Eric the Great, on songs and struggles

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This article was published 07/12/2022 (1213 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

If you are a coffee lover, you may enjoy the singing and guitar music of Eric Pyle, a busker by the Tim Hortons on Pembina Highway in the Fort Garry area. He’s also the “Johnny Cash guy” to those walking to the Canada Life Centre when the Jets or Moose have games. Eric, well known in the city as Eric the Great, once regularly busked Osborne Village.

Eric began busking at the Tim Hortons when he lived in the nearby Capri Motel before a 2020 fire led to it being demolished. Now he says it’s been a nightmare finding a permanent place to live. The paperwork for apartments is extensive and down payments prohibitive.

He’s tried staying at shelters, but he says you have to show up and leave at certain times, and he feels enslaved. He’s been forced to stay in tough areas with a rough bunch of people. The effort can be soul-crushing, he says, but he gets through it all by being blessed by God.

He often feels like God moves his hands while playing guitar and the songs just come through. Eric says busking is the opposite of the music industry, with its business emphasis. Busking is just about the purity of music with no boundaries.

Eric grew up loving music and says he had bought around 1,000 albums before he turned 20. He started out just singing, picking up the guitar when he was 35.

Eric’s friend Andrea Locktin occasionally lends her vocals for busking and for recordings. They have been friends for 18 years and support and protect one another. Eric says the voices of women must be heard.

Over the years, Eric has produced 15 CDs featuring original and cover songs. He was in a band called The Ludwigs in the late 1980s and early ’90s, based in both Winnipeg and Vancouver. They had gigs in places such as the Pyramid Cabaret and at large festivals like Sunfest.

You can find Eric’s music on YouTube, including videos for the songs Coming Back and Indecent at Joe’s Café (search for Eric Pyle or The Ludwigs and song names). You’ll also find a short video called “Eric.” produced by stdents in the creative communications program at Red River College.

Or you can catch some tunes and support Eric and Andrea at Timmies on Pembina.