Erica and Friends is based in Berkeley and is putting out some great folk music, a mix of upbeat jigs and reels, pub songs and ballads from around the British Isles and Ireland.
Erica Hockett – Vocals/Bodhrán Erica Hockett grew up in Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire, nestled in the English Cotswolds, home of Fairport Convention. Growing up singing in the local pubs, Erica came to love folk music from the British Isles and Ireland, especially the tales of woe and the history embedded in the old ballads. After a stint in Tokyo doing electronica and backing vocals in a rock band, Erica arrived in the Bay Area in 2002, and has since performed in many bands and genres including including, rock, pop, EDM and drum and bass. She is a member of several Bay Area bands including Hardly Strictly Trad with Jon Rubin, Ya Elah, an Eastern European vocals and harp group, classical early music group Fweeter, and MacClain and Cole. Erica met Anne Goess while performing in The California Revels vocal ensemble.
Anne Goess – Violin/Vocals/Tin Whistle Fiddler Anne Bingham Goess has played for many a ceili, English Country and contra dance in the Bay Area, with The Raggedy Annes and Raven Hill, among other bands. She has also arranged instrumental music for several theater productions, including Bloomsday and a commemoration of the Easter Rising. When she’s not fiddling, she’s singing with the Christmas Revels and directing the Revels Solstice Singers, a traditional music vocal ensemble that entertains year-round.
Lucas Gonze – Mandolin/Guitar Lucas Gonze, mandolinist, plays traditional acoustic music on stringed instruments. He gigs steadily with The Joy Drops.
Chris Hammond a.k.a. Alonzo Garbanzo – Guitar/Vocals Chris Hammond’s first musical love is Bluegrass and Appalachian music. He plays a beloved guitar which was made in the 1930s and he loves to sing those high lonesome harmonies.
Troy Dillinger – Accordion/Vocals Troy Dillinger, tired of selling jeans in retail, took up the accordion in hopes of landing a job playing at the Macaroni Grill in Escondido, California. After many an evening of playing O Sole Mio to pasta-devouring patrons, Troy turned his sights to gypsy jazz and played with the illustrious quintet John Coffee & the Dark Roast. Most recently Troy has been studying the incorporation of piano accordion in traditional Irish music.
