Gay
musician,
singer
and
songwriter
Eric
Himan
has
always
wanted
to
sing
a
duet
with
Natalie
Merchant.
“I
loved
listening
to
10,000
Maniacs
as
a
kid,”
he
says.
Himan,
who
turns
26
on
Monday,
has
been
called
the
“gay
Kurt
Cobain.”
He
also
has
been
compared
to
Prince,
Ani
DiFranco
and
Rufus
Wainwright.
But
Himan
is
far
less
fatalistic
than
Cobain.
On
his
new
album,
“Dark
Horses,”
he
sings
of
faith,
love
and
trying
to
connect,
especially
when
he
achingly
cries,
“You’re
my
habit,
I’m
your
curse.”
On
the
bittersweet
“Clyde,”
Himan
is
accompanied
only
by
a
piano,
and
the
effect
is
breathtaking.
He
doesn’t
choose
to
craft
songs
that
reach
into
the
soul
and
set
up
residence;
he
simply
has
no
choice.
“When
I
write,
the
lyrics
come
first.
I
craft
the
melody
around
them,”
he
says.
“I
don’t
want
to
come
off
as
sounding
like
I
am
bragging,
but
for
me
it’s
easy.”
Over
the
years,
Himan
has
built
a
huge
following
among
indie
crowds.
The
numerous
tattoos
on
his
arms
belie
the
sensitive,
25-year-old
poet
underneath;
one
tattoo
involves
a
poem
by
Langston
Hughes
titled
“Advice.”
While
endlessly
crisscrossing
the
country
on
one
of
his
many
tours
it’s
just
Himan
in
his
Dodge
van,
with
his
equipment,
his
CDs
and
a
huge
smile.
Life,
it
seems,
is
good.
Eric
Himan:
Yep,
that’s
basically
how
all
of
last
year
went.
Himan:
That’s
right.
My
best
friend
in
college,
Cassandra
Buncie,
and
I
are
basically
Thumbcrown.
But
after
managing
the
production
of
my
own
four
albums,
we
certainly
want
to
get
to
a
place
where
we
can
develop
other
artists.
As
I
travel
across
the
country,
I
recognize
performers
who
are
so
talented,
and
I
wish
I
had
more
time.
It’ll
happen.
Himan:
Well,
actually,
my
father
was
in
the
Air
Force,
so
I
was
born
in
Charleston,
S.C.
But
we
also
went
to
New
York
and
New
Jersey,
but
mainly
my
dad
was
stationed
in
Oahu
in
Hawaii.
Later,
we
moved
to
Fort
Walton
Beach,
Fla.,
and
I
went
to
high
school
there,
before
heading
to
Penn
State.
Himan:
That’s
a
really
funny
story
actually.
I
told
my
dad
I
had
something
to
tell
him,
and
usually
he’s
very
straightforward,
not
a
jokester
at
all.
But
this
one
time
he
was
trying
to
be
funny
and
he
said,
“What
are
you
going
to
tell
me,
you’re
gay?”
And
I
said,
“Well,
actually,
yes.”
He
was
so
mortified
that
he
was
trying
to
be
funny
that
one
time.
We
laugh
about
it
now.
Himan:
Well,
sadly,
my
mom
passed
away
when
I
was
4.
Her
side
of
the
family
did
not
take
it
well
and
to
this
day
we
don’t
really
talk
about
it
or
anything
about
my
music.
They
miss
out
on
a
lot
of
things
I
am
proud
of.
Himan:
My
dad
is
incredible.
We
don’t
always
see
eye
to
eye
on
everything,
but
I
respect
him
immensely.
Himan:
I
did
my
first
cover
song
on
this
CD,
Simply
Red’s
‘Holding
Back
the
Years’
so
I
guess
I’ll
go
with
that
one.
That
song
has
always
held
special
meaning
to
me.
‘Strangled
by
the
wishes
of
pater.
Hoping
for
the
arms
of
mater.’
Himan:
That
song
followed
me.
My
last
gig
was
Nov.
10,
in
New
York
City,
and
I
came
back
to
where
I
was
living
in
Florida,
and
I
was
at
a
gas
station,
and
I
heard
it,
and
I
had
never
heard
it
in
my
life.
I
wrote
it
down
in
my
car,
on
a
piece
of
paper,
and
that
was
the
end
of
it.
I
forgot
about
it.
And
then,
a
week
before
I
was
supposed
to
record
the
CD,
I
heard
it
at
a
bank,
came
back
and
asked
my
friend
what
it
was,
she
said
it
was
Simply
Red.
I
found
the
CD
in
this
used
CD
store
for
like
six
bucks,
so
I
listened
to
it,
and
I
fell
in
love
with
it
again.
I
was
thinking
about
putting
it
on
my
site,
but
after
we
recorded
it,
I
felt
like
it
fit
so
well
with
all
the
other
songs.
Eric
Himan
throws
in
a
cover
of
Simply
Red’s
hit
song
‘I’ll
Keep
Holding
On,’
on
his
new
CD
‘Dark
Horse,’
released
on
March
22.
(Photo
by
Brian
Orter)
|
Himan:
I
wanted
...
