Just got back from an awesome press conference at Dilly Deli in Tulsa, OK! This group, OCCJ (stands for Oklahoma Center for Community and Justice) asked me and a bunch of other Oklahoma based musicians to take part in a video campaign to reach more folks about their mission to stand up against bigotry, racism, and hate. Such an amazing cause and group, that I had to be a part!!! I even performed my song, “We Are The Same” that you can see in this video ad done by Eric and the Adams videographer (he did our music video for “Every Move” with photographer, Jeremy Charles). Check it out and thanks for watching!:

Oklahoma Center for Community and Justice from Kelly Kerr on Vimeo.

I just wanted to jump on here with two updates!

ONE: I have been taking piano lessons and learning by playing my guitar songs from my solo CD’s. It has been a lot of fun and a reason to revisit some of these older tunes. I have decided to put out a new CD this fall of my older songs performed soley by myself with just piano and vocals. The cover of the new disc is above and called, “Out With The Old”. It will be released late Fall right before the holidays. The cover pic was taken by Kelly Kerr, graphic design by Angel Adams, and thanks to Brad G. for selling me his old piano for cheap,ha. To help raise funds for this, I am selling RESONATE and my older available CDs for $5 (plus tax and shipping)!!! I will sign them and send them to you. Pick them up on the merch page of this website now:).

TWO:

Our big Eric and the Adams Frozen in the Sun Carnival Cruise to Mexico is now just six months away! We are filling up and still have great rates that are lower than others! Give Debbi Sturch at First World Travel a buzz to book it before it sold out!:) Check out the info above in the poster that Angel made (she rocks, doesn’t she?!).

That is all I got for now! Hope to catch our Chicago-ans this Saturday for Market Days at 6:15pm (Brompton Stage).

PEACE!
~Eric

 I have to trust that as every year recycles, spring brings new life to us.  This spring, however, has been a puzzling one.  Within its early presence, loss of life has come to pass.  The idea of losing those dear to me and those around me is contrary to what has characteristically been a time of new growth and regeneration.  For me, winter is my usual time for reflection and writing but unexpectedly, I have been consumed with introspection.  As my Mom would say, “a quiet hush” has come over me.

For the families that lost loved ones these past few weeks, their loss is insurmountable.  For the rest of us, we die a little each day.  We lose little pieces of ourselves.  Sometimes, we give those pieces up.  Sometimes, they are taken from us.  As for now, my attention has been focused on those who are living. I try to grasp the perspective and the mindset of the ones who take.

I don’t typically step into the arena of politics.  I am amused by most people who fervently “discuss” their belief systems.  It has been my determination that the “far right” and the “far left” could in fact be the very same people.  Sometimes, I think that they have gone so extreme that they have gone full circle and bumped into each other, standing side by side with their fists in the air.

In my experience, people who vehemently profess “open-mindedness” are usually the most close-minded.  My eyes were widely opened to the “left” during a trip to NYC.  I was in a room full of liberal, lesbian, feminists…surely THEY would be open-minded…or at least appreciate diversity enough to allow for multiple belief systems and opinions.  This however was not the case.  I was told to “step out of my little Oklahoma box and look around to see the real world”.  Now, I got quiet in this situation because I quickly resolved the fact that despite their preaching of open arms and individuality, I was not safe to share my thoughts or opinions.  I also resolved that this person who quickly shut me down, did not deserve to know the “whys” of what brought me to my place of thinking.  Nor did she deserve to know me.  More importantly, I don’t deserve to be mistreated based on who I am.  Unbeknownst to this girl, I had stepped out of my “little Oklahoma box”.  At the time, I had lived out of the country longer than I had lived in the country.  I had served communities of the diseased and downtrodden.  I fed the hungry, clothed the poor, treated the sick, built shelters for the homeless, comforted the orphaned, consoled the lonely and befriended the elderly.  I’ve seen humanity at its worst.  I saw with my own eyes what politics can do and for that matter, what it can’t do. 

As far as the extreme right goes, my experience had been unsurprisingly the same.  Instant judgment without knowing me or where I’ve come from.  Love is what most of the extreme right, conservative preach.  Love.  I learned my lesson in love years ago.  I was seventeen. I had dated boys…but I had developed close relationships with girls and at 17 was involved in my first same sex relationship.  After being castigated and sent through my first gay to straight program, the lesson I learned was that something was wrong with me and I was incapable of love.  By the standards of the modern church, “Homosexuals can’t have loving relationships”.  I am gay = I can’t have a loving relationship. Because I am incapable of loving, I can’t be loved.  I have had preachers call me an animal, tell me that I’m going to hell, tell me that my life will lead to nothing if it hasn’t already.  To them, there is no such thing as a Christian who is also Gay.  I have spent MANY years studying and deliberating the Bible and my life and where I’m at in my relationship with God.  “Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15).  What has been my discovery?  History holds the key and sometimes the answer to so many of humanity’s questions.  I have studied and I have my answer.  Does this mean that I have stopped seeking?  No.  I continue to press on and draw from the Solomons of our day, scholars, my God and my Savior.  Quite honestly, my struggle has never been with God.  He seemed to be the only one to constantly surround me.  My struggle has always been with other people…the church.  After going through 3 different gay to straight programs, being humiliated in front of my peers and asked to quit my “calling” of helping others I have come to learn that there has been a chasm created to separate God’s children.  God didn’t create it.  His children did.  God never intended this for us.  Love is love is love is love.   

I’m not saying that ALL liberals nor ALL Christians are this way but the people I described here are what I call the “takers”.  They have taken little pieces of me.  They take pieces of others.  They steal our humanity, our joy and our life experiences. I don’t have the capacity to understand why they do what they do.  I don’t understand how they have lost sight of compassion.

I am learning. I am learning to speak up for myself.  I am learning to speak out for myself.  I am learning to speak up for others.  I am learning to speak out for others.  I am learning.

Thanks for reading and allowing me to share some of my deeper self.  I so much appreciate all of you and your strength and bravery for living out loud. 

This is a younger version of myself from 1993. I had traveled to Belarus and spent a few months with children who had been left ill and orphaned by the Chernobyl disaster.

~Angel

Here are the two posters for the show!

Should be a fun time!!! SEE YOU ALL SOON!

~Eric

BOOK YOUR ERIC AND THE ADAMS: FROZEN IN THE SUN CRUISE BEFORE THE RATE GOES UP!:)

As you can see from the picture above, we have partnered up with the lovely Debbi Sturch at Firstworld Travel to bring you (drumroll, Angel)….

ERIC AND THE ADAMS “FROZEN IN THE SUN” OFFICIAL CRUISE TO THE MEXICAN RIVIERA JAN. 30th-FEB. 6th 2011!!!!!

We are so excited to announce this since most of us are stuck in our houses due to sleet and snow this past year. YUCK!

So…..image this…..Seven months from now (Jan. 30th-Feb. 6th 2011), you are on a cruise leaving LA (roundtrip) and heading to Cabo, MX, Mazatlan, MX, and Puerto Vallarta, MX. You and your friend are looking out at the Pacific Ocean, having cocktails, and listening to one of three scheduled shows from yours truly, Eric and the Adams!

That is right! We are playing three shows during this 7 day cruise, meeting and greeting with everyone, and have some surprises for you up our sleeves…I mean, T-shirts. We will be on the Carnival Splendor (pic below), a beautiful ship that even has mini-golf (I haven’t played in a while!). Debbi Sturch, our wonderful band travel agent based in San Diego, has worked out all the details to make this fun, full of entertainment, and of course, affordable. Check it out:
ERIC AND THE ADAMS “FROZEN IN THE SUN” OFFICIAL CRUISE!
DATES: January 30 – February 6, 2011
SHIP: Carnival Splendor

http://www.carnival.com/cms/fun/ships/carnival_splendor/default.aspx?shipCode=SL

PLACE: Round Trip from Los Angeles
ITINERARY: Los Angeles, CA – Cabo San Lucas, MX – Mazatlan, MX – Puerto Vallarta, MX – Los Angeles, CA

SPECIAL INCLUSIONS FOR OUR GROUP ONLY!:
“Eric and the Adams FROZEN IN THE SUN Cruise” t-shirt
Hosted Cocktail Party with Eric and the Adams
3 Special performances with Eric and the Adams
Bon Voyage Champagne and Chocolates
And much more…!

PRICES:
Interior Cabins from $493.79/per person
We also have Ocean View and Balcony Cabins reserved for our group.

Deposit: $250.00/per person due upon booking
Remaining balance will be divided into two payments
Final Payment due by November 1, 2010

TO BOOK THIS CRUISE CONTACT:
Debbi Sturch at Firstworld Travel at 619-274-1477 or through her email at: vacationdiva@gmail.com.

We have a limited number of cabins available at these prices so book soon so you don’t miss the boat!:) Please reserve early to ensure these rates! Cabin fares are based on double occupancy (2 people per cabin). All fares include port charges, gov’t fees and taxes, trip insurance, and special extras for our group.

“Cruisin’ with Eric and the Adams” is an exclusive arrangement with:
Firstworld Travel and Cruises
7443 Mission Gorge Rd
San Diego, CA 92120
cst# 2006995

Check out this clip from the show. We hired a professional video person so this is just a small piece recorded by Tina on my Flip camera:) Enjoy! ~Eric

Check soon for an update after the show…I’m SURE we’ll have some pics and vids.  Hang loose and have a great and safe holiday this weekend!

Much, much love to you! ~ Angel

Here is the video below:) Thanks for watching!~Eric

Been a busy month already and it’s not even over yet!:)

Wanted to ask you a little favor?:)

Last year, I walked away with Best Male Vocalist and Artist of the Year at the Absolute Best of Tulsa Awards! THIS YEAR, not only am I up for the same two awards, but ERIC AND THE ADAMS is up for BAND OF THE YEAR and BEST POP/ROCK BAND! We are so excited and would really appreciate if you took 3 minutes to head over to:

http://www.flyfi.com/contest/tulsa09/tulsa09/vote/

and vote for us in those four categories. It is easy and really only takes a minute or two. Thank you for helping us with this:)

We just performed at Tulsa Pride this year and WHAT AN AMAZING time it was! We built sets, made shirts,..well, you can see this all for yourself and how we did it in this wrap-up video below:

Our Lady Gaga show is coming up in Tulsa and I swear, I have never learned so much of one’s material since the days I was learning to play every song of Ani DiFranco’s I could get my hands on and perform. This show is going to be even more work that our Tulsa Pride show so I am expecting a sold-out show for this night at Majestic on July 2nd! Many surprises (how can there not be? its GAGA!)! Here is the poster for the night:

And finally, A BIG! BIG! BIG! congrats to my traveling buddy, Levi Kreis, for winning his first Tony Award last night on CBS’s presentation of The Tony Awards last night! He rocked it playing piano with Sean Hayes and the rest of his Broadway nominated musical, Million Dollar Quartet!! Here is a pic of us two weeks ago after his show. Brought my family and they all fell in love with him (notice his Eric and the Adams shirt:)!

That’s all for now and will be back with another update sooN!

~Eric

Just got word that we are nominated for some amazing awards this year at The Absolute Best of Tulsa Music Awards put on by our great city paper, Urban Tulsa Weekly!

Last year, we were nominated for Best Newcomer and I was nominated for Best Male Vocalist and Best Artist of the Year. I walked away with the Male Vocalist and Artist of the Year awards and this year, I am nominated for the same two awards. Eric and the Adams are nominated for Best Pop/Rock Band AND drumroll….Band of the Year! Voting starts on June 10th at www.abotmusicawards.com. It is going to be a fun show and hopefully we will get the chance to play it this year like the nominees last year did.

Tomorrow is Tulsa Pride and SURE to be an amazing performance by Eric and the Adams. We have been doing more for this show than any show I’ve ever done. Stage building, painting, costuming…..Saying a prayer that it all turns out the way we want in our heads!

Off to go pick up another performer who will be here this weekend for Tulsa Pride, my good friend, Namoli Brennet! Have a great weekend and stay out of the sun (its 100 degrees here)!!

~Eric

Here is the pic from last year’s award:) I have my “YEAH!” face on.