News Page. Keep updated on where to be!

03/22/08: Damn! Big fish of the year is now 2nd big fish of the year! Got beaten yeasterday by a 678lbs Marlin. Damn!

03/15/08: Ok folks, first entry since last years tour ended. What the hell have I been doing? Well the picture on the right ought to give you an idea. After focusing exclusively on music for the year, it's nice to get back to my boat guy roots, at least for a couple of months. I've been driving a fishing boat 65 hours a week and as of this entry have the biggest fish in Maui county (so far anyway).

Well it's that time of year again to begin putting the new tour together. Thank you all who have already sent me dates that you'd like. I'll be getting to most of the same places as last year and I'll be adding a few more places. Of course there are a few I won't be coming back to. One of the unfortunate things about this tour is that the prices will be slightly higher due to rediculous gas prices. I was considering not touring at all for that reason but it's always great getting out there so I'm trying what I can. If you're interested in a particular date send me an email so I can put together a rough idea of how to get accross the country. As always I'll be starting in northern CA and working my way east. My new press materials should be ready in about 2 weeks or so (I'm waiting on the new tour posters and a couple other things). It looks like Memorial Day weekend will be the first shows of the tour and I'm not sure how long the rest will last.

Aaaaaand it looks like I finally figured out how to use the photo gallery so I should be able to get some damn pictures posted. It's been about 2 years since I had any. Hope fully I should have that done today.

11/04/07: Home sweet home! I'm home rested and back to work. Thank you all for making this year's another successful tour! I'm back at Cool Cats, and back on the water. I'll be playing every Sunday and Wednesday from 7:30-10 (same as last year). For those who I took whale watching in the past, I won't be working for that company anymore, but I should still be able to get you a discount. I'll be Captain / Deckhand for Start Me Up sport fishing all winter, so if you're into big game fishing let me know! In the mean time Ill trying to get my tan back...

10/09/07: Even a blind squirrel finds a nut now and again! My parts came in today and (holy crap) they're the right ones! So after laying in the hotel parking lot for an hour and a half, I'm back in business. The whole ordeal only wound up costing me about $350 and some headaches but it could have been worse. Tomorrow morning I shove off on the road again. So see you all this weekend.

10/08/07: I swear, you people won't believe this. My transmission started slipping in Amarillo TX last year, right after my OKC show and right before my last big weekend of Pueblo, Albuquerque, and Scottsdale. So I just left Amarillo and now I'm shipwrecked in the middle of BFE Texas with nothing but tumbleweeds and a busted waterpump. So I have 3 days to get to my thursday show in Pueblo CO. The new pump should be here tomorrow (that's what they say) and as usual, it'll probably be the wrong one. So after I go through this tomorrow and reorder the 2nd one I may just barely make it to the show on Thursday. I wish you could see the town I'm in right now (Dalhart TX). Between the train depot accross the street, the damn flys, and the smell of cow shit, I just may go nuts yet. I can't even begin to get into the events that got me to this hotel last night. I'm working on the story right now. It's one that'll make you think. For those of you worried about the shows this weekend, I'm pretty sure I'll make it by then. Fingers crossed...

09/23/07: A couple of you wanted to know if I survived the canoe trip. Yes, I did, and with out more than a couple of contusions here and there. Realistically I should have been working because now I'm extremely broke but what can you do? There are more shows up on the schedule page and I'm basically making a screwy bee line for home. Stopping here and there to pay for gas along the way. I should be home by the 22nd or so and then it's back to the Cool Cat Cafe and the boats. If you want to put a show together before I get home, now's the time.

09/07/07: I forgot to mention that I will be in a canoe in the woods of NY from Sept 9th until the 15th and won't be able to call anyone or check my email. I'll try to get everything taken care of before I leave.

09/05/07: If anyone has been trying to call me I haven't had decent cell reception for a while so I apologize. As my newest song says "I think I've been on the road too long". For whatever reason I'm having a hell of a time getting booked after August. So here's the potential town schedule for the rest of the tour. If you're somewhere near my plans let's put a show together. Here we go: Sept 21-22 PA, Sept 28-29 IN, Oct 1-2-3 TN, Oct 11 CO, Oct 12-13 NM-AZ, Oct 19-20 CA, Oct 26-27 WA. This is a rough draft. If you think you can fit anything in, Let me know. Anything after the Seattle dates will be back home. So drop me a line.

08/20/07: Aloha all. I'm relaxing in Scranton Iowa for a couple of days after two pretty fun shows. Incidentally, if anyone is experiencing a drought, you can hire me for an outside show and the more involved you get with the set up, the more rain you will get. Enough said. I'm enjoying the hell out of farm life out here (I've seen more killing in the past few days...). The quote of the day came from farmer Troy: "...sometimes the bulls break their dicks, then you have to chop their heads off". I'm still rolling from that one. After two big catfish, a two pound bass and the biggest crappie I've ever caught, it's apparently beer time again. Cans - no bottles.

Now for the schedule. I know Sept doesn't look like much right now, but there are a bunch of things in the works. I think I'll be heading home right before Halloween. Just about the same as last year. Coming up... NY, NJ, PA, IN, OK, CO, NM, AZ, CA, and finally Seattle (you've been asking for that one for a while). So I won't be playing at the Jimmy Buffett show in Honolulu this time. Tell him I said hi.

08/8/07: A week without cell service so far and I'm going nuts. After some wild shows in Cincy and Alpine, I lost my voice for a few days and got sicker than hell for a week. Seems I get sick at least once during the tour. And god knows there is no better place to be sick than in strange hotels in stranger towns. It's been hell getting better as the bars up here don't have windows but do have smoking and indoor fish frys. My trailer smells terrific! Alaska seems to have fallen through for this year but I'll be back next year for sure. So now I'll be working my way east and back down south for the trip home. I know Jimmy is coming apparently in October to Hawaii, but I won't be home by then I think. I'll be booking the PA, NY, NJ areas for the beginning of Sept. Hopefully I can finally get a show in my hometown for once. Also you can see a bunch of pics from the Alpine shows here http://www.angelfire.com/pro2/lee_ecker/Buffett2007.html

07/10/07: Well trying to book a tour without cell reception is proving to be a pain in the ass. Apparently every campground and state park in Michigan has some sort of lead force field around it that phone calls can't penetrate. I'm trying to get a confirmation on the Minneapolis bookings so I can get the Alaska bookings so I can plan the end of the tour. Sort of can't do one with out the other. So for the MN people, I should be up there in the beginning of August some time. I'm working on it.

07/04/07: You people are NOT going to f-ing believe this!!! I just got a phone call from EVANSVILLE IN, yes, the same one, SOMEONE JUST FOUND MY STOLEN LAPTOP BAG WITH THE COMPUTER AND ALL OF THE CONTACT INFORMATION / PAPERWORK / EVERYTHING! I seriously can't freaking believe this. So my friends in Evansville (Whitney- pres. of the Lower Ohio Valley parrotheads) are going to pick it up within the hour. Again, unfreaking believeable! The shit that happens to me. They found me because of my little spiral notebook with everyone's contact info (on the back I had written "If you find this contact me etc...). So now I think I'm going to write that on everything I own, including my van. The only downside of course is that I just bought another $2200 computer. What can you do? This just happened as I was about to make updates and I'm just amazed. Not sure if it was the password on the computer or what but someone just gave up and put the computer outside somewhere. So thank you to Angie Pickerill and her honest nephew from Evansville IN for getting in touch with me and getting the computer back. There are a few more honest people out there!

Aside from all of my excitement this morning, HAPPY 4th of JULY EVERYONE!!! Don't drink and drive and most importantly don't forget all of our boys waking up ducking in a shitty desert somewhere eating dehydrated crap out of a plastic bag!

06/29/07: The Bastards Got Me Again!!! Well, the tour started out smooth enough (very un-Erik like) until I got ROBBED IN EVANSVILLE IN. Yes, while I was unloading for the show, someone got in my van and grabbed my computer bag. Yes the brand new Mac I just got at the end of the last tour is gone. As if that wasn't bad enough, every piece of contact info for eveyone I've seen for the last four years is also gone. That, and my check book, phone, $1000 worth of checks all of my office materials and a bunch of cash. So right now I feel like banging my head on something sharp. I just got my new new computer today and I'm scrambling to update all of the shows ect. This time the slacking wasn't my fault. Anyway there are a bunch of show updates now and I'm working on more. I should be in Alaska at the end of August again and after that I will be heading east until I hit the water where I'll turn around and head southwest.

Next, any one feel like being in charge of setting up my myspace page? I just don't physically have the time to do it. I can send you the pictures and stuff that you need. Unfortunately I can't really pay you but you'll get free Whaleshark stuff (Cds etc). Just shoot me an email.

06/14/07: Finally out of California! There should be a few more shows appearing on the schedule in the next week. For the MN and SD people, I'll be coming through the first 2 weeks in August so this time it had better be warm! Right now I'm working on AK (Alaska, for those who didn't pay attention in geography) from the 3rd weekend on. Then I'm heading back east (NY, PA, NJ).

05/26/07: And the tour begins... Just landed in CA and am going through the tour van trying to put everything back where it goes. I tried to hit the gym today and realized I don't have any shoes (or socks for that matter). So the first couple of weeks of the tour are always a mess. There are a bunch of updates on the schedule to give you all an idea of where I'll be for the next few months. I always say this, but the updates should be coming a bit more often.

04/06/07: Well, I'm back from my extended "vacation". It's now time for the 07 tour to get underway. Busy busy. I'm now putting together this year's route through the US. If there are any out of the way special requests, now is the time to send an email (thewhaleshark@yahoo.com). I should be coming back to most of the places I went last year (at least those who I haven't pissed off). By this afternoon I should have the 07 tour schedule posted. Until I actually have shows booked, I'm just going to put where I estimate I'll be. Might actually put a gallery together this year!

01/20/07: Ocean 1, cell phone 0. Happy new year every one! And thank you to you all who sent me Chistmas cards and pictures and such. I just dropped my phone into the deep again and won't be phony until Wed or so. More importantly I lost 200 phone numbers. If I talk to you reglarly (Troy, Jim, Christina, Marcus, Lloyd, Lefty, Cosmic Kate, Becky, Lane, etc) (You know who you are), email me or call me and leave your #. Somewhere around Feb 15th I'll be starting the initial email about the new tour for this year. Lloyd, let me know if it's still the third week in August for Dutch harbor!

12/09/06: Aloha all. Yes, I disappeared again (happens everytime I get home). I've been busy putting the boats back together trying to get ready for whale season. I haven't even gotten to be Captain Erik yet. It seems everything related to me mechanically has shit itself in the last 2 months. The tour ended with a $5800 transmission repair (yes $5800) so note to self; no more foreign cars for me. I think I'll buy a bus next time! But I got home safely only to put one boat together while the other one's engine was cooked by one of our Captains! So it's been mechanic Erik since I've been home. I've been playing more than I expected since I've been back. It's now Sun and Wed at Cool Cat Cafe, Mondays at Lahaina Coolers (where I met Bert McBreeze), and every now and again at a new place on front st called Zuihao (I have to be super clean here - quite different). Well I'll be updating soon. Alooooooooha!

10/30/06: Well, still shipwrecked, sort of... I tend to write a lot when I fly and right now I'm on my way back to Scottsdale from Oakland to hopefully pick up my van tomorrow. They of course couldn't find parts for MY particular van, so I had to fly up north for the Modesto and Oakdale shows this weekend. It was of course fun as always up there. My van should be ready by lunchtime tomorrow and then I head back up north. ONE MORE SHOW!!! It seemed as if this tour would never end but I now have 8 days left. The last show is up somewhere near the Oregon border and I found out today I can completely avoid San Fransisco on my way up there! Well I must be brain dead at the moment as I can't think of anything else. I hope to see all of you at my house this winter!

10/23/06: Shipwrecked in Scottsdale... Well as much as I tried to baby my slipping transmission, it finally went out on me 20 miles north of Phoenix. (Thank you Jay for coming up to get me and my trailer. I was only about 1/2 hour late for the show). Most importantly, the Walnut Creek show at Tiki Tom's is cancelled on 10/24. The van is up in the air getting worked on as I type this and should be ready to roll on thursday night. So the Modesto / Oakdale shows will go on even if I have to fly up there and find equipment somehow. It's always something. My sincere apologies to anyone who inevitably shows up on Tuesday. I'll try to make it up to you guys somehow. Two weeks from today the tour ends and I finally get back home!

9/18/06: Today I've spent the last 6 hours on the phone and there are are bunch of new shows booked including Kansas, Oklahoma, Arizona, and California. Take a look and see if I'll be near you. I'm still working on Texas and possibly New mexico to break up a long drive. I'm smelling the end of the tunnel... but then it may be my feet. I don't know how all of you wear shoes all the time!

9/17/06: Just finished up the big Tomahawk Fall ride. So far it's the most bikers I have ever seen in one place. Quite amazing actually. The show was kind of distracting. Somewhere between the big mechanical dinosaur eating old cars and shooting fire to my left, and the drunk biker girl yelling "shut up and play you motherf-er" about 100 times, I managed to pull off some songs. I had to dig deep into my redneck rock bag of songs though. Looks like I'm going home on Nov 7, so if you're heading out to the islands, I'll be there. I should be back to my normal Monday and Thursday nights at Cool Cats within the week or so.

9/05/06: Aloha all, just landed back in the lower 48 after 10 days traveling all over Alaska (for those of you who thought Ak was Arkansas). Right before I left for AK my lovely Dell laptop's motherboard crapped out and I was forced to pick up a new computer (MAC this time). The problem with the new computer was that all of my website / photo programs were on the PC. So I had to have some one go into my Maui attic, find the operating disk and ship it far enough ahead that I'd be sure to get it (Alaska). Long story short, I've had no phone and sporadic (to say the least) internet service while in the boonies. This is the first chance I've had to update.
That said, here's the new scoop. There are a month's worth of new shows on the tour pages, including MN, SD, ND, and WI. I've decided to finish this year's tour at the end of October in Northern CA. In the beginning of Oct I would like to get to Iowa, Oklahoma, and Colorado. For the northern CA people, you will be determining how soon I get up there. If you'd like a show before the tour ends, please email me asap. I'm figuring on one week in NorCal but I'll stay as long you all want me up there. Come Nov, I'm going home and getting some sun!
As soon as Oct is booked, I'll be going full steam ahead on the potential Iraq / Afganistan tour, so keep looking for leads! Email me with any questions. Oh and yes, the pics are still coming!

7/27/06: Finally got the sound clips page finished! Next I want update the Newsletter (and eventually continue writing). I just ordered the program for the picture galleries (I'll get that in August). So much for my 4 days off!

7/26/06: Well it was touch and go this morning. Completely screwed my site up. However, thanks to Maury my web page genious in Maui we got it fixed. That, and I figured out those song clips (got first cd done). Check it out!

7/25/06: Lots of news today. First, no I didn't win the Showdown. That whole event was a complete unorganized joke. Had I not flown that far for it, I would have asked for my entry fee back before the show started. Now, I never intended to win anything due to the nature of my music (I came out for my Modesto peeps), but there was supposed to be actual record company people around and judging the contest (Not a NASCAR driver). Second, let's hear it for the worst goddamned sound company that has ever put a show together. I should have just hooked a bullhorn up to my ass instead. Third, I thought it was a talent contest and not a karaoke contest. Out of 17 "acts" there were 3 bands, 2 of us with guitars and 4 original songs (I played 2). The rest sang karaoke cover songs. That's why American Idol is so stupid. OK, enough of that...

So now I'm sitting in Bowling Green Kentucky waiting for Friday's show and enjoying my first few days off. That one hour of sleep, flight back to Nashville, and subsequent show in Paris TN (great crowd by the way), was pretty brutal. I slept until 4 in the afternoon the next day. Then I ate dinner and went back to sleep. I'll be here all week in this hotel hopefully working on the website (sound clips and such).

Last thing for today, I want to get overseas and play for my boys in those shitholes in Iraq and Afganistan. Some of you don't know that I was in the Marine Corps for 5 years in the early 90's. Well I'd like to get out there and make a few of them crack up for a while. If any of you know who I contact directly (yes I know about the USO, but who exactly)let me know. Once I get in, I'll send some letters and press kits to my old squadrons. I'm serious about this, and I'd like to do it this winter. That's your assignment! The sound clips I think I've got wired.

7/11/06: Huge amount of show updates. Ok, so a couple. The big news is that a few of my maniacs entered me in a country music contest in Merced CA on July 20th and somehow I was one of the few who was picked. Go to www.colgatecountryshowdown.com for the details. Long story short, first prize is $100,000 and contract in Nashville. Not sure how I'll go over (kind of like American Idol for hillbilly's) but it'll be fun. I'll be playing a one nighter in Modesto the next night then back to Nashville.

Also for my Southern fans, I've got 2 shows at the Cheeseburger in Paradise in Atlanta. I got the sound clips thing worked out and should have them any time now.

6/29/06: Ok now that I finally got the new cd released, I can take care of some other nagging things. If anyone knows how to make song clips (not post them, I can do that) with any of these programs - I-tunes-Real Player-Media Player-Music Match- I would love to know how. Can't seem to figure it out. I need to make about 5 song clips per CD to put on the site. If, however, anyone wants to do this (can't really pay you but I can send free stuff) let me know. I'll tell you the songs and the times and then I need them in MP3 format and sent to me somehow. Then I can start to work on the picture pages. Thanks!

6/22/06: It's finally here! The day I thought would never come! A Hard Lesson finally arrived! What else do I have to say today, It's here!

6/21/06: Oh, I forgot. NORTH EAST COAST PEOPLE! Need a couple more shows this year for the first two weeks of August!

6/20/06: Sitting here 30 miles outside of Detroit getting ready for tonight's show and trying to take care of business. The main question du jour? Where in the hell is the new record? It's killing me! I'm ever so slightly pissed off at my production company right now as I'm playing all of these shows whose whole purpose was to push the new CD. I've been patient (and so have you Modesto people who paid me in advance!). I just booked Alaska again and this time I'm looking to spend about 2 weeks up there. Those of you who know me think I'm completely nuts of course. But I don't even have to bring clothes for that trip. I just wear all of them that I have at the same time! Worked last year! Seriously, I'll get those records in the mail the day I get them!

6/13/06: Ok the tour is well underway. I'm up in Michigan right now keeping it all together getting ready for a few shows this weekend. I just talked to the CD production company today and it should be shipped out to me at the end of the week. So those of you who bought an advance copy, I will ship them to you the day I get them. I promise! If you think you're anxious to get a copy, how do you think I feel! East coast people... I coming out to you next!

05/25/06: Well it's almost here! The new CD "A Hard Lesson" is finally in production and should be ready for purchase in a few days or so. I know it's been taking forever and once again I'm on a crazy deadline. I'm on a plane again and it seems this is where I get most of my work done. This years first newletter is being worked on right now (yes I'm bringing that back). I just switched to dreamweaver for my website design and I feel pretty ignorant of how the whole thing works and it'll probably take half the tour to figure this whole thing out. Speaking of this years tour season, thanks to all of you who are helping me out with the far away bookings. I'm hitting the road on my own this year and it's a bit nerve racking. And once again, wait until you read the story. By the end of the week you should be able to order the new record (they will all ship out on the day I get them). Looking forward to seeing all of you again! Aloha!

04/30/06: The 2006 tour season is now posted for what I have so far. Looks like June will be Wisconsin and Michigan and the general area. Memorial Day weekend will most likely be Northern CA but I don't have the dates confirmed in stone yet. The big question... the new CD will go to production on Wed or Thurs and it will be available to order as soon as it goes off in the mail. I should have them 2 weeks later. Talk to you soon.

03/27/06: Good news! I was doing some cleaning the other day and found 19 more copies of "Tales From the Whaleshark" (my first CD). Those are now available until I sell out, or until the new shipment gets here. As it goes, I'm one song shy of my parts being done on the new record! I'm bringing in a few more musicians for the rest and we should be mixing next week!

03/22/06: Well here are the updates so far... The new record is almost-ish finished. I love it so far. This is by far going to be the best thing I've put out. I still have no idea what it's going to be called or what the cover will look like. Better get a crackin. Just a little bit longer... I'm working on a page to give you all the rough outline of the tour. I have a few dates in stone so far. The California people with tour date ideas - get ready. Colorado on Memorial Day weekend may still be in the works but I'll probably be in northern CA for that weekend. I'll know in a week or so (ehem Chad...). Then it's off to Alpine Valley Wisconsin for the big Jimmy B show the weekend of June 10th.

02/01/06: Aloha everyone. For starters, yes I’m still alive (though at times it seems just barely). As some of you have noticed, the updates haven’t exactly been coming steadily. The last update is posted as May of last year. I lost the ones up to October 05 when the site was changed. The updates should be coming along regularly now though. You may have noticed I seem to have fallen off the face of the earth for the last couple of months and for all practical purposes I have. There were some broken things that I needed to attend to and some other things I needed to get away from. All said and done, I’m doing a lot better these days and am now ready to start gearing up for the tour this year. The new record hasn’t been started yet (I know I know) but the new recording studio I’m using hasn’t been finished up until now. I’m currently in Pennsylvania right now taking care of some things but should be back in Maui on Friday, and back in the studio next week all ready to go.

As far as the tour goes, I’m now starting to think of where I’ll be this year and when. Some of you I have already committed to for parties etc. and in a few weeks I’ll have a rough idea of when I’ll be in your area. I haven’t decided on new management yet, so for the time being I’ll be doing all the booking myself (should be interesting). For those of you who have sent emails and cards and received nothing back yet, I apologize. I will be going through all of my emails this week and trying to respond to everyone.

Last but not least, I will be playing in Maui every Monday and Thursday nights from 7:30-10 at the Cool Cat Café in Lahaina (808-667-0908) until I leave the island for the 2006 Party Like a Pirate Tour. Sorry if I missed any of you in the last few weeks. Well look forward to more updates from now on. I’m back and ready for round 4.

Aloha, Erik.

Old News...

1/09/03 - 6/07/03

6/18/03 - 1/22/04

2/13/04 - 7/27/04

8/16/04 - 5/10/05