Check Out Eric Hybertson’s Story

Today we’d like to introduce you to Eric Hybertson.

Hi Eric, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?

Thanks for this opportunity. I’m a telecom professional with a passion for playing live music. I have a wonderful, close family in Highlands Ranch, with two daughters studying at CSU. My wife and I live together with our third daughter, who attends The Highlands Ranch High School. All of us are musical, and we’ve even enjoyed a couple of “Family Band” sessions over the years.

My musical career started very early on in my life, when my father played guitar and sang for me when I was a baby. I don’t remember a time in my life where I was not sure that I would be playing music. I learned guitar on my own and with a few lessons from teachers and friends, when I was 11 years old. At that time one of my musician friends suggested that I also learn bass guitar, as guitarists even back then were a dime-a-dozen. Not long after, we started my first band. No name, just jamming at the drummer’s house. The guitarist moved away the following school year, so I was left to find another band. 

 Through middle school and high school, I stood in for or joined five other bands. In two of them, I wrote or contributed to several original songs – and we recorded them in a studio environment. I am definitely proud of those times, and I keep up with many of my former band members. 

 College was a busy time. I kept playing and writing and recording songs, but the bands I was in never fully coalesced. I started three different bands with a variety of roommates, and the last one “stuck” until I moved from Austin, TX to Boulder, CO. 

 I started my professional career as a very confident graduate, with a great job that used my skill set day 1. I was very excited to be in the telecommunications space, and I was able to grow my career quickly. At the same time, I found a few different colleagues that were also musical. I was able to keep up my music while growing bonds at each stop in my career. 

 I like to tell the story that I was a hardware engineer early in my career. When my employers found that I could explain the technology to non-technical people, I was put on a plane, and I haven’t yet landed. I’ve enjoyed staying close to technology throughout my career, while being able to validate other skills through success in executive leadership, strategic leadership, people management, product management, sales, customer service, business development, and consulting. Throughout all those roles, music has been constant. 

 After a couple of colleague bands in the early 2000s, my roommate from Austin moved up to Boulder, and we resurrected our band Spookster. The name honored my cat that I had in a few different places we lived in Austin, and still kicking in Boulder. We ended up writing over 50 songs together for that band, recorded some in a studio, and played all over Denver. Although Spookster never achieved much of a following, we were very proud of how far we took it. 

 Through that time, I had taken a step away from telecommunications to focus on robotics and industrial materials. I worked at a Boulder start up that had a decent line of business to support product expansion. We grew the staff, we grew the facilities, we grew the product based, and we grew the business. I was very proud of those times, to try something completely different and succeed. Spookster even got a new drummer from that job. 

 In 2005, we threw a private concert with three of the bands I helped start in Colorado – Spookster, Let’s Eat Mikey, and Technical Difficulties. This was a swan song of sorts, as each of the bands dissolved shortly after that show. We were at the age of having kids and focus on career growth. I was sad to say goodbye to each of my bandmates, but it was time to move on. 

 In my career, I “got the call” from a dear friend and close colleague to come back to telecommunications. It was a fairly easy decision with baby #1 on the way. With my career back on familiar ground, I decided to get back to playing out. Through Craigslist, I found an opening for a rock singer. I had never done that before, but I was itching to try it. That band eventually became Taken in 2006. We went through a few line-ups, the longest of them with colleagues from my various jobs and past bands. Taken finally dissolved early in 2025 after almost 20 years. We and they played all over Boulder, Longmont, some of Denver and even at the Great American Beer Fest. 

 I had to leave Taken in 2014 to move to the south side of Denver, near Centennial. I had run out of jobs in north Denver, and I “got the call” to come join an exciting telecommunications equipment provider near the Centennial Airport. It helped that my brother-in-law and his young family were in close proximity to our new home – so the cousins got to grow up together. 

 Once I moved to PLEC (Parker, Lone Tree, Englewood, Centennial – all on opposite corners of Peoria @ Lincoln), I tried to join a few different bands. Over a couple of years and some auditions, I found some older gents that were really good, but not interested in playing in front of people. That lasted for a couple of years, then I lost my job. Out of the blue, The 6202 Band called, looking for a new bass player. I tried out and we hit it off right away. 

 The 6202 Band was the first band I committed to that had no colleagues in it. Maybe not coincidentally, there were folks from telecom in the band and in the friendly orbit – but none I had worked with. It was refreshing, as sometimes office politics were sneaking into past line-ups. 

 I really enjoyed my time with The 6202 Band, and we played together from 2018 through 2022. In a strange coincidence I lost another job right around when I decided to leave The 6202 Band to focus on more original material. The 6202 Band is still going strong, and I’m happy to keep up with them as close friends. 

 As I picked up some consulting work, I was invited to join SocialFuse, an original rock band that started in 2007. I was really excited to resurrect and refresh some of my original tunes in the band. Although it didn’t work out that way, I had a great time with that band through early 2025. We played consistently around south Denver mostly, and almost always on a shared bill. Meaning, since original rock can sometimes have a tough time drawing a thirsty crowd, multiple bands are invited to share the stage one-after-the-other to try to get the draw of a traditional cover band or tribute act. 

 Since I was “only” singing back-up vocals while playing bass in SocialFuse, I wanted to sing more. At the nudging of a friendly barkeep and my wife, I agreed to put together a solo act – me singing and playing 90s rock and my own originals on acoustic guitar. I dubbed the act HybRocks3000 – a gentle nod to the Conan O’Brien / Jim Carrey act “In the Year 3000.” I’ve played dozens of times in all kinds of great venues, in between SocialFuse shows. 

 Through my time at SocialFuse, I picked up a full time gig at Charter Communications, then stepped away a couple of years later to resurrect my consulting business, Hyberspace. As of now, Hyberspace is busy and growing. I’ve been writing new tunes and getting ready for new projects and venues. I’ve got a fun monthly jam going with some colleagues and friends – who knows, maybe you’ll see us out soon. 

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?

There have been quite a few obstacles that have served to make me understand how music fits into my life. I was blessed with some talent, so finding a band has never been an issue. The tough parts are staying focused and devoting enough time to keep my chops up.

Early on, I was approached to join a touring act. I was ecstatic that anyone thought I was good enough to commit to that level of playing. It was an extremely tough decision, and I thank God often that he guided me to take a mature perspective: I declined. I knew that it would be a tough life, and I had a lot ahead of me in a lucrative technology career. I still have no regrets on that decision. It’s helped me stay focused on what matters most to me: playing at a near-professional level, as often as I can, in front of people that I love.

It’s always been tough to decide to leave bands or to be invited to leave. I left Technical Difficulty since we weren’t playing enough at all, let alone out in front of people. I left other bands because life was too busy, and my cup wasn’t getting filled by our time together. I’m a stickler for spending time wisely – maybe to a fault. I left Let’s Eat Mikey because Spookster was heating up, and I had a newborn baby and a full time job. Each time I’ve left a band, I know that I’m leaving good friends behind for not much more than matter of preference. It’s not something I’m proud of, but I hope they each respect my decision to move on when I felt it was time.

Adjacent to my thrifty time value, I always struggle to let things happen organically. That is, when art happens, it needs to happen on its own, with each person contributing how they want to contribute. When you play out, a lot of things have to go right. My nature is to clear the obstacles for things to go right, as far in advance as possible. I like to make decisions and plan b’s well ahead of time so we can all enjoy the moment. This often comes off as controlling and surgical. I’ve had to back down many times to keep things calm and productive. It’s definitely helped me in my family life and career to see this and honor it.

I’ve been blessed with a lack of real challenges to my musical career. I did not want to leave Spookster 1.0 in Austin or Taken in Longmont when I moved away each time, but I knew I needed to devote more time to my career and my local family. Even then, all things worked out: I made more friends, expanded my musical career, and moved forward.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?

Although my day job is a go-to-market specialist for telecom businesses, I have a passion for playing live music. I love to sing lead and backing vocals. I love to play electric bass guitar. I love to play acoustic and electric guitar. I love to play any instrument that I can get my hands on. I love to write songs. I love to play other people’s songs. I love to rockify well-known songs – meaning adding an edge through instrumentation, key changes, and intensity.

I specialize in hard rock live music, usually on bass guitar and backing or lead vocals in a band. I’ve also been enjoying playing hard rock in my solo act – it’s been a great lesson in simplicity. As a solo player, there are only a few options to carry the tune with all its familiar parts. I tend to improvise by whistling some of the guitar solos or keyboard parts while keeping rhythm and chords with my acoustic guitar.

Since many of my friends have seen me in my solo act, I might be known best for that. However, I’ve spent many more hours over decades in bands as a bass player. Musicians in the area might know me from those acts, since I shared the stage with so many other great bands. A lot of my colleagues know me as a karaoke “ringer” – a nod to my singing.

I believe I bring a unique perspective to most projects by focusing on intent. I’m not as interested in accolades – I’m mostly playing for myself and my bandmates. I’m happy when I meet my standard, I find something to improve if I don’t. For intent, it can make or break a band. If we intend to grow a following, who is in that following? Where do they listen to live music? What genre of music do they prefer? If we intend to get really good gigs, what is the composition of those gigs? Who books the headliner, and when? How do we stay on their radar? If we intend to make money, ha ha ha ha – that’s a good one.

What do you like and dislike about the city?

I like Denver best for its attitude. Denver epitomizes the spirit of the West, which I view as live and let live. I enjoy the libertarian spirit that permeates day-to-day living. The people are generally great, and well-aligned to simply move forward in life.

I wish Denver had better food. The traffic is a close second, but it’s getting pretty common everywhere to have crappy traffic. Having lived in a few different places, and traveled to many more, I am least impressed by Denver’s food scene. There is not really a signature dish, aside from Green Chili (borrowed?) and Rocky Mountain Oysters (fine, but a novelty at best).

I partially blame the water. It’s difficult to make good bread here, and surprisingly, the beer could be way more versatile with harder water. I’ve tried similar beer recipes as a home brewer in Austin and in Denver. The limestone in Austin lends itself much better to Belgian-style beers and German-style beers, but also can be hopped up to make delicious IPAs. In Denver, there is less versatility, so IPAs hit fine, but the other styles fall a little flat.

Pricing:

• Solo Act, 2 hour set with PA: $250
• Solo Act, 4 hour set with PA: $500
• Band, 4 hour set with house sound: $500
• Band, 4 hour set with PA: $750
• Band, 2 hour set with house sound: $300

Contact Info:

• Website: https://hyberspace.net/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HybRocks3000
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/eric-hybertson-5141827/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQ5PdBUDJ6s&list=RDVQ5PdBUDJ6s&start_radio=1