Bio
Recipe for Eel House: mix one part fiddle, one part folk, one part rock, one part jazz, a pinch of classical and season with wild creative energy. Add four musicians who grew up in Fairbanks Alaska, were immersed in music since before they could remember, and played music with their families.
Despite their shared roots, each member of Eel House has traveled a different musical journey to bring a unique set of skills to the group. Eric took the modernistic approach, emerging from Oberlin Conservatory with a degree in electronic music composition. Returning to Fairbanks, he threw his energies into a rock band and meanwhile discovered New England Contradance music and traditional Irish tunes.
Ryan was more old-fashioned. He learned acoustic bass while performing with a young contradance band and soon was writing and singing his own quirky and engaging brand of bluegrass. Ryan is nearly finished with a degree in vocal performance from the University of Alaska Fairbanks.
Susie was not truly born with a fiddle in her hand - she waited until age four to begin classical violin studies. Soon she discovered something more joyous: fiddle music! A four-year stint at the University of Alaska Fairbanks earned Susie a music degree, a teaching certificate, and a determination to train up a whole new crop of fiddlers.
But Alisa was born into a family of singers. Besides learning every instrument she could get her hands on, she showed her exquisite craftmanship writing country and folk songs. In college, she studied classical cello and earned a music minor at the University of Alaska Fairbanks.