Eric's Trip is a Canadian

indie rock Indie rock is a Music subgenre, subgenre of rock music that originated in the United States, United Kingdom and New Zealand from the 1970s to the 1980s. Originally used to describe independent record labels, the term became associated with the mu ...

band from

Moncton Moncton (; ) is the most populous city in the Canadian province of New Brunswick. Situated in the Petitcodiac River Valley, Moncton lies at the geographic centre of the Maritime Provinces. The city has earned the nickname "Hub City" because o ...

, New Brunswick. Eric's Trip achieved prominence as the first Canadian band to be signed to

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a port, seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the county seat, seat of King County, Washington, King County, Washington (state), Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in bo ...

's flagship grunge label

Sub Pop Sub Pop is a record label founded in 1986 by Bruce Pavitt and Jonathan Poneman. Sub Pop achieved fame in the early 1990s for signing Seattle bands such as Nirvana, Soundgarden, and Mudhoney, central players in the grunge movement. They are oft ...

in the early 1990s. The band had a minor hit in alternative circles with the single "View Master", from the 1994 album '' Forever Again.''

History

Eric's Trip formed in 1990 when musicians Rick White and Chris Thompson joined

Julie Doiron Julie Doiron (born June 28, 1972) is a Canadian singer-songwriter of Acadian heritage. She has been the bass guitarist and co-vocalist for the Canadian indie rock band Eric's Trip since its formation in 1990. She has released ten solo albums, beg ...

and Ed Vaughan (who was later replaced by Mark Gaudet). They took their name from a

Sonic Youth Sonic Youth was an American rock band based in New York City, formed in 1981. Founding members Thurston Moore (guitar, vocals), Kim Gordon (bass, vocals, guitar) and Lee Ranaldo (guitar, vocals) remained together for the entire history of th ...

song and developed a unique sound which fused elements of the distorted guitar of Dinosaur Jr., vocal elements of My Bloody Valentine, the folk leanings of

Neil Young Neil Percival Young (born November 12, 1945) is a Canadian-American singer and songwriter. After embarking on a music career in Winnipeg in the 1960s, Young moved to Los Angeles, joining Buffalo Springfield with Stephen Stills, Richie Fu ...

, and the

lo-fi Lo-fi (also typeset as lofi or low-fi; short for low fidelity) is a music or production quality in which elements usually regarded as imperfections in the context of a recording or performance are present, sometimes as a deliberate choice. The ...

aesthetic of

Sebadoh Sebadoh () is an American indie rock band formed in 1986 in Northampton, Massachusetts, by Eric Gaffney and Lou Barlow, with multi-instrumentalist Jason Loewenstein completing the line-up in 1989. Barlow co-created Sebadoh as an outlet for h ...

. White described their sound as "sappy melodic pop music on top of thick distortion." Gaudet's description was more succinct: "dreamy punk". The band released their first album, '' Love Tara'', in 1993. JulieDoiron EricsTrip

Eric's Trip went on indefinite hiatus in 1996 and reunited in 2001. They played at the Sappy Records Festival in

Sackville, New Brunswick Sackville is a town in southeastern New Brunswick, Canada. It is home to Mount Allison University, a primarily undergraduate liberal arts university. Historically based on agriculture, shipbuilding, and manufacturing, the economy is now drive ...

from 2006-2009. In 2010 both White and Doiron played separate sets at SappyFest. Eric's Trip also played a series of shows in 2007, including a show at the 2007

Halifax Pop Explosion The Halifax Pop Explosion was a music festival and conference that occurred every fall, typically two weeks after Thanksgiving, in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. The term "Halifax Pop Explosion" also came to be adopted in the 1990s as the name ...

. A two-disc CD tribute album, titled ''Songs For Eric: A Tribute to Eric's Trip'' featuring Eric's Trip songs covered by artists influenced by the band, released by Gooseberry Rcords, in April 2009. Doiron currently has a successful solo career; in 1999, she recorded the album '' Julie Doiron and the Wooden Stars'' with the Ottawa band Wooden Stars, which won a

Juno Award The Juno Awards, more popularly known as the JUNOS, are awards presented annually to Canadian musical artists and bands to acknowledge their artistic and technical achievements in all aspects of music. New members of the Canadian Music Hall o ...

for Best Alternative Album of the Year, and from 2003 to 2007 she performed with Shotgun & Jaybird. White and Gaudet play in

Elevator An elevator or lift is a cable-assisted, hydraulic cylinder-assisted, or roller-track assisted machine that vertically transports people or freight between floors, levels, or decks of a building, vessel, or other structure. They ar ...

, and White has also released three solo albums under the name Rick White Album, ''The Rick White Album'', '' Memoreaper'' and ''137''. Thompson enjoyed some fame as Moon Socket, and currently plays in The Memories Attack with Ron Bates of Moncton band Orange Glass. White produced Doiron's solo albums '' Woke Myself Up'' (2007) and '' I Can Wonder What You Did with Your Day'' (2009). ''Woke Myself Up'' features three tracks on which the entire Eric's Trip lineup contributed to the recording, their first studio collaboration since the band's 1996 breakup, while ''I Can Wonder'' has been described by critics as directly revisiting the sound and style of Eric's Trip for the first time in Doiron's solo career.

Personnel

– bass, guitar, vocals * Chris Thompson – guitar, bass, drums, vocals * Rick White – vocals, guitar * Ed Vaughan – drums (1990–1991) * Mark Gaudet – drums, vocals (1991–present)

Discography

EPs/cassettes

* ''Eric's Trip'' cassette (Independent) – Dec 1990 * ''Catapillars'' EP cassette (Independent) – Apr 1991 * ''Drowning'' EP cassette (Independent) – Aug 1991 * ''Warm Girl'' cassette (Independent) – Jan 1992 * ''Belong'' 7" EP (NIM) – Apr 1992 * ''Peter'' cassette/CD ( Murderecords), LP (Sub Pop Germany) – Apr 1993 * ''Songs About Chris'' 7" EP (4 songs) / CD5 (6 songs) (

) – May 1993 * ''Julie and the Porthole to Dimentia'' 7" EP (One solo track by each of the four members) ( Sappy Records) – Jul 1993 * ''Trapped In New York'' 7" EP (Summershine Records) – 1993 * ''Warm Girl'' 7" EP (Derivative) – 1993 * ''The Gordon Street Haunting'' 7" EP / CD5 (

) – May 1994 * ''The Road South'' 7" EP ( Sonic Unyon) – Aug 1995

Albums

* '' Love Tara'' (

) – Nov 1993 * '' Forever Again'' (Sub Pop) – Sep 1994 * ''

Purple Blue ''Purple Blue'' is the third album by the Canadian indie band Eric's Trip. The album marked a turn to a heavier, more psychedelic sound, which Rick White would further explore with Elevator. A tribute to the album can be found in the song "Er ...

'' (Sub Pop) – Jan 1996

Live Albums

* ''The Eric's Trip Show'' live CD (

Teenage USA Teenage USA Recordings is a Canadian independent record label, founded by Phil Klygo and Mark DiPietro in the fall of 1997 on the back of Klygo's Skull Geek record label and fanzine. The label, based in Toronto, has released records by artists such ...

) – 2001 * ''Live in Concert November 4th, 2001'' live CD (Great Beyond) – 2001 * ''Live at The Esquire May 1995'' live archival digital streaming release (no label) – January 2020 * ''Live in Montreal - March 16th, 1993'' live archival digital streaming release (no label) – October 2022

Splits

* "Laying Blame" b/w Stove-Smother Split 7" with Sloan ( Cinnamon Toast Records) – 1994 * ''Pillow (Red)'' b/w Payday and Don't Spook the Horse... Split 7" with Moviola (metoo! records) – 1996

Compilations

* "Sickness" featured on ''Naked in the Marsh'' 10" Compilation of Moncton bands, 500 copies on green vinyl (NIM) – 1991 * "Understanding" featured on '' Raw Energy'' CD Compilation ( Raw Energy Records) – 1993 * "Blue Sky for Julie/Smother" featured on '' Never Mind the Molluscs'' East Coast Compilation Double 7" set/CD (Sub Pop) – 1993 * "Blue Sky for Julie/Smother" featured on ''Sub Pop Employee of the Month'' Compilation CD/LP (Sub Pop) – 1993 * "Laying Blame" featured on ''Trim Crusts if Desired'' East Coast CD Compilation ( Cinnamon Toast Records) – 1994 * "Evie" featured on ''Not If I Smell You First'' CD Compilation ( Sonic Unyon) – Aug 1995 * "If You Don't Want Me" featured on ''Teenage Zit Rock Angst'' Compilation LP/CD/8-track ( Nardwuar the Human Serviette/

Mint Records Mint Records is a Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada-based independent record label founded in 1991, by friends and campus radio enthusiasts Randy Iwata and Bill Baker. Mint has put out over 150 releases, several of which have won Juno Awards. His ...

) – 1995 * "So Easier Last Time" featured on '' More of Our Stupid Noise Squirtgun Records'' - 1996 * "Universe" featured on '' The Boys Club'' Soundtrack - 1996 * "New Love" (remix) & "We're Only Gonna Die" (live in Montreal '94) featured on "The Stareoscopic Scary Show - An Audiological View Of Moncton N.B." (No label, SSSCD 197-2, released independently by Rick White) * ''Long Days Ride 'Till Tomorrow'' ( Sappy Records) – 1997

Other

* ''Bootleg'' (No Label) – 2007

References

External links

Eric's Trip
discography at Discogs.
Eric's Trip
official site at

Great Beyond Recordings
record label
Eric's Trip Live Archive
– Guide to Eric's Trip's studio sessions and live concerts, including side-projects. {{DEFAULTSORT:Erics Trip Musical groups established in 1990 Musical groups disestablished in 1996 Musical groups reestablished in 2006 Musical groups disestablished in 2009 Canadian indie rock groups Canadian alternative rock groups Musical groups from Moncton Sub Pop artists Canadian noise rock groups Murderecords artists 1990 establishments in New Brunswick 1996 disestablishments in Canada 2006 establishments in New Brunswick 2009 disestablishments in Canada Sonic Unyon artists