Nashville Pros

Any veteran of the Nashville music scene will tell you that the secret to success in Music City includes the phrase “Just show up.” If ever there were a poster boy for this simple yet sage advice, it’s Eric Normand ’89.

Normand grew up in southern New Hampshire and took an early interest in playing various instruments. But it was hearing Jimi Hendrix’s famous live rendition of “The Star-Spangled Banner” at Woodstock that sealed his fate. Normand knew he had to play electric guitar.

For an aspiring musician in New England during the mid 1980s, Berklee was the college of choice. Normand auditioned but encountered a bump in the road: He didn’t get in. Not to be denied, Eric kept showing up. He auditioned three times before gaining admission and eventually graduated in 1989 with a degree in guitar performance.

Normand spent the next 13 years playing in a touring top-40 band and giving private guitar instruction until the itch for a new challenge became too strong to ignore. By 2002, he was married, and together with his wife, he visited Nashville to check out the scene. They were immediately hooked and decided to make the move.

In Nashville, Normand had a friend who took him under his wing. He told Normand that the place to try to land a road gig at the time was the Fiddle & Steel Guitar Bar. So Normand showed up again and again. He sat in on jams and befriended the house drummer, who also happened to play for Toby Keith. Within a year, Eric landed a gig as guitar tech for Keith’s famous Shock ’n’ Ya’ll tour, a whirlwind of 90 shows in 48 states in six months. Three years of showing up and playing followed before Normand became the bandleader and lead guitar player for Rhett Akins, a role he’s had ever since.

In his downtime Normand would browse the music blogs of Craigslist and found himself answering questions from people all over the country about life in Nashville. The more questions he answered, the more others came in. He noted the need for information geared toward artists who wanted to relocate to Nashville. With no prior publishing experience, he decided to write a book.

“It’s so hard to figure things out in this town,” Normand says. “I had help. Without it, I think it would have been impossible.” It was his desire to pay it forward and help aspiring musicians that led him to pen the book, The Nashville Musician’s Survival Guide. The self-published guide is a must-have for would-be Nashville immigrants, from New York to New Zealand.

Recently, Normand has also helped strengthen the Berklee alumni community in Nashville by hosting the bimonthly Nashville Berklee Jam, which features the best of every type of opportunity for aspiring musicians. The night features live interviews with music industry professionals, a chance to sit in and jam with fellow musicians, and invaluable networking time. How can local alumni take advantage of all this is? Simple: Just show up.

For more information on Norman and the latest Nashville Berklee Jam, visit: ericnormand.com or survivenashville.com.

David Petrelli is a songwriter and performer living in Nashville, TN.