We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Eriq Troi a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Eriq, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Did you always know you wanted to pursue a creative or artistic career? When did you first know?

I started on drums at 5 years old. I would sneak and play my uncle’s drums. By the way, how do you “sneak” and play drums? I know..LOL.. He heard me from up the street. He would sit at the top of the side door of my grandmother’s house and just listen. Mind you, I’m sneaking to play
drums. That’s when he started taking me to his band practices and jam sessions. He’d let me play with the big boys. They would begrudgingly indulge me play but then their faces would change as I’d count songs off with the confidence and authority of a drummer who’d been playing for years. (that’s how my uncle would do it) During this two year span, I’d listen to albums and tapes along with my Uncle Edwin as he’d learn music for his band. He’d also learn everyone else’s parts too (yes he could play everybody’s instruments). Naturally, I did as he did. We’d sit for hours and devour albums,
listening to them front and back. I didn’t know this was the ear training that would serve me later. He’d quiz me on the different instruments when listening to songs. I would point out what the bass guitar was doing, or what the piano was doing, or try to figure out how many horns I’d hear
when their parts came up. We’d read liner notes on the albums to see who the players were. We would study and dissect songs for hours. Then my day came to actually perform with my uncle’s band at a “Battle Of The Bands” show. This was the highlight of the summer in those days in Akron, Ohio. A lot was riding on who rocked the party the hardest. It was the summer I turned 7. The song was “Slide”- a funk jam by Dayton, Ohio’s legendary funk band called Slave. My uncle’s band was in utter horror as I got on drums in front of my first audience of around 300 people. My Uncle Edwin pulled this surprise on the band THE NIGHT OF THE SHOW! I never rehearsed this song with the band but my uncle banked on the fact that I knew this song note for note! He also banked on the idea that a kid always wins the hearts of adults and if the little kid can actually hold his own with the big boys, that would be a shoe-in for a win! My uncle Edwin’s gamble proved to be the right move! When the song ended, I heard a noise so loud and so big! The applause was deafening!! My uncle’s HUGE grin sealed the deal for me…AND THE BAND! YES!! WE! KILLED! IT! I knew right then I wanted to do this for the rest of my life! Remember… I was only 7.

Eriq, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

There’s that saying “be the change you seek”. I seek to do music locally (in Akron, Ohio) in a way that focuses more on the creative and recording arts of music. When I tell people I’m a musician, the next question is “where are you playing?” or What do you play?” I promptly reply “it’s not what I play, it’s what I create… and I’m playing on your phone right now”.

Their response is usually with a big question mark on their faces. For me, it’s an opportunity to guide folk into a new thought pattern about music and independent artists, and by extension, creativity as a business.

I just recently launched a scaled down prototype of an music-as-art exhibition as a resident artist funded by the Akron Black Artist Guild and Akron Arts Now organizations. My proof-of-concept production “Those Who Have Eyes Will Hear” showed music as a multimedia immersive musical experience to a sold out audience in my hometown. It included film, live performances and hybrid-genre symphonic cinematic music.

Let’s be very clear. My love is the FUNK! THE WHOLE FUNK! UNCUT FUNK! (George Clinton voice) THE BOMB!!! However I’ve always loved movie music. It was when I heard the theme music to Star Wars by John Williams that made me wanna make music like that. He was my intro to classical music too. But I wanted to know if there were any black folk that composed classical music and to my surprise THERE WERE/ARE! One being one of the most celebrated music producers of all time.

Quincy Jones.

He has soooo much music out there WAY BEFORE MICHAEL JACKSON! As I went down the Quincy Jones rabbit whole, I discovered he has a jazz-classical hybrid thing with Frank Sinatra! I’m practicing this thing called point and counterpoint and applying this with the hybrid music I’m doing now.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

I had to unlearn A LOT!

I come from the idea that “music is a good hobby but you gotta get something to fall back on” or “you gotta get a real job and don’t depend on that music thing to support yourself” generation.

The old folk in my family would say stuff like this but yet my heros were Sly Stone. Rick James, Prince, Michael Jackson, Quincy Jones, John Williams, George Clinton and many more. I saw them all do the impossible in music. Why can’t I? I heard another elder say, “If you can see it, you can BE it”. And that was just the thing that made me wanna do the impossible like my heros before me!

Ideally it was a all in my mind! I am renewed by the renewing of my mind.

I began to believe in myself. I read books like Rich Dad Poor Dad. The Artist’s Way, As A Man Thinketh, and of course all the interviews I can get my eyes on of Quincy Jones.

I continued to practice my craft of creativity and made it a lifestyle, not something I do. I no longer think of the struggle or the hustle. For me those are all lies. I focus on the possibilities and live in gratitude and in the moment of the journey of creativity. The reward is a stated of perpetual inspiration. The gift IS the constant never ending journey of creativity and “the gift makes room for you before great men”… and women!

I unlearn fear everyday.
Fear is a practiced behavior that will have us believing in lies that has made the music industry evil. There is NO NEED TO HUSTLE AND GRIND for what I need. As I said it is the gift of inspiration. Inspiration needs only ONE thing – Obedience. Obedience to you own wonderful ideas! Even if all you do is write it down. That’s a start.

Is there a mission driving your creative journey?

My goal is simple. To live as a creative in perpetual inspiration. Living in the gift of music made with love and being living proof of integrity makes more money. Living as a creative is a faith walk. You don’t know until you know. That’s the whole thing about faith and creativity. It’s a beautiful journey rooted in gratitude and wish I would have learned this way of thinking earlier in life. At 52 I am finally getting started. I had to unlearn those old ideas of
“making it”. I know now that the idea of “making it” is what I define specifically for myself. My level of success is NOT determined by other people’s accomplishments. It’s determined by me being able to look in the mirror and loving what I see. It’s really THAT simple. “The world doesn’t need another good musician. It needs good people” ~ Victor Wooten My creative mission is being a better human being

Contact Info:

• Website: linqapp.com/eriq_troi
• Instagram: instagram.com/eriq_troi
• Other: eriqtroi.bandcamp.com

Image Credits
Photo by Jef Janis