Douglas Elwin "Duke" Erikson (born January 15, 1951) is an American musician, songwriter, screenwriter, film producer and record producer, best known as a co-founder and guitarist of the alternative rock band Garbage. Garbage has sold more than 17 million albums worldwide.[1]
Early life
Duke Erikson was born in Lyons, a small rural community in Nebraska.[2] His first musical instrument was the piano, and his second was the guitar.[3] At the age of 16 he joined his first band, The British, which was inspired by his passion for the British beat movement.[4] Erikson operated the light show for The British which was constructed out of a cigar box and door hangers. "I ran that with my left hand while I played Farfisa organ with my right," he commented.[3]
Erikson formed the rock band Spooner in 1974 with two fellow musicians in Madison, Wisconsin. Erikson sang lead vocals, played keyboards and guitar, and became the band's principal songwriter, his compositions being described by City Lights as "strangely seductive" and "immediately draw[ing] in the listener".[6] Spooner became a quartet when Butch Vig joined them on drums.[7] Spooner released two well-received albums, Every Corner Dance and The Wildest Dreams, and toured across the Midwest.[8]Rolling Stone magazine called their debut album "a convincing collection of sparkling pop music", to which "Erikson's edgy, poetic slice-of-small-town-life lyrics add a genuine, idiosyncratic touch".[9]
In 1983, Erikson helped Vig and Steve Marker establish Smart Studios in Madison, where he helped to design the studio interior and where he has carried out engineering, production and remixing work for a series of local and international rock artists.[10][11]
1986–1993
In 1986, Erikson collaborated again with Vig to form the garage-rock band Fire Town, in which he played guitar and contributed vocals.[12] The band released two albums, In the Heart of the Heart Country and The Good Life, the latter on Atlantic Records.[13]Rolling Stone praised their debut as "a striking, thoughtful album" with "killer harmonies".[14]
While Fire Town had disbanded by 1989,[12] Spooner had an unexpected late resurgence: their single "Mean Old World" became a hit, prompting them to re-form, make a new album – The Fugitive Dance – and embark on a tour before they disbanded in 1993.[13]
1994–present
Garbage in concert May 2012, with Erikson on the right
After Marker saw singer Shirley Manson performing with her band Angelfish on MTV's 120 Minutes in 1994, he persuaded Erikson and Vig that they should audition her for their new band, which became Garbage.[15] Erikson co-wrote the band's seven albums, contributing guitar, keyboards, and bass.[16] The albums have sold more than 17 million copies worldwide.[1]
In a major feature on the band for The Sunday Times in 1998, the British journalist Tony Barrell described Erikson's persona in Garbage as "the cool dude with the goatee and the Mr Spockish demeanour".[17] Though sometimes a taciturn presence in the band, Erikson has been known to contribute an air of dry humour to media interviews. During a discussion in 1996 about the interpersonal chemistry within Garbage, he deadpanned: "We have a little room where we go and cry."[18]
Erikson's other projects include the production of other artists. He produced the single "If You Go" by the Greenlandic singer Simon Lynge, which received regular airplay in Britain during 2011 after being added to the BBC Radio 2playlist.[19]
In 2006 Erikson co-founded Lo-Max Films and was the co-creator, producer and co-writer of the Emmy Award nominated American Epic documentary film series.[23][24] The films covered the first recordings of roots music in the United States during the 1920s and their cultural, social and technological impact on North America and the world.[25] The series involved ten years of field research[26] and has been cited as one of the best music documentaries ever made.[27][28][29][30][31]
In September 2017 the University of Chicago Laboratory Schools announced a nine-month preschool to high school educational program based on Erikson’s American Epic films beginning on 6 October 2017.[32] The school, founded by American educator John Dewey in 1896, has over 2,015 students enrolled in 15 grades.[33]
.jpg)
