Eric Bongiorno
Razer - United States

Overview

Originally from New York, Eric Bongiorno began playing drums at age 10 when he and his family moved to Oklahoma. Starting out in elementary school band, the drums became his major obsession throughout high school and into college. He trained in classical and jazz, earning All-State honors as well as becoming first chair timpanist at Oklahoma State University. However, it was the school of Sabbath and Priest that Eric spent most of his time studying, cutting his teeth in various local metal bands.

In September of 1992, he moved to Los Angeles and attended the Musicians Institute, graduating in September of 1993 and earning the accolade of “Most Improved Drummer” being featured along with fellow student drummers in Modern Drummer magazine. For the next few years, Eric gigged and recorded around L.A. in various acts ranging from metal and funk to big band and theater pit. Finally, in early 1997 he joined then-Metal Blade recording artists Wardog, a classic metal outfit, moved to Phoenix, Arizona, and recorded their third album "A Sound Beating". The ensuing tour took him across the U.S. and overseas, playing throughout Europe with gigs that included the prestigious Wacken Open Air festival as well as the Heavy Oder Was! Bang Your Head Fest that included performing on stage with Iron Maiden front man Bruce Dickinson, and opening up for such acts as Iced Earth, Zack Wylde, and L.A. Guns.

After the demise of Wardog, Eric and band mates Chris Catero and Paul Sullivan formed Razer, finishing out the line-up with Catero’s long time friend guitarist Jeromy Graves and newest member ex-Shift front man Chris Powers on vocals. The new quintet quickly gelled with their efforts resulting in late 2006’s independently released “Falling In Line” album. The band’s heavy sound, mixed with exceptionally strong songwriting and Power’s powerhouse vocals, caught the ear of the staff at Phoenix’s KUPD radio station that started supporting the band locally, placing Razer on station sponsored shows and giving them the occasional spin even though the station doesn’t rotate unsigned acts. The album also garnered the attention of music biz professionals, resulting in Powers being selected by Guitar Hero video game song producer Steve Ouimette to sing on the game ending “The Devil Went Down To Georgia” on “Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock” and also appeared in the “Rock Revolution” video game. During this same time bassist Catero was asked to serve once again as touring bassist for ex- Megadeth guitarist Marty Friedman on his European and Japanese tours, also resulting in the live “Exhibit A: Live in Europe” cd and the “Exhibit B: Live in Japan” dvd. All of this together caught the attention of 116 Productions producers Chuck Alkazian and Matt Novesky (also bassist in Universal artist Blue October) who started working with the band in late 2008 with the collaboration resulting in their current album “Dark Devotion”.

In September 2009 Razer signed with NuGrooveRocks/Sony Records and released “Dark Devotion” in November of 2009. Their first single “Superpaun” has been currently added by active rock tastemaker station KUPD in Phoenix and is being added to other markets in Minnesota, Detroit, New York, and Texas. “Superpaun” has also been added to Sirius Octane and at press time is currently fast rising in the charts with already over 100 spins. Their second single “Cold War” is now garnering steam on Sirius Octane as well. Razer is working with George Cappellini Sr. & Jr. of G&G Entertainment and Johnny Royal with Luthier Society, Inc. for radio and social media promotions for the new record. Also Razer was one of 15 acts to be selected by Disc Maker’s for their International World Series of Music compilation, and is the only heavy rock act to be featured. The song “Superpaun” was also featured in Disc Maker’s instructional dvd “Achieving Success with Your Music: Hard-Hitting Tips on Marketing, A&R, Record Labels and Increasing the Income You Make with Music”. Razer has been featured in Guitar World Magazine’s “Introducing” column as well as being the unsigned artist of the month in Japan’s prestigious Burrn! Magazine.

Eric has also recorded with ex- Megadeth guitarist Marty Friedman for ABC Sports compilations, is the touring drummer for guitarist Nick Sterling (Sebastian Bach, Crooked X), and freelances by playing and recording session work for multiple bands that cover rock, R&B, funk, jazz, fusion, and Latin genres. Eric also has recently been asked to record an original track written by guitarist/composer Steve Ouimette as a follow up to “The Devil Went Down to Georgia” on Guitar Hero V.

Eric has also had the pleasure of sharing the stage with Judas Priest, Buck Cherry, Shinedown, Five Finger Death Punch, 10 Years, Hurt, Army of Anyone, Lit, Eric Johnson, The Hollywood All-Stars featuring Black Sabbath drummer Vinnie Appice, Turning Point, and many others.

Links

Razer's Official Website

Razer on Myspace

Eric Bongiorno on Twitter