Douglas Elwin "Duke" Erikson (born January 15, 1951) is an American

musician A musician is a person who composes, conducts, or performs music. According to the United States Employment Service, "musician" is a general term used to designate one who follows music as a profession. Musicians include songwriters who wr ...

songwriter A songwriter is a musician who professionally composes musical compositions or writes lyrics for songs, or both. The writer of the music for a song can be called a composer, although this term tends to be used mainly in the classical music ...

screenwriter A screenplay writer (also called screenwriter, scriptwriter, scribe or scenarist) is a writer who practices the craft of screenwriting, writing screenplays on which mass media, such as films, television programs and video games, are based. ...

film producer A film producer is a person who oversees film production. Either employed by a production company or working independently, producers plan and coordinate various aspects of film production, such as selecting the script, coordinating writing, di ...

and

record producer A record producer is a recording project's creative and technical leader, commanding studio time and coaching artists, and in popular genres typically creates the song's very sound and structure.Virgil Moorefield"Introduction" ''The Producer as ...

, best known as a co-founder and

guitarist A guitarist (or a guitar player) is a person who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of guitar family instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themsel ...

of the

alternative rock Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from mainstream or commercial ...

band

Garbage Garbage, trash, rubbish, or refuse is waste material that is discarded by humans, usually due to a perceived lack of utility. The term generally does not encompass bodily waste products, purely liquid or gaseous wastes, or toxic waste produ ...

. Garbage has sold more than 17 million albums worldwide.

Early life

Duke Erikson was born in

Lyons Lyon,, ; Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the third-largest city and second-largest metropolitan area of France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of t ...

, a small rural community in

Nebraska Nebraska () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Kansas to the south; Colorado to the sout ...

. His first musical instrument was the

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...

, and his second was the

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected string ...

. At the age of 16 he joined his first band, The British, which was inspired by his passion for the British beat movement. 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. When Erikson completed

high school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

, he attended Wayne State College where he studied

drawing Drawing is a form of visual art in which an artist uses instruments to mark paper or other two-dimensional surface. Drawing instruments include graphite pencils, pen and ink, various kinds of paints, inked brushes, colored pencils, crayo ...

and

painting Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called the "matrix" or "support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush, but other implements, such as knives, sponges, and a ...

, ultimately becoming a

teaching assistant A teaching assistant or teacher's aide (TA) or education assistant (EA) or team teacher (TT) is an individual who assists a teacher with instructional responsibilities. TAs include ''graduate teaching assistants'' (GTAs), who are graduate stud ...

Musical career

1974–1985

Erikson formed the rock band Spooner in 1974 with two fellow musicians in

Madison, Wisconsin Madison is the county seat of Dane County and the capital city of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 census the population was 269,840, making it the second-largest city in Wisconsin by population, after Milwaukee, and the 80th ...

. 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 ngin the listener". Spooner became a quartet when

Butch Vig Bryan David "Butch" Vig (born August 2, 1955) is an American musician, songwriter, and record producer, best known as the drummer and co-producer of the alternative rock band Garbage and the producer of the diamond-selling Nirvana album '' Nev ...

joined them on drums. Spooner released two well-received albums, ''Every Corner Dance'' and ''The Wildest Dreams'', and toured across the Midwest."Welcome to Spooner Town", by Andy Davis, ''

Record Collector ''Record Collector'' is a British monthly music magazine. It was founded in 1980 and distributes worldwide. History The early years The first standalone issue of ''Record Collector'' was published in March 1980, though its history stretches ba ...

'', issue #209, January 1997 ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its ...

'' 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". In 1983, Erikson helped Vig and

Steve Marker Steve Marker (born March 16, 1959) is an American musician, songwriter, and record producer, best known as a cofounder and guitarist of the alternative rock band Garbage. Early life Steven W. Marker was born in Mamaroneck, New York on March ...

establish

Smart Studios Smart Studios was a recording studio located in Madison, Wisconsin. It was set up in 1983 by Butch Vig and Steve Marker to produce local bands. The studio produced bands such as Killdozer, The Smashing Pumpkins, L7, Tad, and Nirvana. After in ...

in Madison, where he helped to design the studio interior and where he has carried out

engineering Engineering is the use of scientific principles to design and build machines, structures, and other items, including bridges, tunnels, roads, vehicles, and buildings. The discipline of engineering encompasses a broad range of more speciali ...

, production and

remix A remix (or reorchestration) is a piece of media which has been altered or contorted from its original state by adding, removing, or changing pieces of the item. A song, piece of artwork, book, video, poem, or photograph can all be remixes. The o ...

ing work for a series of local and international rock artists.

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 Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or withou ...

. The band released two albums, ''In the Heart of the Heart Country'' and ''The Good Life'', the latter on

Atlantic Records Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over its first 20 years of operation, Atlantic earned a reputation as one of the most im ...

. 1. Thompson, Dave 2000, p. 384 ''Rolling Stone'' praised their debut as "a striking, thoughtful album" with "killer harmonies". While Fire Town had disbanded by 1989, 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.

1994–present

After Marker saw singer

Shirley Manson Shirley Ann Manson (born 26 August 1966) is a Scottish musician and actress. She is best known as the lead singer of the American alternative rock band Garbage. Manson gained media attention for her forthright style, rebellious attitude, and dis ...

performing with her band

Angelfish Angelfish may refer to: *Several groups of fish: **Freshwater angelfish, tropical cichlids of the genus ''Pterophyllum'' **Marine angelfish of the family Pomacanthidae **Atlantic pomfret (''Brama brama''), sold by fishmongers as "angelfish" in Sou ...

MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...

's ''

120 Minutes ''120 Minutes'' is a television program in the United States dedicated to the alternative music genre, that originally aired on MTV from 1986 to 2000, and then aired on MTV's associate channel MTV2 from 2001 to 2003. After its cancellation, MT ...

'' in 1994, he persuaded Erikson and Vig that they should audition her for their new band, which became

. Erikson co-wrote the band's seven albums, contributing guitar, keyboards, and bass. The albums have sold more than 17 million copies worldwide. In a major feature on the band for ''

The Sunday Times ''The Sunday Times'' is a British newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of News UK, whi ...

'' 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". 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." 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 Airplay is how frequently a song is being played through broadcasting on radio stations. A song which is being played several times every day (spins) would have a significant amount of airplay. Music which became very popular on jukeboxes, in n ...

in Britain during 2011 after being added to the

BBC Radio 2 BBC Radio 2 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It is the most popular station in the United Kingdom with over 15 million weekly listeners. Since launching in 1967, the station broadcasts a wide range of content. ...

playlist A playlist is a list of video or audio files that can be played back on a media player either sequentially or in a shuffled order. In its most general form, an audio playlist is simply a list of songs, but sometimes a loop. The term has sev ...

. Erikson is on the

board of directors A board of directors (commonly referred simply as the board) is an executive committee that jointly supervises the activities of an organization, which can be either a for-profit or a nonprofit organization such as a business, nonprofit orga ...

of the acclaimed UK independent record label Lo-Max Records, which is home to The Wrens,

The Go-Betweens The Go-Betweens were an Australian indie rock band formed in Brisbane, Queensland, in 1977. The band was co-founded and led by singer-songwriters and guitarists Robert Forster and Grant McLennan, who were its only constant members throughout ...

, Kevin Ayers, and Simon Lynge. In 2017 he co-produced and worked extensively on sound restoration for the '' American Epic'' series as well as co-producing the music for '' The American Epic Sessions.'' Erikson's daughter, Roxy Erickson, is a photographer based in London, England.

Discography

Spooner

*''Cruel School E.P.'' (1979) *''Every Corner Dance'' (1982) *''Wildest Dreams'' (1985) *''The Fugitive Dance'' (1990)

Fire Town

*''In the Heart of the Heart Country'' (1987) *''The Good Life'' (1989)

Garbage

Studio albums *''

'' (1995) *''

Version 2.0 ''Version 2.0'' is the second studio album by American rock band Garbage. It was released on May 11, 1998, by Mushroom Records worldwide, with the North American release on Almo Sounds the following day. With this album, the band aimed to improv ...

'' (1998) *''

Beautiful Garbage ''Beautiful Garbage'' (stylized as ''beautifulgarbage'') is the third studio album by American rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular ...

'' (2001) *''

Bleed Like Me ''Bleed Like Me'' is the fourth studio album by American rock band Garbage. It was released worldwide on April 11, 2005, through Warner Music imprint A&E Records, with a North American release on Geffen Records the following day. For this albu ...

'' (2005) *'' Not Your Kind of People'' (2012) *'' Strange Little Birds'' (2016) *'' No Gods No Masters'' (2021) Compilation albums *'' Special Collection'' (2002) *''

Absolute Garbage ''Absolute Garbage'' is a greatest hits album by American rock band Garbage. It was released worldwide on July 23, 2007 through Warner Music imprint A&E Records with a North American release through Almo Sounds, Geffen Records, and Universal Mus ...

'' (2007)

Film career

In 2006 Erikson co-founded Lo-Max Films and was the co-creator, producer and co-writer of the

Emmy Award The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...

nominated '' American Epic'' documentary film series. The films covered the first recordings of roots music in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

during the 1920s and their cultural, social and technological impact on

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and th ...

and the world. The series involved ten years of

field research Field research, field studies, or fieldwork is the collection of raw data outside a laboratory, library, or workplace setting. The approaches and methods used in field research vary across disciplines. For example, biologists who conduct f ...

and has been sited as one of the best music documentaries ever made. Erikson co-produced and co-wrote '' The American Epic Sessions'', an award-winning musical film, directed by Bernard MacMahon, in which an

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who Invention, invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considerin ...

restores the fabled long-lost first electrical sound recording system from 1925, and twenty contemporary artists pay tribute to the momentous machine by attempting to record songs on it for the first time in 80 years. The film starred

Steve Martin Stephen Glenn Martin (born August 14, 1945) is an American actor, comedian, writer, producer, and musician. He has won five Grammy Awards, a Primetime Emmy Award, and was awarded an Honorary Academy Award in 2013. Additionally, he was nominate ...

Nas Nas (born 1973) is the stage name of American rapper Nasir Jones. Nas, NaS, or NAS may also refer to: Aviation * Nasair, a low-cost airline carrier and subsidiary based in Eritrea * National Air Services, an airline in Saudi Arabia ** Nas Air ...

Elton John Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, pianist and composer. Commonly nicknamed the "Rocket Man" after his 1972 hit single of the same name, John has led a commercially successful career a ...

, Alabama Shakes,

Willie Nelson Willie Hugh Nelson (born April 29, 1933) is an American country musician. The critical success of the album ''Shotgun Willie'' (1973), combined with the critical and commercial success of ''Red Headed Stranger'' (1975) and ''Stardust'' (1978 ...

Merle Haggard Merle Ronald Haggard (April 6, 1937 – April 6, 2016) was an American country music singer, songwriter, guitarist, and fiddler. Haggard was born in Oildale, California, toward the end of the Great Depression. His childhood was troubled a ...

, Jack White,

Taj Mahal The Taj Mahal (; ) is an Islamic ivory-white marble mausoleum on the right bank of the river Yamuna in the Indian city of Agra. It was commissioned in 1631 by the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan () to house the tomb of his favourite wife, ...

, Ana Gabriel, Pokey LaFarge,

Rhiannon Giddens Rhiannon Giddens (born February 21, 1977) is an American musician. She is a founding member of the country, blues and old-time music band the Carolina Chocolate Drops, where she is the lead singer, fiddle player, and banjo player. Giddens i ...

and

Beck Beck David Hansen (born Bek David Campbell; July 8, 1970) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer. He rose to fame in the early 1990s with his experimental and lo-fi style, and became known for creating musical colla ...

. In September 2017 the

University of Chicago Laboratory Schools The University of Chicago Laboratory Schools (also known as Lab or Lab Schools and abbreviated as UCLS though the high school is nicknamed U-High) is a private, co-educational day Pre-K and K-12 school in Chicago, Illinois. It is affiliated w ...

announced a nine-month

preschool A preschool, also known as nursery school, pre-primary school, or play school or creche, is an educational establishment or learning space offering early childhood education to children before they begin compulsory education at primary sch ...

educational program based on Erikson’s ''American Epic'' films beginning on 6 October 2017. The school, founded by American educator

John Dewey John Dewey (; October 20, 1859 – June 1, 1952) was an American philosopher, psychologist, and educational reformer whose ideas have been influential in education and social reform. He was one of the most prominent American scholars in the fi ...

in 1896, has over 2,015 students enrolled in 15 grades. Erikson is a member of the

Academy of Television Arts & Sciences The Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS), also colloquially known as the Television Academy, is a professional honorary organization dedicated to the advancement of the television industry in the United States. It is a 501(c)(6) non-prof ...

, the Writers Guild of America West. He is the co-founder of Lo-Max Films, along with film director Bernard MacMahon and producer Allison McGourty.

Awards and honors

Erikson’s ''American Epic'' documentary series and ''The American Epic Sessions'' have received numerous awards, including the

Foxtel Foxtel is an Australian pay television company—operating in cable television, direct broadcast satellite television, and IPTV streaming services. It was formed in April 2018, superseding an earlier company from 1995. The service was establi ...

Audience Award at the Sydney Film Festival, the Audience Award at the Calgary International Film Festival and a nomination for a

Primetime Emmy The Primetime Emmy Awards, or Primetime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Bestowed by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS), the Primetime E ...

. On April 23, 2018, the Focal International Awards nominated Erikson for Best Use of Footage in a History Feature and Best Use of Footage in a Music Production.

Filmography

References

Bibliography

# Thompson, Dave. ''Alternative Rock: Third Ear - The Essential Listening'' Companion. London. Backbeat, 2000.

External links

*
Garbage - official websiteAmerican Epic - official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Erikson, Duke 1951 births People from Lyons, Nebraska Guitarists from Nebraska Garbage (band) members American male guitarists 20th-century American guitarists Writers Guild of America American film producers American screenwriters Living people 21st-century American writers