Eric Brandoli

I come from a large & talented musical family. I’m a multi-instrumentalist. I play just about everything, excluding violin and trumpet. I did poorly in school. I had an extremely different learning style. This led to acting out, which in turn got me into trouble… which brought me to a drastic life change: The Marine Corps 88-92, HQ 5/10 2nd Marine Div. Combat Vet. I loved the discipline and the great friends I met. Turns out I’m an artist and a liberal though. I guess I’m used to extremes. I’m pretty anti-war unless our country is defending itself.

After the Marines I lived with my best friend in Boston and scrubbed off of him lessons from Berklee College of Music for a year. I even befriended and learned from one of their vocal teachers in a two-week long session. Not too long after moving back to Western MA, I created Brotherman, a seven-piece funk band. My brother Paul was a huge contributor, finding venues and playing drums for the band. We still play together occasionally, most recently at the Institute for Musical Arts in Goshen, doing studio work for Jenny Katz. I found most of the players for Brotherman at the UMass musical department and employed them for roughly two years. I was the band leader, lead vocalist and saxophonist. We won a best band award on the UMass Campus at the Butternut area in the late 1990s, played venues from the Waterfront to Pearl St. to the Middle East in Boston. Then most of my players graduated from college & went back to California or NYC.

I created a self-titled CD in the year 2000, which is available to you here on this website. My influences are mostly from the Funk & Soul genres so if you like to dance…

I eventually had to get my head above water with my finances, so, like most young 20-something people, I got a job. Following my father’s footsteps in the Springfield MA Fire Dept. was not easy. Being a Marine helped after taking the exams & I was happy to be a part of this great tradition of hardworking & brave men. However, five years in I had an accident on the job that eventually led to a spinal fusion. Talk about pain! Whew.

A year of rehab later: a disabled retired status. Not discounting a very strenuous workout schedule for a maintenance rehab, I’m allowed to follow my dreams of changing the world. Making the spirit of friends & family lighter and more joyful around me. In these dark financial times and with an eco-crisis upon us, artists & musicians are essential for recovery & a shift in consciousness.

I now work extremely hard producing other artists in my home studio or in other professional studios, as a freelance electric bassist, and as lead vocalist & bassist for a kick-ass Funk, Soul, Reggae band called Papa Midnite. My new CD is in production & this time around I’m literally playing every instrument you here on at least half the album. I’m so excited. The grooves and hooks are hotter than ever.

I hope you enjoy my new site.

Please contact me for production work, booking a band, as a bassist or a vocalist or just to say hi. I’m a working musician and proud of it!