Eric Frampton Interview

Hey guys.
So I had the pleasure of getting to interview Eric Frampton. A lot of you might not know him, but he did the piano work on the album "My Kung Fu Is Good", which I've mentioned before. Go check it out if you haven't. It's underrated, but really is a beautiful album. He also didn't just play piano, he did the  synthesizers, hammond, and string arrangements. Along with some keyboard stuff. So he did a lot of cool things on that album.   Hope you enjoy the interview.


So first off, thank you for taking the time to chat with me. I really appreciate it. 

"Hi MJ. Thanks for inviting me."

I first wanted to ask, how did you get into music?

"Well, I started playing piano when I was five, and I got into electronic stuff really early on as a kid, so I guess it was just a matter of time before all that came together."

Who were your influences and how have they helped you form your style?

"They’re from kind of all over the place. As a kid it would’ve been The Who, Yes, Rick Wakeman’s solo records, show tunes, and some classical music. Definitely Wendy Carlos’ work in there as well. Then as a teenager I discovered Chick Corea, Stevie Wonder, Howard Jones, Thomas Dolby, Lyle Mays, and Pat Metheny. My dad’s a concert pianist and arranger, so I’ve certainly picked up bits and pieces from him too. I’m classically trained, so everything inevitably has to filter through that sieve."

What was your mindset when you got into the music business? Did you know exactly want you wanted to do and accomplish?

"I got into it by default. I really don’t know any better, and every time I start looking for a way out of it I seem to get drawn back in. I’m not one of those folks who’s hyper-driven to a specific goal. Things seem to land in my lap, and I make the best of them that I know how."

I want to talk about Rich Ward. What was your relationship like with him? 

"Rich and I met through a mutual friend, Sean Delson, who played with Rich for many years. Sean kept saying we’d get along famously, and sure enough when we finally got in the same room and started working together it seemed really natural. It was a highly creative time, and a fun hang to boot.

Rich and I ran into each other at the airport last year, each headed out on separate transatlantic flights for separate shows, and it felt like we picked right up where we’d left off the last time we’d seen each other. We hadn’t talked in years. We sat there and talked for so long that we almost missed our flights."

How long did you know Sean Delson? Were you friends/partners at all before you both worked with Rich Ward?

"I know Sean through our band Agent Cooper. Sean was already friends with Doug (singer/songwriter/guitarist in Agent Cooper) from childhood, and he’s a brilliant musician, so it made perfect sense for him to jump in and start making proggy noises with us. We hit it off immediately - his sardonic wit is the stuff of legend. My memory is fuzzy on the exact timeline, so I had to go back to my old calendars: it looks like Sean joined us in 2000 or so, and my first notes about my working with Rich are from January, 2005."

I also want to talk about your work on "My Kung Fu Is Good". I really enjoyed it. What was the process for that album like?

"Thank you! I really don’t remember a whole lot of the specifics about it, but the takeaway is that it was fun, positive, and super creative in a sense of batting ideas around a room and not being afraid to run with them, no matter how ridiculous they might be. I’m really proud of the work we did on that record.

Rich tends to do his production work by himself, so he’d bring a hard disk full of song files to my studio, where I had my collection of vintage keyboards set up, and we’d start listening to the various songs or pieces of songs he was working on. Some of it would be fairly complete and he would have pretty specific ideas of what he wanted to hear, and some of it was still kind of early along, so we’d sit there and work out the ideas together. Very often I’d come up with a keyboard part or sound or something for some unfinished bit, then Rich would use his editing magic and come back with that part dropped into some completely different song in some utterly unexpected spot, and make it work even more effectively than what I was hearing in the first place. So he’d bring these new edits back to me with other things he’d added in the meantime, and we’d build up the layers that way."

Did you enjoy working with Rich?

"I had a brilliant time and would love to work with him again someday."

Have you been working on anything lately? 

"Honestly, not really. My wife and I moved to Charleston, South Carolina back in February, and my studio has been in storage since then. Not having all my cool toys at hand has been a little frustrating. But I’ve been out on the road as a keyboard tech (the other hat I wear) for the past month or so, so I haven’t had a whole lot of time to think about it."

Looking back on all you've done and accomplished, are you satisfied with how your career has gone? Or is there still stuff you want to accomplish?

"You’re very kind to say that because, in my mind, I’m only trying to earn a living the best way I know how and, on the good days, have some fun while I’m at it. When I took the flying leap in 1996 to quit my day job and attempt to make a living by making music (or by fixing broken things), I didn’t really have a goal except to pay my bills and earn enough to occasionally buy new toys. So if that’s one’s definition of success - meeting your responsibilities and enjoying what you while you’re meeting them - then I’ve succeeded, and I guess I ought to be satisfied.

That said, still to accomplish? Well, I’ve never had a high-profile playing gig, like an arena-level act that could keep me on retainer or something, and that would be nice. And I’d like to think I could co-write or produce a hit song or two, and I’ve never done that. Someday I’d like to make enough to buy my own grand piano for the house, and those don’t come cheap. I could go on, but the bottom line is today, I’m still a musician (or sometimes a technician), and I still get to make a living creating notes out of thin air, one way or another."

Again, big thanks to Eric Frampton for taking the time to do this interview. I really enjoyed it and i hope you did too. Again, if you haven't checked out Eric's work on the album "My Kung Fu Is Good", I highly recommend it. Also you can check out Eric's website at  www.ericframpton.com.
Thanks for reading.