Eric StruthersEric Struthers is best known for his long career as the guitarist for the Neville Brothers band and his collaboration with some of the most celebrated artists in American music.
Eric is a Grammy award winner who has played and recorded with Michael McDonald, Jimmy Buffett, Bela Fleck, Kenny Rogers, Steve Miller, Joan Baez, and Linda Rondstat to name just a few. As this list indicates, his skills on guitar cross multiple genre boundaries and have led to him being an in-demand player for country, rock, funk, jazz, rock, Reggae, and R&B both on the road and in the studio. A longtime touring musician as well, Eric has appeared on Johnny Carson, Arsenio Hall, Jay Leno, The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, Saturday Night Live, The Today Show, 48 Hours, CMT’s Prime Time Country, as well as numerous Canadian, European and Japanese television specials. If that wasn’t enough, he’s also played for feature films like Money Train (Sony Pictures) and Things To Do In Denver (Miramax Films).
When not touring or recording in the studio, Eric stays involved in a variety of educational endeavors. A regular instructor at Victor Wooten’s music camps in Nashville, Eric demonstrates his passion for passing on the knowledge and insight he’s gained through his years of experience by offering a variety of master classes on guitar and performance to students from around the world. He also regularly accompanies legendary bassist and performer, Chuck Rainey (Steely Dan, Aretha Franklin, Roberta Flack, etc.) via his Rhythm Intensive workshops. Indeed, Eric’s rhythmic sensibility makes him a favorite guitarist among bass players and drummers in and out of Nashville and often leads to him being asked to join them on stage in impromptu settings.
With over twenty-five mainstream albums to his credit, Eric continues to demonstrate that he is a musician first—the electric guitar is merely his main way of expressing his creativity. Eric’s dedication to first and foremost “serving the song” through his instrument explains part of the reason he remains a highly sought after musician; the high level of skill which he does so explains the other part. Presently, he is finishing up a soon-to-be-released solo album that features a host of amazing and renowned musicians, and he looks forward to hitting the road in support of it soon after.
Doug Belote
South Louisiana native Doug Belote grew up in Cajun country, immersed in the sounds of Jazz, Rock, Funk, R&B, Cajun, Zydeco, Dixieland, Gospel, Latin and New Orleans second line rhythms. He began playing the drums at 12 and worked in clubs and in recording sessions while still in high school. After just a semester at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, he sold everything he owned including his drums and hit the road for The Drummers Collective in New York City where he studied with Ricky Sebastian and Kim Plainfield and broadened his musical palette. Belote has toured Europe, Asia, South America, Australia and the Caribbean with a variety of New Orleans-based Jazz, Blues and Rock artists. He has recorded on more than 400 albums including countless TV commercials and film scores. His extended resume includes work with Jerry Douglas, Alison Krauss, Eric Clapton, Willie Nelson, Rickie Lee Jones, Dr. John, Joe Sample, Ramsey Lewis, Mike Gordon, Oteil Burbridge, Jeff Coffin, Charlie Hunter, George Porter Jr., Robben Ford, Sonny Landreth, Derek Trucks, Susan Tedeschi, Warren Haynes, Ani DiFranco, Tommy Emanuel, John Popper, Ivan Neville, Larry Carlton, Oz Noy, Fareed Haque, Jon Cleary, and many other artists. Doug Belote proudly endorses Yamaha drums, Zildjian cymbals, and Pro-Mark drumsticks.Joe AshlarPianist and organist Joe Ashlar has been performing music professionally around the US and internationally since age ten. He has studied with Barry Harris, Dave Santoro, Bruce Barth and Dr. Lonnie Smith. After leading his own bands and becoming a sought after sideman in the northeast, Joe moved to New Orleans in 2007 to join the group, Good Enough for Good Times (a side project of Galactic). More recently, Joe has become a regular on the New Orleans music scene, playing Hammond organ for music legend Dr. John. In addition, he stays busy with studio work, and locally can be seen with many notable artists, including Stanton Moore, Johnny Vidacovich, George Porter Jr., Donald Harrison, Steve Masakowski, Eric Lindell, Bonerama, Good Enough for Good Times, Papa Mali, Corey Henry, and Evan Christopher. These musical experiences also earned him a nomination for Offbeat Magazine’s 2017 Best of the Beat Awards in the “Best piano/keyboardist” category. A short list of other amazing artists Joe has also performed and/or recorded with includes: Wynton, Delfaeyo, and Jason Marsalis, Norah Jones, Mike Mills and Scott McCoughey (REM), Meshell Ndegeocello, Chuck Loeb, DJ Logic, Ana Popovic, Candiria, Roy Hargrove, Nicholas Payton, Fabio Morgera, and Lou Soloff (of Blood Sweat, and Tears) His music has been featured on national television, including CBS, BET on Jazz, and MTV. Joe also spends time writing original music, having composed the score for Brian Berkowitz’s first short film, “Secret Transit Codes.”
