Moving Up Living Down, Sunny

In June, Gavin DeGraw and Colbie Caillat performed in Atlantic City and some other Jersey towns. They're dating or something, and in such is creating a mashup of mid-00s music single B-players I couldn't have possibly imagined back then. The Bubbly Chariot tour; artists trying to catch a wave.

I only bring this up because Eric Hutchinson reminds me of Gavin DeGraw to a shocking degree. Plus maybe some O.A.R. swirled in—take that opening "Talk is Cheap." Being reminded of an artist you forgot about through another artist is a startling feeling. There's plenty of Gavin (first name basis) here: "Living in the Afterlife," "In the First Place," "I'm Not Cool" (which, tongue-in-cheek?). Little more O.A.R. in "Not There Yet." One more mix-in of Black Keys-ish gospel-ish thing about rocking out in "The Basement." Generally feel-good music, a fair departure from much of the heavier items of recent RC weeks past.

Hutchinson has like nine LPs and has been "featured in" so many things it's surprising I've never heard of him before. Or compare his fame and select exposure relative to his body of work. His Wikipedia smells of it—so many -references- to odd projects like "the theme song for ESPN's Fantasy Focus podcast" and his "sharp, often colorful suits." "Watching You Watch Him" was on Season 9 premiere of Grey's Anatomy, and as such millions have heard it, though not heard of Eric. How does this happen? This Gavinization process? Does he have an excellent agent or a shitty one?

The '00s had this cultural process of TV with almost-recognizable background music, plus and influential bloggers (see: Perez Hilton, PoYB), that could propel a random artist that has an almost-recognizable sound but not-recognizable name from project to project into purgatorial fame. Remember iPod commercials? Perhaps it still happens now, but in looking back, it is something to see all the artists with large published discos that's mostly known for that one song from that one thing. Another route to one (or few) hit wonder-dom, somehow even more anonymous than nailing a #1 on the radio for a week or two.

Eric Hutchinson, totally fine. Sounds kinda like Gavin DeGraw.