Today we’d like to introduce you to Eric Charles.
Hi Eric, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Hello! First i want to say thank you for this opportunity to get to know me and the band a little better. Heres a little background story of myself and the start of my band, Sweet Cambodia. I moved to Orlando in August 2014 from Jupiter, Florida. To me, Orlando is the land of opportunity- which it really has been! I enrolled in Valencia College and started playing open mic nights at The Sleeping Moon Cafe and The Geek Easy after school. About two months after arriving in Orlando, after asking nearly everybody I came across if they wanted to start a band, I was sitting in the hallways of Valencia when Savvy approached me. We got to talking, and I asked him if he wanted to start a band and, if he was interested, to show up at my house that night with five of my original songs learned. And he did just that. Fast-forward two weeks – we had been using the Jazz room for practice while they had an off-hour. In the middle of a jam, in walks a seeing-eye dog leading his blind owner, Manny. This blind man sits down on the drum set and joins in on the jam Savvy and I were throwing down. We were in disbelief, and after that jam ended, we asked if he would join our band. He said yes, and we formed the first variation of Sweet Cambodia, The Three Hounds.
Fast-forward six months, and after an incredible gig at The Sleeping Moon Cafe, our drummer told us he had a higher calling (Jesus) and needed to leave the band. As fate would have it, a gentleman in the crowd that night, Itai, offered to be our manager. We found a replacement, Pat, but he left after about a month. We told our manager about our situation with our drummers, and he said, “Don’t worry, I’ll set you up with a new drummer by the end of the week.” That’s when we met Donnie and Sweet Cambodia. As we know today, it was formed on the 4th of July ’15. Since then, we have opened for Everclear, Weezer, and Young, The Giant, sold out shows, toured throughout the southern states, had our van burn down to the ground on our first tour, played at multiple butt-naked parties, crowd-surfed, hugged, kissed, and made so many lifelong friends along the way. The best part is it still feels like we just started. We are currently recording music videos to release the record we have recorded since 2020 and have about 2.5 albums of music to record shortly. So grateful for this!
It wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
It has been a challenging road. But like they say, if it were easy, everybody would do it! Some of the more difficult obstacles along the way have been our van burning down in rural Alabama during our first tour, 3 band members coming and going, COVID-19, and continuing to find inspiration to keep going has been a big struggle, also time/ life.
I appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
My main job in the band aside from writing music is having control of our social media presence. I specialize in coming up with original pieces of content, as well as planning out and executing all of our social media ventures. I am most known for the type of music I write and the genuine joy that exudes from my being when I’m on stage performing and playing our music. Id say im most proud of our resilience and determination and to never give up. We have had every opportunity to give up, and we continue to push on because there are no failures, only quitters! What sets us apart would be our style of music, our stage presence, and determination to persevere.
If you had to, what characteristic of yours would you give the most credit to?
Persistence, dedication, and perseverance
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sweetcambodia/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SweetCambodiaOfficial/?locale=ms_MY&paipv=0&eav=AfYn4BhbT0url27rHhwTBvbI43UzV7L5UobfoSCjmclTE95qurW9Ip_qlSh9L8OCrRc&_rdr
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOzKQ_ImjHccIJAgyseTKgw
- Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@sweetcamb00ty
Image Credits
Herb Maximo (photoshoot), Gabe Lugo (live shots)
