steve earle: a songwriter’s songwriter

Posted on May 18, 2013 by Dan

Recently, I wrote a poem called drive-by, about homelessness. As a songwriter, I love to listen to other good songwriters. One of my favorite contemporary songwriters is Steve Earle.

A song off of his most recent album, The Low Highway, speaks to the same issues as my poem drive-by. As a student of great songwriters, I think the song Invisible tells it like it is. That’s what I love about Steve Earle: his forthright honesty. For me, it’s one of those songs I can’t help but play over and over. Now if we could just do something to help combat the problem of homelessness. It all starts with awareness and a heart. Here’s the song. Listen and enjoy, but think: What can you do to help solve this problem of homelessness?

breaking out of your comfort zone

Posted on March 29, 2013 by Dan

When it comes to music, I’m somewhat of a purest. I was raised on Rock and Roll, but over the years I’ve grown to appreciate the acoustic instruments. I do own an electric guitar: A Fender Nashville Telecaster, with a Fender Blues Junior Amplifier, but other than that, I have an array of acoustic instruments: drums, guitars, banjos, mandolins, and ukuleles.

Be that as it may, throughout my adult life I’ve also teetered on the edge of electronically-programmed music. I’ve played around with drum machines and programmable keyboards off and on since my early twenties. But I’ve never taken the plunge and bought any programmable gear… until I started using Mac products. My MacBook Air and my iPad Mini both have Garage Band. Wow! I can create high-quality demos at my fingertips. It’s a recording studio in the palm of my hands. Still, I cringe a bit at the idea of creating “canned music.”

Get over it, Dan!

Have you ever purposely stepped outside of your comfort zone? I’m going to! I’m going to publicly commit to a five-song recording project using nothing but the sounds from my iPad Mini, my hands and my voice: no traditional musical instruments. Why? Because it’s important to step out of our comfort zones once in awhile. What can stepping out of your comfort zone do for you?

1. Improve your skills. Stepping away from long-held attitudes and habits can provide you with new platforms and methods for improvement. I have an intuitive mind for creating fully-produced songs. Whenever I write a song, I hear the other instruments, but recording them all is another story. Recording on Garage Band will allow me to experiment in full-band sound production without hiring five musicians and traditional recording studio time.

2. Get an education. In the end, even if you dislike your new endeavor, you have gained an education. By stepping outside of my purist musical boundaries, I’ll be learning more about computers, recording programs, sound engineering, audio mixing, music networks, and more. What can you get educated about by stepping out of your comfort zone?

3. Expand your mind. As I’ve journeyed through life, I’ve slowly become more open-minded about a plethora of subjects including: religion, education, philosophy, music, and more. When we step outside of our comfort zones, we are willing to explore beyond the outer reaches of our own understanding. That’s mind-expanding stuff. Notice I didn’t say “mind-altering.”

4. Earn respect. No matter what field you’re in, you can earn the respect of your peers by trying new methods, especially when those methods are cutting edge or you’re leading the pack. If nothing else, you will gain respect simply by having another item you can list on your resume. Is there something you can do that would build your skills and add to your professional experience?

Think about doing something new, something that’s outside of the norm for you. Challenge yourself to use a new tool or try a new method. You’ll increase your understanding, your talent, your experience, and more. I’m going to think outside of my “box” guitar and get into the complete program of a variety of sounds on my iPad Mini. I’ll keep you posted on the project and hope to complete five songs by the end of summer.

Question: What can you do to step outside of your comfort zone?

the new breed of content producers

Posted on March 20, 2013 by Dan

The Internet and social media are changing everything: the way we communicate, the way we do business, the way we promote, and the way we create. There are new rules. And now everyone has a greater chance of influencing others and participating in the game.

Suboriginal Art by Vensan Kamberk: used by permission

I’ve always been a creative person. As a songwriter in the late 1980s and early 1990s, I used to write 50-100 songs a year. My friends would sigh and say, “another one?” I tried the traditional route of getting my songs published by sending demo tapes to music publishers, record labels, and producers. I traveled to Nashville a couple of times. It was an expensive and time consuming process. The rejection letters never bothered me as much as my ROI (return on investment). I spent hundreds of dollars and never even got a solid lead.

But during that time there was one thing I learned. I learned how to produce content. I learned how to write songs, letters, and lyric sheets. I learned how to create audio recordings. Then I went off to college and learned the basics of professional communication. This combination has led me to where I am today. I’m one of a new breed of content producers.

Twenty years ago I would not have had the same opportunity as I have today. Now I can write books, poetry, articles, non-fiction and fiction. And I can publish and promote my work myself. I can write and record songs and post them for all to hear. I can take photographs and post them for others to view. Quite simply, as a creative individual, I can produce content to my heart’s desire and build an audience for my work through social media. I think this is amazing and I intend to continue to produce. It’s who I am. So who are the new content producers and what kind of influence will they have on the world?

1. Bloggers: Bloggers who write regularly on a focused topic are part of this new breed of content producers. Some, such as Michael Hyatt, Chris Brogan, Jeff Goins, and Seth Godin have gained large audiences through blogging. They have promoted the change that is taking place. The great thing is this: anybody can learn to do what they’ve done.

2. Journalists: There’s been a trend among journalism professionals. More journalists are leaving major papers and networks and creating their own websites and blogs.

3. Musicians: With sites like TuneCore, SoundCloud and Reverb Nation it’s becoming easier for musicians to share their compositions. The price of the recording equipment has also decreased tremendously over the past 10-15 years. This makes it easier for musicians to record and promote their original music.

4. Artists and Photographers: It’s easier than ever for ametuer photographers and artists to promote their work via the Internet. Sites like Flickr provide a place for photographers to post their work, and creating a blog or personal website is becoming easier every day.

5. Writers: Writers who once would have to spend years shopping for a publishing deal can now publish with little or no cost. There are many ways to self publish, in both hard copy and electronic formats, as well as audio books. Sites like CreateSpace, Lulu, Smashwords, KDP and ACX can all help the writer get his or her product on the market.

6. You! I’m sure we could include many others on this list of new content producers. Some of my readers are also bloggers that produce content regularly. People like Jon Stolpe, Matt McWilliams, and Ryan Ridgway are playing by the new rules. And here’s the cool thing. Anybody can do this. You can do this if you choose. And it’s this new breed of content producer that will be tomorrow’s movers, shakers, and leaders. If you can produce quality content on a consistent basis you can become one of the new breed.

Question: What are you creating? Do you believe that we have better opportunities to get our content heard and seen in today’s new world of social media?

the stories behind the songs

Posted on March 2, 2013 by Dan

Songwriting is another way to tell our stories. But every song also has a story of its own. The eight songs from my book, A Train Called Forgiveness, each have their own story. I thought I’d share them with you:

Where I Used to Live - In the late 1990s, I started graduate school. My first idea for my thesis was to study the persuasive rhetoric of cult leaders. Particularly, I wanted to study the rhetoric of the cult leader of my childhood. My thesis advisor nixed the idea due to a lack of written material concerning that particular individual. So I switched my thesis topic to Woody Guthrie and started my own, non-academic project about my childhood cult experience. That project included writing a journal and a handful of songs about my youth. Where I Used to Live revisits my childhood in Maine, before the cult, then moves into the experience of the cult, and finally ends with the hope of “finding myself” after the cult.

I Hate This Town - This song was also written during my cult project in the late 1990s. It refers to the town in which the cult was located: Snohomish, Washington. I don’t really “hate” the town, and I didn’t really hate it when I wrote the song. The idea was to write a song that communicated the anger one feels after having been wronged in such a way that it severely affects one’s life. Although the story in this song is partially fictionalized, it’s a solid metaphor for what it was like dealing with the aftermath of being in a cult as a child.

Judge Not Lest Ye Be Judged - This song was written while I was living in Nashville in the early 1990s. After the hotel, in which I was living in and working for, kicked a prostitute out, I noticed, while housekeeping, that she left Gideon’s Bible opened and marked at the verse, “Judge Not Lest Ye be Judged.” I told my friend and co-writer, J.B. Taylor about the incident. He thought it was a great idea for a song. We wrote it in the hotel lobby in about an hour in the middle of the night.

Cascade Mountain Skyline - This song was written in the early 1990s while I was living in a small trailer in eastern Washington. I was thinking about a girl I’d fallen in love with a few years earlier. I was shy and never followed through with trying to develop a relationship with Katrina. So this is one of a few songs I wrote about her. I figured if I couldn’t get the girl, I’d write songs about her.

Whiskey Bound - While living in Leavenworth, Washington in the late 1980s and early 1990s, I worked at a small bar and grill. I used to stay after work and knock some down with the locals. I met a man whose wife had recently died. He had turned to drinking heavily. One day he came into the bar and announced to everyone he was quitting drinking. To my knowledge he never drank another drop of alcohol. That inspired me to write Whiskey Bound.

Cult Boy - This was another song from my late-1990s project of journaling my childhood cult experience. It’s a fairly accurate description of life in the cult. I like to write songs that use characters and tell stories. This was a practice in that style of songwriting. Although I never saw the girl “with her pants down to her knees,” I did note that the leader of the cult often called girls behind closed doors with him.

A Room Without Walls - This song was written around 2003. It was actually written as one of a bunch of intimate songs about the loss of a child. In 2001, my first daughter, Angel Hope Erickson, was stillborn. While I was writing A Train Called Forgiveness, I went through my catalog to find a song that expressed how I felt after dealing with the emotional journey of of being in, and escaping a cult. Freedom was the theme. A Room Without Walls was a perfect fit.

Red-headed Woman - Okay, so I didn’t actually “fall in love” with the girl, but I was highly infatuated. This song is based from a real-life experience during one of my several train journeys in the early 1990s. Like many of the other songs in this project, it was rewritten on the banjo. The original version is guitar-based, much slower and more bluesy. I think I like this version better.

Check out the page songs from a train called forgiveness to access audio and read the credits. Also, learn about the process of recording in the studio in the post: in the recording studio with dan and friends. Thanks for taking the time to read and listen.

- dan

in the recording studio with dan and friends

Posted on February 27, 2013 by Dan

Recording music is a blast. Watching songs unfold from a rough instrument/vocal beginning to a complete mix of several instruments and voices blending in unique ways is simply amazing. I’d like to share a bit of that journey with you.

.wma: 01 Where_I_Used_to_Live

.mp3: 01 Where_I_Used_to_Live

In early December, I recorded the rough tracks of the eight songs from the book, A Train Called Forgiveness. The original tracks were banjo and vocal only. Over the next couple of weeks, my friend and engineer, Mike Schenck, and I started working out ideas for producing the songs.

.wma: 02 I_Hate_This_Town

.mp3: 02 I_Hate_This_Town

Mike at work.

Although Mike and I both play guitar and drums, he’s the better guitarist, and he was more familiar with the drum setup in his studio. So I let him take the lead on those two parts. It also made sense for Mike to play drums. His son Riley was able to play bass, and I would play banjo and sing. This way we could get the live-recording sound we were looking for. We spent a weekend laying down the live tracks, drums/bass/banjo/vocals. The tracks were rough. The idea was to get demo-quality songs down quickly. I’d like to get your input as to which songs might be worthy of stronger production in the future. Please feel free to comment after reading the post and listening to the songs.

.wma: 03 Judge_Not

.mp3: 03 Judge_Not

If you’ve never done studio recording, it can be fun, but it can also become challenging and frustrating at times. After five or six hours in the studio, everything starts sounding the same. Your ears quit hearing the details and you need a break. Sometimes you can nail a song first take, but other times, it might take ten or twenty takes. That’s when it gets frustrating. Fortunately, this session didn’t have too many frustrations. The three of us seemed to have a “let’s just have fun with this” attitude, and that helped tremendously. We weren’t aiming for perfection, but rather a raw and honest sound.

.wma: 04 Cascade_Mountain_Skyline

.mp3: 04 Cascade_Mountain_Skyline

Mike on the resonator.

After we completed the initial live tracks, Mike, Riley, and I started adding a few additional parts. We added an array of percussion to the song, Judge Not Lest Ye Be Judged, including corporate hand claps, shakers, and a small chain on a snare drum. I added thumb piano on Cascade Mountain Skyline. Mike started working out some parts on the resonator guitar. Then over the next few weeks, Mike added resonator and electric guitar parts. The songs were beginning to take shape.

.wma: 05 Whiskey_Bound

.mp3: 05 Whiskey_Bound

My brother Pete.

Next came some additional vocal arrangements. I listened to the songs repeatedly and started hearing background and harmony vocal parts. I also started playing around with the harmonica on a few of the tunes. I asked my brother Pete Erickson if he would help out with vocals. Even though he has a busy schedule, he took a day to make the two-hour drive with me to record harmony parts. This proved to be another stress-free session. Mike, Pete, and I had fun recording vocal parts both individually and as a group.

.wma: 06 Cult_Boy

.mp3: 06 Cult_Boy

I have to hand it to Mike. In the end, he likely spent more hours on this project than anyone else. After the parts were completed, Mike started the mix-down process. He aimed for as much of a live, raw, and honest sound as possible, relying little on effects. Mixing can take 20 hours or more per song. Mike was also in the process of buying a new house and preparing to move and didn’t have 100 hours to spend mixing the eight songs, so he did a quick mix for now. We can always remix later. Better yet, with your input, we can choose the best of these eight songs and re-record them along with some other tunes to create an album project. Please take the time to listen to the songs and make comments at the bottom of this post.

.wma: 07 A_Room_Without_Walls

.mp3: 07 A_Room_Without_Walls

Finally, Mike sent me a CD of his final mixes. I took the CD to my brother Paul Erickson to help with formatting and loading the tunes onto the blog. We ran into problems, but later, with a quick call to my website host, Fat Cow, the problem was resolved, and presto. The songs are here.

.wma: 08 Red_Headed_Woman

.mp3: 08 Red_Headed_Woman

These songs may not be perfectly-polished pop gems, but they are real and from the heart. To view the credits, and for links to the lyrics, please visit the page: songs from A Train Called Forgiveness. Also, stay tuned for a follow-up post: “The stories behind the songs.”

If you’ve taken the time to listen to these eight songs, I’d love to have your input. What was your favorite song of the bunch? Why? If you had to choose your top three, which ones would they be? Thanks for taking the time to read and listen. – dan

find hope in creativity

Posted on February 24, 2013 by Dan

Wall of Hope: Joplin, Missouri. Photo by Dan Erickson

Recently, my daughter had to create a presentation on dinosaurs for her second grade class. As I watched her work, and helped her design her trifold presentation board, I noticed that she was filled with excitement. She loved the idea of creating something to share with others. She had great expectations. She was filled with… “hope.”

Webster’s Dictionary defines hope as: “a feeling that what is wanted will happen; desire accompanied by expectation.”

The definition for create is: “to cause to come into existence, make, originate.”

As one who writes poems, songs, and stories it’s easy for me to see the link between “hope” and “creativity.” When we are motivated to be creative, to make something, we are also filled with a feeling of expectation. In fact, I would argue that without hope, we might not have the ability to create anything at all.

Hope drives the creative spirit. As an example, let’s look at some of the reasons a great songwriter might write a song:

1. To praise: A songwriter might find hope in the idea that his or her song can be used to praise God or others. The writer may be driven by the idea of creating a song that will build community. This hope will motivate the writer to write to the best of their ability.

2. To share: Songs are meant to be heard, to be shared, both with listeners and other musicians. When I write songs, I write with the intention of recording them with my musical friends. My hope is that they will enjoy the process of creating a new recording as much as I do. I also hope that listeners will enjoy listening to the songs.

3. To improve: A good songwriter, or any artist or tradesperson for that matter, continues honing their craft with each new composition. Each time we write a blog post or draw a picture we do so with the hope of improving our talents.

4. To teach: Great songwriters tell stories. Stories contain valuable lessons. Through writing we can teach others. Our experiences and our lessons in life are unique. By sharing our own challenges and struggles, we might be helping others move forward. It’s always my hope that others connect with my songs and stories and find them valuable in some way.

5. To live: Some writers reach levels of success that push them into the professional realm. When I was a kid in a cult, I dreamed about being a rock star. In my twenties, I went to Nashville to try to sell my songs. Now, I continue to hope in the possibilities of making a living through writing.

Creativity is an inspirational process. We all have a desire to create something. You might not write songs or books, but you may be a cook, a woodworker, or a personal coach. Whatever it is you do: do it with “a feeling that what is wanted will happen.” I know I will.

Read excerpts from my book A Train Called Forgiveness.

Read my poetry.

Questions: Have you ever been excited about a creative process? Have you felt a sense of expectation or “hope” when creating something?

Here’s a bonus: I was playing around on my Garage Band yesterday and wrote this song: Track to Redemption. It’s much rougher than the songs coming out on Wednesday, but it was a fun and creative experiment. I only used vocals, hand drums, snaps, and effects.

Check it out here:

Experimental 2

wings of faith

Posted on February 3, 2013 by Dan

Suboriginal Art by Vensan Kamberk: used by permission

When I was young I believed I could fly

My faith was so strong

I stepped off the ground and I spread my arms wide

I never looked down as I sailed through the sky

On the wings of faith

Flying so high

On the wings of faith

Something is lost through the passage of time

Reality pulls you down

But the dreams that were dreamt through the eyes of a child

Keep endlessly pulling me into the light

On the wings of faith

Flying so high

On the wings of faith

The child inside

On the wings of faith

I’m never going to lose this feeling

I’m always going to choose to believe

On the wings of faith

Flying so high

On the wings of faith

The child inside

On the wings of faith

Will never die

On the wings of faith

an update on the music project

Posted on January 25, 2013 by Dan

A couple of months ago I announced that I’d be recording the songs from my book A Train Called Forgiveness.

It’s been a fun project and I’m excited to post the final recordings soon. Here’s what’s happened so far:

1. We laid down the basic rhythms tracks in early December. We focused on creating a “live sound.” I played banjo and sang the vocals simultaneously, Mike Schenck played drums, and his son Riley Schenck played the bass guitar.

Mike’s studio is 100 miles from my house and my time is limited. Recording eight songs with little time practicing together was a challenge. The songs won’t be perfect. They won’t sound like some of the overproduced music you hear on the radio. They’ll have some subtle human errors. But they’ll be real.

The idea was just to get some rough, demo-quality recordings completed quickly, so that my readers could hear the songs from the book.

2. We added guitar and percussion. About a week after the initial session, I visited the studio again to help add other musical parts. We worked on adding various percussion and Mike added guitar tracks, both resonator and electric. Mike has the advantage of living next to his studio, so he spent some time polishing his parts and working on a rough mix.

3. My brother and I added background vocals. Earlier this month, my brother Pete Erickson and I added background vocals. I also added some harmonica on a few songs. After an initial mix of the first song, Mike was excited about the sound. Things are coming along well.

So what’s left? There are a few final touches to do early next month. Then we go to work on the final mix down and mastering. Once the songs are completed and saved to a digital format, I’ll be making a trip to the Seattle area to see my other brother, Paul Erickson, who’s an excellent musician in his own right. He’s going to help me create a media player directly on the blog so that you’ll be able to listen to the songs online. I’m also going to allow anyone to download the songs for free. I hope to have the songs online by late February or early March. In the meantime check out some of the lyrics in my songwriting category.

Also, click here to see how you can win an autographed copy of my book. And please sign up for my RSS feed in the box provided in the top-right corner. Finally, I invite you to like my Facebook fan page.

Thanks for being a part of danerickson.net

- dan

red-headed woman

Posted on January 24, 2013 by Dan

Suboriginal Art by Vensan Kamberk: used by permission

.wma: 08 Red_Headed_Woman

.mp3: 08 Red_Headed_Woman

Southern California riding on a train

I was heading for Seattle via Santa Fe

Going through some places that I’ve never been

That’s when I saw her

Now will I ever see her again?

I fell in love with a red-headed woman from San Louis Obispo

Just one look in her sensuous eyes set a fire to my soul

So if you see that red-heaeded woman from San Louis Obispo

Won’t you please get her name and number for me

Send them on back to Tennessee

So I can tell her how I feel about her

All through the night that old train kept rattling on

I watched as she lay sleeping in the moonlight through the hills of Oregon

And when she woke up in the morning we talked for a while

I got so caught up in the moment

You know I never even got her name

I fell in love with a red-headed woman from San Louis Obispo

Just one look in her sensuous eyes set a fire to my soul

So if you see that red-headed woman form San Louis Obispo

Won’t you please get her name and number for me

Send it on back to Tennessee

So I can tell her how I feel about her

I fell in love

But I left her standing at the station

Red-Headed Woman is the last of eight songs from my book A Train Called Forgiveness. I’m currently recording these songs and hope to have recordings posted within the next month. Keep checking back!

Suboriginal Art is by Vensan Kamberk.

a room without walls

Posted on January 16, 2013 by Dan

Suboriginal Art by Vensan Kamberk: used by permission

.wma: 07 A_Room_Without_Walls

.mp3: 07 A_Room_Without_Walls

I need a room without walls

Pine needles on a mountain floor

I need a wide-open sky

Can somebody please show me the door?

I’ve got a blue, blue heart

Trapped inside this cage of bone

I need a room without walls

Less pressure, more freedom to roam

I need a brand new rearview

To help me forget my broken past

I need a big, sweeping vista

I need a love that won’t fade too fast

I’ve got a blue, blue heart

Trapped inside this cage of bone

I need a room without walls

I need a bright star to lead me back home

A Room Without Walls is part of a series of songs from my book A Train Called Forgiveness.

Suboriginal art is provided by Vensan Kamberk.

dan erickson

intentional rhythms: words, music, life

Category Archives: Songwriting

steve earle: a songwriter’s songwriter

breaking out of your comfort zone

the new breed of content producers

the stories behind the songs

in the recording studio with dan and friends

find hope in creativity

wings of faith

an update on the music project

red-headed woman

a room without walls