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Eric Stefani

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Eric Stefani
Birth nameEric Matthew Stefani
Born (1967-06-17) June 17, 1967 (age 57)
Fullerton, California, U.S.
OriginAnaheim, California, U.S.
GenresSka punk
Occupations
  • Keyboardist
  • songwriter
  • animator
Instruments
Years active1986–present
Labels
Formerly ofNo Doubt

Eric Matthew Stefani (born June 17, 1967) is an American musician and animator best known as the founder and former member of the ska punk band No Doubt. He is the older brother of former bandmate Gwen Stefani and is also a former animator on the television series The Simpsons[1] and The Ren & Stimpy Show.

Early life and education

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Stefani is the son of Dennis and Patti Stefani. He attended Loara High School in Anaheim, California. He worked at a Dairy Queen with his sister Gwen and John Spence.[2] After high school, he attended Cypress College.[3][4] He went on to study animation at the California Institute of the Arts in 1991.[5]

According to No Doubt's guitarist Tom Dumont, Eric was able to write music for the band despite not knowing music theory—an accomplishment that impressed Dumont, since he was a music major.[6]

Career

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Stefani, his sister Gwen and John Spence formed the band No Doubt in 1986.[2] The group added several members and performed live shows at venues such as Fenders Ballroom in Long Beach. The group started writing original material much of which Eric Stefani contributed. He left once the band's album Tragic Kingdom was recorded. Eric and Gwen were nominated as a songwriting team at the 1998 Grammy Awards for Song of the Year for "Don't Speak".[7]

Stefani left the group before their breakthrough to work in animation full time,[8] previously splitting his time with the band, and working for The Simpsons.[9] The episode "Homerpalooza" contains a quick scene, drawn by Stefani, where the members of No Doubt appear, although they aren't featured.[10]

In an interview on Late Night with Seth Meyers on October 26, 2020, Gwen revealed that Eric recorded some instrumentation on one of the tracks for her upcoming album, which ended up being "Let Me Reintroduce Myself".[11]

References

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  1. ^ "CA.Stefani.#1.GF. ERIC STEFANI, formerly of rock group No Doubt, and is now an animator, looks at one". August 6, 2015. Retrieved August 22, 2018.
  2. ^ a b Vineyard, Jennifer. "Tunes and 'Toons" Archived December 3, 2008, at the Wayback Machine, OCWeekly.com, February 26, 1998; retrieved August 24, 2007.
  3. ^ "Fullerton College Centennial Celebration | Alumni Stories".
  4. ^ Eliscu, Jenny (January 27, 2005). "Gwen Cuts Loose". Rolling Stone.
  5. ^ Brian Boonex. "Musicians who left huge bands right before they got big (9 Photos)". The Chive. Retrieved November 5, 2018.
  6. ^ Ernie Ball (June 13, 2017). "Ernie Ball: String Theory featuring Tom Dumont of No Doubt". YouTube. Retrieved July 1, 2022.
  7. ^ "List of Grammy award nominations", cnn.com, January 6, 1998; retrieved January 11, 2007.
  8. ^ "No Doubt's 1996 'Tragic Kingdom' Cover Story: Get Happy!". Spin. October 10, 2017. Retrieved August 22, 2018.
  9. ^ "25 Years Ago: No Doubt Go Against the Trends on Their Debut". Diffuser.fm. March 17, 2017. Retrieved August 22, 2018.
  10. ^ Archer, Wes (2005). The Simpsons season 7 DVD commentary for the episode "Homerpalooza" (DVD). 20th Century Fox.
  11. ^ "'Late Night': Gwen Stefani Didn't Know Blake Shelton Before 'The Voice'".
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