ERIK GARD was born in Buffalo, New York and comes from a footpath of a vast musical family. He began playing piano at the age of 4, moved on to guitar at the age of 7 and pursued playing trumpet at the age of 8. As a child, he developed a serious probationary interest in his father’s record collection and acquired a deep sense of musical belief and erudition. Growing up, he was also very influenced by his cousin’s band which would strongly attribute to his multi-layered talents.

He recorded his first album in 1994 with a band called Jack in the Box. After graduating College with a BS in Electrical Engineering he moved to Wilmington NC. Hung out with and played in numerous Blues bands, including Michelle & The Midnight Blues Band and Blue Füzhn and was a regular at the BSLCF blues jam. He lived in England the summer of 2001 moved back to the states 3 weeks before the World Trade Center tragedy, 9-11. He later moved to Austin TX and played with the Eminators, and DAX.

Erik is a rare breed of guitarist in the aspect that he plays with a high sense of awareness regarding his musical surroundings. His tonality and inborn melodic nucleus have become a central part to the sound of Silence and Mayhem.

Erik plays Gordon Smith Guitars, Class "E", Fender and Laney Amplifiers. All of his amplifiers pedals and guitars have been heavily modified by “Class "E" Amplifiers Ltd Co.”

Erik is the owner and President of Class "E" Amplifiers. If you would like more information, please visit the following websites: http://www.classeamplifiers.com http://www.classeamplifiers.blogspot.com