Interview with Author and Country Singer Eric Dodge

Eric Dodge’s albums are making waves in the country music world! His album Why Not Today became a huge international success and has sold all over the world in over 15 countries and even topped the Amazon.com best selling albums list. Eric has also been featured in Country Weekly magazine, KUTV 2 News at Noon, and Good Things Utah, several times. Eric has released 8 albums and has performed across the United States and Canada.

In 2012 he was accepted into the Country Music association, the (CMA). In 2013 Eric became an Author and entered the world of book writing. He released his debut book titled Baby Steps To Music Industry Success. In 2015 Eric released his second book Why Not Today? Face Your Fears and Chase Your Dreams! 

He’s also shared the stage with many of country music's biggest names in front of over 50,000 people!

Welcome to my blog, Eric. I have heard you sing in concerts and absolutely love your voice. It is well-trained and sort of reminds me of a mixture between country and Broadway put together. What inspired you to become a singer?

I was on a free cruise that I won on a local radio station. The cruise sailed out on September 10^th 2001. We were quarantined in international waters while they searched our rooms with bomb sniffing dogs. While sitting on the top deck scared out of our minds, my brother dared me to do Karaoke for the first time. Singing was my biggest fear. I always thought I could sing, but never tried.  I was in my 20’s that day, and a full grown adult, when I found out at the end of the song that I could sing. One of the passengers hugged me and she told me if we all got home safely I needed to become a singer. I stopped pursuing becoming a police officer and dedicated all my time to becoming a singer. Here I am today.

Wow! That is so interesting. Please tell us about your book: Why Not Today? Face Your Fears and Chase Your Dreams! What is it about?

This is a book about many of the trials I faced growing up. Depression, anxiety, severe bullying and more. I am hoping to inspire others to chase their dreams as well. The name Why Not Today? really says it all. I want others to know that it is ok to break free from the past that may be holding them back. It was for me. I was able to lose 80 pounds, get out of severe depression, and become a country singer. If I can do this, so can others. I am just a normal guy.

Just a normal guy with a fantastic voice!!! Where did you get your inspiration for this book?

There are a whole lot of things. My life is this book. I wrote my first book about the Music industry in 2012. I mentioned some things about my bullying from my younger school days. I mentioned my weight loss and health challenges. Many people started asking me about those things. When they heard about my September 11^th story I started getting asked to speak at different groups. I decided I needed to tell the full story. The bullying, the weight loss, the September 11^th story, and how I pulled myself out of some pretty bad depression.

I know this book will help many people, Eric. What kind of research did you do and did you give real life experiences for the reader?

Most of this book is real-life experiences. As I was combatting anxiety I studied it and even took some online courses and classes on coping with it. I read books on Happiness and health. I studied the topics that I needed help with at the time.

Thank you for a wonderful interview, Eric. Now it’s time to tell us something about the real you that we’ll never forget.

I am a terrible bowler. When I was younger I was bowling and getting very frustrated that I could not get anything other than gutter balls. I decided I was going to run all the way down the lane and throw the ball at point blank at the pins so I could finally knock a few pins down. As I stepped on to the lane at a full run I chickened out and decided to turn back so nobody would see me doing this. As I went to stop, I quickly learned that the floor of the lane was oiled and very slippery. I had no idea. I ended up falling on my backside and dropping my bowling ball very loudly on the lane. The entire place went silent and everyone was looking at me. I could not get up because of the slippery floor. I had to roll into the gutter and stand up and walk back up the lane in shame. This was a very embarrassing moment for me. Lots of people were laughing at me.

No my goodness! That is so sad, but yet it’s so funny. I tried to not laugh and be sympathetic, but it was hard. I guess every one has their embarrassing moments, don’t they? I hope all my readers will check out your awesome book.

Visit Eric Dodge’s website at http://ericdodge.com

Check out The Last Real Cowboy at https://www.reverbnation.com/ericdodge/songs

Chapter 1

        My heart was pounding so hard in my chest that I thought it was about to explode. The palms of my hands were cold and clammy, and the sweat was beginning to run down the back of my neck and forehead. Every salty drop of sweat that would run down from beneath the band of my black cowboy hat would burn my eyes as I would try to wipe it away from my face. Trying to catch my breath was the most important thing in my life right now, and concentration seemed impossible.

There was a ringing in my ears and my chest felt like it was being crushed by the weight of a 5-ton elephant sitting on it. This was a panic attack. But who wouldn’t be falling apart? I was about to walk out into a football stadium crowded with over 50,000 people, and sing one of my songs.

There was a giant TV screen and camera crews holding cameras right in my face. How was this possible for someone who so desperately feared being in front of a crowd? Would this be the end? Would this kill me? Even worse, would I forget the words?

 My mind was so blurred, how could I remember anything? What am I doing here? This was all a huge mistake!

Those were some of the questions that ran through my mind as the announcer loudly said “Please welcome Eric Dodge to the stage,” and my band began to play a familiar song of mine. I began to walk down the ramp towards the stage, just as I’d done on so many occasions in the past.

My mind was now on autopilot. Trying to calm down, I began to breathe slowly and deeply.

Everything is going to be OK, Eric. Trust your preparation.

Once the first word of that song came out of my mouth my mind began to free up. Everything became clear—the green field, the audience, the blue sky, my great band—and the show went off without a hitch. 

I am not an expert on fear, nor pretending to be an expert on anything. However, my fears at times have gotten the best of me.

Let me be clear about something. This book is not about my journey as a country music entertainer, but it has everything to do with being able to achieve that dream. This book came to life because of my overwhelming desire to help others who struggle with the same issues that many of us have lived with, and still live with today. You are the reason this book was written. Let me help you to achieve your dreams. It starts by facing your fears.

We all have fears that control us. It is my belief that if we can control our fears we can accomplish anything. If we master our fears, we master our future. When we are born and when we are little kids we are, for the most part, fearless. Outside circumstances, introduced to us throughout our lives, begin the process of developing fears. When we have a fear of something, we have a reason for it. Something happened to us. Maybe it was something we saw, or a reaction we witnessed from someone we loved. This is where our deepest, most strongly rooted fears come from.

We can push past these fears. Many years ago I started believing that we should face our fears instead of running from them. As part of this hard-won knowledge, I’d like to share some stories from my life that caused me to start living a life of fear. In examining my life, I was able to trace some of my very deep-rooted fears back to these stories.

Many of us struggle every day. For me, there were many sleepless nights. Worry, frustration, doubt, fear, sadness, depression, and anxiety are just some of the emotions I have felt and dealt with at many times of my life. Because of these facts, what you read here is going to be very honest. It will literally make my life an open book.

Yes, it will be very hard for me to write—and hard for me to share. It may be hard for some to read, but I believe it must be shared. It is very clear to me that my purpose is to help others, as well as myself, to let go of our fears, let go of what is holding us back, and just let go of what we cannot change.

We have one life to live. Why not see what we can do with it? Why not face our fears! And, Why Not Today? Are you ready to begin your journey with me? There is no better time to face our fears and chase our dreams.