Eric Madis

Eric Madis is a Seattle-based recording artist known for acoustic, electric, and bottleneck slide guitar mastery, soulful vocals, dynamic arrangements of blues and jazz classics, and original acoustic compositions, which defy categorization and combine blues logic and harmony with diverse musical influences. He is also an internationally-recognized guitar instructor with over 150 online instruction videos.

Eric grew up surrounded by music, from The Sons of the Pioneers to Broadway show tunes to the operas of Puccini and Verdi. Encouraged by his mother, an accomplished opera singer, Eric began playing piano at the age of 9, but soon switched to guitar after hearing Nashville session guitarist Grady Martin with Marty Robbins. Later that year he performed for his first time in front of hundreds of youths at a Denver theatre. Within a couple of years, Eric and his friend Steve Simmons formed the Phynx of Babylon, playing music of the Byrds and other sixties folk-rock.

Relocating to Chicago in 1969, Eric began regularly performing in coffeehouses at the age of 16. He soon became acquainted with many Chicago blues artists, performing with Big Walter Horton and Sunnyland Slim. After graduating from the University of Illinois in 1975, Eric pursued a musical career, as a soloist and with the Madis-Johnson Band, Open Road, Pat Burton, and Illinois senior fiddle champion Halbert Thornberry. He also taught guitar, as well a repairing and building instruments for Rosewood Guitar Shop in Champaign, IL.

Eric lived in Dallas from 1979-1981, where he worked as a session musician, performed with Deacon Jones, Willie Willis and Craig Wallace, and was a 1981 Kerrville Festival New Folk finalist. Eric returned to Denver 1981-1984, where he led the groups Ukiah and Don't Go No Further, did an extended solo acoustic engagement at Mercury Cafe, and taught blues guitar at Denver Free University.

Since relocating to Seattle in 1984, Eric has continued as a soloist and bandleader (Blue Madness, BluesCast, Eric Madis Trio). He has taught guitar for University of Washington Experimental College, National Guitar Workshop, Guitar Workshop Plus (Canada), Northwest Folklife and Dusty Strings Music. He also has over 140 online instructional videos at JamPlay.com (TrueFire). Over the years, he’s performed with Robben Ford, jazz ukulele legend Bill Tapia, poet Nikki Grimes, swing violinist Paul Anastasio and Hawaii's iconic Farden Family in their last mainland tour. He’s also worked with Northwest greats Orville Johnson, Dr. Slide, Steve Bailey, Grant Dermody, Little Bill Englehart, Paul Green, Mark Dufresne, Pete Martin, Ryan Burns, Mike Lynch and Runaway Train, and has opened for James Cotton, Robben Ford & the Blue Line, Little Charlie & the Nightcasts, Mem Shannon, Hawkeye Herman, and author Sherman Alexie.

Eric's music has appeared on four film soundtracks and his five Luna Records CDs have received excellent reviews, heavy rotation at area radio stations and daily airplay at SeaTac Airport. He was a finalist in Guitar World's 1991 Seattle Guitar Starz competition and has received 26 Best Blues nominations from Washington Blues Society.