Music of the Mountains: Where to be and what to see -- Eric Halborg of Dragondeer and Tom Hamilton, Jr.

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Over a decade ago, Eric Halborg and Cole Rudy met as part of the Denver indie music scene. At the time, Halborg played and wrote for the punk band The Swayback (he currently also plays for Wabi), and Rudy played for the groups Barnacle and Varlet. Striking conversations, the two realized they both loved old-school blues.

Halborg had practiced harmonica privately for a few years, finding time in the car after his stereo was stolen. When Rudy realized this, he asked Halborg to play for him, the first time Halborg had played harmonica for anyone else. From there, the two decided to form their own group, with Halborg providing guitar, harmonica, and vocals and Rudy providing guitar, lap steel, mandolin, and additional vocals.

Eventually, the two fleshed out the lineup and thus the group’s sound by adding a drummer/percussionist and a bassist – Carl Sorensen serves as the former, with the latter role previously filled by Casey Sidwell and currently by Hunter Roberts. However, Halborg and Rudy are still the core of the group, called Dragondeer, creating the basic structure of the songs that the whole band fleshes out. Halborg loves the spontaneous back-and-forth among the musicians when he performs with the group on stage, and he loves directly experiencing the energy of the crowd and fellow musicians. He hopes the audience recognizes the group’s love of their performances and feels inspired by their energy.

Despite sharing a name and having the same December 31 birthday, Tom Hamilton Jr (born in 1978) is not connected to Aerosmith’s bassist (not a junior and born in 1951). However, the younger Tom Hamilton has still had a storied music career. His father (Tom Hamilton Sr., of course) started as a drummer, and by the time Junior and his older brother Jim were born, seinor primarily played bass, performing in Philadelphia with a classic rock/blues band. For Junior, growing up with a band constantly playing in his basement, being a musician was a normal vocation for his family. His father never pressured him to play, but Junior felt it was a way to connect and communicate – he never focused on the idea of being successful.

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