. Registration at 11 a.m. First bike out at noon. There will be food, and a 50/50 raffle. Call 424-4641 for more information. NOV. 17 • 30TH ANNUAL WINGMEN MC TOY RUN at Cape Fear Harley-Davidson. Find out more at www. capefearhd.com or by calling 603-5202. NOV. 24 • WINGMEN MC MOORE CO CHAPTER'S 20TH ANNUAL FOOD DRIVE at Sandhills Harley-Davidson. Registration 11 a.m. Bring nonperishable food itemsto be donation to the Coalition for Human Care. Find out more at www.9339mc.com/moore_county PATRIOT GUARD RIDERS The Patriot Guard Riders is a diverse group of patriots from every state that come together to honor fallen soldiers at funeral services across the country. Visit www. patriotguard.org for more information. Redneck Trivia Run & Games SEPTEMBER 23RD "Wear Your Overalls" Cornhole Tournament Fun Starts at NOON! Call for more information 4624 BRAGG BLVD. writ-er [rahy-ter] – noun 1. a person engaged in writing books, articles, stories, etc., esp. as an occupation or profession; an author or journalist. If you see yourself in that light, Up & Coming Weekly would love you to join our creative, talented, community-oriented line-up of contributing writers. If you are interested in joining our writing team, e-mail sample articles or questions to: editor@upandcomingweekly.com For more informtion, call 910-484-6200. 42 UCW SEPT. 19-25, 2012 WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM