Biography
Eric Barao is a singer-songwriter from Massuchesetts. He began taking piano lessons at age six, and taught himself guitar and bass soon after, but it was not until his pre-teen years that he developed a lifelong infatuation with the craft of songwriting.
He studied at Berklee College of Music, earning a degree in songwriting and while attending, also served as a 1st-round judge for Billboard Magazine's annual songwriting contest.
In 2000, Eric co-founded the powerpop/rock band The Cautions, which by 2001 had released a critically-acclaimed debut EP and had risen to top 10 finalists in a national contest sponsored by Dick Clark, Coca-Cola, CMJ and The American Music Awards. In 2005, they released their full-length followup album 'Proceed With... The Cautions' and continued to perform throughout the Northeast.
Eric has also recorded music for radio and television, and scored film soundtracks including the indie film Turbocharged, and also contributed music for the film Balls of Fury, starring Christopher Walken.
Eric is currently putting the finishing touches on his first full-length album as a solo artist, which features guest musicians from the Boston area and beyond. He will perform live shows with a new five-piece band who's members include veteran Boston-area musicians Carlene Barous (piano, vocals), Matt Boynton (bass, vocals), Matt Gillooly (guitar, vocals), and Matt Lydon (drums). It is not lost on anyone that there's an unusually high percentage 'Matts' in the band.
The album (tentatively self-titled) was recorded at Ice Station Zebra by Grammy-awarding recording engineer Ducky Carlisle (Norah Jones, Buddy Guy, Susan Tedeschi) and produced by fellow Berklee alum and professional singer-songwriter Bleu, who has penned songs with The Jonas Brothers, Demi Lovato, Celina Gomez, Meatloaf, Hanson and others.