In 1996, I met guitarist and singer Ernie Henrickson at Illinois State, and I was blown away by his talent....
Ernie fronted the Seed Band, which attained regional status throughout the Midwest. Ernie played guitar like Jimi Hendrix, and had a melodic and rhythmic voice that was angelic and edgy all at the same time. His band was exceptionally versatile and performed rock, funk, blues, and reggae music. There were always hundreds of people if not thousands that attended his concerts, mesmorized by the talent of the band, but mostly mesmorized by the Ernie's amazing talent. Ironically, Ernie majored in and graduated with of Bachelor or Art in Music in 1999, with a specialization in classical guitar performance. I couldn't believe that anyone who was so adept at singing and performing so many genres would be a fantastic classical player as well. I was wrong, as Ernie was exceptional at classical music too as I found at when I attended numerous senior recitals, as he was the most in demand classical guitar accompanist at the entire university! The professors even talked Ernie up, stating that he practiced numerious hours every day and never got a single question or problem wrong on any exam. (I later asked Ernie about this, and he just laughed....)
In 1997, to my joy and surpise, Ernie became the residential assistant on my floor in the Manchester dorm at Ilinois State. I spent the majority of this year honing my improvisational skills and frequently performing with Ernie many late nights into the early morning outside on the quad in the center of the campus. Ernie even let me sit in with his band eventually, which I still vividly and fondly remember. His band performances continued to wow the campus until he graduated in 1999. Unfortunately, I lost touch with Ernie after he left ISU for a while....
In the early spring of 2006 my guitarist at the time, Matt Ross, floored me with the news that he would be permanently leaving the band in the late spring/early summer in favor of a full time musical director position at a church in CA. Before I could become too upset, he mentioned he knew of a great possible replacement... Ernie Hendrickson! I couldn't believe my ears when I heard Ernie's name, as he apparently just moved to Chicago, IL and was looking for a band to join. Of course, I immediately called Ernie about the opening in my band and the rest is history. Ernie has been tearing it up in the band ever since!
Ernie is one of the most soulful guitarists and singers I've ever had the pleasure of performing with. His sheer presence still gets me and the rest of our band members pumped up and excited to perform music. Ernie is a special talent, and you'll just have to see this for yourself.
