| Fact
Sheet |
Eric Forington
Age: 24
Birthday: January 1, 1979
Pet Peeve: Ignorant people
If I had one million dollars I would: Buy a house
for mom, a Ferrari, a music studio, and invest.
Favorites
Pastime: Spending time with family
and friends.
Movie: Lord of the Rings
Actor: Jackie Chan, Arnold Schwarzenegger
Actress: Angelina Jolie, Salma
Hayek
Quote: “Badges, we don’t
need no stinking badges” (from Treasure
of The Sierra Madre starring Humphrey Bogart)
Fast Food Joint: The Taco Cart
at Alameda and Pecos
Fast Food Meal: Asado Quesadilla
Restaurant: Il Fornaio
Vacation Spot: Lake Powell
Childhood memory: Tipping over
dad’s motorcycle at age 5.
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Not every college student has the desire, determination and
diligence to put all their energy into what they do.
Not everyone has the opportunity to combine two things they
love in order to make a living. Meet Eric Forington.
Forington, 24, a Metro finance major, experienced guitarist,
and Colorado native says he puts all his energy and resources
into what he does in order to succeed. He says he wants
to combine the two things he loves — business and music
— and make a career out of them.
When he was only eight, Eric began to play the clarinet and
saxophone. He auditioned for the Colorado Honor Band
– again, when he was only eight – and was selected
to be part of the group. Eric played with the CHB until
he was 14, making it to the fourth of five symphony levels.
“The clarinet and the saxophone weren’t ‘cool’
in middle school anymore,” Forington said. “I
then picked up a guitar and have not put it down since.”
That first guitar, an Ibanez Roadstar II, was just the beginning.
Forington has been playing guitar since he was twelve and
can play just about anything imaginable on his Fender Stratocaster.
“I’ve played blues, rock, classical, jazz, almost
everything but country — you have to draw the line somewhere,”
Forington said.
After leaving the Colorado Honor Band, Forington wanted to
form a band of his own. “The CHB really didn’t
meet my needs. They didn’t have a guitar program, and
that is what I really wanted to do” Forington said.
Forington went on to the Denver School of the Arts when he
was twelve. He practiced jazz guitar and attended regular
classes. It was when Eric came to Metro that he began
formal classical guitar lessons. “I taught myself just
about everything until I had formal lessons,” Forington
said.
Ever since he began listening to music, Eric has dreamed
of making it in the music industry. “If I could
make it, that would be my dream job,” Forington said.
“I love all of the aspects of music: composing, playing,
listening and producing.”
Not only does Eric thrive with his Fender Stratocaster; he
also excels in the classroom. Eric currently maintains
a 3.0 G.P.A. at Metro, while working full time.
Forington was involved in a blues band for a year and a half
but was forced to quit. “My finance classes were
becoming too overwhelming, and I had to quit the band,”
Forington said.
In addition to excelling on his six stringed wonder, Forington
is dedicated to his schoolwork. Originally, Eric wanted
to pursue a career in the music field, but later switched
his focus to finance. “I decided I wanted to make
money, instead,” he said.
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Photo by
- Joshua Lawton |
| Eric Forington, a Metro finance student, has put
his musical career on hold to focus on finishing
his education in an effort to make his way into
the business aspect of the music industry. |
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“I want to do something where I can combine something
finance-wise in business with music,” Eric said.
Forington has always been inspired by adversity, he says.
“My family inspires me, too. They are all very
hard workers. My grandpa still works at 70, but doesn’t
have to – he just does.”
Eric says that this hard work ethic is inherited from his
family.
Eric is lead salesperson at Phones Plus, a cellular phone
retailer in Park Meadows mall. “I like to interact with
people,” he said. “It’s nice to do
something you enjoy when they pay you really well,”
he added.
Forington sees himself as a leader. He wants to be CEO of
his own company in the future. “I’m outgoing,
inspirational to others around me and I’m focused on
what I want to do,” Forington said.
Eric also enjoys his 1999 Honda CBR 600 F4 “crotch
rocket” – especially during the spring.
He says that if he ever does become a CEO, you can bet he
will be pulling in on his bike, weather permitting.
That is, if he is able to drive. “I’m trying
avidly to avoid losing my license,” Forington said.
Eric’s love of motorcycling was inspired by his late
uncle, Jim Forington, who passed away in a 1998 moto-cross
accident.
Until he earns a CEO position, or is noticed by a music agent,
Eric is having the time of his life and working hard in school,
working full time, partying with friends and family –
and riding his 1999 Honda CBR 600 F4–with his Fender
Stratocaster strapped on his back.
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