Sena Ehrhardt Band on BackStage Pass debuts Sunday, February 3, at 7 p.m. on WKAR-TV. Here’s an extended excerpt from the BackStage Pass Interview
Sena Ehrhardt Band
BackStage Pass interview with Sena Ehrhardt
Interviewed by WKAR producer Mike Mihalus
September 2012
About the band’s style
Our music in the Sena Ehrhardt band is an amalgamation of being different styles of music, it's blues, soul, funk, a little bit of rock-a-billy, a little bit of soul and everybody at the end of the day comes together and has a fun time.
About Playing with Ed Ehrhardt (guitars)
Ed Ehrhardt is my father. He's the guitar player in my band and he is a classically trained pianist and so he has a great background in music theory, influences in many different genres of music, like jazz. And he brings such a level of experience and professionalism to the band because he's played for over 40 years professionally at some blues band. So it's great playing with my dad.
About Steve Hanson (bass)
Steve Hansen on bass, brings a lot of fun to the band. He has a big heart and he is very influenced by funk music, so we get to hear all kinds of Flutesy Collins and George Clinton and Parliament Funkadelic, the Meters and so he brings that funk influence to us in our song writing and in our stage performances.
About Tim Hassler (drums)
Tim Hassler on drums is a young energetic drummer out of Wisconsin. He's toured all over the world with Pete Anderson, who played guitar with Dwight Yokum. So, he brings this kind of country rock-ability sensibility and influence and he just really keeps us moving and on track.
What's the best part about being on stage?
I think the best part of being on stage is just feeling that moment. You can't ever predict how a show is going to go. Every night is different and we get to interact with the crowd, have a fun time and bring our music to new people every night. And that's so fun.
What makes a good show?
I think a good show is any time that anyone has fun. And any time that we can connect a message. If someone feels something in one of our songs, I think that's what we love writing our own music, is that ability to connect with someone and go through their experience mutually.
How did you get to be in a band with your dad?
I started out in my dad's band. It was my very first band, it was called "Plan B" and we played very regionally in Minnesota and I wanted to play more. I was writing my own music. And I decided I wanted to start a project on my own and asked if he wanted to join and he was on board right from the get-go.
What's the best part about being in a band with your dad?
I think the best part of being in a band with my dad is the comfort level, especially when it comes to song writing and bouncing ideas off of one another. We're never afraid to bring an idea forward because another person might make fun of it or belittle it. We understand that anything is fair game and that's not something that you would experience when you collaborate with. So, that's a super valuable thing for me having him in my band.