Special Feature: Interview with Eric Charles of Sweet Cambodia

Hey, everyone! Living in New Orleans is going great, despite occasionally getting flat tires because I'm not used to driving there just yet. However, I was able to get a job working as a residential caregiver which will help me get my CNA license! Despite the craziness of starting a new job, finding resources for my writing career, and minor car issues, I was able to catch up with one of my friends from Sweet Cambodia, Eric Charles, down in Orlando, Florida. Just like me being busy with blogs and stories, Eric, Donnie, and Saavy have been busy producing new projects and creating new awesome sounds, both together as a band and on solo projects. While in the middle of all this, Eric and I were able to talk about the very sweet things he and the band have coming up.

Originally from Jupiter, Florida, Eric sings and plays guitar for Sweet Cambodia and one fact he wanted to share with everyone is that he is known to have a record time of two minutes and ten seconds when he completes a Rubik's cube! When asked about how he started his passion, Eric said going through difficult times is how he began his work with music. “Finding a way to channel my emotions helped me dive into music and disvover my creative process.” This also helped Eric when coming up with his creative process. “My creative process is channeling my emotions through my music. Sometimes, it feels like a beam of inspiration comes through and I can't get the music out fast enough. Other times I struggle and it's like pulling teeth. I tend to write more when I'm

going through, or have gone through, or witness something jarring.” Eric also states that current events in the world and experiences in his personal life inspire his lyrics. “As for the genre, we have always said just play what feels good.” When it came to starting up, there was more excitement than nerves for Eric. “Starting up Sweet Cambodia was really exciting. We were so excited about playing out and getting our music recorded as fast as we can.”

However, there will always be difficulties along the way but Eric has his way of knowing how to overcome them. “What makes a band in my opinion is how dedicated, persistent, and consistent they are. You have to overcome every obstacle with a new lesson learned on the other side. If it was easy, everyone would do it!” One of the things I had to know was what the process was for Sweet Cambodia after the tour van caught on fire six years ago and how they were able to overcome that and continue their first tour. “LOL the van fire. What a series of super ultra fortunate and unfortunate events. We were stranded in the middle of nowhere and had the decision to turn back, play it safe, or push through and complete the tour. It took three days and nine meals of waffle house to finally decide, but we are so glad and proud we chose to continue.” I was very fortunate to attend two parts of Sweet Cambodia's tour back in 2016 in Chattanooga and in Nashville, Tennessee, and I brought them congratulatory pizza because it's our little tradition every time they play a show near me. As for Eric's biggest influences in his passion, he gives credit to The Beatles. “Although it is hard to narrow down, each member have different attributes about them that inspire and teach me things. Ringo, was the Beatles’ second drummer- which teaches me everybody has their own journey and to be patient. George’s phrases leave me floored every time, being both perfectly pocketed and the most taste at the time. John and Paul’s ability to write unique and timeless melodies and lyrics over and over again, and how they managed to come from a bar band to the biggest band the world has every scene influences me to write and the path I want to take.” As for Sweet Cambodia's target audience and their biggest influence, Eric states: “I'd say our target audience isn't limited to a set group of people. If you love music and good vibes in general, I'd say you're in our demographic. My biggest influences are the people around me, burning and working harder than ever towards their goals. This makes me want to burn and worker harder towards my goals as well.”

Eric was also excited to inform me about the new projects Sweet Cambodia has coming up and the future festival goals of the band. “We have a new single, new music videos, live events, and recording our first full length album! We also have a list of festivals we'd love to play at. The top three are Isle of Wight, Burning Man, Bonaroo, or Coachella. Another one would have to be Hulaween. We have this goal for the same reasons, the sheer size of the festival, the environment, and the atmosphere.” Eric recalled his favorite memory with Sweet Cambodia so far: “My favorite memory as a group so far is hard to narrow down. There are so many unique moments that come to mind. This one isn’t particularly flashy or impressive to anybody else, but this moment meant the world to me. We just finished playing at Soundbar in downtown Orlando and we were deciding what to do after. We all ended up going our separate ways, but coincidentally, Savvy and I ended up at the same bar (best one in downtown Orlando) Tanquerays. I'm sitting in the front watching one of my favorite local bands, Ancient Sun, and I see Savvy in the back and wave and think nothing of it. That’s when the lead singer Rick says into the mic 'Holy shit, do we have all of Sweet Cambodia in the same place right now? Get the fuck up here!' I felt an immediate shot of adrenaline and rum shoot right to my heart as I thought 'Shit, Donnie's not here!' Then I sent him a frantic text. As I look up, I see Donnie climbing behind the drum set, apparently he just walked in with his posse. 'The stars are aligning', I thought. Rick hands me his gorgeous, wireless, pastel pink, Fender Strat and Savvy gets handed a precession Fender Jazz Bass. To say the least, the events that transpired were nothing short of legendary in my head. We ripped into our song ‘Roots’ then into ‘Ebin’ by Sublime. Although we played for maybe fifteen minutes, we burned a hole in that club that night. The energy of those two songs could light a city. I remember feeling in a daze for the next forty-eight hours after.”

Eric had many people to thank for supporting him along the way, but wanted to especially give a shout out to his parents. “I'd like to thank my Mom and Dad first and foremost, because without their unconditional love and undying support, I would not be where I am today.” Eric's advice to the generation of upcoming artists is as follows: “Dedication, persistence, and consistency will get you anywhere. If it was easy for anybody, anybody would do it.” As for a final question, I had to have a little fun so I asked Eric what imaginary creature he would love to have as a pet. “The imaginary creature I would love to keep as a pet would be an orange shape shifting dog and in turn, it would be my best friend. We would also go on killer adventures together.”

I'm glad I got to catch up with Eric and now that I am closer to Florida, I will be able to attend some more shows in the future. Here is how to connect with Sweet Cambodia: https://found.ee/sweetcambodia , which links to everything of the band and their solo projects. I have some more short stories ideas in mind and plan to work on some novels soon. I'll keep everyone informed of my projects soon. Happy Reading!

-Melanie Lane