Eric Calderone

Eric Calderone
GenresHeavy metal
Occupations
InstrumentsElectric guitar
YouTube information
Also known asErock
Channel
Years active2009-present
Subscribers1.45 million[1]
Total views340 million[1]
100,000 subscribers
1,000,000 subscribers2014[2]
Last updated: June 8, 2024

Eric Calderone is an American guitarist and YouTuber.[3] Calderone is best known for some of his videos on his YouTube channel "331Erock" in which he performs electric guitar renditions of songs from pop culture.

Background and career

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Calderone began playing an electric guitar in 2001 at the age of sixteen.[4] He learned about musical orchestrations as a student at Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts.[4] He also holds a degree in music from the University of Tampa.

Calderone's composition process started by transcribing a rough MIDI version of the melody and the tempo of the song that he wished to cover in a digital audio workstation.[4][5] He then digitally added drum sections with layered recordings of his lessons. After adding an element of bass and sometimes other optional instruments such as electronic musical synthesizers, he played a real time version of his cover, followed by an audio mastering phase.[4][5]

A surge in Calderone's popularity on YouTube began when he uploaded a heavy metal cover of the Lady Gaga song "Bad Romance" on October 21, 2010.[4] In December 2015, Calderone graduated from the University of Tampa with a bachelor's degree in music.[6] He has since then uploaded some videos of himself playing well-known songs (such as the Gotye and Kimbra song "Somebody That I Used to Know",[7] the Carly Rae Jepsen song "Call Me Maybe" and the Psy song "Gangnam Style") as well as also recreating music from television shows (such as Attack on Titan, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air,[8] Pokémon and Game of Thrones),[9] movie series (such as the three Star Wars movie trilogies and The Lord of the Rings movie trilogy) and video games (such as Super Mario Bros.[10] and The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim).

In 2018, Calderone formed the band Riptide with YouTuber and musician Anthony Vincent.[11]

One of his most popular videos was his cover of the Disney song "Let It Go" (from Disney's 2013 animated musical fantasy film Frozen).[12]

Awards

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In 2013, Calderone received the "Dimebag Darrell Shredder Award" at the Metal Hammer Golden Gods Awards.[13]

Discography

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Full-length albums

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  • "No More Heroes" (2012)
  • "Deadlights" (2015)

Extended plays

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  • "Hollywood Shred" (2010)
  • "Comics Meets Metal" (2015)

Compilation albums

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  • "Meets Metal Vol. 1 (The Early Year)" (2015)
  • "Movies Meet Metal Vol. 1" (2015)
  • "The 80s Meet Metal" (2015)
  • "Movies Meet Metal Vol. 2" (2015)
  • "Video Games Meet Metal" (2015)
  • "Pop Meets Metal Vol. 1" (2015)
  • "Pop Meets Metal Vol. 2" (2015)
  • "Video Games Meet Metal Vol. 2" (2015)
  • "Youtube Meets Metal Various Vids" (2015)
  • "Youtube Hits Meets Metal" (2015)

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b "About 331Erock". YouTube.
  2. ^ "One Million Subs Meets One Million Thank Yous". YouTube. YouTube. Retrieved September 8, 2016.
  3. ^ Johnson, Bailey (August 19, 2011). "Guitarist Eric Calderone shreds Nyan Cat theme". CBS News. Retrieved January 18, 2023. If there's one thing we can all hold on to in this crazy world, one constant, it's that Nyan Cat will never go away. The adorable pastry-cat has spawned more tribute videos, genre-swaps and variations than just about any other "meme" out there. Now comes the metal version, and guitarist Eric Calderone absolutely shreds the catchy jam.
  4. ^ a b c d e Hartmann, Graham (July 31, 2014). "Guitarist Eric Calderone Talks 'Meets Metal' Videos, Guitar Heroes + More". Loudwire. Townsquare Media, Inc. Retrieved January 18, 2023. When did you start playing guitar? I was 16, so 2001. I'm a late bloomer. [Laughs]
  5. ^ a b Calderone, Eric (September 26, 2011). "How I Transcribed and Recorded "Sonic Meets Metal"". Guitar World. Future Publishing Limited. Archived from the original on August 15, 2016. Retrieved January 18, 2023. Is there any sheet music for these old game tracks so the musician can see all the parts? Not too likely; however, like I said earlier, the cyber world we have created is our savior. Online there are hundreds of old-school game sites that carry the free MIDI files we're looking for
  6. ^ Cridlin, Jay (December 15, 2015). "Metal cover of Lady Gaga's 'Bad Romance' a YouTube hit for University of Tampa student". Tampa Bay Times. Archived from the original on August 18, 2016. Retrieved January 18, 2023. Eric Calderone, who will graduate Saturday with a bachelor's degree in music, has drawn more than 450,000 sets of eyeballs to a YouTube video of his metal cover of Bad Romance. It sounds like the Scorpions meets Iron Maiden meets Avenged Sevenfold. Most parents can only dream that their children graduate college with such a marketable skill.
  7. ^ Bell, Crystal (July 2, 2012). "'Somebody That I Used To Know' Heavy Metal Cover: Eric Calderone Covers Gotye (VIDEO)". The Huffington Post. Retrieved January 18, 2023. The latest in "Somebody That I Used to Know" covers comes from heavy metal rocker, Eric Calderone, who spins the understated pop song into a riff-heavy metal track. And the best part of the video? Calderone's hair, which is almost as impressive as his guitar playing.
  8. ^ Barrell, Ryan (May 17, 2016). "A Heavy Metal Version Of The 'Fresh Prince Bel Air' Theme Tune By Guitarist Eric Calderone". The Huffington Post UK. Retrieved July 10, 2016. The 'Fresh Prince' theme tune is probably one of the most iconic TV show openings of all time, and guitarist Eric Calderone has decided to give you the chance to hear it like never before. He took away the 90s pop rap style we all know and love, and replaced it with some epic heavy metal shredding.
  9. ^ Marnell, Blair (June 26, 2016). "Game Of Thrones Rocks Out, Team America Style". Nerdist. Archived from the original on December 26, 2018. Retrieved January 18, 2023. Tonight, the Winds of Winter will arrive on HBO's Game of Thrones for the sixth season finale of George R.R. Martin's epic fantasy saga. To mark the occasion. popular YouTube musicians Eric Calderone (a.k.a. Erock) and Jonathan Young have joined forces for a very Game of Thrones inspired cover of the theme song from Team America: World Police. That song might be better known by its official title, "America, F*ck Yeah!" Fair warning: like the original, this cover is very NSFW and we've lost count of the number F-bombs that got dropped in the video. Trust us, it's a lot! This version of the song also features new GoT inspired lyrics as well as an extended listing of things to go "F*ck Yeah!" about. Young even follows the pattern laid out by South Park co-creator and Team America songwriter Trey Parker by giving the chorus topics which eventually forces them to question what they're endorsing…at least briefly. Even the secret of Hodor is revisited in this version, so don't watch this video if you've somehow managed to miss the heartbreaking episode where that truth was revealed.
  10. ^ Woerner, Meredith (September 10, 2015). "Proof that everyone loves the 'Super Mario Bros.' theme song". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved July 10, 2016.
  11. ^ Childers, Chad (July 22, 2018). "Anthony Vincent + EROCK Give 10 Songs the Ghost Treatment". Loudwire. Townsquare Media, Inc. Retrieved May 7, 2021. Meanwhile, [Anthony] Vincent dropped some cool info for fans of his and EROCK's collaborations, teasing a new EP for the pair under the name Riptide. The singer says it's an ode to "that '80s rock arena shit," and offered a preview of a song along with a pre-order link.
  12. ^ Hartmann, Graham (June 30, 2014). "'Frozen' Anthem 'Let it Go' Turned Into Ripping Metal Track". Loudwire. Townsquare Media, Inc. Retrieved January 18, 2023. Guitarist Eric Calderone has become an online giant with his shredding videos and song re-imaginings. The dude even won the 'Dimebag Darrell Shredder' Award at Metal Hammer's 2013 Golden Gods Awards. In what's become one of Calderone's most popular YouTube videos, his metal version of 'Let It Go' absolutely rips.
  13. ^ "Winners Announced For Metal Hammer's 2013 'Golden Gods Awards'". ThePRP. June 17, 2013. Retrieved July 10, 2016.
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