Rock

A New EP with a Coincidental Name from Eric & The Soo

/ Eric Brombacher / Leave a comment

Introducing “Algoma Street” a brand new EP by Eric & The Soo: I guess if this was an interview, maybe somewhere along the way I would be asked “Why Algoma Street? What is the meaning behind the title of this EP?”. Well, I’m glad you asked! It is inspired by a happy coincidence that we stumbled upon back in 2017. Some of you may already be aware that I grew up in Sault Ste. Marie (aka ‘The Soo’) which is where the band name comes from. Sault Ste. Marie happens to located within the District of Algoma (for my American friends, ‘district’ is akin to ‘county’). Back in 2017, I traveled home to Sault Ste. Marie to perform my first ever hometown gig at LopLops on Queen Street East. There was a short write-up in the paper, and the event was published in the “Algoma Entertainment Listings” section of the newspaper, which I photographed and posted on social media. Upon seeing this our lead guitarist, Ken Yoshioka, commented “hey! I live on Algoma Street in Toronto!” … what a beautiful coincidence! What are the chances? I knew right then, that I would one day release a record under the moniker “Algoma Street”. And here we are, 7 years later: Algoma Street is indeed named after the beautiful northern region of Ontario that I grew up in and treasure so dearly. Algoma Street is also a nod to our beloved guitarist, Ken Yoshioka, who is a founding member and a very important component of the Eric & The Soo ‘sound’. And it’s especially fitting this time around, as this EP includes “Today’s News (Nothing to Worry About)” which is the first ever Ken Yoshioka composition to appear on an Eric & The Soo record. It’s a beautiful song, and we are so proud to present it as part of this record.



Everyone involved in this project contributed so beautifully and in each in their own unique way. I worked very closely with our drummer Dino Naccarato to develop the appropriate groove and feel of the songs, and Dino also contributed to the development of the arrangements. Ken Yoshioka provided his usual imaginative magic on electric guitar and harmonica. Ken also helped in the development and structure of the vocal harmonies. We employed a trio of brilliant bass players with the aim of giving each song the special groove element that was needed. Christopher Kettlewell plays on the opening track “Time Won’t Let Me”, giving it a subtle jazz-pop element to complement the relatively simple roots-rock foundation of the song. The next four songs are more in the rock arena, with Sault Ste. Marie based bassist, Jon Ferguson, providing an assertive rock n’ roll sensibility to songs that range from moody to psychedelic. And finally, long time Eric & The Soo bassist, Tim Bradford provides the perfect, understated, country-folk groove to “I Am The Universe” which is probably one of the most meaningful songs I’ve ever written. Adding another element of beauty to the sound is Juno Award winning blues pianist and organist, Julian Fauth who seamlessly provides tasteful groove and melody elements throughout. As is always my aim, I truly feel we have created something that is greater than the sum of the parts.

I also want to highlight the incredible work of the behind the scenes production team. A huge slice of the credit goes to mixing engineer John Dinsmore. We’ve been working with John since 2019, and his contributions are nothing short of magical. You can hear it on this record especially, as it is an eclectic mix of richly textured songs. As someone who has heard what the raw inputs sounded like, in contrast to the polished final product, I can tell you that the function of mixing really becomes an artform in John’s hands. You can especially hear this on the song “Easy Misery”, which is a masterclass in mixing and engineering, and I’m so proud of the final result. Credit is also due to mastering engineer Jeff “Fedge” Elliot. Mastering is a bit of a dark art, and much like quantum physics it is not truly understood by anyone, not even the experts. Jeff however comes very close in understanding, as can be heard on this album: the songs sound rich, smooth, creamy, and vibrant, with all of the elements popping, when and where they should. I’m so grateful to be able to work with such talented professionals.

Last but not least, I want to acknowledge the beautiful cover art provided by Montreal based artist, John Naccarato (Dino’s big brother). Upon John’s request, I provided John with early mixes of the songs for inspiration (along with photos provided by Ken Yoshioka), and he internalized and synthesized these elements to provide the fantastic artwork shown here.

I really enjoyed making this record, and I’m so proud of these songs. I hope you like them too.

– Eric

Algoma Street by Eric & The Soo

Spin it on Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3xV76jr
Add it on Apple: https://apple.co/4bG4XpH
Tune in on Tidal: https://bit.ly/3zMleMr
Dig it on Deezer: https://bit.ly/3zRGpfU
Add it on Amazon: https://amzn.to/464Wb3i


Eric Brombacher – Vocals, Acoustic Guitar, Electric Guitar, Piano
Ken Yoshioka – Electric Guitar, Harmonica, Harmony Vocals
Dino Naccarato – Drums & Percussion, Glockenspiel
Julian Fauth – Piano, Organ
Jon Ferguson – Bass Guitar on “Today’s News”, “Human Being”, “I’ve Been Searching”, and “Easy Misery”
Tim Bradford – Bass Guitar & Harmony Vocals on “I Am The Universe”
Christopher Kettlewell – Bass Guitar & Harmony Vocals on “Time Won’t Let Me”

All songs words & music by Eric Brombacher, except “Today’s News (Nothing To Worry About)” words & music by Ken Yoshioka

Produced by Eric Brombacher
Engineered & Mixed by John Dinsmore at Lincoln County Social Club in Toronto
Mastering by Jeff “Fedge” Elliott at Union Sound in Toronto

An Orange Peel Productions Production

Recorded by Eric & The Soo at:
Lauchringen Sounds in Toronto
Dean’s Attic in Toronto
Algoma Street Studios in Toronto
Hotbox Studios in Sault Ste. Marie

Cover Art & Design by John Naccarato
Photography by Ken Yoshioka

(c) 2024 Eastside Confectionery Records

Dreamy, Cinematic, Psychedelic Blues from Eric & The Soo

/ Eric Brombacher / Leave a comment

Introducing “Going To Texas” a new experiment in psychedelic Texas blues originating from the recesses of a slumbering mind. This current experiment represents new territory for Eric & The Soo as they tackle a song that was born in the dreamworld of Eric’s younger brother Mark Brombacher. According to Mark, “the song came to me in a dream, the melody, the words, and even the groove. It was still there upon waking, and well into the next day just bouncing around in my head. I’m not a musician, so I took the song to my brother Eric; I hummed him the melody and the groove, and described my general vision for the song, and he took it to his band and ran with it”. “It was a really exciting challenge to tap into my brother’s mind and bring his dreamy, ethereal creation to reality.” says Eric, “I transposed Mark’s ideas to bass guitar and vocals, and added some extra lyrical bits and musical sections to flesh out the arrangment, Dino Naccarato and Ken Yoshioka added their magic on drums and electric guitar, and before we knew it ‘Going To Texas’ was born!”

Adding to the excitement is that “Going To Texas” is slated to appear in upcoming feature film “A Wicked Muse” which is expected to release in mid 2024. “A Wicked Muse” is a supernatural horror-suspense film written by and starring Mark Brombacher. That’s right, Eric’s little bro is indeed a film maker, actor, producer, screenwriter, and I guess we can now add songwriter to that list. Enjoy “Going To Texas”, add it to your favourite playlist on your favourite streaming platform, and keep an eye out for “A Wicked Muse” in 2024.

Happy Holidays to you and yours!

Spin it on Spotify: https://spoti.fi/487mlCp
Add it on Apple: https://apple.co/47XBWEZ
Tune in on Tidal: https://bit.ly/4a3BUN5
Do it on Deezer: https://bit.ly/47OAK6M

“Going To Texas”
Words & Music by Eric Brombacher & Mark Brombacher

Eric Brombacher – Vocals & Bass Guitar
Ken Yoshioka – Electric Guitars & Vocals
Dino Naccarato – Drums

Produced by Eric Brombacher

An Orange Peel Productions Production

Recorded in Toronto at Lauchringen Sounds, Dean’s Attic, and Algoma Street Studios.

Engineered & Mixed by John Dinsmore at Lincoln County Social Club, Toronto
Mastered by Jeff “Fedge” Elliott at Union Sound, Toronto

Cover Photo by Dino Naccarato

(c) 2021 Eastside Confectionery Records
(p) 2021 Eric Brombacher Music

Cover Songs: Love Is A Rose

/ Eric Brombacher / Leave a comment

Neil Young has been and continues to be a big musical influence to me as a listener and a songwriter.  I don’t think that makes me unique.  I was first exposed to Neil Young through my childhood friend Elwood Morris (aka ‘Woody’), and in fact I’ve documented this in my song “Listening To Neil” on the Small Town Dreamer album.

The first Neil Young album I ever owned was Decade, a ‘greatest hits and near misses’ album.  Back in the days before the internet you would often hear (and love) songs on the radio without knowing who the artist was or sometimes even what the song was called.  So it was always fun to pick up a new album and then find those songs.  I was thrilled to learn that ‘Heart Of Gold’ was on the album, as my Dad would always proudly crank that song on the car radio when it came on.  There were plenty of other songs on the CD that I’d heard before and it got me to thinking ‘hey this Neil guy’s pretty good!’.

It was also really fun to discover new songs, and two that stuck out to me after the first two or three listens were ‘Tired Eyes’ and ‘Love Is A Rose’.  ‘Tired Eyes’ because it was so raw, and unusual with almost spoken-word kind of delivery; not quite rap, but not quite singing either.   ‘Love Is A Rose’ also had a very raw feel, recorded with a standup bass and acoustic guitar (and dirty harmonica) sounding like it was knocked off in one take (it probably was).

What’s strange about ‘Love Is A Rose’ is that it was never officially released other than on Decade (making it one of several ‘near misses’ on this compilation).  It’s an outtake from the never released ‘Homegrown’ sessions.  Some of those unreleased works did end up on other albums: you can find ‘Star of Bethlehem’ and ‘Homegrown’ on American Stars n’ Bars, but others like ‘Love Is A Rose’ and ‘Deep Forbidden Lake’ only ever found a home on Decade.

Linda Ronstadt (who had sung harmonies on ‘Heart Of Gold’) picked up on the song and recorded it herself.  I suspect she drawn in by the great hooky melody and the playful (but oddly piercing) lyrics; “you lose your love when say the word ‘mine’ “.  This version of the song was released on Ronstadt’s Prisoner In Disguise album in 1975.  Interestingly, Linda’s release of this song predates Neil’s, whose own version was finally released on Decade in 1977.

I’m usually not a fan of cover songs, but Ms. Ronstadt and co. do such a great job on this one.  Whereas Neil’s version is raw and simple (and beautiful), Linda’s version is much more produced and unabashedly countrified.  It has it all:  banjos, harmonica, violins, three part harmonies, a decidedly solid (almost plodding) drumbeat and finally a nice a capella section.  It is so well produced that it comes dangerously close to being ‘cheesy’ and in fact, after my first listen I hated it!  But I gave it another try, with an open mind, and I’ve come to really enjoy it.  Two very different approaches to the same song and I think both work equally well.

Have a listen … and see if you agree!