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FEATURE
ERIC MANTELTHE SOUTH SIDE’S WIZARD OF SHRED
by Adam St. James
The world loves a shredder. But the world loves a shredder with taste and songwriting chops even more.
Just being able to rip it up on the fretboard doesn’t work 24/7. You’ve got to wrap those licks around some meaningful songs as well if you want the average listener to stay tuned.
And while Chicago has certainly had its share of musical successes and songwriting masters – Smashing Pumpkins, Cheap Trick, Styx, and uh, Chicago, come to mind – Few players today compare to the incredible musicianship displayed by guitar wizard Eric Mantel on his latest and most inspired disc, The Unstruck Melody. And guess what: The songs are meaningful. And shreddin’ too!
Some might recognize that Mantel has been around for awhile, flirting with major success a number of times over the years. But with maturity and experience – not to mention a few more years of solid study – come perfection, right? And Eric has really nailed it on this one. But the best part is the album’s diversity.
“I love eclecticism,” Mantel explains. “I love throwing a curve-ball, and then throwing a slider. I’m just trying to provide music that isn’t one-dimensional, and will put a listener on the edge of their seat, because they don’t know what to expect next. That’s why I did The Unstruck Melody the way it is.”
That Mantel has grasped at the brass ring and fallen before has only made him stronger. Major management and record label opportunities have flashed before him over the years, only to dissipate in frustrating lessons on the elusiveness of stardom.
Still Eric, as driven an individual as you’ll ever meet, has risen above those false starts to be better prepared for the 21st Century.
“Back in the early 1990s, I had an artist development deal with two of the big Chicago music biz kahunas,” recalls Mantel. “They got a lot of major label deals for local artists. They said they could get me signed. I was opening for all these major acts, and I was conquering Chicago. I was in all the guitar magazines, and I was getting all these endorsement deals. They advanced me a couple grand for a demo. And nine months later nothing had happened. There was no evidence that this guy was doing anything with me. I look back now and think he was just one of these guys who did the whole thing to get a tax write-off. But back then I was really discouraged.”
Understandable, considering all the hard work that Eric had put in up to that point.
For this Olympia Fields-based six-stringer, it all started early. He began playing guitar by age 10, inspired by his older brother and after listening to the Beatles. By 14, he was in a popular band working the junior high school circuit. Throughout high school, and influenced further by Todd Rundgren and Allan Holdsworth, he performed with progressive rock outfit NRG, among other bands. By 19 Eric had already released his debut album.
“My older brother John was into Mahavishnu Orchestra and Emerson, Lake, and Palmer,” he says. “So at an early age I was exposed to all the fusion and progressive rock – not just the Beatles and Zeppelin and the regular rock influences. I was fortunate to have an older brother who was into all that. If it wasn’t for him, I might never have been exposed to any of it. I was into guys like Steve Howe and Jeff Beck by the time I was 14-years-old.”
After he delved into the complexities of jazz fusion, Mantel became quite accomplished. One listen to Eric’s earliest recordings proves he might actually have lead the kingly trio of Satriani, Vai, and Johnson out of the starting gate had the ears of the music biz been turned toward the Midwest. And that he did not hardly negates the benefits of a far-reaching musical palette.
Fortunately for the listener, all those influences filter into The Unstruck Melody, and with an emphasis on the “melody” part.
Eric is as adept a singer and composer of pop-rock gems as he is a speedster guitar virtuoso. His clear and ringing vocals and bright-side vocal messages highlight stunning tracks such as “The Simple Things,” and “Shine On,” both replete with catchy hooks and sing-along appeal.
“My pop songwriting and vocal stylings are totally derived from three influences: The Beatles, Todd Rundgren, and the Police,” he said.
“And the songs are a mixture of various autobiographical or, hopefully, thought-provoking ideas,” he continued. “The song ‘Gloria’ is about a girlfriend I had once who was very dysfunctional. ‘The Simple Things,’ is kind of a political song. Some of the lyrics on my album are very existential, and not your typical ‘boy-meets-girl’ type of stuff. I always told myself never to lock myself into one thing. That way you have a bigger palette to choose from.”
While there are three or four tracks with mainstream potential, Mantel still delivers for those who know his past works and who love to hear his dynamic and wide-ranging fretboard prowess.
With everything from driving rock instrumentals to hot country-bluegrass chicken pickin’, to soulful jazz changes, The Unstruck Melody is a virtual guitar clinic on disc. Yet it is still ultimately listenable to the non-guitar fanatic. Even the instrumentals on the disc are rife with hooks, and players and non-players alike can quickly discern that Mantel is fluent well beyond your basic rock guitar style.
“It was listening to well-rounded guys like Steve Howe of Yes, Alex Lifeson of Rush, and to a lesser extent, Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin which inspired me to branch off into things like classical guitar and finger style, and other various styles of music,” explained Mantel. “But for me, Steve Howe really was the guy. He was the one who made me say, ‘I want to be versatile. I don't want to be a one-trick pony’.”
Clearly, Mantel seeks to make 2006 his year. Between his full-time slate of private guitar students, he toils nearly around the clock promoting the new record. After all, it’s a full-time job trying to catch the public ear. But Eric has his game plan in place. A diligent and hard-working promoter, he could easily teach the rest of the Chicago scene a few things about the marketing of music.
“Even record labels will tell you, ‘If you have the energy to do the legwork, and the know-how, and the time, you can do it yourself.’ The only thing a record label can do for you that you can’t do on your own is put up massive amounts of money for promotion, help with tour support, and things like that. But in the end, they get every penny back first before you ever see a penny – plus interest.”
This time the interest all goes to Eric.
In fact, interested fans can find him at a variety of Chicago area venues in the coming months, including a trio of sure-to-be-well-attended guitar clinics in April (see page 12 of this issue) and an official record release party on Saturday, April 29, at the Fifth Quarter Tap in Homewood, Illinois.
For more on the artist – www.ericmantel.com or to purchase The Unstruck Melody online, visit one of these sites:
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