Artists:Eric Fontana

Having gained invaluable experience as a touring/studio musician, Eric Fontana's first performance as a solo singer-songwriter was opening for Kristen Hirsh of The Throwing Muses. Since then , he has performed with such notables as Ben Folds, Anna Nalick, Tanya Donelly, They Might Be Giants, Erin Mckeown, Josh Ritter, Mellissa Ferrick, John Wesley Harding, Howie Day, Jen Chapin and Soul Coughing lead singer Doughty.

Nominated for Best Male Vocal category in the 2001, 2005, 2006 and 2007, Providence Phoenix Music Poll, Eric has also performed on the Local Stage at the Newport Folk Festival and the Northampton Music Festival, in addition to live radio broadcasts on WBRU, WRIU, WXIN(R.I.), WICN(Worcester,Ma.), WSMU(Dartmouth,Ma.), WERS and radioboston.com(Boston,Ma.).

A graduate of Berklee College of Music, Eric recorded HATS AND SHOES, his second CD and follow up to SOUND STATION SEVEN, over the course of 2002 with a small but varied group of musicians, including drummer Joe Sirios(Mighty Mighty Bosstones, Frank Black,The Street Dogs), cellist Margie Wienk(Stringbuilder, Iditarod, Fern Knight) and pedal steel player Chris Cook(Thee Hydrogen Terrors, The Deterrents). HATS AND SHOES is a ten song trip through, and about, the glorious mutt that is pop culture/art, post-modern life and the emotional confusion yet attainable clarity that comes with it.

Nashville's Catamount Records has included "Don't," off HATS AND SHOES, on their HUAC2 (HOT UNSIGNED ARTISTS OF AMERICANA 2) compilation CD, featured at the 2003 SXSW and Folk Alliance conferences. They have also recently included "Hill of Fire", a previously unreleased track, on their HUAC3 CD, featured at the 2004 AMA conference in Nashville, TN.

Showing influences such as Beck, Bruce Springsteen, Lucinda Williams, Tom Waits, The Beatles, Billy Joel, Aimee Mann, Neil Finn, Jeff Buckley, Paul Westerberg/The Replacements and Elvis Costello, Eric wrote, sang and co-produced all ten tracks, as well as playing all guitar, bass and keyboard parts.

Eric's music combines the elements of rock, folk, country/americana, rhythm and blues, and Brit-pop to explore the subject of the personal politics of human life. Equally important is his hope of connecting to as many people possible with a message of faith and the outsider's stance of his heroes; lyrically and musically trying to link everyday chaos with everyday calm..