Eric Gillette

Eric Gillette (born August 14, 1984) is an American multi-instrumentalist from Dallas, Texas. He is the lead guitarist, vocalist and keyboardist for the Neal Morse Band[1] as well as a solo artist and session musician. Although primarily a guitarist, he often plays keyboards and drums as part of his professional work.

Eric Gillette
Background information
Born (1984-08-14) August 14, 1984
GenresProgressive rock
InstrumentsGuitar, keyboards, vocals, drums
Years active2010–present
Associated actsThe Neal Morse Band, The Swon Brothers
Websitewww.ericgillettemusic.com

Biography

Gillette began taking piano lessons as a child and learned to play the guitar as a teenager. His father and aunt taught him chords, and he spent time jamming with his aunt's bluegrass band. In 2010, he began playing guitar and providing background vocals for The Swon Brothers,[2] three years before their appearance on The Voice.[3] He went on to play electric guitar for their album The Swon Brothers. He married his wife, Jaci Lynn, on October 10, 2014, about a year after they met at a Swon Brothers show.

Gillette's musical influences include Steve Vai, Joe Satriani, John Petrucci, and Eric Johnson.[4] He is also a fan of and inspired by former Dream Theater drummer Mike Portnoy.

In April 2012, Gillette auditioned to play guitar, keyboards, and vocals for The Neal Morse Band. After winning one of the two guitar slots in the band, he served as a guest vocalist on Morse's 2012 album Momentum and played on that album's world tour. Gillette contributed guitars, vocals, and songwriting to the first Neal Morse Band album, The Grand Experiment, in 2015, and its second, 2016's The Similitude of a Dream. That album was awarded Album of the Year 2016 by The Prog Report, which applauded "the talents of guitar virtuoso Eric Gillette."[5]

Gillette has been active as a solo artist. In 2013, he released his first solo album, Afterthought,[1] playing all instruments with guest appearances by Neal Morse Band mates Randy George and Bill Hubauer on bass and synthesizers, respectively.[6] His second solo album, The Great Unknown, was released in May 2016 and includes drummer Thomas Lang and Haken band members Conner Green and Diego Tejeida on bass and keys.[7]

In 2017, Gillette was invited by drummer and Neal Morse Band colleague Mike Portnoy to be the lead guitarist for his series of "Shattered Fortress" shows, which included the first complete live performances of Dream Theater's Twelve-step Suite. He also joined Portnoy for a series of Liquid Tension Experiment sets, featuring himself on guitar and Diego Tejeida from Haken.[8] Also that year, Gillette worked with the Tree of Life Project, providing drums, keyboards, and mixing for its first album, Awakening Call.

Discography

Solo
  • Afterthought (2013; self-released)
  • The Great Unknown (2016; self-released)

With Neal Morse
  • Momentum (2012) -- additional vocals on "Thoughts Part 5"
  • Live Momentum (2013) -- vocals, electric guitar, keyboards
  • Morsefest 2014 (2015) -- vocals, electric guitar
  • Jesus Christ The Exorcist: A Progressive Rock Musical (2019) -- drums, electric guitar

With The Neal Morse Band

With The Swon Brothers

With Tree of Life
  • Awakening Call (2017) -- drums, keyboards

With Lazleitt
  • On the Brink (2018) -- lead guitar, mixing & mastering
  • Perpetually Under Idle Grounds (2019) -- drums, lead guitar, mixing & mastering

With Patema
  • Fathom (2019) -- Mixing & mastering

References
  1. Keevill, David (May 23, 2013). "Eric Gillette: Afterthought". Louder Sound. Future plc. Retrieved January 2, 2021.
  2. "Swon Brothers to perform Friday, Saturday".
  3. Writer, Wendy BurtonPhoenix Staff. "Swons' song nod to their band".
  4. "Eric Gillette of Neal Morse Band". 15 March 2016.
  5. Best Prog Albums of 2016
  6. "Radiant Records. Eric Gillette - Afterthought - CD".
  7. "Neal Morse Band guitarist Eric Gillette announces new solo album - The Prog Report". 12 January 2016.
  8. DiVita, Joe (February 13, 2017). "Mike Portnoy Peforms Dream Theater's '12 Step Suite' Live on Cruise to the Edge". Loudwire. Townsquare Media. Retrieved January 2, 2021.
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