Inspired by his parents’ record collection, and local DJs in and around his native Boston, Eric Holland had a feeling early on that he was going to do something in the music world. As his hometown’s eponymous band so famously sang, it soon became more than a feeling.
“Music turns me on,” Holland explains. “It always has. It had no serious competition when I was fixing on what I could do to make a living at what I love to do.”
By the time he got to Ithaca College, Holland knew he wanted to be on the air, and began gigging as a DJ his freshman year. Soon, he was interviewing the legendary likes of Living Colour and other Grammy-winning artists.
When asked about his style, Holland replies that he simply likes being his own curious, fun-loving self.
“I guess it's to be me,” the world-travelling DJ and musical encyclopedia chuckles, his round face splitting into a warm and welcoming grin. “Fortunately, the vast majority of interviews I do are with artists that I admire so I'm coming at them with a fan's appreciation.”
More interested in learning about and listening to his interviewees than talking to, about or over them, Holland (who also has a Master of Arts from Emerson College) is always expertly prepared for his interviews and has become a go-to for the many artists and bands that pass through the New York area, where he currently appears on WFUV and NY1.
Though he is well known around Manhattan island, Holland also spent time playing music and teaching English on other islands, including Hawaii and Japan. He also spent a number of years travelling adding new musical ideas to his expansive repertoire while engaging and entertaining more people, as he is always wont to do.
“Somewhere along the line,” he reasons, citing Bob Costas as an influence, “it occurred to me that the most important part of interviewing is listening and then reacting to what has been said.”
As he has never lost his “fan” hat, Holland is also keen to share the experience as much as he can with other fans, many of whom regularly visit his well-curated website to hear, see and share memories about the stars who Holland has met with most recently or to learn more about their favorite genres or ones they may not know much about…yet.
“I hope to be worthy of the artists I speak to and to connect them to their fans while possibly introducing them to some new ones,” Holland says. “I love the feeling of exposing people to music that I love!”
Up and Down
the Dial
By Matt Robinson
DJ and entertainment journalist Eric Holland makes his own musical path