Socialite Spotlight; Who Is Eric? The Story of Overshare

How To Be Social | Socialite Spotlight

Some artists build a band; Eric is building a room everyone wants to be in. The Dallas musician behind Overshare describes himself in three strokes; earnest authenticity, levity whenever possible, and a little bit of tenderness, and everything he makes seems to run on them. He grew up in Plano, started college on a pre-med track, and did not pick up music seriously until he was 21; a few years later he is running a treated home studio, hosting monthly gatherings for local musicians, and turning his band into a collective whose whole point is bringing people together. How To Be Social sat down with Eric to talk about where Overshare came from, what running a band teaches you about yourself, and why he believes the Dallas scene grows when artists share what they know. Get to know him in his own words below.

The Person Behind Overshare

How To Be Social: Who is Eric outside of music? How would you describe yourself to someone meeting you for the first time?

Eric: I’d say I’m a person who values and embodies earnest authenticity , levity whenever possible, and a little bit of tenderness.

How To Be Social: Where did you grow up, and what was your childhood like?

Eric: I grew up in the DFW suburb Plano. I struggled to fit in and find my own voice in childhood. I was a little weird and a bit too sensitive for my own good, but I was ferociously loved and supported by my family.

How To Be Social: How old were you when you first became interested in music? Was there a specific artist, song, or experience that inspired you?

Eric: Outside a year or 2 of piano when I was young, I didn’t start making music until I was 21 actually. I got a copy of Ableton and started making beats, I was actually very inspired by MF DOOM and the production on Mac Miller’s Faces mixtape. Very different from where I am now.

How To Be Social: What did you imagine your future looking like when you were younger? Did you always want to pursue music?

Eric: Not exactly. I wanted to be a doctor. I was actually studying biology pre-met before I caught the music bug. Although I “wanted” to be a doctor I’m not sure I could ever truly imagine that future. I switched to audio engineering after sophomore year of college.

How To Be Social: Do you have other careers, interests, or passions outside of music? How have they influenced your creative work?

Eric: My two biggest non-music passions are spirituality and martial arts. I did amateur MMA fights in college and I still train Muay Thai and jiu jitsu. You’ll never see me happier than when I train. With spirituality, I’m actually finishing up a reiki mentorship I’m taking at Miracles Within, a local metaphysical shop. Love it. I’m also really big into meditation and collection crystals and stones.

The Birth of Overshare

How To Be Social: How did Overshare begin, and where did the name come from?

Eric: Overshare started as a more indie electronic leaning duo between me and the founding bassist Connor. Very funny origin story. So in 2019 I was sort of very casually seeing someone. She invited me to karaoke at harvest house in Denton. I did not know this but being the boundary pushing type person they were, they also invited a different guy they were casually seeing to karaoke. That guy was Connor. I guess she thought we’d like each other. She was absolutely right. We really hit it off and the very next week he came over to jam. The lady who introduced us actually directed our first music video, it was for the song flaws. I think the name reflected the uninhibited nature of the lyrics and performance style. I think authenticity and honesty are crucial.

How To Be Social: How would you describe Overshare's sound to someone who has never heard your music? What influences helped shape it?

Eric: There are a few distinct things that I think make the m sound of Overshare unique and specific. First of all there is a ramble quality to my vocals on the album. It’s a bit more spoken than sung. A big part of this was my background with hip-hop music that I fell back on frequently. However it’s funny, a big reason I sang less on our album and more in early songs is because my guitarist had an extremely loud amp, so I had perpetually lost my voice by the time we recorded from competing with the amp in practice, so I was unable to be as melodic with my vocals. We also use bass differently. We sort of lean on it for the lead melody and the guitar would sort of play rhythm to the bass part. It gives a driving feel to our tracks.

How To Be Social: You have built a recording and production setup. What went into creating your studio, and how has that space changed what you can accomplish?

Eric: Well our first song flaws was recorded at home with a 4 channel audio interface, an Aston microphone, and no amps just amp sim on my laptop. So I’ve always done a lot of the music I put out from my home, but the set up has grown a ton over the years. Nowadays I have everything I need to record a band well. An acoustic treated room with slanted ceilings and home made acoustic panels, a neve 73 pre amp, 3 synths, a beautiful guitar and bass, and a drum set. Lots of mics. I think the big plus of all that is that I don’t have to make sacrifices by choosing to record at home, and I’m able to express my musical personality through the gear I use on a song.

How To Be Social: What is one song or project you have created that feels especially personal to you, and what is the story behind it?

Eric: I’m gonna take us way back. In 2018 I released “Feelin’ Fine” by Eric Spoke. Produced and performed by me, it was a indie/ hip-hop bastard child and my first song I released broadly. I’d say to this day it still highlights my unique set of skills and ideas. It was the first time I truly felt like a good musician

Building Bands and Bringing People Together

How To Be Social: You have worked with several musicians throughout Overshare's evolution. What have those experiences taught you about building and maintaining a band?

Eric: I’ve learned you have to do shadow work to run a band. You have to have a near professional understanding of your own psychology and the psychology of groups. Most of all you have to be deeply in touch with your own sense of self worth or you’ll make sacrifices for others when you shouldn’t actually be doing that.

How To Be Social: Creative people often have strong personalities and different visions. How do you navigate disagreements while keeping everyone moving toward a shared goal?

Eric: I think ultimately bands need to have a leader, someone who can serve to break the tie for group decisions. I used to run my band more democratically, but I’ve learned a band is most served by a strong vision from its founder and leader. If the founder is trying to hard to appease others we lose the strength of that vision at times. So really I just make sure they understand and are on the same page with that concept if we disagree.

How To Be Social: What has been the hardest lesson you have learned about working with other musicians?

Eric: As sad as it is, sometimes other musicians don’t care in the way you wish they did. And you have to decide what to do about that.

From Band to Artist Collective

How To Be Social: You have talked about turning Overshare from a band into a collective. What inspired that shift, and what would the collective look like at its best?

Eric: Overshare has been more just a studio project from me and only me for about a year. I will still make music but I’ve felt the universe really pull me towards creating something that brings people together and empowers them, and I’m building it off the back of the band I put so much time into.

How To Be Social: What have you been doing recently to connect musicians and other creatives in DFW?

Eric: So Friday 10/16 i hosted the first “Overshare Assembly” at my home. It’s a monthly gathering of about 10 -15 musicians I hand pic from people who reached out in response to an ad I put out about the concept. So it’s a curated guest list of local artists who all have different skills. We share are music, so a sort of skill exchange, and then have a collaborative jam at the end. It was a blast. I encourage anyone to reach out to see if I have room for more people for an upcoming assembly event.

How To Be Social: What is missing from the Dallas music scene right now, and how could artists work together to fill that gap?

Eric: It’s a few things. Local music fandom in Dallas is almost a little gate kept. You almost have to know a local artist initially to get invested and involved as a fan and there’s a lack of musical events that appeal to locals who aren’t sure if hard core local music fans. The Overshare Collective vision is to first unite local artists, and then create spectacles that get the fans continuously invested in the artists.

Ambition and the Bigger Vision

How To Be Social: What are your biggest goals for Overshare over the next year?

Eric: I hope to do 1 Overshare Assembly meeting a month. I also hope to start offering affordable recordings of live sets to artists, from my performance space, so they have the tools to promote their music effectively. Then I hope to highlight one talented act a month free of charge as a live performance showcase series for local talent. After that I’m looking to figure out how to change the show landscape in a positive way locally.

How To Be Social: If resources were unlimited, what would you build for musicians and creatives in Dallas?

Eric: A big a** house with a highly equipped recording studio, rooms for touring musicians, rooms for video and rooms for photography. Basically a place where the album, all of its promo video and photo, and anything else can be all create in one place around the same time. I think artists a bit scattered trying to pull all the pieces together from different places.

How To Be Social: What do you hope people remember about your music and the community you are helping create?

Eric: It’s undeniable individuality and honest love of the music and the people behind the music.

Community and How To Be Social

How To Be Social: What is one thing you would ask of How To Be Social that could help you or the Overshare collective reach your goals?

Eric: I just ask that you inform artists who you think could benefit from this live performance set recording concept , or from these gatherings, about what we’re doing. You have such an amazing network. I think sending some of your amazing artists you work with my way could benefit everyone.

How To Be Social: What is one thing you would be willing to give back to the How To Be Social community, whether through music, mentorship, studio access, connections, or something else?

Eric: I’m willing to offer recording, mixing, and production at close to no cost or as a trade of services if I feel I’m helping someone who’s gonna r res on try to do something with the music I create with them. I think being a part of an important project in the local scene would be a dream come true in and of itself.

The Closing Question

How To Be Social: If we have this conversation again five years from now, what do you hope will have changed for you, for Overshare, and for the Dallas creative community?

Eric: Hopefully same me, different legacy.

Stay Social.

That is Eric; a pre-med dropout turned audio engineer, a bandleader who learned the hard way that vision needs a tiebreaker, and a host who would rather open his home to fifteen musicians than keep what he knows to himself. The Overshare Assembly is just getting started, and we are glad he is building it alongside this community. Until next time; Stay Social.