Everyone has dreams. Everyone hopes. But no one is more hopeful or even more of a dreamer than a musician.
Eric Hutchinson is an up-and-coming acoustic singer who not only hopes, he not only dreams, but he wants to make sure that his hopes and dreams become a reality.
But so far his journey hasn't been easy.
Hutchinson was once signed by Maverick Records in 2006. But when the company started to lose money, he was dropped from the label.
"I felt like sushi in a taco shell," he said. He had no idea that the company that was owned by Madonna, would ever lose money. But he knew that he couldn't just give up.
During tough times, Hutchinson likes to think about great musicians who needed to overcome obstacles to get where they are.
“It’s definitely been hard,” he said. “But I just think of people like Stevie Wonder and The Beatles, and I think about the impact they brought...and that inspires me to keep going.”
Hutchinson grew up in Takoma Park, Md. He wouldn't say that his parents were supportive. He felt that they were more "realistic."
"They always wanted to make sure that I had a back up," he said. "For them, music is something that I am just trying out."
Hutchinson first picked up the guitar around 1995, when he was 15. But it wasn't until he was going to school at Emerson College in Boston, where he would start exploring his passion for songwriting.
After he graduated that's when he decided to be a full-time musician.
“I’ve been writing songs for so long,” he said. “It started out as a hobby and I just kept loving it more and more. I knew that I had to do this.”
And his determination has been paying off. Even though he was picked up by Maverick Records in 2006, and then dropped in 2007. He kept on going by distributing his records on his own.
In 2007 he released an independent album which would catch the attention of Warner Bros. Records. But even when the record company offered the deal, it didn't seem like a guarantee.
For months after being offered the deal, he had to endure with hearing “don’t worry it’s coming, we just have to wait for some things to pull through.”
“We live in such an ‘American Idol’ way of life,” he said. “We just want things to happen so fast-we want things to happen now.”
But all he can think about was how lucky he was to be given the opportunity. And this whole experience also taught him a little lesson about the music industry.
“I never knew that it took so long to have a record deal-to be a set deal,” he said.
Warner Bros. Records first offered him the deal in October of 2007. Hutchinson wouldn’t sign anything until February 2008.
“I mean, it sucked that I had to wait so long,” he said. “But once again I just had to realize that I’m pretty lucky to be given this chance, and I’m grateful.”
He is now on tour with Missy Higgins, an award-winning Australian singer and songwriter, and he is loving every minute of it.
He is also promoting his new album entitled "Sounds Like This." And the first single "Rock &Roll" was featured on "The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2" soundtrack. And he has already sold thousands of copies of his single via iTunes.
When asked how is parents are feeling about this, he says that they are happy for him, but they still want him to come up with back-up plans. For Hutchinson, he just wants to enjoy every minute of every moment that's coming to him.
“It’s tough when you try to think about your future,” he said. “But in the end, I just want to be happy and spend my time in an effective way.”
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