Eric Nally is a singer/songwriter and eccentric performer, perhaps best known for fronting glam rock/pop band
Foxy Shazam and for his vocal contribution to the 2015 smash hit single "Downtown" by hip-hop duo
Macklemore and Ryan Lewis.
Nally grew up in Cincinnati, Ohio, where he met his fellow
Foxy Shazam bandmates, forming the band in 2004 and independently releasing their first album, The Flamingo Trigger, in 2005. Having already established himself as a talented singer in the studio,
Nally and the group began to play out, and
Nally earned a reputation for his flamboyant, eccentric, and outlandish stage presence. His performance behavior (particularly his penchant for acrobatic dance moves and, somewhat bizarrely, consuming lit cigarettes on-stage) earned him comparisons with the late, great
Freddie Mercury of
Queen; his larger-than-life vocal stylings were often compared to frontman of
the Darkness,
Justin Hawkins, and his image was akin to that of British comedian and writer Noel Fielding.
Within a decade,
Foxy Shazam had firmly cemented their status as an extravagant live act on the North American gig circuit, touring with other acts such as
the Strokes and
Hole, and
Nally had also begun to flex his songwriting abilities outside of the ensemble, earning himself a writing credit on
Meat Loaf's 2009 release, Hang Cool, Teddy Bear.
Shazam released five albums, ending in 2014 with the
Steve Albini-produced Gonzo, which was released for free on the website Bandcamp.
Shortly thereafter, the band went on indefinite hiatus and while
Nally was focusing on his solo career, he received a phone call from producer and DJ Ryan Lewis, a self-proclaimed fan of
Shazam. Lewis and his hip-hop counterpart
Macklemore asked
Nally to work on a song with them for their 2016 album
This Unruly Mess I’ve Made. The former
Shazam frontman flew out to Seattle to help write and contribute vocals to the hugely successful single “Downtown,” leading to an appearance in the track’s official video and an incendiary performance with the duo at the 2015 VMA Awards. After the song’s success,
Nally turned his focus to his solo career. ~ Rob Wacey