“The hardest part was making it to my Thursday, 8:00 a.m. class at the music building after a Wednesday-night rush party… But the music was important.” – Eric McCarl ’81
It’s a February 2004 Monday morning – a rather groggy Monday morning following a night of GRAMMY Awards, a few postceremony parties … maybe even a few martinis. The phone in a room of the downtown Los Angeles Biltmore Hotel rings. The hand of a very tired musician reaches around, finds the phone and answers. “Hello?” At the other end of the phone, a small voice can’t wait. “Daddy! You’re number one!”
Now, to most fathers, a “You’re number one!” statement may be one of endearment seen on a Father’s Day card or on a picture from a kindergarten art class. But to Eric McCarl ’81, this statement meant a little more. It meant that he had reached the number-one position on the New Age music charts for January 2004 (see www.newagereporter.com/charts/ top100.asp). And what better way to learn of this moment than from his daughter, Erin (age 5).
“This process has been a fantastic realization of a long term dream that I nearly gave up,” said this emerging solo pianist and producer, “and I am overwhelmed by the response.”
The son of a Penn State Professor and four-year occupant of the Skull House, McCarl graduated with a degree in computer science, along with several credits in music composition. “I was on the five-year plan! The hardest part was making it to my Thursday, 8:00 a.m. class at the music building after a Wednesday-night rush party. But the music was important. I hoped one day that this would be my profession.”
It was this spirit of creativity that began to fuel McCarl’s inspiration through music, whether it be playing in rock ‘n’ roll bands or leading a group of misfits in the annual Greek Sing. “I had heard about the Alpha Chi Omega Greek Sing, so I just grabbed a bunch of guys – George Bodenger ’79, Dave Budney ’79, Don McNees ’80, Bob Kane ’82 and Dan Bosin ’82, “said McCarl. “We ended up getting together in the bathroom of the fraternity where the acoustics were good.” Rousing the crowds over the coming years with their renditions of “Take You Back”(from the original “Rocky” movie), “Brown Eyed Girl” and “Twist and Shout,” this Skull House doo-wop group brought Phi Kappa Sigma a new respect on the Penn State campus.
And while all music continually influences McCarl’s work, his personal and spiritual journey has resulted in a composition of New Age music that has reached the top of a music chart representing artists such as Enya, George Winston and Yo-Yo Ma. “I look back at the boy I was at Penn State and the person I am today. What I hold most dearly is the relationships and learning to live with people from all walks of life. Phi Kappa Sigma was truly a melting pot of personalities. It taught me to respect others, a lesson that I continue to reap benefits from to this very day.”
Eric McCarl and wife, Julie, live in California with daughters Erin Aja and Amanda Paige. Brothers can reach him at [email protected]. For more information on the music of Eric McCarl, go to www.ericmccarl.com.
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