Eric Gales

Eric Gales has rescheduled his 2021 UK tour to February 2022. The tour follows the release of his album ‘The Bookends’ via Provogue/Mascot Label Group earlier in 2019. The album features collaborations with B. Slade, Doyle Bramhall II and Beth Hart.

Tickets for all dates are on sale via www.thegigcartel.com. Previously bought tickets for all shows are still valid. Customers unable to attend the rescheduled date should contact their original point of purchase for a refund.

Special guest on all shows is the critically acclaimed British Blues rock guitarist Danny Bryant. Hailed as “A National Blues Treasure,” Bryant recently released his 11^th studio album ‘Means of Escape’ via Jazzhaus Records to great fanfare.

The challenge for making ‘The Bookends’ was for Gales to challenge himself. “As a guitar player it’s been established that I can play a little bit, just a little bit,” he smiles. But for this album he not only wanted to push himself as a musician, but also as a vocalist, to build up his vocal discography. “What spearheaded that was the artists that I have on the record,” he says.

Written over a nine month period, the album was recorded at Recorded at Studio Delux, Van Nuys, California, The Dog House, Woodland Hills, California, Blakeslee Recording, North Hollywood and the day before he was due to fly to LA for pre-production the original producer David Bianco tragically died. It was Bianco’s management who then suggested Matt Wallace. “I heard his work and the kind of people he has produced such as Maroon 5, Faith No More and all these cats. When we met up together it was just perfect. I just trusted the guy and it ended up being great, I love Matt Wallace,” says Gales.

Three-time Grammy-nominated and Emmy Award winning vocalist B. Slade appears on two songs, ‘Something’s Gotta Give’ and bonus track ‘Pedal to the Metal.’  “When he came in during pre-production and we were writing, it was so intense. At first, I was a little afraid to sing in front of this guy, because this is what this dude does, he’s a phenomenal person and he just brought it out of me,” he says before continuing. “I don’t know if he was really aware of who I was before we met, but the day that he walked in and he heard the songs, his mind was blown. That was before he even saw me playing guitar, so when he saw me playing, he said ‘in my life I ain’t never seen nobody that can play like this.’”

The notions of change (‘Reaching for a Change’, ‘Somebody Lied’) and love (‘How Do I Get You’, ‘Whatcha Gon’ Do’) are throughout the album. On ‘Something’s Gotta Give’, Slade’s and Gales vocals take turns to yearn “I tell ya people have lost their mind, happy children so hard to find, desolation all in the streets, plenty babies don’t have food to eat, hey, I ain’t preaching, that’s not my thang, I just know we’ve got to make a change.” ‘It Just Beez That Way’ features Gales beatboxing and playing slide guitar on record for the first time.

Talking about being in the studio he elaborates; “The whole vocal thing was something I consciously wanted to push and Matt was on the same page, saying, ‘there’s gonna be sometimes you might not like me because I’m gonna push you because I feel that I know what you can do, and its more than just guitar playing’. It was just really powerful and moving.”

Doyle Bramhall II and Gales’ friendship dates back to the 1990s and Eric Clapton’s right-hand man features on the triumphant ‘Southpaw Serenade’, while powerhouse vocalist Beth Hartjoins Gales on a rousing rendition of ‘With A Little Help from My Friends.’ “Why that song? Well we both have similar stories,” he says. “We’re survivors you know, drug addiction and her from depression. If you’ve got the right support and you can have help from your friends, it will all be awesome. It is such a powerful piece.”

Previous album ‘Middle of the Road’, was released in February 2017 and reached #1 on the iTunes Blues chart and #4 on the Billboard Blues chart. It made Classic Rock Magazine and Total Guitar albums of the year with the latter saying it was “the album that should define his career.” Classic Rock said “the notes drip from Gales’ fretboard like warm honey”, The Guitar Magazine exclaimed it’s the “the injection of danger and unpredictability that the blues-rock scene desperately needs”, Blues Matters professed “truly the man is blessed”, whilst Powerplaysaid “the more you listen to it the more the brilliance of Eric Gales becomes apparent.”

Since then he has toured almost non-stop; playing shows with Gary Clark Jr., Beth Hart, Gov’t Mule and called through Australia, Argentina, Chile, US and Europe - including the Rockin’ The Blues run with Gary Hoey, Quinn Sullivan and Lance Lopez. He played his first ever headline tour in the UK and Ireland to sold out crowds, took a starring role as part of Supersonic Blues Machine at the UK’s Ramblin’ Man Fair and also found time to play a one-off reunion show as The Eric Gales Band.  This is not to mention his collaborations with funk royalty Bootsy Collins (‘Worldwide Funk’), The Apocalypse Blues Revue (Shannon Larkin/Tony Rombola of Godsmack) and Supersonic Blues Machine (‘Californisoul’).

It’s no wonder why he is the guitarists’ favourite guitarist, counting fans in the likes of Carlos Santana, Dave Navarro (Jane’s Addiction, Red Hot Chili Peppers), Mark Tremonti (Alter Bridge), Joe Bonamassa, Tony Rombola (Godsmack) and Tosin Abasi (Animals as Leaders).

Gales’ story is an incredible one, he was a child prodigy and released his debut album The Eric Gales Band in 1991 as a 16-year-old on Elektra Records. It was the first of 10 albums on a major label through a blistering career. He has released 15 studio albums in total ahead of ‘The Bookends’ and a host of other collaborations. He has battled drink and drug issues and spent time in jail in 2009 for possession of drugs and a weapon. Gales proudly tells his story every night before every show, now over two years sober he is creating some of the most breath-taking music he has ever made. Talking about his approach to song writing in this time he reflects. “I guess the songs would answer the question more or less, I definitely don’t have anything clouding my view and it’s definitely a much purer place where its coming from.” 

If ‘Middle of the Road’ was the rebirth of Eric Gales, then ‘The Bookends’ is him knocking away his boundaries and taking flight on a voyage of self-discovery asking himself what do you think you can do and pushing that into the stratosphere.

“It’s still a revelation to hear his late-period bloom. These songs could be crossover hits” 

–  Classic Rock 8/10

“You’re in for a rockin’ ride.” –  Guitarist 10/10

“From the opening Whammy Pedal fuelled notes of The Bookends, Gales affirms that he is one of the most capable and exciting guitarists on the planet.” –  Guitar Techniques 5/5

“He remains one of the most devastating blues guitarists on the planet” – The Guitar Magazine

“It’s a dazzling recording that’s pure class from the opening notes to the ending silence” 

–  Fireworks