New Hampshire musician Eric Gagne talks about Footings’ new album, Resolver, and their New England influences.
Listening to Resolver, the latest offering from Footings, you’d never know that the main creative force behind the distinctive rock outfit got his musical bearings playing in hardcore bands. Footings blend acoustic sounds with electronic elements and straddle that fine line between folk and indie rock. The band produces moody, stark, and downright haunting sounds, all punctuated by the wry lyricism of Eric Gagne, a name you may recognize for a number of reasons.
Gagne and his wife, Mary Goldthwaite-Gagne, co-founded the annual Thing In The Spring arts festival. In addition, Gagne—who has been writing songs since the age of 13—has done time with several distinguished groups, including Death to Tyrants, Redwing Blackbird, Dweller, and Passerine.
“I also had a band in high school, [and did] some embarrassing stuff in college, but thankfully this was before the Internet as we know it,” Gagne quips. “I’m pretty happy to have the chance to go out and play music, and have people interested in the songs I write.”
Footings. Photo by Michael Gunlach
Footings is Gagne, who was born in Lowell, Massachusetts, but grew up in Rindge, New Hampshire, and Elisabeth Fuschia, who has been playing viola since the age of 3 and has lived for years in Northampton, Massachusetts.
Since the band’s inception, Footings have rightly drawn comparisons to both Songs: Ohia and Godspeed You! Black Emperor. But even fans of acts like Dinosaur Jr. and Andrew Bird will find themselves transfixed by Footing’s brilliant compositions.
Gagne says the band spent nine months on Resolver, which was released in early August. “When I am thinking about or writing a song, I always feel like I’m accessing memories from growing up, which all took place in the woods, or with people who are from the same kind of area,” Gagne says. “So even when I’m thinking about driving down 95 to Washington, D.C., it’s like we’re shooting out of a deep forest into this strange and uncanny place.”
Footings play live throughout New England, and can be seen regularly at venues in Burlington, Vermont, Portland, Maine, and up and down New Hampshire’s seacoast. “We love that you can tour for two weeks for under $200 of gas,” Gagne says. “Generally, it’s amazing that such a small geographical area can support so many artistic communities. I have friends that I see once a year on tour whom I would drop anything for if they needed me. That is a special thing; fostering those kinds of relationships.”
He adds about being a New England musician: “It’s amazing to get to hear so many artists too; to keep up with all of my friends who write and perform, as well as getting to meet new people and hear new things.”
Want to know what’s on Gagne’s playlist when he’s not performing with Footings? Check out our Take a Listen Spotify channel to find out. While there, listen to what the other musicians we’ve profiled have on their playlists.