Eric Hutchinson forgot a song he wrote at Emerson—so he relearned it on YouTube
The singer-songwriter reminisced on his college years ahead of his show at the Sinclair on Wednesday.
Wednesday night’s performance at the Sinclair in Cambridge will be a homecoming of sorts for Eric Hutchinson, the Emerson College grad turned world-touring singer-songwriter.
One song he’s likely to play is “Breakdown More,’’ a love song to his guitar that he wrote as a student at Emerson. That is, until he forgot how to play it.
Hutchinson originally wrote “Breakdown More’’ after his guitar broke in college, he said in an email to Boston.com. He took it to a shop near Berklee to get it fixed, and when the guitar came back, the self-described college “emo’’ penned the ballad.
“I really relied on my guitar to get my feelings out, and when the guitar came back that song just kinda came pouring out,’’ Hutchinson said.
Eventually, he explained in a 2013 live show, the song faded from his regular repertoire. He forgot about it, but even years later, his fans had not—they kept requesting it. So in an attempt to re-learn the song, Hutchinson did what most guitar-playing fans do: watch a YouTube tutorial.
“So I went on YouTube and I found a guy who was doing a cover of my song, and he was doing a pretty good job,’’ he said. “I kind of re-learned the song from him. And I started playing it, and I started liking it again, and I ended up putting it on my new album, and now it’s one of my favorites.’’
Hutchinson, now 35, was a film major at Emerson, playing music on the side before launching onto the pop scene with his 2008 single “Rock & Roll.’’ In the years since, Hutchinson has become a staple in pop folk music, a genre best defined by Jason Mraz.
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Hutchinson still only has good things to say about Emerson.
“I was surrounded by smart creative people at Emerson. I felt at home there immediately and felt comfortable trying whatever I wanted,’’ he said. “I used to play guitar and sing in the stairwell in my dorm. It had great acoustics, but I was always in the way of people doing their laundry.’’
With a sold-out crowd expected to show up to his special solo acoustic set in Cambridge Wednesday night, those surroundings have certainly changed.
Gallery: Scenes from Boston Calling’s fall 2015 festival
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