Today is my last day at the Hartford Courant. As reported elsewhere, I volunteered for a buyout from the paper, where I’ve been the rock critic for the past 10 years of a 14-year career here.
I won’t lie: the decision to leave was an easy one. Upheavals in the media world, particularly in print (and specifically at the Courant’s parent company), make this an excellent time to seek a new challenge. If deciding was the easy part, though, actually leaving is rather more difficult, and not just because it meant cleaning up my desk (pictured at right).
The Courant is the only place I’ve worked since (and, actually, prior to) graduating from college. Before I started as rock critic a decade ago, I spent four years covering towns in eastern Connecticut as part of the paper’s state desk system (what’s up, Somers?). I’ve been fortunate during all of that time to work with truly talented journalists, doing meaningful work. I’ve had amazing, committed colleagues, past and present, who have challenged and inspired me.
I’ve also been fortunate to have a job I have truly loved doing, that has introduced me to a staggering array of new music and has allowed me to muse out loud about the ways in which music intersects with the rest of our lives. I’ve attended nearly 800 concerts over the past 10 years, interviewed hundreds of local and national musicians and reviewed countless CDs, all of which has led to fascinating conversations with readers, in person at shows, by e-mail and, since 2006, on the Sound Check blog.
That’s what I will miss. As for those new challenges, it’s too early to say for sure exactly what they will entail. I’ll continue writing for Spinner, RollingStone.com and M Music & Musicians magazine, and you can follow me at Listen, Dammit, and my self-titled website. You can also find me on Wednesdays at 4:10 p.m. on the Best New Song of the Week segment on WRSI-FM, 93.9, the River, in Northampton.
Thank you all for reading over the years. Let’s keep the conversation going.
Starting next week, Nick Caito takes over the Sound Check blog. You can reach him at ncaito@courant.com.
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20 Responses to So Long, CT, And Thanks For The Memories
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It’s been a great ride! You go out on the up side. #winning Congrats, Eric!
Thank you, Lisa!
Glad to be part of your new adventures, Eric! Congratulations on a job brilliantly done at the Courant, and best of luck on your new path.
Aw, thanks Joan. See you Wednesday?
Eric, no one wrote a Somers board of selectman meeting up better than you! Oh and you did an okay job with the Rock Critic thing, too.
Best of luck, my friend!
What about the podcast???
Eric,
While I’ll miss reading your reviews here, it’s great to know you’ll only be a url away. Seriously, it’s been a blast getting to know you through your reviews and seeing you at local shows in and around Hartford. Thank you for supporting the local music (and music video) scene and introducing me to some great music like Amanda Shires.
-Helder
Thank you for the kind words, Helder, it’s been great getting to know you, too. See you on the new digs?
Most definitely, friendo! Just bookmarked the new gigs, and I’m sure you’ll tweet your posts.
Also… Caito is taking over? God save us all.
Eric,
Congrats on such a great run. Even before we met, I was a fan of your work, and it’s because of your guidance and support that I’m now involved in the highly lucrative field of music journalism!
What song will you play on your way out? Maybe your hands will be too full of stolen office supplies to work the iPod? Understandable.
Anyway, onward and upward, my friend. And again, thanks.
Ken
Eric– I will miss your work at the Courant, but it’s good to know that I can follow you through other media.
And I’m sure I’ll see you at Wilco!
David K
Congratulations on the next phase.
Since you came to my journalism class lasive been following your stuff and even got to see what you do first hand at the Aaron lewis show at the Webster. Good luck and ill continue reading.
Good Luck Eric!
Going to miss your reviews and columns. I was really disappointed when Roger Catlin left. But you filled his shoes without missing a beat. Good luck and I’ll see you at the “Rock Show”.
[...] to you, Eric…and thanks for the rock n roll! Check out Eric’s final “Sound Check” here… http://courantblogs.com/sound-check/eric-r-danton-leaving-courant/#comments Space Orphans Suicide [...]
Mr. Danton: your tenure at the Courant is a record of brilliant integrity. Thanks for helping show us how to rock.
There was a time when you had the likes of Jim Koplik checking in on the log. The Courant went through its annual “re-registration change of platform” and frustrated the hell out of everybody. Now its the move to devices and people either read (rather than contribute) or simply avoid the stuff that isn’t formatted well enough to read easily on an iPhone.
Good luck. Always enjoyed the column. Is Caito a Wilco fan? That was a job prerequisite, right?
Eric,
Jeezum crow! Time does really fly-eth. Bested & mostest for everything in your future, and, personally, thank you for being a kind, grounded, supportive editor.
Really glad they finally got rid of this asshole. So long!