Daily Inspiration: Meet Eric Blossom

Today we’d like to introduce you to Eric Blossom.

Hi Eric, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Studied classical guitar as a kid near NYC. I studied math in college and grad school. Drove across the country to California. Then worked for 40 years as a computer programmer. Not much music there.

But I did sing to my kids every night and started playing blues harmonica. I also built a guitar in 1986 under the tutelage of the great Ervin Somogyi. When I retired I picked up the guitar and decided to play the blues I loved so much.

Then I bought a brass resonator guitar and a slide and was off to the races. I took classes up in Washington state. I started hitting the open mics around the San Francisco bay area. Occasional busking. I started a YouTube channel and an Instagram account to post some of my music – mostly covers, but some original tunes and some instrumental improvisation. Then I got some gigs around Oakland and Richmond.

That’s kind of where I am now. I went into the studio with my son a few weeks ago and cut seven tracks. He’s working on mixing and mastering. It’s been a lot of fun, a second career. I didn’t even have to pay much in the way of dues.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
It’s been pretty smooth. No great struggles although it ain’t all easy. I had to practice a lot. Still do. No crime. No drugs. No alcohol abuse. No jail. No homeless wandering.

I did live out of my VW microbus for a few months. OK, maybe some heartbreak, but everyone suffers some of that. That’s why music is felt so deeply by so many. Getting old is a bitch, though.

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I worked as a computer programmer for 40 years. I liked it. I had to keep learning – new computers, new languages, new problems to solve.

I’m most proud of my work helping genome researchers from the race to sequence the human genome to the deep efforts to understand it. I was like the “Mikey” of the old cereal commercials. “Let’s get Mikey to try it.” I would tackle the new stuff with the learning curve that others shied away from.

I haven’t been afraid to try something new. So I wasn’t afraid to launch myself into music. A huge jump from the software world.

Risk-taking is a topic that people have widely differing views on – we’d love to hear your thoughts.
You have to take risks. Not taking any is a risk in and of itself. You risk stagnating. It’s stressful to avoid risk. I took a huge risk quitting one job to join a start-up.

I had three young sons to support at the time, but it looked fascinating, I had a chance to be the dumbest guy in the room. That’s when you learn. It turned out great, but I could have lost. It’s also a risk to take up music late in life. OK, taking up music isn’t a risk.

I have my retirement sorted financially, but playing out is. I risked humiliation. I risked ridicule from my peers who think I should just sit back and wait to die. Being willing to be thought the fool is one of my strengths.

Contact Info:

• Email: [email protected]
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/explore/tags/tallpapab/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCrKygAIV8pZj3eZGop-fbWA
• SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/tall-papa-b/