| Chicago's
Best Kept Secret - Eric Mantel - Releases
New Album
Biography
Written by Terry Wiza
Giving birth to Eric Mantel must have been
a monumental task considering he probably
emerged from the womb singing and strumming
a guitar. With his outstanding creative
streak, he most likely used the umbilical
chord to plug into the universe.
And the universe, hiding the one who has
been called, "Chicago's best
kept secret," is parting its sky for
Eric Mantel. Plunging as if on a bungee
chord, Mantel splashes onto the shores of
Lake Michigan and emerges into the
music scene as a hurricane rushes to shore,
leaving everyone "whet" with an
appetite for more. This singer/songwriter/guitar
virtuoso is Chicago's
secret revealed - the universe has let go
its hold - Eric Mantel has
arrived.
The youngest of six children, Eric William
Mantel was born on February 5,
1963 to his mother, Mary, a professional
voice artist/actress, who appeared
in radio and t.v. commercials and who was
the "Storybook Lady" on the Ray
Rayner Show (a WGN, Chicago, televised presentation),
and to his father,
Harry Mantel, a journalist/editor for WMAQ
radio (NBC News) in Chicago.
Coming from such an artistic family, which
includes three sisters and
two brothers, it is no wonder that this
phenomenal artist began honing his
innate skills a mere ten years after his
birth (1973).
His first real gig, however, didn't occur
until he turned 14 (1977).
Already semi-professional, Eric performed
in his very first band called
"EMERETH" before 800 people ,
entertaining his peers at O. W. Huth Junior
High School in Matteson, Illinois. A guitar
prodigy at the age of 14 Eric
was playing note-for-note songs by The Beatles,
Jimmy Page, Jeff Beck, Steve
Howe, Jimi Hendrix, Robin Trower, Eric Clapton,
Peter Frampton, many
others. Audiences everywhere were blown
away by this young guitar prodigy!
Mantel's influences reflect the eclectic
diversity that defines him:
Fans and critics alike compare Eric's songwriting
skills to that of Todd
Rundgren, The Beatles, Sting (The Police),
Greg Lake (ELP), so on and so on.
They compare his guitar playing expertise
to that of Jeff Beck, Eric
Johnson, Allan Holdsworth, Steve Morse,
Danny Gatton, Jimi Hendrix, Chet
Atkins, Albert Lee, Wes Montgomery, Andres
Segovia, Phil Keaggy, Michael
Hedges, Pat Metheny, Lenny Breau, plus many
others.
Eric's approach, a plethora of styles weaved
from all his influences
and combined with his own innovative touch,
is a beautiful kaleidoscope of
rock, jazz, melodic fusion, country, bluegrass,
blues, R & B, funk, pop,
classical, ragtime, and more.
It was Eric's older brother Jon Mantel (a
guitarist) who inspired Eric
to start playing guitar in 1973. Eric listened
to his brother's record and
tape collection, which included: The Beatles,
The Rolling Stones, The Who,
Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton, Cream, The Guess
Who, many others. Eric learned
many Beatle songs and became a complete
Beatle freak ditching school just to
watch a "Hard Days Night" on TV.
Eric started singing and playing the piano
during this time as well. In 1975 Eric started
listening to ELP, YES, The
Moody Blues, Robin Trower, Queen, Led Zeppelin,
Jeff Beck, Jethro Tull, many
others! In 1976 Frampton Comes Alive LP
came out and Eric became a Peter
Frampton freak, learning every Peter Frampton
song there was on the album!
Eric was also learning Steve Howe and Jeff
Beck songs note for note. In 1977
a friend turned Eric onto RUSH and Eric
started learning all their songs!
Between 1977 and 1989 Eric played in many
different various rock
bands, did a lot of recording and studied
with many private guitar teachers
in all styles of music: Classical, Jazz,
Country, Ragtime, Blues, Reggae,
etc. In 1978 He played in his high school
Jazz band, took private lessons
with a Berklee School of Music guitar teacher
by the name of Bob Mirallis
and was turned onto Pat Metheny, Joe Pass,
Wes Montgomery, John McLaughlin,
Bill Connors, Al DiMeloa, Allan Holdsworth,
Steve Morse (Dixie Dregs), Ted
Greene, Lenny Breau, many others! In 1978
Eric joined the Progressive Rock
group "NRG" (Yes, ELP, Kansas,
Utopia...) that same year Eric became a
big
fan of Todd Rundgren's music! In 1979 Eric
played in the pop/punk/rock group
"The Droogs" (The Bealtes, Elvis
Costello, Sex Pistols...) The drummer in
the Droogs "Fallon Williams" moved
to England in the early 80's and started
playing drums for Steve Marriot of Humble
Pie, Fallon toured with Steve
Marriot for many years. Eric started teaching
guitar professionally in 1979.
In 1980 Eric joined the Pop/Rock/New Wave/Ska
Band "The Generics" out of
Park Forest, IL. The Generics, a teenage
rock band, wrote all original music
and was way ahead of their time. The band
was managed by the famous Park
Forester Tom Zutaut. Tom Zutaut worked for
Warner Bros. in Chicago in the
late 70's and then left for L.A. in 1979-80
and worked for Elektra Records.
Tom later became the executive A&R for
Geffen records. Tom Zutaut signed
the bands Berlin, Guns N Roses, Edie Brickell
and the New Bohemians, Motley
Crew, Dokken, Tesla, plus many others! Kim
Thayil the guitarist from the
multi-platinum selling 90s rock band Sound
Garden was also from Park Forest,
IL and was in a band called Identity Crisis
in 1979-80. Kim was friends with
"The Generics" and attended the
same high school as a few of the band
members. The Generics recorded an LP in
1980 and then Brian Leach the
keyboard player and singer of the band moved
to LA to hang with Tom Zutaut
in 1981. Leach (a musical genius) played
keyboards with Motley Crew for 5
months and then later came back to Illinois
and formed the band "Last
Gentlemen" out of Champaign/ Urbana.
One of the biggest bands to ever come
out of that college town and the Midwest!
"Last Gentleman" stayed together
for 9 years and signed a Major Record deal
with ZOO RECORDS, the same label
that pop star Matthew Sweet was on. The
band was managed by the famous Peter Katsis
for several years. In 1981 Eric Joined an
original Progressive rock group for a short
period of time called "Dark Horse".
In later 1981 Eric formed an all original
Hard Rock band called "Spice"
which played everywhere and recorded a 5
song EP. In 1982 Eric was in in the Jeff
Douglas Group as a sideman playing all over!
In 1982 Eric started transcribing after
reading an Article on Steve Vai in Guitar
Player magazine. Eric was soon transcribing
Allan Holdsworth and Steve Morse compositions!
Eric attended Prairie State College where
he studied music
theory, composition, classical guitar, violin,
piano, etc.
In early 1983, at the age of 19, Eric independently
released his first
solo album, Montage, featuring Marc Levinson
on drums and Eric Levinson on
keyboards and Ron Hansen on Bass. This record
showcased Eric's prolific
songwriting skills and his virtuosic guitar
playing, all at the age of 19.
Progressive pop / jazzy songwriting with
fusion guitar playing is a good way
to describe Montage, imagine Allan Holdsworth
meets Todd Rundgren meets the
Police... Keep in mind that this was before
Steve Vai's "Flexable", Joe
Satriani's "Not of This Earth"
and Eric Johnson's "Tones", etc.
The album
revealed that Eric was way ahead of his
time and a pioneer of the 80's
guitar hero genre, unfortunately Montage
never got the attention that it
should have and Eric spent most of the 80's
living in obscurity. In 1986
Eric was turned onto Eric Johnson's "TONES"
LP and became very inspired by
Eric's artistry. Eric felt a very strong
spiritual connection to EJ and his
music. Eric had the same EXACT musical vision
that EJ had, which was
combining many styles of music with vocal
songs! Eric played in the rock
band "Ring" and then in 1987 Eric
put together his own private recording
studio and started recording a lot of new
music. In 1988 Eric joined the
Alternative Rock Band "The Escape",
which did a video and a 5 song EP. In
the late 80's Eric established Holistic
Music Enterprises (so named because
Eric believes in the healing and spiritually
uplifting quality of music).
In 1990, with his new band, "The Eric
Mantel Trio," Eric released a 12
song LP entitled The Politics Of Experience,
an electric sizzle of sound
that received rave reviews from local and
national critics and even gave
Eric some international attention. The release
got Eric featured in Guitar
Player magazine's "Spot Light"
column by Mike Varney (April 1991) and also
in Guitar World magazine's "Homewtown
Heroes" (May 1991). The publicity
gave Eric over night international attention
and fan mail from around the
globe. During his "Experience"
days, Eric signed an artist development
contract with agent Peter Katsis (now the
vice president of the Firm in L.A.
) The Firm has worked with the Backstreet
Boys, Michael Jackson, etc. Peter
Katsis presently manages Limp Bizkit, Korn
and others. Peter heard "The
Politics of Experience" and said "I
can get this guy a record deal" Peter
felt very confident about this. Peter put
Eric in the legendary
Streetervillle Recording Studio, located
in Chicago, to record some new
material. Peter started shopping Eric's
new demo and even gave Todd
Rundgren's manager Mary Lou Arnold a tape
of Eric's music in hopes that
Todd would produce Eric's debut solo album.
Nine months later Eric's
contract ran out, there was no record deal,
Eric's band fell apart, Nirvana,
Pearl Jam, Stone Temple Pilots, Sound Garden...
were all over the radio and nobody cared
about listening to a guitar virtuoso, singer,
songwriter out of Chicago. In early 1992
Eric decided to take a break from the music
business and stopped live performing.
In April of 1992 Eric launched the Midwest's
premier guitar instruction
service and devoted his time to teaching,
which he had already been doing
since 1979. Eric has taught over 3,500 students
and instructs his students
with concentrated, accelerated, and challenging
lessons. In 1995, Mantel
focused on the acoustic side of his personality
when he released, A Time To
Remember, which includes four guest tracks
by violinist David Ragsdale from
the multi-platinum rock band, Kansas. The
CD showcased Eric's fingerstyle
abilities A la Chet Atkins, Leo Kottke,
Phil Keaggy, Michael Hedges, etc.
Eric has played at various establishments
all over and has opened for
a list of National acts: John Campbell,
Robben Ford, Danny Gatton, Bassist
Stu Hamm (Joe Satriani), Scott Henderson,
Vinnie Moore, Allan Holdsworth,
Michael Angelo, and many others. Highly
respected for his firmly
established and tremendously successful
guitar instruction business (in
operation for over 25 years), Eric has also
been done many guitar clinics
through out the Midwest. Eric is a Taylor
Guitar Artist and you can find his
name on the Taylor Guitar website under
recording artists in between the
names of Madonna and Maroon5. Eric is endorsed
by ghs strings, Rocktron,
Sabine guitar tuners, APC pickups, Jim Dunlop,
Conquest Cable, others. Past
endorsements include Washburn guitars, Trace
Elliot, Peavey (regional),
others.
Besides being featured in Guitar Player
& Guitar World magazines, Eric
has been featured in many other various
publications, among them, Local Live
Chicago Magazine, In The Mix, The Illinois
Entertainer, CAMM, Street Rock,
The Midwest BEAT, Chicago Music Magazine,
The U.S. Rocker (East Coast
Monthly), Star Publications, The Daily Southtown,
The Indiana Times, and
many others.
While teaching is one outlet for this gifted
musician, singing,
composing, and playing are what he loves
most. In his life quest, Eric
Mantel, the man, continues to grow as an
entertainer and as an instructor.
He is in the process of releasing his new
CD, The Unstruck Melody, with a
projected release date in spring 2005. Eric
Mantel,
singer/songwriter/teacher, a musician of
extraordinary talent, maneuvers
through his day like a man plugged into
an electrical socket. He has
discovered a chord within the universe that,
when tapped into, generates
enough electricity to form a bolt of lightening.
He not only plays the
music, he is the music, providing voltage
and amps from his own reservoir of
energy. Plug into the electric energy of
the only hurricane to hit Chicago,
Eric Mantel.
"Imagine,
a musical talent that defies easy description.
An artist who not
only composes and writes great songs, but
who also has a virtuosic command
of his instrument as well. Eric Mantel is
this type of artist. A multi
faceted player, writer, composer who's many
talents defy "simple
definition" "Take the guitar wizardry
and compositional abilities of Allan
Holdsworth, Eric Johnson, Steve Morse, Hendrix,
Jeff Beck, Segovia, Lenny
Breau, Pat Metheny, Wes Montgomery, Chet
Atkins, Albert Lee etc. add to this
the songwriting skill of the Beatles, Todd
Rundgren, Greg Lake and Sting -
press the mix button on this musical blender
and the end result would
probably sound a lot like Eric Mantel."
- Dan Scheffki / Local Live Chicago
Magazine Article - Eric Mantel: The Return
of a Musical Wizard
"Eric,
thanks for the copy of your new CD! - Sounds
Good! - Eric Johnson /
Austin, TX Guitar Legend / Grammy Winner
/ Favored Nations Recording Artist
/ World Renowned Guitar Virtuoso / Voted
5 years in a row "BEST OVERALL
GUITARIST" in Guitar Player magazine...
"On
first listening your CD sounds great! Well
done...... you're a fine
player with the right idea. I want to hear
it again.....and that's a good
sign. I like your "pop sense"
best....you have your own thing and I can
hear
all the influences, but it is an original
voice shining through."- Carl
Verheyen / Guitarist Extraordinaire / SUPERTRAMP
/ Studio guitarist / Author
/ Educator / World Renowned Recoridng Artist
/ REH Video Instructor...
"I
did listen to your CD, I enjoyed it. Nice
Job man. I don't give quotes
usually because I get asked a lot. I'll
make an exception with you. Here it
is: Eric Mantel has a great melodic sense.
He's holding the torch high for
killer guitar playing." - Gary Hoey
/ Guitarist Extraordinaire / Fender
Endorsee / Recording Artist...
"Eric
has great control over the guitar while
also creating a rich tapestry
of colour in the sounds that he uses"
- Dave Martone / Guitarist
Extraordinaire / Lion Music Recording Artist
/ Parker Guitar Endorsee...
"Eric
Mantel is a solid shredder, with a sweet
tone and tasteful approach"
(I enjoyed listening to your CD, GOOD work,
sir.) - Fareed Haque / Magna
Carta Recording Artist / World Renowned
Jazz-Fusion-Classical Guitar
Virtuoso / Educator...
"Yo
- Dude I finally listened to your CD. You
really are a very, very good
guitar player! ...it's obviously a diverse
disc from a capable guy. I was
very impressed, I think Steve (Steve Vai)
would be too. Bravo, blondie :) -
Rich Pike / Steve Vai's former personal
assistant / Guitarist /
NoneRadio.com...
"Chops?
Of course, but such is the case with many.
What really impressed me
was Eric's very mature sense of composition,
which at times was reminiscent
of Steely Dan and Eric Johnson, yet still
very original. His playing is
first class; his tone, outstanding (something
many players lack), and his
songs are even better!" - Michael Fath
/ World Renowned Guitar Virtuoso /
HOT LICKS VIDEO instructor / Hal Leonard
Author...
"I
have listened to your CD. It was a great
CD. Of course I had my
favorites, I think track 1 and tack 12 reminded
me more of something Shawn
would have done. Very melodic and beautiful.
However I really liked track 13
also, it really had a jazzy feel, and some
heavy duty jamming going on.
Shawn would have liked your CD very much!"
- Shawn Lane's sister Mitzi
Purvis / Shawe Lane the Greatest Guitarist
and Master Musician of all time!
"I
did listen to your CD and thought it sounded
real good" - Andy Aledort /
Guitar World Magazine / Transcriber / Blues
Guitarist...
"Eric...you
play real well, controlled, slinky and melodic
- good
show!...good stuff! - John Stix / Guitar
For The Practicing Musician
Magazine
Dear
Eric, I received your tape and listened
to it. I especially liked the
lead on the first song. The Rhythm tone
was cool on the 2nd song side two.
I liked the fade in start on the song "Down
on the Farm" the 4th song side
two, I think. I thought the song "Somebodie's
getting ready to dance" was a
really nice acoustic composition! Keep up
the good work and all the best to
you in the new year." - Eric Johnson
/ Austin, TX Guitar Legend / Grammy
Winner / Favored Nations Recording Artist
/ World Renowned Guitar Virtuoso /
Voted 5 years in a row "BEST OVERALL
GUITARIST" in Guitar Player magazine...
"Eric's
tape demonstrates his versatile command
of the instrument,
showcasing slide, backwards guitar, flatpicking,
open tunings, and unique
chord voicings sometimes reminiscent of
Holdsworth's work with I.O.U. As a
commercial songwriter; Eric weaves pop melodies
throughout his own brand of
progressive music. As a soloist, he utilizes
many tones and has a very
dramatic style that's rich in melody."
- Mike Varney / Guitar Player
Magazine
"He
whips through some raunchy acoustic slide
blues, unleashes clean,
melodic Metheny-Esque runs and incorporates
ethnic strains like Irish gigues
and Japanese Koto phrases. Eric achieves
this diversity by employing a wide
range of techniques, including finger picking,
artificial harmonics, tapping
and 15 different tunings." - Willie
Marr / Guitar World Magazine
"I
received your tape and had a listen; sounds
good man; you're obviously a
fine musician - very adept - sounds like
many hard hours of serious
practice." - Roscoe Beck / Bass Player
Extraordinaire / Producer / Plays
with Robben Ford and Eric Johnson...
"Your
CD was very impressive." - Greg Koch
/ Guitarist Extraordinaire /
Favored Nations Recording Artist / Fender
Clinician / Author of several
books and DVDs with Hal Leonard...
"I
have always thought you were a talented
guitar player...Continued
Success!" - Anthony Gomes / Blues Guitarist
/ 33rd Street Recording
Artrist...
"Eric's
new CD is a joy to listen to. The sounds
are nice, his playing
rocks, and the songs are engaging. I expect
we will be hearing a lot about
Eric Mantel in the very near future!"
- Jon Finn / Guitarist Extraordinaire
/ Berklee School of Music professor / Recording
Artist / Tours with the
Boston pops...
"I
think the CD sounds great on all levels.
The performances, compositions
and production are all very well done &
it comes off as more than just a
guitar album. You've made a great record
that you can be proud of, I wish
you on going success!"- Jesse Gress
/ Guitarist Extraordinaire / Transcriber
/ Plays with Todd Rundgren and TheTony Levin
Band...
"You
made a great record and are a great guitarist"
- Michael Angelo / World
Renowned Guitar Virtuoso / C4 Band / Dean
Clinician / M.A.C.E. Recording
Artist...
"I've
always thought that your music and guitar
playing were exceptional!" -
George Bellas / Guitarist Extraordinaire
/ Educator / Shrapnel Recording
Artist
"Got
your CD sounds great man I can hear a little
Eric Johnson and Jeff Beck
in there. I also think your vocals and tone
fit perfect with what you are
doing, it all blends great!" - Rusty
Cooley / Guitarist Extraordinaire / Out
World Band / Guitar Player Magazine Columnist
(Metal Guru)...
"I
listened to "The Unstruck Melody"
and really enjoyed it. The first track,
"Tribute" reminds me a bit of
"I Would Love To!" So I felt at
home right off
the bat. My personal favorites on the album
are "Tai-Chi" and
"Affectionately Yours." Both are
just so expressive and beautiful!"
- Ruta
Sepetys / Steve Vai's Manager
"Crafty
songwriting mixed with a tight rhythm section,
propels Eric's
playing. I hear influences from Steve Vai,
Allan Holdsworth, and
conceptually from Eric Johnson. Eric has
no doubt studied other players and
plays with feeling." - Tucker Rountree
/ Austin, TX - Jazz Guitarist
Extraordinaire...
"Eric
is one of the most versatile guitarists
on the planet! Great tones,
nice songwriting, excellent production!
If you enjoy the guitar, you'll love
Eric's music!!! This CD will definitely
make a home in my player!" - Marc
Seal / Guitarist Extraordinaire / Recording
Artist / Fender and Rocktron
Endorsee...
"I
listened to your CD! Great stuff man! Cool
tunes...great playing!" - Joel
Hoekstra / Guitarist Extraordinaire / Recording
Artist / Cathy Richardson
Band....
"I
finally got a chance to listen to your CD.
It is pretty cool! You had
some really cool phrasing, good song writing,
great melodies, and some good
chops. Some of your licks remind me a lot
of Eric Johnson (a very good
thing!)." - Joel Wanasek / Insane Guitar.com
/ Guitarist Extraordinaire...
"Wow,
thanks so much for sending me your cd! It's
awesome, great mix of all
kinds of styles, and your playing is great,
melodic, catchy & technical!
What I enjoyed most is the fact that you
focus a lot on the song. I thuink
that's the most important thing. I think
people will enjoy your disc for
sure. : )" - Rob Johnson / Guitarist
Extraordinaire / Recording Artist...
"Wow
you have a lot of songs and could easily
release 2 albums, one
instrumental and one with vocals! Anyways
your playing is exceptional! You
have a lot of experience and the recording
is very professional and clear! A
really cool production! The songs are great
and you are a great singer too!
Anyways the songs that I like are the instrumental
ones! The rock/ jazz/
fusion ones are the best with great playing
and searching for the right note
everytime! I wish you all the best! You
are really an amazing player and I
hope one day to record some rock/ jazz/
fusion like you have done! -
Francesco Fareri / Italian Guitarist Extraordinaire
/ Recording Artist..
"I
think Eric Mantel is a guitar player of
definite quality with something
significant to say in his songwriting, it
was a pleasure to have him on the
Guitars at an Exhibition volumes 1 &
2 compilation CDs!" - Tom Hess /
Neo-Classical Guitarist Extraordinaire...
"I
was impressed by your technique and multitude
of styles. The band sounds
very professional and the recording was
well done. Keep following your
spirit. I also like your chord voicings,
it is good to hear a guitar player
that can use different fingerings then the
standard bar, open and power
chords. Great pentatonics chops too."
- Kevin M. Buck - Rock / Metal
Guitarist Extraordinaire...
"No
senseless flash, just solid, melodic lead
guitar playing over polished
memorable tunes in a wide variety of great
musical styles." - Dave Benziger
/ Guitarist Extraordinaire
"No senseless flash, just solid, melodic
lead guitar playing over polished
memorable tunes in a wide variety of great
musical styles." - Dave Benziger
/ Rock Guitarist Extraordinare...
"I think you play well and cover a
wide range stylistically." - Johnny
Monaco / Guitarist for Enuff Znuff
"Mantel
has eclipsed most local players in his mastery
of the instrument to
become not just another guitar player, but
rather a guitar virtuoso. Rather
than emulate the 4 chord hits by "the
flavor of the day" guitarists, Mantel
studied the many styles of playing guitar.
Mantel is one of the very few
guitarists in the region who can rip out
any of a dozen styles on demand
from basic Chuck Berry rock riffs to the
screaming heavy metal licks of
Michael Schenker, from the bluegrass pickings
of Bill Monroe to the
Rockabilly of Cliff Gallup; from Dick Dale's
surf tones to the classical
fingerstyle playing of Andreas Segovia;
from bottle-neck blues of Elmore
James to the be-bop/jazz sound of Wes Montgomery"
- Tom Lounges / The Times
"Through the haze of the footlights,
I caught a glimpse of Mantel's
classical rock style for the first time,
drawn in by the clever guitarists
scorching riffs. Catching me completely
off guard, the quick changes and
smooth lead patterns were methodically delivered
with precise technical
fortitude. And then, those vocals, Mantel
alone under the spot, his whispy
lyric opening the door to a heightened,
sensual consciousness of what rock
and roll is truly all about. The liberating
longing for some harmonic sense
of time and place, fed the audience a psychedelic
picnic of rock and roll
re-dux, "the way it's supposed to be."
- Bambi Ackerman / Chicago Music
Magazine
"Eric
Mantel has it all: Excellent Tone! - Awesome
Technique! - Versatility!
- Great Songwriting and composing abilities
plus he can sing on top if it
all, is there such a thing as being over
talented?" - Tamara Kinch / The
Times
"Eric
Mantel will one day be mentioned along side
Steve Vai, Joe Satriani
and Larry Carlton." - Tom Lounges /
The Times
"Like
those players (Eric Johnson and Joe Satriani),
he's an accomplished
guitarist" - Nick Flandry / Illinois
Entertainer
"Versatility
is the word that comes to mind when you're
talking about Eric
Mantel" - Mark Perry / The Star
"It's
obvious from the variety of styles, that
you are accomplished and have
a lot to offer the music industry"
- R. Clay Spivey - Artist Relations /
Peavey
"We
are proud to have people with impressive
credentials such as yours
playing our instruments." - Peter Bowers
(Artist Relations) / Washburn
"While
there may be a few better known guitarists
in the Midwest, one would
be hard pressed to find one with as much
dexterity in every musical style as
Mantel. A versatile guitarist Mantel is
often mentioned in the same breath
as Eric Johnson, Albert Lee, Michael Hedges,
etc." - Tom Lounges / The Times
- Eric Mantel: guitarist for all genres
"Listen
to his "eclectic original music and
you can hear anything from
acoustic blues, to Pat Metheny-esque jazz
runs, to harder Eddie Van
Halen-ish speedy metal guitar" - Scott
B. Hersey / The Southtown Economist
Economist
"For
awhile now you might have walked into a
few music stores or clubs and
seen the name Eric Mantel. You might have
wondered who is this guy? Eric
Mantel is one of Chicago's best kept secrets
and and a Guitar Virtuoso." -
Dave Davies / Street Rock Magazine
"Eric
Mantel is a positive person. He is a talented
person. He is a person
that takes the value of music very seriously
- not only as a career, but as
a positive life force." - Jeanena Spencer
/ CAMM Magazine
"Eric
Mantel is one of the most talented guitar
player / songwriters I have
seen in many, many years. His music is very
exciting with something for
everyone." - Teri Olling / Chicago
Music Magazine
"The
guitar work of Eric Mantel reaches new heights
of creativity. It's
soft, gentle and kind. It will push you
forth into somewhere-land; the
place where dreams come from." - Brenda
Mullen - U.S. Rocker Magazine / East
Coast Monthly
"If
musical success was based purely on talent
alone, Chicago guitar
virtuoso Eric Mantel would have been perched
on top years ago. He is the
kind of musician most players aspire to
be, in command of a dizzying array
of styles and techniques. An eclectic composer,
Mantel ties together
influences as diverse as the blues, Baroque
music, and Frank Zappa into a
sound that few others could create."
- Mike O'Cull / In The Mix Magazine
"I
think there is plenty of room for someone
who plays as good as Eric
Johnson. I wish more people would play with
as much feel and technique as
you do. Too many releases today are flavor
of the month and have little
talent in the guitar playing area. This
is not the case with you. I have
over 7,500 CD's and listen to a lot of music.
Your new CD is definitely one
of the best releases in the last year that
I have purchased. You fall into
a group of great guitar players that should
be famous, Carl Filipiak, Scott
Bradoka, Michael Fath, Shawn Lane, Carl
Verhayen, etc. - Mark Nicholson /
Fan
"Mantel
is a meticulous recording artist, a talented
songwriter and a true
guitar virtuoso in the broadest sense of
the word. Unlike most guitar
heroes who are masterful in one specific
style, Mantel's playing runs the
gamut from delicate finger picking to slide
running blues to jazzy
improvisation to shredding a la Yngwie Malmsteen."
- Tom Lounges / The
Times
For more information please visit www.ericmantel.com
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