I found out months ago that my song Whistle Stop was going to be included on a Roadtrip Nation promotional compilation. This is a pretty cool little program (sponsored by PBS) that documents the travels of various coming of age teens and college students; touring the country and interviewing some notable people.

As we speak, the program has assembled a promotional tour that spans the college campuses of the US to spread the good word. They’ll be talking-up their purpose and passing out complimentary discs- considering my song is included, I hope they leave behind a wake of complimentary green CDs.

It was a proud moment seeing the Orange Chrome Sky version of Whistle Stop on the compilation amongst so many other great tracks… very proud.

In the end, I just hope it yields some loyal fans and future opportunity.

Lately, I’ve got an itch. A compelling need to hit the road, reflect, compose, deflate and all-the-while spread the sound.

In short, the cliche is to pack up the Subaru and go play in all the varied places in this land and call it a vacation. With little intention of sounding like an Alexander Supertramp, I hope to see odd things, meet new people and create inspiration.

That said, if you want to host a private concert at your house OR help me book a show in your city, let’s talk. I don’t have many connections beyond Portland so I’m an open book and if I can get enough destinations (and donations) to make it worth my while, I’ll put your city on my list.

Send me an email and we’ll talk.

As of October 15th, I am officially taking the plunge into all things music. Yep, come Wednesday, I no longer have the day job and I’m excited and committed to making music my livelihood. This is obviously a big commitment but if music is what I love; it’s what I should do.

RIP db clay… truly a great man’s funeral.

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That said, I’m publicly and proudly making myself available for all things music. I’m focusing on private events and intimate gatherings so as the Holidays approach, if you or anyone you know is wanting to host a party, a concert, a dinner party, a wedding, an employee appreciation night, a living room serenade or anything of the sort, consider me yours. I plan on traveling a lot so no destination is too far.

If you want my body and you think I’m sexy, come on baby book me now!

I have a million ideas in my head about how to make this road prosperous. I’ll be spending the next months writing, recording, seeking management, spamming people, playing in your living room and building my presence nationwide… wish me luck!

Thank you for your continued support and wish me luck in the musical baptism; on that day, we are all things music.

My cousin Grant is a second grade teacher and has managed to work my music into the vital curriculum. He is teaching his students about all sorts of concepts, vocabulary and thought processes through the deconstruction and analysis of my lyrics.

Below is an email I got from Grant today… he explains the lessons being taught and the children’s input. It’s really quite fun to read what a group of second graders gather from my lyrics and it warms the heart to know Grant is brainwashing them early!

1) Wyoming: When we talked about inference, I had them read the lyrics over a few times. Then I played your youtube clip for them. When it was over, I said, “Raise your hand if you think Tyler Stenson likes Wyoming.” They all did. “But he never said he liked it. How do you know?” They said, “Because he wrote a song about it.” Then I said, “People write songs about things they hate, too. If you think Tyler Stenson likes Wyoming, prove it.” They pored through the lyrics, and the big selling points were the sweet smells, the cities roses were probably pretty (they kinda missed the point there, but I let it go), the explorers thought it was pretty, and God made it perfect.

2a) The Bus: This one is used every day. During our group work (small groups doing drills for a short amount of time), the students know it is time to change groups when a song plays. My computer has a timer on it, and when the time is up, a new song plays. I use short little songs since I don’t want the transitions to be too long. I use Walkaways (Counting Crows), a riff from Moby, a song by Barenaked Ladies (I pray the students don’t ask me who sings that song), some Mozart…anyway, you get the idea. The Bus works great. It is simple and short.
2b) The Bus: When we started talking about symbolism, I used The Bus because it is a song they already knew, and because there aren’t many lyrics. I pretended to be in love with a light bulb. When they freaked out at this, I said, “What’s the matter? Tyler Stenson is a rock star and he’s in love with city lights. Why can’t I?” Eventually, we got around to the idea that you were using a symbol. With coaching, the students have concluded the following about The Bus: You love being a rock star, and you love unloading the bus and starting a new show. You like when the people scream at you when you are in concert.

3) Big Hearts: As we continued to explore symbolism, I taught them about similes and metaphors. I played Big Hearts for them and had them underline every metaphor they found. When it was all over, one little girl said, “Wow. The whole song is just one big metaphor.” After a hearty congratulations, we broke up into small groups of three or four. Each group chose one metaphor from the song and prepared a translation of what they thought you meant with it. I took some notes, but I wish you could have heard them. It was amazing.

[Big Hearts] lie beside me forever more: “He wants to keep them close by because sometimes they can make bad things look good by looking at them from a different perspective. (Perspective is one of this week’s vocabulary words.)

Big Hearts are freight trains: “They coax him to do stuff. They encourage him. (Coax was a vocabulary word from a few weeks ago.)

Big Hearts are warming up the coldest years: “There’s these guys who get together and have a meeting because they really care and they want to take care of the earth.”

Big Hearts are…Northern Lights: “People can be like warm homes, nice, and lots of friends. They can help you feel loved, warm, and calm.”

[Big Hearts] are growing every day: “More people are getting nicer and nicer.”

Big Hearts are…godlight beams: “People that care and godlight beams both flash.” I asked them to explain what they meant, and they said, “They just can’t help it. Some people just give away some love and they still have more to give.”

There is more to come from Mr. Bushman’s second grade class as the term progresses. One thing is for certain, these students are sure to be the finest citizens this world has ever seen!

Read my lyrics here!

The most noble memories flow back thick with Robby Packer and me. He was the friend that entered the world beside me and all at once summarizes a childhood. Few of my memories exclude him and the best days I’ve ever seen are in the humble creek behind his house (with water-skippers); building our own dams with the bed rock by the hours.

This picture is a romantic notion of nostalgia — best friends on the first day of Kindergarten… long ago.

The splash page was pulled today, and in its place, the sparkling new TylerStenson.com is officially alive. I schemed the basic design and I sincerely thank my good friend Mr. Diggles for being a good sport and writing the code. Another big thanks to my bff Joe Albert for the site photography and adding that savage appeal.

That said, the site is live and ready to view. Of course, in my usual OCD sort of way, I’ll be tweaking things ever so slightly but the content is all there to stay. Enjoy the new TylerStenson.com!