"Since becoming George Clinton's guitar player, Eric McFadden
has turned into one of San Francisco's phantom treasures, a rarely
glimpsed dark angel of blurred guitar strings, swinging dreadlocks,
and flashing teeth; but rest assured, McFadden's talents continue
to mature even as his countenance remains frozen in time. McFadden
began winning awards for his guitar playing decades ago, but his
youthful flair would hardly appear as a glimmer next to the player
he has become. Mercurial rock improvisations, sexy R&B rhythms,
elegant gypsy jazz runs, whirling bluegrass fills, opulent classical
chords, and deep European mandolin strains flow effortlessly from
McFadden's fingertips while his dusty, road-parched voice embodies
the crossroads where he must have sold his soul. Over the years,
the Bay Area has been privy to a number of McFadden's musical permutations
(Liar, IZM, the Eric McFadden Experience, and Alien Lovestock, to
mention a few), but the Eric McFadden Trio, comprised of McFadden,
longtime collaborator and drummer Paulo Baldi, and long-lost friend
and bassist James Whiton, is the finest yet. In Whiton, McFadden
has found his musical foil. A virtuoso of acoustic upright double
bass, Whiton slaps, bows, maneuvers, and manipulates his instrument
with orchestral precision and street-corner desperation, reflecting
the sinister world of desert derelicts and carnival cons who have
so long proliferated in McFadden's songs." --Silke Tudor, San
Francisco Weekly