WHAT's NEW YOU ASK ? 

Here it is the end of 2009 and the last 6 months seem like a blur........this year I Lots of memories of some truly amazing gigs, and I did over 90 performances this year. Many thanks to all of my bandmates and collaborators, your excellence inspires me each and every day.

My next CD has taken me longer than anticipated but I'm back to work on it and hope to have it completed in the 1st qtr, of 2010. The new music is some of the best stuff I've ever written,and I have some stellar guest artists joining me !@  Stay Tuned for more news.....

My partner Robin and I celebrated our 2nd anniversary together on Dec. 22nd,  and I give thanks every day for your love & devotion. You're an amazing woman........ 

On May 2nd, 11:30AM-4:00PM you're invited to come out and join me and my mates for a very memorable gig on the water. The Michael Powers Group w/ special guest trumpter "Patches Stewart" will be performing on a cruise for KWJZ's 2009 Opening day of boating season! ( Yes, that's THE Patches Stewart of Marcus Miller's band, and countless other greats ~~ !!!  )Please go to www.michaelpowersmusic.com for all the details and I hope you can make it. Whenever Michael and Patches get together to make music, sparks fly....

New Venue - 909 Bistro in Burien !  - I'll be performing once a month on Saturday night's with my good friend and keyboardist extraordinaire, Paul Richardson. We play an amazing mix of jazz, R&B, Soul, and Funk, and I play both guitar and electric bass for this venue. It's a really nice venue with great food and a cool vibe, so come down and join us for a great time !!

Jan. 2009 - The last 6 months of 2008 were packed full of memorable gigs, and I recently celebrated my 2nd anniversary as a member of the Michael Powers Group. For 2008, I performed just under 100 dates for the year and things are looking good for 2009 so far. We recently played for the Washington Governer's Ball, to Christine Gregoire and 3,500 special guests, and 2008 was full of lots of memorable gigs. The KWJZ Jazz Cruises, our Trip to the Icicle Ridge Winery in Leavenworth during Octoberfest, the Minden Jazz Festival in Nevada, the summertime concert at Westlake Park ( once again with Patches Stewart on Trumpet), just to name a few.......Patches performed with our band numerous times in 2008, and I look forward to our future collaborations. Michael & Dave & Patches are all such exceptonal musicians, and it's fun & very rewarding to work with my good friends making great music. We'll be traveling to Phoenix next month for a Music Festival and please see my performance schedule for all our dates or visit www.michaelpowersmusic.com for more details. I also celebrated my first anniversary as a member of the team at Bass Northwest, which is one of the largest & very first "Bass Only" specialty music stores in the world, located in Seattle. All the best to my colleagues, Steve Fossen & Jeff Fiorini, and both of our owners, Chad Beeler & Even Sheely. They are all excellent players and good people, and I wish our store much success and prosperity in the new year (www.bassnw.com)

July 2008 to Jan 2009 -I've also begun working with a new band (The Paul Richardson Group ) in addition to my work with Michael Powers, and I'm really excited to be working with my friends Paul Richardson (keys), Steven Banks (drums ) & vocalist extraordinare Josephine Howell. Both Paul and Steven are good friends with Michael & Dave, and were former bandmates of Michael for several of his CD's. In this group, I play both fretted & fretless bass, guitar & sing. Since Paul is such a fantastic keyboardist, I can slide over and play guitar to add a different dimension to our group. The future is very bright for this band, and I look forward to all the adventures that 2009 will bring. Despite the doom and gloom of these economic times, I believe that great things lie ahead for those of us who work hard and put themselves in a place to succeed. I'm back to work on completing my next CD ( after my computer/recording studio died, requiring considerable work to get things back up and running ), and on a personal note, my wonderful girlfriend Robin and I just celebrated our first anniversary together. She's an amazing lady, and I'm grateful for all her love and devotion. Last fall, together we took a vacation of a lifetime to visit Greece ( Athens & Santorini ), and Paris ! One trip was all it took, now I'm ready to see ALL of Europe and the rest of the world..

6/08 - Life is Great ! My musical endeavors are keeping me busier than ever, and the rest of 2008 & 2009 looks very exciting. My work as a member of the Michael Powers Group has been very fulfilling, and Michael just released his new CD " 20 Songs for 20 Years " . which I contributed some Fretless Bass to his composition " The Fifth Season". I think this is Michael's best release to date. We celebrated it's release recently with two very memorable gigs. The first was at Jazz Vespers  ( in Seattle's First Baptist Church ) on my birthday. With most of my family in attendance, we were fortunate to have Mr. Michael " Patches " Stewart ( Marcus Miller, Quincy Jones, Al Jarreau, etc. ) join us on trumpet. He & Michael have collaborated on several CD's but this was my first performance with him. The band was in top form, and Patches was simply amazing. Then then founder of these shows led the entire audience in singing a rousing version of " Happy Birthday ". What a day indeed !       The official release party was at Jazz @ Vertigo on June 7th, and we tore that place up ! The club was packed, and again the band was playing inspired music. I look forward to the summer and the rest of 2009 and all our upcoming shows.

6/08- I've had a wonderful time playing with all of the other groups I perform with, and have several new projects in the works performing with two new trios in the next few months. With my performance schedule growing so fast, I've had to postpone the completion of release of my next CD " Evolution ", Stay tuned for more exciting news and see my Performance Schedule / Gigs page for all my performance dates & info....PS> I'm backing living in Seattle and loving it ! It's good to be back home......

9/07 - My calendar is busier than ever, and I'm having a great time working with the Michael Powers Group on Bass, and with Soul Intention and the Craig Lawrence Band on guitar. The musicians I get to work with in these bands are exceptional, and it's a lot of fun being able to play anything and everything under the sun ! My work with the JamDawgs continues to evolve, and we've added some great new material which adds some spice to our Tuesday night jams in Kirkland..Work is moving forward on my upcoming CD and it should be finished by the end of the year ! I'm very excited about that, and I've recently accepted an offer to join the team at Bass Northwest in Seattle ! It's great to work for my favorite store, and become even more connected with the bass community. I just finished a year working for Microsoft, and it was a good experience but I'm happy to be focusing on music more than ever now.... my friend Julie Mains' club, Mainstage Comedy & Music (www.mainstagecomedy.com) is doing better than ever, and I look forward to our future performances there and wish her all the best.

3/07 - Things are going great, and I'm staying really busy working as a freelance musician performing live & doing studio work. My CD is getting great reviews so far, and "Ritual" won an international songwriting contest through Broadjam.com. I've got my next CD a few months away from being completed and will be releasing a 3rd CD in the 1st quarter of 2008.

I've had the pleasure of working with a number of exceptional musicians over the last few years, and here's a list of the bands / artists that I've worked with or will be working with in 2007 and their websites & information

Michael Powers Group (michaelpowersmusic.com)

Paul Richardson Group (paulrichardsonmusic.com)

The Tropics - w/ Greg Boehme & Julie Mains (www.geocities.com/thetropicsband/)

Sonic Funk Orchestra

Craig Lawrence Band (craiglawrenceband.com)

Doug McGrew & Dee Dee Blue Eyes (www.dougmcgrew.com) & (www.devorahmusic.com)

Sonya Kaye (www.sonyakaye.com)

The Bent Slinkys (w/ Reek Havok www.soundsamazing.com & Allan Loucks www.adglproductions.com )

Bronwyn Edwards Cryer (bronsongs.com)

Here's a list of a few of the artists that I've recorded with in 2006-2007 and their website info :

Light Euphoric - (www.lighteuphoric.com) Tracks 1.3.& 5 off their Debut CD.

Julie Mains - (www.Juliemains.com) & (www.Mainstagecomedy.com) ( All tracks)

Aaron English - (www.aaronenglish.com)  "Bitter" off "The Marriage of the Sun & the Moon"

Joe Kaftan  - "Whisper Through Tears" off "The Edge of Breakfast"

My dear friend, bandmate and recording partner Julie Mains and her business partners have purchased and opened a nightclub in downtown Seattle !! It's called "Mainstage Comedy & Music Club", and opened it's doors on Feb. 2nd, 2007. Please come down and check this place out !! It's directly across from Key Arena on 1st Ave. in Seattle. I'll be performing there most every Wednesday night with the House band "The Comeback", and this band is a collection of 15-20 great local musicians that I've known and worked with for many years. The club is beautiful, and it's unlike anything else in Seattle ! I wish Julie and her partners much success, and encourage all my friends and fans to come out and join in on the fun !!!  http://seattle.craigslist.org/eve/275973583.html

I've been invited to perform with the Michael Powers Group (www.michaelpowersmusic.com), and most recently we played at a great club in Tacoma (Jazz Bones) to a packed house ! He and his drummer ( Dave Austin ) are exceptional musicians and man, it's been inspiring to work with these guys. Michael's use of guitar synthesizer & looping pedals is remarkable, and he's truly a one of a kind musician who's well earned his reputation as a brilliant artist & composer. The bassist who primarily works with Michael is a cat named Douglas Barnett, who is a phenominal bass player & vocalist in his own right ( www.douglasbarnett.com).  Big thanks to Douglas for all his referrals and recommendations. I'll be playing later this year at a jazz festival with MPG, so see my gig schedule for all the details. You're in for a treat if you come see this trio !!! Also, I have to say that it's a challenge to play with this band, knowing that the guy you're filling in for is the best bassist in Seattle, or at least one of the very best. It's inspired me to really work really hard to raise my game to another level........

I'm happy to say that I've performing again with The Tropics, and it's so great to join my friends and bandmates Julie Mains & Greg Boehme again. We primarily play private functions, parties, & weddings, and it's a challenging gig and a great way to get my ya-yas out playing guitar !

I've also been playing bass with a great gospel / Soul singer named Sonya Kaye ( www/sonyakaye.com) and I've been playing guitar with The Craig Lawrence Band  & Mainstream w/ Ken Morrison, and later this year I'll be working with Soul Intention & Becca Atterberry. All these bandleaders are very talented people, and their bands top to bottom are full of nothing but great musicians & nice people. I look forward to working more with all of these band leaders.......

I've also been helping out a group of musicans called the JamDawgs, who run a series of jam sessions all around the Puget Sound. I play every Tuesday night @ The Wild Rover with the JamDawgs from 8:30-12, and it's been fun meeting new musicians and helping them to connect with musicians from all over and build upon what their leader Carl Bradley likes to call "Musical Philanthropy at it's finest". They're all good guys, and it's a fun time so come on out and bring your ax ! Lots of classic rock, soul, & Rhythm & Blues...

I'll also be doing a weekend of gigs with my old band Aquavinyl on April 6 & 7 at the Emerald Queen Casino, so come on out and shake your groove thing to AV's variety of Hip-Hop, Funk, Disco, Rap & Dance music !

I am now an " Award Winning Songwriter" ! One of the songs off my debut CD "Ritual", has won Broadjam's "January 2007 Song of the Month " , and will be featured on 5 of Broadjam's most popular radio stations ( more info to follow soon ).

My debut CD is for sale through Itunes, & CD Baby.com ( http://cdbaby.com/cd/edwardpaul) and worldwide digital distribution is currently being setup ( completion due by August 2006 ) through Napster, and dozens of other file sharing services. You can also purchase an autographed copy directly via this website and the price is $15 plus S & H. Please see the CD ORDER FORM on this site for all sales information. You can also purchase this CD at the Poverty Bay Coffee Company (1108 s. 322nd PL Ste A . Federal Way - 253-945-0012)

I recently received a copy of "One With The World" by Light Euphoric, which was a CD that I did session work on with my friends Tam Katzen and Chad Quist. It sounds excellent, and Tam's vocals and Chad's production and musicianship are top notch. Check it out at www.lighteuphoric.com to learn about what they're doing and to purchase this music.

In May 2006, I did a recording session with Curtis Chandler for a songwriter / keyboardist named Aaron English for his upcoming album "The Marriage of the Sun and the Moon". It was recently released in Feb. 2007, and see www.aaronenglish.com for more details and to hear his music. He's a talented keyboardist/singer/songwriter who's music is reminiscent of Peter Gabriel and one of his primary collaborators is my dear friend, Curtis Chandler. 

The latest on my gig schedule: I've recently left Aquavinyl and my last gigs with the band were on Oct 13-14 at the Great American Casino. In the 13 months that I worked with the band, I did over 100 gigs and had some great times playing all over Washington State. I'd like to say thanks to my former bandmates, and wish them well in the future. While I'll miss performing each weekend, I'm excited to have more time to focus on my original music and continuing to write and record new music @ ! So much to do, but all fun stuff !!

My Gig schedule is updated as of 5/15/06 and I'm booked for rest of the entire year ~ ! Please visit www.Aquavinyl.com for all gig info and all things Aqua......... Kudos to my  bandmates Liz, Ricardo, Stephanie and Jim for their excellence and for making the first half of 2006 such a success ( Big Ups to Annette Rivera for everything she does for the band ). I've been writing and recording new songs for the next album and that plus staying busy with teaching, doing session work, and spending time with family and friends.

Update : I'm getting GREAT feedback from everyone who's heard my CD and I find it fascinating the different responses I've received from people on who / what artists & bands it reminds them of......,,,Steely Dan, Talking Heads, David Bowie, Steve Miller, Prince, Cream, Joe Satriani, to name a few.. I welcome your comments and feedback about the music via this website's guestbook and via my email address ( eddyferguson@msn.com ). Thx. 

IT"S DONE !!  My debut CD has just completed being mastered and it sounds AMAZING ! I'm so excited to get this music out there, and I truly believe that this is the best recording I have ever done, and I've been recording for many, many years. MP3's are posted on my Music / MP3 page, so CHECK IT OUT !!

Reek Havok has added his magic to half of these ten songs, and his contributions are brilliant. His production and use of effects recalls some of Brian Eno's best work, but in a way that displays Reek's own unique musical voice & multitude of skills. A true original, indeed. Julie Mains added all the female vocals and the results are quite impressive. Her voice is sweet, sultry and powerful, and I have featured her throughout this disc. The lead vocal she sings on "Ritual" is destined to be a classic, one of the finest performances by a female vocalist in years. Dave Chick, a Seattle composer & former bandmate, added a screaming, incendiary Hammond Organ Solo to the final track on the CD " Can't Find The Words" and Reek's production on this tune was unbelievably deep. I hope you will all celebrate with me the release of this music and that you enjoy listening to it as much as I have enjoyed writing and recording all of it. Reach for your dreams, and don't settle for anything less .............

My Gig Schedule - See www. Aquavinyl.com for all my performance dates. Things are going great for AV and we're playing to packed clubs all over the northwest. My bandmates Liz Aday, Stephanie Smith, Ricardo Valenzuela and Jim LaRiviere are great and I'm very happy to be working with such a group of excellent musicans and good friends.

Happy Holidays !! This coming weekend ( Dec 16-17 ), Aquavinyl is performing at the beautiful Muckelshoot Casino in Auburn ( 6-9PM ), so please come out and join us ! These are our last performance dates for 2005 ( Liz and Stephanie are performing in HONG KONG with the Martin Ross Band ), and 2006 is going to be a big year for AQUAVINYL: !         

The last quarter of 2005 has flown by, and it's been a busy time indeed. The Julie Mains CD release party was a big success, and Big Ups to Julie, Ruppi Barnickel, Greg Boeme, and mi buen amigo Rico Valenzuela for an inspired performance.  The room was full of friends, old and new, and her CD is currently being played at 80 radio stations in the USA and counting. Good Job Jules !

GREAT NEWS !! I've been invited to join AquaVinyl ( www.aquavinyl.com), and I'm excited to be joining my friends Ricardo Valenzuela, Liz Aday, Stephanie Smith & Jim LaRiviere  in making great music ! AquaVinyl has been working constantly over the last two years as one of the top local acts in town, and we begin performing together next month. ( Please see my gig schedule webpage for more information). This is a High-Energy Dance Band that covers a HUGE variety of excellent dance music. Hip-Hop, Rock, Rap, Disco, Funk.................you name it, we can do it ! We hit the ground running Sept. 1st, so Come One, Come All, Come out and see the new band and shake your moneymaker. You're be guaranteed a good time !

Great News #2 is I've also joined forces with some former bandmates ( from the Tropics & The Troublemakers ) to form a new band/side project called "The Elektralights" ! We all work in other bands, but enjoyed making music together so much that we decided to form a new band and give it a go. This group plays a wide variety of Rock, Soul, R&B and Funk, all great dance music. Here's a few artists that we cover ( Tom Petty, Cake, Stevie Ray Vaughn, Los Lonely Boys, Aretha Franklin, Sly & the Family Stone, etc. )  Thanks to everyone who made it out for our debut gig last Friday ( 8/26). We Rocked that joint !!

2005 Performance Schedule

Fri. July 8th - Stewart's in Snohomish ( with The Buzz Cuts )

Sat, July 16th - Private Party ( with The Tropics )

Sat July 23rd - Private Party ( with friends)

Sat. August 13th - Private Party ( with friends)

Fri - August 26  Madison's Cafe 10-1AM  - West Seattle ( Debut gig w/ The Elektralights " ! )

Thurs/Fri/Sat - Sept. 1,2,3 - PJ Pockets Casino 9-1:30 Federal Way ( Debut w/ Aquavinyl ) !!!

Sept. 10th - Private Party ( w/ The Tropics )

Thurs/Fri/Sat - Sept. 15,16 & 17 - PJ Pockets Casino 9-1:30 Federal Way (253-529-9298)

Fri/Sat - Sept. 23-24 Clearwater Casino - Suquamish ( Aquavinyl )

Sept 30th - Oct.1-22   Emerald Queen 9 - 1:30 Tacoma (AV)

Nov. 12  Muckleshoot Casino 3:00 - 6:30PM    Auburn  (AV)

Nov 17-18-19  PJ Pockets 9:30-1:30      Fed. Way (AV)

Nov 20    Ten Mercer, Seattle, Wa.( CD Release Party/Performance with Julie Mains - 6PM )

Dec 9-10  Great American Casino 9-10   Lakewood (AV)

Dec 16-17 Muckelshoot Casino 6-9 PM  Auburn, Wa.

Dec 18th - Private Party ( w/ The Tropics )

Dec 31      Top of the Inn   9-1:30  Sea-Tac Hilton (with The Tropics )

2 0 0 6

Jan 13-14   Emerald Queen Casino  9-1:30 ( Tacoma , Wa. )

January 19-20-21   PJ Pockets 9:30-1:30   /   Fed. Way (AV)

January 27-28    Great American Casino 9-1:30 /  Lakewood , Wa (AV)

Feb 3-4             Great American Casino  9-1:30 Lakewood, Wa  (AV)

Feb 10-11 Emerald Queen Casino 9-1:30 Tacoma, Wa. (AV)

Feb 13th         Private Party  (w/ The Tropics )

Feb 16-17-18  PJ Pockets 9:30-1:30  Federal Way, Wa

Feb. 25th       The Swiss   9-1:30   Tacoma, Wa.

Mar 3-4  Great American Casino  9-1:30  Lakewood, Wa.

Mar 9-10-11 PJ Pockets  9:30-1:30  Fed. Way, Wa.

Mar 24-25 Clearwater Casino 9-1:30 Suquamish, Wa.

Apr. 14-15  Emerald Queen Casino 9:30-1:30 Tacoma, Wa.

Apr. 21( Friday)  The Swiss 9-1:30 Tacoma, Wa,

Apr. 28-29 Great American Casino 9-1:30 Lakewood, Wa.

May 3-4-5  PJ Pockets 9:30-1:30  Federal Way, Wa.

May 12-13 Clearwater Casino 9-1:30 Suquamish, Wa.

May 18-19 Emerald Queen Casino 9-1:30 Tacoma, Wa.

May 26-June 15   ( Vacation )

June 16-17  Great American Casino 9-1:30  Lakewood, Wa.

June 22-23-24  PJ Pockets Casino  9:30-1:30 Federal Way, Wa.

June 30-July 1 Emerald Queen Casino 9:30-1:30  Tacoma, Wa.

July 7-8  Clearwater Casino 9-1:30   Suquamish, Wa.

July 13-14-15  PJ Pockets Casino    Federal Way, Wa.

July 22 - The Swiss   9-1:30 Tacoma, Wa

August 4-5  Great American Casino  Lakewood,Wa.

August 18-19  Emerald Queen Casino  Tacoma, Wa.

August 24-25-26 PJ Pockets Casino  9:30-1:30 Federal Way, Wa.

Sept. 1-2  Great American Casino  Lakewood, Wa.

Sept. 8-9  Clearwater Casino,    9-1:00  Suquamish , Wa.

Sept. 16  - The Swiss  9-1:30 Tacoma, Wa

Sept. 29-30  Emerald Queen Casino  Tacoma. Wa. 9:30-1:30

Oct. 13-14  Great American Casino  Lakewood,Wa. 9 - 1:30 ( Final Gigs with Aquavinyl )

Update : 2005

On April 30th , 2005, I was kindly invited by Alan White to perform with him at The Premier in Seattle,  joining a stellar group of musicians to support  Music Aid Northwest ( a local non-profit ) and it was a memorable evening indeed!  Sharing the stage with members ( current & former ) of Yes, Heart, Steppenwolf, Stolen Ogre, & The Geoffrey Castle Band made for some killer jams ! I've had the pleasure of performing / jamming with Alan a number of times, and as well as being one of the greatest drummers on the planet, he's a good guy too. Thanks for the invite to join you to play, and for you and Gigi coming to my B-day party with Reek and the gang. That was the nicest birthday I ever had. You ROCK !! Gracias, Mi Amigo. Gracias......

My CD project is moving forward , gaining momentum and we are working on the mixing and mastering !! ! This has been a great learning experience, to compose, record, perform and arrange a full CD of original material. I look forward to the completion of this recording and I'm ready to start promoting and performing this music !!!  I want to acknowledge the contributions of Reek Havok ( Producer / Percussion ), Julie Mains ( Vocals ) and Dave Chick , who contributed a Smokin' Hot B-3 solo to one track ) to this project, for their excellence, their musical contributions, their belief in the music and most of all, their friendship. Also, I want to give props to my good friend Curtis Chandler for his support and inspiration. Your abundance of musical creativity has made me stretch and grow as an artist, and for that I am very grateful.

On the "bass Guitar Front", I sold my beloved Frankenbass ( so sad......) but bought an AMAZING new bass to replace her. It's a custom made Garz 4-String, and I'll have some pictures posted soon. She's a beauty......with the fattest tone and light as a feather ! I've owned a LOT of basses over the years ( Wal, Warwick, Fender, Boogie Bodies, etc ), but this is as nice an instrument as I've ever owned. Props to Mark Garz for his skillz as a luthier extraordinaire ! Check out www.garzguitars.com for more of his work.

In 2004/2005, I got in two car accidents over six months, and the resulting injuries have required me to scale back my performing and recording schedule. The time and work spent on Phisical Therapy and recovery has been significant, but I'm on the mend and slowly getting better. This experience has been humbling, and has deeply affected me and the people close to me. I'm greatful for all the love and help from my friends and family to help me get through this time, get heathy again and get back to work. The future looks bright !

Musically. most of 2004 was spent performing with The Troublemakers, and doing session and contract work for several different bands. I had the pleasure of playing some gigs with my some great musicians, like Chad Quist ( a friend & fantastic guitar player ! Check his site out at www.chadquist.com ). Throughout the year, I got the opportunity to work musically with a number of my friends, so I'm going to take a moment to say thanks to Reek Havok, Curtis Chandler, Julie Mains (www.juliemains.com), Greg Boeme, Bryan Yates, Gib Damman, Joel Johnson, Craig Webb, Liz Aday, Ricardo Valenzuela, Tam Katzen & Chad Quist, Ben Smith, Bronwyn Edwards Cryer & "Once", Becky Thatcher, Kim Dimitri, Ben Smith , Jay Lawless, and everyone else I worked with in 2004. The Troublemakers played their last gig in October to an ALL Female audience (not a bad gig ) and I finished the year working as a guitarist in "The Tropics"(www.thetropics.com), and working with Julie Mains and Greg Boeme was a pleasure and a challenge. I have a renewed respect for guitarists, and all those damn little pedals you need to stomp on !

Working primarily as a bass guitarist, I've also played guitar for a number of years and have played professionally before. However, playing with the Tropics presents a unique challenge because they play such a huge variety of music. I have to play Jazz, R&B, Pop, Funk, Blues, Rock & Roll, Country and even a a slide guitar ! At least they don't ask me to sing very much ..... :  )   I have to pull out all of the tricks in my bag as a guitarist to do this gig, but it's great fun. I'm still a bassist first and foremost, but it's fun playing some loud electric guitar every once in a while !! It's good for what ails ya, you know ?   I've also been teaching bass & guitar , and it's good karma to pass along knowledge so it's always a rewarding experience.

Peace,   ~ E