Eric Nicolau is a pop artist for a new generation.

Multi-cultural in heritage, multi-generational in music study and multi-talented on stage, he represents the sounds and personalities of the second decade of this century.

Handed his first red Fender Stratocaster on his 8th birthday, the Detroit native took after his dad who played in a fairly successful cover band, learning the pop songs of the 70's, 80's and 90's that filled his dad's set list, frequently joining the group on stage before his teen years even set in.

By 1999, after studying classical guitar and jazz, Eric Nicolau (pronounced Nick-Oh-Lau), has written and recorded his first professionally-produced song that ended up being adapted for use in the film, Earthen Vessels which played at the Sundance Film Festival that year.. Two years later at the age of 14, he started his first band. "We just played Phish songs and nerd rock stuff. It was nothing big but you have to start someplace, I guess," he laughs.

"When I was 16, I wanted to start a real band for once. I couldn't do covers anymore," he recalls. "I just had to write truly original songs. I recruited a couple of the younger kids I knew in my neighborhood that could hardly play. Showed them how to play the songs on their instruments, got us semi-rehearsed and then headed to the most expensive studio nearby- which was just crazy but we did it!"

The band's first completed record, Dead Awake & Dreaming, got him noticed locally, then state-wide, and then within the entire Midwest. "Besides writing all of the music and fronting the band, I was self-booking us on these indie nationwide tours, playing anywhere essentially- coffee shops, theaters and halls. I took off a bunch of days from schools to do this, to follow this need I had, and kinda pissed off my teachers occasionally," he grins.

By 2006, the band, called Which Way Is Home, had released their second record, Are You Listening?, and had attracted attention from Sony, Atlantic and Universal/Republic. As discussions continued with labels, Eric sat in on guitar for Equal Vision Records' band, Cinematic Sunrise, during the 2007 Warped Tour, was featured in Alternative Press Magazine's "AP&R Unsigned Artists of the Month" section, and then hopped on the 2008 Warped Tour, this time with his own band.

Eric describes WWIH as "...my total first discovery, my experimentation, of my love and new embrace of the great American pop song."

Which Way Is Home/Dead Awake & Dreaming: http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/dead-awake-dreaming-ep/id446132377

Which Way Is Home/Are You Listening?: http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/are-you-listening/id446130102

Having graduated and grown up and wanting out of his parents' house, Eric picked up and moved to Los Angeles in 2008, forming a new band, the more indie-rock sounding but Sol Giant, that also featured friend Greg Garman on drums (now with Selena Gomez). The band released an EP, Strangers, in November 2009 and played frequent gigs in the L.A. area including The Whiskey, The Viper Room and Spaceland.

"Sol Giant was as if The Beatles and The Smiths got in the DeLorean and went to the future and recorded an EP," he explains, exposing his auto industry-area upbringing.

Sol Giant/Strangers: http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/strangers-ep/id341745280

A quick play side-project called Jacuzzis allowed Eric to relish in his 60's/Beach Boys pop sensibilities, releasing an EP, You're The Sun, in 2010 and landing shows at The Viper Room and The Echo.

Jacuzzis/You're The Sun: http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/youre-the-sun-ep/id446134691

By the end of 2010, Eric had ventured into co-writing while toiling away his daytime selling shoes at Kenneth Cole. He contributed work to several artists including singer Chelsea Williams, Italian-American TV star Stefan Di Maria and American Idol winner, Lee DeWyze. But it was the opportunity to sit in on guitar in the back-up school band for one episode of GLEE that jolted Eric onto another level, allowing him to quit his shoe store job and focus solely on his music career.

What started as a "Wait-and-See-What-Happens-Next" offer after debuting on the "Sexy" episode in Season Two, extended onto another five episodes (including, "Original Song", "Born This Way", "Rumours", "Prom Queen" and "Funeral") becoming a constant addition to the band and performing on many of the show's songs. 

Now settled into his life in Los Angeles, Eric, 23 years-old and an avid runner in his free time, is seeking to keep the momentum of his career moving forward, whether it would be with session work, touring gigs or further TV appearances (he's also modeled for Cohesive Apparel and Atwater Jeans- "Damn, that's easy money!" he laughs.)

"Eric's voice is just made for pop music," says Alternative Press Magazine Publisher Mike Shea, "he's just got a natural fit for today's audience. He can rock out if he chooses too, but i think his fit is with songs you croon. You can just hear it. If you watch him perform you can see it and the girls in the audience fall in love with him too. It's funny to watch. I also think he feels at home with high ranges that a lot of dudes can't pull off right- that alto/ tenor range. I hear a lot of Morrissey in him, shades of emo rock, plenty of Beatles in his voice."

His journey sounds like a standard musical journey, picking up the guitar at a young age, stepping onto a stage soon after and writing and managing his first band by his teens but his natural talents are only just now beginning to be seen by the public at large.

Much more is to come. This show is just gettin' started...

Eric Nicolau

Height: 5'10"

Weight: 160

Waist: 32

Hair: Brown

Eyes: Brown Hazel

Ethnicity: Brazilian, American.

Instruments Played: Guitar, Bass, Piano, Drums, Trombone.

Influences: The Beatles, Beach Boys, The Smiths, Bob Dylan, David Bowie, Hall & Oates, Ray Charles, Stevie Wonder, The Zombies, Radiohead, The Cars, The Cardigans, The Kinks, Tom Petty, Otis Redding.