How did you get started on the guitar?

“My dad started showing me finger exercises and chords for simple classic rock tunes when I was about 5 years old. I wanted to be like him and to be able to play songs from start to finish. Being the younger brother in my family (I have one older brother), I’ve always been competitive, so I practiced a lot and made progress quickly, eventually moving on to jamming with my brother Keith on drums and learning from other private instructors. I remember being 8 years old and showing my new teacher how to play ‘Rock ‘n Roll’ by Led Zeppelin. Wasn’t I supposed to be the student?” 

When did you realize your passion for writing music?

“I was very young when I wrote my first song; maybe 6 or 7 years old. I called it ‘My Puppy’ and it was about our family dog named Indy (Keith and I were big Indiana Jones fans). I still remember it. It wasn’t the greatest song, it sort of had a simple punk-rock vibe to it, but I remember the satisfaction I had in coming up with something that was completely my own and I wanted to share it with my whole family. Sure, it was no ‘Sgt. Pepper’ or ‘Stairway to Heaven,’ but it was something that no one else in the history of music ever came up with. And that was encouraging for me to experiment more. Over 20 years later, I still get the same feeling when I feel I’m writing something decent.” 

How do your music heroes influence your own music? And please share some of their names with us.

“They are everywhere in my music. Once you’ve studied their music and soaked up so many different, you begin to develop your own voice that is a mix of everything you’ve ever heard and learned. Everything that I’ve ever learned I owe to my musical heroes, and they aren’t just the famous ones. To name a few: Bill Walpole, Keith Walpole, The Beatles, BB King, Jimi Hendrix, Soulive, Lettuce, Led Zeppelin, Eric Clapton, Cream, John Scofield, Stephane Wremble, Keith Richards, Wes Montgomery, John Coltrane, Miles Davis, Bach, Fransisco Tarregga, Mauro Giuliani, Mozart, The Black Keys, The Foo Fighters, Derek Trucks, Nirvana, Daniel Keene.”

What are you writing nowadays?

“Anything that comes to me. Doesn’t matter what genre or if I see it working as a pop tune or a film score, or a brief sound clip, I’ll move forward with anything that comes out and sounds interesting and anything that inspires me. I’ll be releasing a new album by the end of this year (2024) and another hopefully next year; one is a psychedelic funk/rock duo project with Keith on drums, and the other will be a solo acoustic album mostly inspired by my love of nature. Both albums will be mostly instrumental which I’ve found lately to be a pure form of musical expression and interpretation.”

Do you have a process when it comes to writing music?

“My only process is to just make sure I write something new every day, so I can consistently exercise that creative muscle. I try not to get too caught up on judging if something is good or not while I’m writing because that gets in the way of getting the ideas out there. Only when I’ve finished a tune or an idea, then I’ll worry about whether it is good enough or not to be heard by other people. Hopefully, I’m getting better the more and more I do it. I find myself incorporating new musical concepts into my writing lately that I’ve learned in school which is great because prior to attending music school, I was always scared of becoming stuck inside of a box of rules, where you may need to do things the ‘right way.’ But in reality, learning music in this way expands your horizons, opens you up to new genres and new theories, and fosters more creativity. Going back to school for music was one of the best decisions I ever made.” 

Which school are you in now?

“I graduated from Hunter College’s M.A. in Music Education program in May of 2024.” 

What sparked the decision to go back to school?

“During the COVID-19 pandemic, my job at the time went remote, and I had more time on my hands - more time to write music and give guitar lessons. So I did just that. I started teaching more on Zoom and found that I truly missed giving lessons full time. From 2013 to 2018, I taught guitar at a local music shop and always loved it, so returning to this in a part-time capacity was a no-brainer. During this time, I also realized I could have more time to myself to continue working on my original material and start gigging again, finally becoming the full time musician I always wanted to be. Going back to school to ensure I was giving my students the absolute best instruction I could give them was priority number one. So I attended Nassau Community College (N.C.C.) to attain the music credits I needed to apply to grad school (I already graduated from Fordham University in 2015 with a BA in Political Science). Not only did N.C.C. teach me an incredible amount about music theory, history, and performance, but I met an amazing group of professors and fellow students, all with similar ideals and goals, whose friendships I am very grateful for.” 

Music education is obviously very important to you.

“Yes. The skills acquired in learning an instrument have a profound effect on an individuals’ overall success and they can be used in all areas of a person’s life. Unfortunately, resources in our country for music education in schools are limited in many cases and those without access to these programs are shown to be not as successful academically, socially, and emotionally in comparison to those who do have access. I’d like to be a part of that change for the better.”

What’s next for Eric Walpole?

“I’m just going to continue what I love doing. Teaching, writing, recording, and performing. I’ll have a new album released later in the year and will be preparing for a return to live gigs with my brother Keith, whom I’ve shared the stage with the most in the past with our own musical projects.”