By HANNAH VAIR
Contributing Writer
“I don’t really read music at all,” said Eric Sinko, a student at The College of Saint Rose. An acoustic session for Sinko begins as he sits down and tunes his guitar to whatever style he is taking on for the day. Aside from his guitar, his laptop is his main accompaniment, used to find a tone and array of videos with the help of YouTube. Going off of only sound and few visuals, he picks up the tune and launches into learning song after song.
A guitar playing session can last up to five hours for Sinko, but the troubling factor is waking up and going to practice the following morning. Practice, being basketball practice. Sinko is a junior at Saint Rose and member of the men’s basketball team. Being a student athlete is a lot of work and it interferes with his guitar playing every day. He works hard on and off the court and often those exhausting hours take a great deal of time away from his relaxation– just sitting down at home and playing his guitar.
Pondering over labeling his skill a hidden talent, Sinko noted that it is mostly his friends who know of his skill on the guitar. He is used to playing quietly on his own or in the company of a few friends. No secret to his teammates, “when they are over they’ll ask me to play a little something,” he said. Fellow teammate Kareem Thomas believes Sinko’s talents make him stand out, “he has unique characteristics you rarely find in a student athlete,” Thomas said. Although he does not currently perform publicly, Sinko said, “I think it’s definitely something I’m looking forward to in the future.” As a student athlete, he hasn’t had much time to sit down and make his own music, yet. On the court Sinko is a junior guard. He has recently finished up his third season with the Golden Knights as they fell to Southern New Hampshire University in the semi-final game of the Northeast-10 Conference tournament. He is one of six juniors who will be returning for their final season next year. Sinko is hoping that his plans to team up with Saint Rose graduate and former basketball player Brian Hanuschak will produce new sounds. “He’s got a good lyrical mind, I like his taste in music,” Sinko said. But creating new music is not a mindless task, “it’s hard because you want to just keep changing it,” he added.
Sinko’s talent came at a young age when he bought his first rock CD, American Idiot, by Green Day. He was intrigued by the rock songs as well as his father’s background playing the guitar. Although he no longer plays today, Sinko’s father continues to spark his interest. “‘I really want you to learn this song,’ my dad will say, “and I’ll learn it for him,” Sinko said. Sinko took on a month of lessons during the summer before 8th grade. Music lessons tend to boost skill and knowledge, but for Sinko, they didn’t do much. Two things that did do it for Sinko put him in the category of natural-born talent, eliminating the need for any classroom learning. “I didn’t really have trouble getting the strength to wrap my hand around the guitar,” he noted first regarding the size of his hands. Second, his ability to learn from looking at other people’s hands and simply, (as he put it) experimenting with different noises. Sinko described his raw talent as a visual learner so effortlessly, yet his demonstrations of different strumming techniques would have anyone in instant, deep concentration of his hand movements. His primary sources of music education are the YouTube videos he imitates and covers. He uses the trial-and-error method to find the right sound. Lately, Sinko has been combining voice with his guitar. With a natural soft tone, he uses his voice to learn rhythm and keep on pace with the song. But playing with headphones on is something you will not see him do because it sets off his tone. Within the past two years, he has also begun a good amount of song writing. Sinko has always been fascinated with learning other people’s styles, but is now trying to create his own.
John Mayer is a standout artist Sinko idolizes. He enjoys playing his songs the most, along with other old school rock artists such as Tom Petty, James Taylor, and Neil Young. More recently, Sinko has been listening to the United Kingdom YouTube sensation Hobbie Stuart. Discovering such artists is fun for Sinko, because they are young, and up and coming. “The reason I like him (Stuart) is because he’s been taking Rihanna, Chris Brown pop songs and turning them into acoustic versions. It’s a whole new aspect I’m learning now,” said Sinko.
With a lot going on in his young life, Sinko’s guitar playing can currently be labeled as a hobby. He sees a feasible music career occurring through YouTube, where he could continue to learn, post videos and make adjustments based on feedback. In season, basketball is his main priority, but this summer he plans on recording new original music. When asked what he would produce if he were presented with a chance to make a record for a music label, Sinko said he would create an upbeat happy tone– a mix between Jack Johnson and John Mayer, incorporating a lot of loops with a solo set. A duet of his choice would be with icon John Mayer. “Just because he’s like my favorite or probably Jimmy, I’d have to just play with Jimmy Hendricks, he’s the greatest, ever.”
