Hearing a common name like Eric Hutchinson might make you think back to high school, scanning your memory for a forgotten face. However, as VH1 may tell you and others who have discovered him already, Eric Hutchinson is an artist you oughta know.

Hutchinson, who will be playing at the Blue Lamp on Tuesday, Jan. 20, has a sound that brings to mind aspects of Jason Mraz, Billy Joel, and Stevie Wonder. He plays the piano and the guitar, but he classifies himself as a song writer.

"I consider myself a song writer first and then a singer and then an instrumentalist," he says.

When asked to name something people may find surprising about him, he responded, "I'm pretty boring. I'm pretty unrockstar. I don't really party after the show and I don't have groupies. I'm kinda just doing it for the music."

The Takoma Park, Maryland native has been a full-time musician for six years but has definitely encountered some obstacles along the way.

"It’s been a bumpy road. I actually signed to Maverick Records, which is part of Warner Bros., and they dropped me. Then I made the album myself and then they ended up resigning me."

Hutchinson is currently touring with the band O.A.R. and will be touring with G. Love & Special Sauce starting next month. Being on stage with G. Love has special significance for Hutchinson.

"They were actually one of my favorite bands when I was growing up. I used to love them in high school. I’ve done some shows with them before so it’s still kind of crazy to think that I’m performing with them."

Perez Hilton's blog helped increase Hutchinson's exposure. A high school friend of Hutchinson's e-mailed Hilton a link to his Myspace page and Hilton recommended it on his blog. Shortly after, his Sounds Like This album made it to the iTunes Top 10.

Hutchinson acknowledges how the Internet can really boost your fan base; however, making fans and keeping fans are entirely different.

"I think when people can hear about you and then look you up and buy your album all in 20 minutes I think it’s just so much easier to make fans," he says. "The only hard part these days is keeping fans because there’s so much going on. People are very interested in the next big thing so you sort of have to continue to one-up yourself to keep people interested."

"I wrote these songs on my mother’s piano and now there’s people in Japan listening to them; that’s a very it’s a hard thing to get my head around."

Hutchinson has been a guest on Late Night with Conan O'Brien and The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. He's made it to the No. 5 spot on iTunes album chart with Sounds Like This, but for Hutchinson, the turning point in his career came from a change in his grandmother's attitude.

"For me, it was when my grandmother stopped telling me to get a day job. I finally felt like 'Wow, maybe I’m doing OK.'"

Hutchinson returns to the Blue Lamp tonight for the second time. One thing that stuck out for him regarding his last show in Sacramento was his dining experience.

"I remember I had a hard time finding a good place to eat. So if you have any recommendations I’m all ears."

As Hutchinson looks toward the future, he foresees one ongoing challenge as a musician.

"I think it’s just continuing to grow and have fans still feel like it’s personal," he says. "I want people to still know that I’m passionate about it. I feel like when an artist gets more popular people think they shouldn’t like them anymore. I’m still passionate about what I’m doing."

The show is at 8 p.m. The Blue Lamp is located at 1400 Alhambra Blvd. Tickets are $14 on the day of the performance, $12 pre-sale.

www.erichutchinson.com

www.myspace.com/erichutchinson