Erik Norlander

Erik Norlander
Background information
Born	1967
Origin	United States
Genres	Progressive rock, symphonic rock, electronic music, hard rock, heavy metal
Occupations	Musician, songwriter, producer, Recording Engineer, Sound Designer
Instruments	Keyboards
Years active	1993 to present
Labels	Think Tank Media
Associated acts	Lana Lane Rocket Scientists Asia featuring John Payne
Website	www.eriknorlander.com www.thetank.com www.myspace.com/eriknorlanderandlanelane www.youtube.com/thinktankmediamusic

Erik Norlander (born 1967) is an American musician who describes himself as a 'keyboardist, composer, producer and engineer'. Norlander has produced albums for Rocket Scientists and his wife, Lana Lane. He also has a progressive rock solo project titled simply Erik Norlander. Norlander has toured and / or recorded with singers Kelly Keeling, Joe Lynn Turner, Glenn Hughes, Lana Lane, Tully Winfield, James LaBrie, Edward Reekers, Robert Soeterboek, Scott Kail, Mark Boals and Buck Dharma, bassists Tony Franklin, Don Schiff, Kristoffer Gildenlöw, Mark Matthews and Phil Soussan, guitarists Bruce Bouillet, Mitch Perry, Guthrie Govan, Freddy DeMarco, Peer Verschuren, Neil Citron, Jim Williams, Gary Wehrkamp, Carlos Cavazo, Arjen Anthony Lucassen, drummers Greg Ellis, Gregg Bissonette, Ernst van Ee, Virgil Donati, Simon Wright, Vinny Appice and Chris Quirarte, flute and sax player David Schiff, flautist Martin Orford, trumpet player John Pappenbrook, trombone player Eric Jorgensen, violinist David Ragsdale and cellists Cameron Stone and Mike Alvarez and keyboardist Keith Emerson.^{[1][2][3][4][5]}

In November 2007, he was announced as the keyboard player for the Asia spin-off, Asia Featuring John Payne, joining guitarist Guthrie Govan and drummer Jay Schellen.^[6] Norlander toured and recorded with the band from 2007 through 2011 with plans to continue into 2012.^[7]

In 2009 Norlander, in collaboration with science-fiction writer and lyricist Kevin J. Anderson, composed the music and produced the recording for the CD Terra Incognita: Beyond the Horizon by Roswell Six, featuring the singers James LaBrie, John Payne, Michael Sadler and Norlander's wife Lana Lane.^[8][9][10]

In 2009 Norlander also toured in Europe with vocalist Joe Lynn Turner and the band Big Noize featuring bassist Phil Soussan, guitarist Carlos Cavazo and drummer Simon Wright.^[11] In 2011, Norlander played several more dates with Big Noize, this time with drummer Vinny Appice. ^[12]

Education

Erik attended UCLA^[13] and California Lutheran University, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English Literature in 1989.^[14]

Engineering Projects

In the 1990s, Erik worked for Alesis Studio Electronics where he was the Director of Sound Development and ultimately Synthesizer Product Manager for the Alesis synthesizer models QS8, QS8.1, QS7, QS7.1, QS6, QS6.1, QSR, QuadraSynth Plus Piano, S4 Plus, DM5, DM Pro and the Alesis Andromeda A6 analog polyphonic synthesizer.^[15][16][17] During 2001-2002, Erik worked for Line 6 producing sound-alike "jam along" audio tracks of classic rock and metal songs for the company's GuitarPort software product.^[18]

Discography

Solo albums

• Threshold (1997, re-released as a 2-CD package in 2003 as Threshold Special Edition)^[19][20]
• Into the Sunset (2000)^[21]
• Music Machine (2003, 2CD)^[22]
• Stars Rain Down (2004)^[23]
• Seas of Orion (2004)^[24]
• Live in St. Petersburg (2006, CD and DVD)^[25]
• Hommage Symphonique (2006)^[26]
• The Galactic Collective (2010)^[27]

Rocket Scientists albums

• Earthbound (1993)^[28]
• Brutal Architecture (1995)^[29]
• Earth Below and Sky Above: Live in Europe and America (1998)^[30]
• Oblivion Days (1999)^[31]
• Revolution Road (2006)^[32]
• Looking Backward (2007)^[33]

Lana Lane albums

• Love is an Illusion (1995)^[34]
• Curious Goods (1996)^[35]
• Garden of the Moon (1998)^[36]
• Live in Japan (1998)^[37]
• Ballad Collection (1998)^[38]
• Queen of the Ocean (1999)^[39]
• Best of Lana Lane 1995-1999 (1999, released in Japan only)^[40]
• Secrets of Astrology (2000)^[41]
• Ballad Collection II (2000)^[42]
• Project Shangri-La (2002)^[43]
• Covers Collection (2002)^[44]
• Storybook: Tales from Europe and Japan (2003, DVD)^[45]
• Return to Japan (2003)^[46]
• Winter Sessions (2003)^[47]
• Lady Macbeth (2005)^[48]
• 10th Anniversary Concert (2005, DVD and CD)^[49]
• Gemini (2006)^[50]
• Red Planet Boulevard (2007)^[51]
• Best of Lana Lane 2000-2008 (2008, released in Japan only)^[52]
• El Dorado Hotel (2012)^[53]

References

External links

• Official Erik Norlander's website
• www.thetank.com, Erik Norlander's production company
• Erik Norlander's YouTube channel