#60 - The Eric Gales Band

Alright.  I know it's a major stretch to call this metal, but it is hard blues rock, and metal first came out of the blues right?  Plus, he's a smoking guitar player.  I first heard Memphis, Tennessee's Eric Gales Band when I was working at a record store in college in 1991.  The Elektra Records rep came by to drop off a bunch of cutouts (promotional copies of their new releases, and usually ones by bands no one has ever heard of).  The Eric Gales Band was one of those no name bands, launching with their eponymous debut album that year, and that album happened to be in the stack of cutouts the rep dropped off.  I'm not sure why or how, but I ended up taking that one home, and I'm glad I did.

Fun fact: Eric plays a right-handed guitar left-handed and upside down.  His brother Eugene does the same on bass.  I think the family had a bit of a Hendrix obsession.

When they recorded their first album, Eric was only 16 years old.  When you listen to his playing on it, it's simply unbelievable.  His phrasing's as beautiful and effortless as his chops are formidable.  The clip below includes two of the songs from the album (I couldn't find just one).  If you like it, search him out on YouTube.  There are a ton of videos there of him playing live, both as a kid and as an adult.  One of my favorites is this footage from a Memphis "Battle of the Bands".  He's a skinny 14-year-old kid with a super goofy outfit.  It's astounding.  He's 14 years old!!  They won the competition, which is no surprise when you hear it.