Let's be honest. Most band bios and CD descriptions are exercises in two things: Writing about yourself in third person and using flowery, alliterative language. When you read something like "Cataldo's moody melodies shed light on obvious song-smithing prowess," you know who's writing that ****. Me. Eric Anderson. "Cataldo" is a name I picked because "Eric Anderson and His Friends Who Play Music Well" didn't make a sensible acronym. That's who makes the recordings, that's who plays the shows, and that's how it will remain for the foreseeable future. Sometimes I play shows by myself. It's sort of like Bright Eyes without a drug addiction*. Why I picked that specific name is more complicated. The Cataldo Mission is the oldest standing building in Idaho; rustic, elegant, and quietly enduring since the mid-19th century. Built by a Jesuit transplant named Father Ravalli, the Mission seems a picture of old world dignity and craftsmanship. In reality, it was created using simple tools, unpaid Indian labor, and cheap, provincial building materials. The internal frame was constructed using lumber cut and carried to the site. The chandeliers were made from tin cans. The 18-inch think walls were draped in fabric from Ft. Walla Walla, and are, in fact, hollow. Ravalli used simple materials to fashion something dramatic and serene, a testament to bucolic resourcefulness and ingenuity that remains to this day. You can draw quite a few analogies based on that description, and some (probably most) are accurate and intentional. Ambiguity being a path to frustration, let me tell you a few things I definitely am. I am from Moscow, Idaho. I am in love with playing music. I am interested in saying hello and asking and answering questions. I am in debt. Please buy a CD. *yet