ERQ Biography Biography

Bio

Ed's Redeeming Quailites:

Dan Leone ('88-'96)
Dom Leone ('88-'89)
Carrie Bradley ('88-'96)
Neno Perrotta ('88-'91)
Jonah Winter ('91-'96)

Ed's Redeeming Qualities was formed in spring of 1988 to enhance creativity and relieve tension during graduate school at the University of New Hamshire, and was named after the title character in one of Dan's stories.

Dan, his cousin Dom, and Neno already knew each other from their home in Youngstown, Ohio, and met Carrie and Jonah at UNH. They began playing calypso cover songs, then later their own songs, at a trailer park.

Their demo tapes Ed's Kitchen and Ed's Redeeming Qualities, and EP Ed's Day were recorded there. Ray Halliday produced, and backed vocals on The Boy I Work With.

For some reason, they were more popular an hour away in Boston than in their own town, and became known as a Boston band. More Bad Times and Safe World were recorded there.

Dom died of cancer in '89, and really shook the band. They continued to do a lot of his songs, and recorded Guess Who This Is as a tribute.

During '89, ERQ became friends with Kim Deal, of the Pixies, who later formed the Breeders. When the Breeders needed a violin player for a song, they called Carrie. Kim loved Drivin' on 9 from the early ERQ shows, and covered it on the Breeders' Pod album.

ERQ moved to San Fancisco, California in '90, and recorded It's All Good News in '91. Neno moved back to Ohio in '91, and Jonah moved from New York City to San Francisco the next month, and joined the band. They were interviewed on Dr. Demento's international radio show in May of '92.

Static and Weak Tea, recorded in '93, contained ERQ's only recorded cover song, Jamaica Farewell, as well as many other songs that would whow up on later albums. Big Grapefruit Clean-Up Job was recorded in '94.

The movie Ed's Next Move was a pleasant surprise. A fan of the band's needed a band in his coincidentally titled movie, and wrote them in with their permission. They play four of their old songs for the movie.

At the Fish & Game Club, their final album, was recorded in '96, with the final tour date appropriately being in Coitsville, Ohio, along with Dan's dad's band.


Read Robert Hubbard's 1993 interview with the band.

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