After the success of his album “Follow Your Heart”, composer and pianist Eric Bikales brings you his new release, “Fire in the Clouds”, inspired by the beautiful surrounding skies near his home near Nashville, TN.
Press release by Higher Level Media
Eric’s many styles of music has developed from well-known artists he has spent decades touring with, such as Neil Sedaka, the Pointer Sisters, Stevie Wonder, Melissa Manchester and Bo Bice.
He has also composed music and appeared on countless TV shows – including the Good Wife, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Grey’s Anatomy, Hillstreet Blues, LA Law, Dick Clark’s Rockin’ New Years Eve, and Good Morning America.
For more information and music samples, visit ericbikales.com
Get to know the artist
Eric Bikales’ musical beginnings couldn’t have started in a more traditional way. Yet his journey through the music business is anything but. Raised in Kansas City by his psychiatrist father and psychiatric social worker mother, the arts were a way of life for his family, music being chief among their pursuits. Eric displayed prodigy level talent on the piano—picking out Ravel’s Bolero by ear at age 6. By age 11 he had also learned to play flute, and won a competition to feature as a solo performer with the Kansas City Philharmonic. Although headed for a career in medicine, Eric’s journey took him in a decidedly different direction, beginning in middle school. He discovered jazz, pop, and rock-and-roll, and after teaching himself to improvise on both piano and flute, he began writing his own original songs. Eric attended the University of Kansas, majoring in music composition, but bristled against the stuffy atmosphere that seemed to eschew any type of music other than classical.
After three years of college he joined a local band from Lawrence, Kansas called Sanctuary, which became a regional success and drew the attention of Mike Post. The veteran producer became a mentor for Eric, who relocated to Los Angeles to pursue studio work. Mike encouraged Eric to expand his horizons and helped train him to write for picture. Eric studied orchestration privately, and on the fly, as he composed underscore for many prime time TV shows. All his practicing, studying and working with top professionals paid off as he balanced writing music for popular TV shows, touring with major acts and accompanying for some of the biggest names in the business. Eric’s prolific career during his stint in LA also included live television performances and contributions to major label recordings. Beyond his supporting role, he recorded four albums as a solo New Age artist, with his CD “Tranquility” becoming a hit.
Ready for a change of scene, Eric moved across the country to Nashville, Tennessee and enrolled at Belmont University to complete his degree in contemporary music composition. After graduation, he accepted an offer from the Academy of Art University in San Francisco to author and teach several online music classes—a position he still holds today. Eric’s illustrious career stands as a testament to his talent and perseverance. He has played in famous music halls around the world, been featured on Grammy©-nominated albums, and was inducted into both Kansas Music, and the MPS Halls of Fame. In addition to teaching classes and giving private lessons, Eric has also published courses on music theory, arranging, film scoring, and a practice guide.
Eric still plays in bands, tours, writes for TV and contributes to recording projects, but his personal focus has honed in on the instrument he was drawn to as a young boy. He continues to write and perform his solo compositions, and for all of his accomplishments, still takes piano lessons! Eric’s mission throughout his storied career has been to provide relief from the stress of daily life, and to give his listeners their own chance at joyful discovery through the medium of music, and he has no plans to stop any time soon.