The French Troubadours: Tété, Eric John Kaiser

Guitar and vocal duo (French and English repertory

Photo Credits: Lisa Roze (Tété) et Stephanie Wells (Eric John Kaiser)

Part of Francophonie Month

“Described as “terribly human”, Tété’s music blends the pop, folk and blues based on influences that shaped his early musical life.”
“It could be the West Indian blood running in his veins, or the Beatles heritage he grew up listening to that has formed Tété’s distinctive sound.”
Australian Press

"As an urban troubadour, Eric John Kaiser surfs the musical vibes of Paris, Portland, Australia, Hong Kong, and many other oceans along the way. He is also probably the only Parisian expatriate, and fresh Portlander, sporting a unique folk/rock/funk sound paired with both French and English lyrics.”
The Oregonian

The Performers

A native of Paris, Eric John Kaiser has French and American dual nationality. Fascinated by music, he began his career with his former group, Melt, which he led before launching a solo career. His universe is urban folk music inspired by Neil Young, Dylan, Manu Chao and the Stones.
Eric John Kaiser was discovered by Philippe Katerine and contributed to the chorus on his album Robots après tout [Robots after All]. In the same year, with his album in his bag, he set out in conquest of the American West. He currently lives in Portland (the hometown of The Shins, The Dandy Warhols and Pink Martini) on the West Coast of the U.S.

 Eric John Kaiser has performed more than 500 times in the past five years. Sailing around from continent to continent with his guitar under his arm, this emerging artist has toured in France, Australia, Hong Kong, Ireland, Canada and, of course, the U.S. This "French troubadour” sings in French for his captivated American audiences.
Coming off this success, Eric John gave a one-of-a-kind concert in Paris in April 2008, which kicked off his great American summer tour with Tété called La Fête de la musique comes to America Tour, which was a true success!
At the end of summer 2008, Eric John Kaiser was discovered by the Stereophonics, and acted as their warm-up band at the Wonder Ballroom in front of a crowd of 1,500.

Tété arrived in Paris in 1988 and started off with his first pop-folk scales in the streets, café terraces, and bars, thereby perpetuating the spirit of “songwriters” rather than the griots of his native Dakar. His musical inspiration comes from Mississippi delta blues, like the Beatles, Bob Dylan, Bob Marley and Jimi Hendrix.
Le sacre des Lemmings et autres contes de la lisière [The Coronation of the Lemmings and Other Tales from the Edge], his latest album released in October 2008, was inspired by the strange phenomenon of lemmings, the small rodents who massly die after multiplying exponentially. Based on this phenomenon, Tété performs 12 songs which draw parallels with other mammals whose behavior might threaten the durability of the group.

Tété signed an opus which combines both his love for acoustic moods and nicely subversive texts which can be read on several levels, between lucid optimism and profound conviction. With pop-folk-bluesy rhythms, Tété has met the challenge that he set for himself, that is “to have different colors and themes, while giving priority to coherence… to give clues…letting the public finish the story.”

Performance and Recording

Eric John Kaiser is currently working on his second album of French songs, French Troubadour, that he recorded in Portland in collaboration with Tété, Decemberists, M. Ward and Spoon, and which will be released in France on March 27, 2009. He will perform in Paris to ensure its successful launch.

Tété will be on tour in Paris at Sunset and the Olympia in 2009 for the release of his latest album, Le sacre des Lemmings [The Cornonation of the Lemmings]

Cast

Tété: guitar and vocals
Eric John Kaiser: guitar and vocals
Mark Evilsizer: drums
Matt Gordon: bass

Programme

The first part will be performed by Eric John Kaiser and his band
The second part will be performed by Tété

Links to audio clips of Eric John Kaiser:
www.ericjohnkaiser.com
www.myspace.com/ericjohnkaiser

Links to audio clips of Tété:
http://www.myspace.com/tete75
http://www.tete.tv/

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