Audio
Battery 2010
The definitive audio document of some of ER’s most compelling and monumental percussion music. With no pitch content, the entirety of the sounds on Battery are produced using snare drum, floor toms, bibles and voice. Experience sizzling performances by Chris Froh, William Winant and ER.
Follow the link for full album credits. DOWNLOAD BATTERY.
Both Teams Played Hard is one of those pieces that seems to do it all and do it all well. Written for a snare drum and one stick, the piece pulls an extraordinary amount of sonic material out of a tiny instrumentation. With off-kilter grooves linking one to the next and long gestures tangled up with quick accents, somehow melodic bits seem to emerge from the resonance of the drum and propel the piece ever forward.
Eric and I recorded the piece with master engineer Myles Boisen who captured the tremendous nuance of the work. At once a dirty, stanky funk and a detailed investigation of the lyrical possibilities of a simple drum, this piece remains one of my favorites in the repertoire. I’m really proud of this recording and hope that it grabs you as much as it has grabbed me.
Chris Froh 2010
Bible Thumpin V (2005) is for three performers, each with a bible. The bible is treated as the musical instrument it inexorably is.
Eric Roth 2005
The Feel Variatious Live in Brooklyn 2008
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Brian Thompson performs ER’s solo viola adventure at Brooklyn College Conservatory of Music.
Body Death Live at June in Buffalo 2007
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Nicholas Isherwood, voice Jonathan Golove, violoncello
on Isherwood and Golove:
So I show up to the rehearsal and these guys have gotten together before and can really play the piece. They’ve thought about all the deviant tunings and practiced them. They fix a couple little things in rehearsal. And we’ve used up little of the allotted time. But what am I gonna do: make them stick around and experiment when they’ve already taken so much care with my music?
Then, like champs, they perform the piece brilliantly in the concert.Eric Roth 2010
Enjoy that performance as streaming audio above.
Anathema 2001
A landmark release in soul polemics, ER and the Silver Schmateez was, at the time of recording, ER – voice, percussion, Chris Neal – tenor saxophone, voice, Jeff Kowalkowski – keyboards, Jason Roebke – bass, Tim Daisy – drums. It performed pop/R&B/rap music by ER. Known for incendiary lyrics and high energy, high wire live performances, the Schmateez were a provocative act, riffing on identity, violence, divinity, sex, nationalism, dancing and other difficult subjects with recklessness, precision and guts.
Anathema was produced to shocking degrees by ER and Brian Deck.
Program16 2000
The Eric Roth Trio (1999-2001) was Dave Rempis – saxophones, Jason Roebke – bass, Eric Roth – drums. It played a mixture of improvised music and musical themes written by ER. Performances generally consisted of 50+ minute “programs” of music; each represented a different organization of the abovementioned mixture of themes and improvisation.
Program16 was recorded live at WNUR-FM radio in Evanston, Illinois, on the campus of Northwestern University.
