He’s sexy and soulful with a voice made for tender seduction. But enough about Chris Van Vliet, because tonight, he’s interviewing Eric Benét — a guy who also has a great voice. Hey Chris!
Eric Benét just dropped his eighth studio album and on it he does what he does best — makes great, soulful R&B music. We hung out with him earlier today at the Westin Beach Resort and Spa in Fort Lauderdale.
Eric Benét is back with his eighth studio album in 20 years. This one, simply called “Eric Benét.”
Chris Van Vliet: “What is the thought process that goes into calling it a self-titled album?”
Eric Benét: “That’s a great question. I think with every album that I’ve done, I haven’t named the album until I’ve lived with it for like a few weeks. But this record, I was driving around listening, trying to figure out what to call it and I could not stop listening to this record, so I draw the conclusion that it’s just so representative of me.”
One song, “Sunshine,” is the first single from the album.
Chris Van Vliet: “I’ve seen you mention in a lot of places that this is ‘authentic R&B.’ What do you mean by that?”
Eric Benét: “I just feel like R&B is Rhythm and Blues and just by that name alone, it just brings to mind live instrumentation and real singing.”
And that’s exactly what you’ll find on any Eric Benét record, passionate musicians making music that they’re passionate about — and on stage, it’s magnified even more.
Eric Benét: “The best compliment I get is, ‘Hey man, I love the songs that you do, but when I saw you live, that blew me away.'”
Two weeks ago, Eric celebrated his 50th birthday, yeah, can you believe this guy is 50?
Eric Benét: “I’m honestly feeling better than I’ve ever felt in my life, with the added benefit of, with the proverbial falling down flat on your face throughout life every now and then, and learning through the process of picking yourself up. So there’s that added wisdom to go with it. So, I feel like I got the young dude’s body with the old dude’s mind.”
Chris Van Vliet: “And you look great.”
Eric Benét: “Thanks bro, I appreciate it.”
Eric is just about to hit the stage at the Broward Center for the Performing Arts, so if you head out as soon as Deco ends, you’ll catch him!
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