number of celli

I own three: 1) my main cello which I use %99.99 of the time; 2) an electric; 3)an old cello I've tried to sell a few times with no luck.

first instrument

strangest brush with greatness

When I was 17 I crashed our family Volvo stationwagon on a snowy day. The road had been plowed so at a particular turn only one lane was clear. I went head-on into a white Cordoba--the Cordoba was barely scratched while our Volvo seemed to voluntarily go to pieces in the face of such powerful American engineering. It turned out my father was by chance on the road following well behind the white Cordoba (he even took a picture of our Volvo's cartoonish state--wheels all akimbo, crunched like a aluminum can. He came and checked on me and when he saw I was OK the only he could say was, "What were you thinking?!" It turned out the driver I crashed into was our neighbor of a mile or so away, Lotte Lenya. Like her car, she was fine. I remember my father instructed me to call a few days later to apologize and to ask how she was, "Vell, naught too bad. My nek is a leetle steeff.."

worst after-gig comment

"So, how long have you been trying to do this jazz-cello thing?"

worst response from booking request

"If Skin is similar to the last Topaz recording, then I have no interest in hearing it. As I've made it clear to you when we last communicated, I'm very disappointed in Erik Friedlander's new direction. Topaz is completely inappropriate for any music series that I might be involved in booking." --West Coast Dude

best press quotation yet..

"Erik Friedlander can do things with a cello that should have a reasonable listener fearing for her life. Rostropovich one second and Rottweiler the next." (Pitchfork)

one bad review

"Maldoror has received overwhelmingly positive reviews so far, which is strange for an album that isn't even very exciting on the surface. It's possible that the album's pristine sound (the production is terrific, and Friedlander is obviously a skilled performer) has convinced a number of critics that Maldoror is the sort of roughage they need to consume to better themselves. Then again, maybe they just hear something I don't."

OK, maybe this isn't the worst review ever. The fact was that Charlie Wilmoth (writer, dustedmagazine.com) engaged the recording on a serious level and spent a lot of time (many words!) picking it apart..never easy to read.

equipment

I'm very au natural when it comes to cello playing-- no effects, one good mic (a Schoeps)..as little as possible. My cello is a Vidoudez (1922); bow, Gillet.

computer stuff

I'm a geek..but a PC geek. I make my own computers, by which I mean I assemble them (put the parts together.) I use SAW Studio for my DAW, Kontakt 2, RME audio cards, Grace preamps, Neuman K184 mics, Shoeps MK45 mic. I have 100 sq. feet I call my studio where I do a surprising amount of decent recording

best reply coupled with least activity

"Hey Erik! Thanks for the follow up. I will have the sales guys check out the one sheet and get on this release right away. cheers, Pesty [name changed]" After receiving this my partner on the project (Block Ice & Propane) and I received no communication..phone calls went unreturned. Just another day doing business in the big leagues.

Writing Music

I always begin with pencil and paper. I use Archives 18 Stave Orchestral Score Book (SB18S64) Later, depending on the project, I will input the music into Finale and continue working back and forth between computer and paper until finally preparing and printing the score using the computer.