From a Vermont Barn to Your Speakers: Eric Schenkman Shares the Story Behind New Single “Avocado Eldorado”
Canadian guitarist, singer, and a founding member of New York City’s Spin Doctors, Eric Schenkman returns with “Avocado Eldorado,” a driving rock ’n’ roll track inspired by his grandfather’s Cadillac.
In “Avocado Eldorado,” Schenkman looks back at his grandfather’s green Cadillac Eldorado, presently rusting away in an old Vermont barn. The relic – a wide-ass, loud, stately car – represents freedom and the romance of the open road. For Schenkman in particular, it also honours the “old men” who played pivotal roles in his life.
The song’s title has its own history. In 1995, Schenkman traveled from San Francisco to legendary guitarist David Lindley’s Reseda, CA home with drummer Wally Ingram. When they arrived, Schenkman spotted Lindley’s big blue 1970s Cadillac Eldorado sitting in the driveway.
“My grandfather has the same car, only it’s an avocado Eldorado,” Schenkman remembers telling him. Lindley’s response was immediate: “That’s a song you should write.”
“It only took 30 years!” Schenkman says.
That long pause is fitting for a song Schenkman describes as deeply autobiographical. It brings so many things back to life: his grandfather, his childhood, and the Cadillac itself with its bench seats big enough to sleep on, the chrome grills reflecting the road and the avocado paint giving it all of its funky glory.
The track also carries Schenkman’s preference for feel and spontaneity into the studio. Produced by Schenkman and Aaron Goldstein, “Avocado Eldorado” was recorded with “no click track. As unprecious as possible. Immediate rock ’n’ roll, like my experience.”
The recording features Schenkman on vocals and guitar, the dynamic rhythm section of Al Cross on drums and Stan Miczek on bass, with Carleigh Aikens on backup vocals. It was mixed and recorded by Goldstein and Kristian Montano, who mastered the track.
“Avocado Eldorado” was nearly complete, but it needed a bridge, so when Schenkman brought it to longtime friend and collaborator Jono Manson, during a writing and recording session in Santa Fe, Manson supplied the missing lyrics, completing a song whose origins stretched back decades.
For Schenkman, the song ultimately is more than a story about an old Cadillac: “I loved writing this lyric and song because it made me feel closer to my family. I think everyone has at least one crazy old man in their family and usually there’s a crazy old car, too.”
“Avocado Eldorado” is part of Schenkman’s forthcoming album, Ten Smiles, and, in his words, it may be the biggest of those smiles.