Two years ago, just before my stint in Nashville, I was invited to collaborate with Portland-based hip hop artist, Madgesdiq. He was writing a new album and, in addition to himself, he wanted to feature multiple artists … I’m lucky enough to have gotten the call to be the folky flare on Rastamerica.

While I don’t do a lot of co-writing in my career, I was truly honored to be a part of this project. Admittedly, I was a bit intimidated upon arrival but the unfounded tension soon eased and we were eventually left to do what we do best — write a song.

The resulting tune, World without Walls, is something truly special — it’s about a world without discrimination, judgement, genocide, prejudice, war and all of the other walls that drag us down as a human race — equality and harmony at its finest.

In the end, if ever you believe that this utopic world could never exist and that there will always be walls between men, just know that this song was a collaboration between a 6-foot-4 black hip hop artist with waste-long dreadlocks and a 5-foot-8 white dude with a crew-cut and a healthy twang — unalike on the surface but the same underneath.

Enjoy it. Live it.

WORLD without WALLS (feat. Tyler Stenson):
by Madgesdiq © 2012

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DOWNLOAD WORLD WITHOUT WALLS ON iTUNES

DOWNLOAD WORLD WITHOUT WALLS ON iTUNES

This is an original song that I wrote in 2010 but I wanted to post it today, with lyrics, because I’m often told by my fans that reading along with the fast-paced lyrics helped them to appreciate this tale to the fullest. A detailed story about a full-moon hike through Poly Canyon in San Luis Obispo, CA, That Moon was one of my favorite songs to write and absolutely one of my favorite songs to perform.

DOWNLOAD ON CD BABY: www.cdbaby.com/tylerstenson3
DOWNLOAD ON iTUNES: http://bit.ly/cZFbma

Between the 17 metaphors for growth, all rhyming with oooo, and the dangerously “artsy” nature of the song, writing We Grow was tricky, no doubt. It took close to five years in total and became a most intricate labor of love.

Although it was finally recorded in 2010, I decided to post this new video of the song that features the lyrics. Why? Because I’m often told that reading along with the words has helped fans to better appreciate the message and the many metaphors embedded within. Enjoy.

DOWNLOAD WE GROW
CD BABY: http://bit.ly/bDb4xo
iTunes: http://bit.ly/cZFbma

NOTE: The lyrics for We Grow can also be found on my home website under the “lyrics” tab: www.tylerstenson.com

In an interview earlier this summer for KZME’s Music on the Air TV program, I was asked to recall my favorite Portland moment — what one thing sticks out when I think about my years in Portland as both a resident and a musician?

While I could never-ever account for all of my favorite memories in this fine city, in a moment of pure panic and scattered thoughts, I spouted off two contenders:

1) The final moments of my farewell show at the Aladdin Theater.
2) My first Por Que No taco.

Here is the video footage of My Favorite Portland Moments…

For your reference, here is that final moment at the Aladdin Theater…

Oh, and if you’ve never been to Por Que No, here is the address to both locations…

3524 N Mississippi Ave, Portland – (503) 467-4149
4635 SE Hawthorne Blvd, Portland – (503) 954-3138

Of course, I have many many many other fantastic memories when it comes to living and playing music in Portland (opening for Chris Isaak at the Oregon Zoo and selling 140+ albums to a host of new fans freshly comes to mind) but it’s still damn near impossible to sum up how kind this city has been, and continues to be, to me.

Save the date!! I have been asked to play at the Tualatin Riverfront Music Festival on Saturday September 10th at 5:00pm. Of course, the festival spans from 3pm to 8pm, so mark your calendars accordingly and come join me and other musical acts such as the Legendary Soul Diva Linda Hornbuckle.

Tyler Stenson at the Tualatin Riverfront Music Festival
Saturday September 10th @ 5pm

Tickets are $5 and kids are free!

VISIT THE RIVERKEEPERS WEBSITE FOR MORE INFO: http://www.tualatinriverkeepers.org

Tualatin Riverkeepers are the leading independent advocate for the river, streams and wetlands in the Tualatin community. That said, the Tualatin Riverfront Music Festival aims to support a clean and healthy Tualatin River that is accessible to everyone and offers something for the whole family — great music, food, nature activities and kayaking on the river!

DIRECTIONS?

IF YOU’RE DRIVING:
The Tualatin Riverfront Music Festival takes place at 8515 SW Tualatin Rd

IF YOU’RE PADDLING:
The Tualatin Riverfront Music Festival takes place at Tualatin Community Park at river mile 8.9

IF YOU’RE WALKING OR BIKING:
The Tualatin Riverfront Music Festival takes place just south of the Ki-A-Kuts Bridge

IF YOU’RE BUSING:
The Tualatin Riverfront Music Festival takes place on Tri-Met line 76

In late 2006, two very gracious friends of mine surprised me with a plane ticket to Europe, providing me with a monumental opportunity to feel another breeze and lay beneath another sun. The trip changed my life. And, because this gift was given out of the complete kindness of their hearts, I felt mine shift and soften as their Big Hearts made mine grow.

This song is my very humble way of saying, Thank You.

Below is a video discussion of the behind-the-scenes background of Big Hearts, track #1 on my new album Another Gleam — a revealing look at the inspirations, the meanings behind the song, the songwriting process, the recording experience and much more. Enjoy.

BUY ANOTHER GLEAM!!

BIG HEARTS
by tyler stenson © 2007

Heaven knows I’d wait to feel another breeze
And to lie beneath another sun;
Deep down in your love.

Big Hearts are filling up the hemispheres.
Big Hearts are warming up the coldest years.
They’ll lie beside me forever more
Because Big Hearts make mine grow.

It’s growing everyday
And softly resting miles away.
I swear Heaven was exploding there-
It was filling up the air.

Big Hearts are filling up the hemispheres.
Big Hearts are warming up the coldest years.
They’ll lie beside me forever more
Because Big Hearts make mine grow.
Big Hearts are Full Moons and Northern Lights.
They come full circle-
They defy science.
Big Hearts are freight trains that push me along
They hold onto the tracks even when the wind is strong.
Big Hearts are factories of Godlight Beams
That just get brighter as the daylight completely recedes.

BUY ANOTHER GLEAM!!

While perched on top of Mt Pilatus in Lucerne, Switzerland, I had the opportunity to observe some of the most beautiful scenery one could ever behold. In all, there were three sources of beauty; the elegant alps in the distance and Lake Pilatus below … where the water looked like Cellophane, reflecting stars back into space and [her] eyes looked that way to me.

Below is a video discussion of the behind-the-scenes background of Cellophane, track #2 on my new album Another Gleam — a revealing look at the inspirations, the meanings behind the song, the songwriting process, the recording experience and much more. Enjoy.

BUY ANOTHER GLEAM!!

CELLOPHANE
by tyler stenson © 2007

From the tops of mountains
We collide with clouds above the sea
And down below they disappear
(But I’m not convinced they were ever there)
Cause the water looked like cellophane,
Reflecting stars back into space,
And your eyes look that way to me.

Where we are, the hills are green
And elegant as anything we’ve seen
And Pontius and Pilatus lay beneath the waves
Of their water graves and
The water looked like cellophane,
Reflecting stars back into space,
And your eyes look that way to me.

So, where we are, the hills are green
But the white in your eyes is all I see
Because it seems the world is a perfect sphere
And that all things beautiful are gathered here
And the water looked like cellophane,
Reflecting stars back into space
And your eyes look that way to me.

Ah, look there, see that gleam?
It’s the sun and your eyes the beam.
All out streams rise off your face-
All I see is all your lace.

BUY ANOTHER GLEAM!!

In 2003, my brothers and I were all independently going through our share of difficulties in this life; trying to climb an endless hill with seemingly no end in sight. With this heavy burden in my mind and in my heart, I quietly wrote a song that was never intended to be heard by anybody but them — a motivational tune in the hopes that it would spark not just one of us, but it Better Be Us All.

Below is a video discussion of the behind-the-scenes background of Better Be Us All, track #3 on my new album Another Gleam — a revealing look at the inspirations, the meanings behind the song, the songwriting process, the recording experience and much more. Enjoy.

BUY ANOTHER GLEAM!!

BETTER BE US ALL
by tyler stenson © 2007

An interesting man I know
Has the Music in his bones.
He writes the songs
But he can’t stand rock n’ roll.
His name is On His Right Hand
As he hides behind a wall
-Somebody’s gonna make it but you know it better be us all.

Older brother,
He’s the dreamer of some dreams-
He stretched out the gray and made it green.
I can see myself in him
(I’m just a little bit too small).
Somebody’s gonna make it but you know it better be us all.

Little brother,
You are not the only one-
Just don’t get burned in the Oklahoma sun.
You’re trying to get to heaven and
I’m just trying not to fall.
Somebody’s gonna make it but you know it better be us all.

I’m a music maker
Trying to make a dream
But getting there is as endless as it seems.
So, I’m gone to California
(Even if I have to crawl)
Because somebody’s gonna make it but you know it better be us all.

So, when I get to California,
I’ll be giving you a call
Because somebody’s gonna make it,
But you know it better be us all.

BUY ANOTHER GLEAM!!

Although I first heard the phrase Whistle Stop in a poetry class in 2004, it took me two years to really understand its meaning and write the song that did it justice. In the years to follow, I’ve recorded many versions but here now, in 2011, I’m proud to bring a recording to the table the stands bold and does not whisper softly the things that it wants loudly to be.

Below is a video discussion of the behind-the-scenes background of Whistle Stop, track #4 on my new album Another Gleam — a revealing look at the inspirations, the meanings behind the song, the songwriting process, the recording experience and much more. Enjoy.

BUY ANOTHER GLEAM!!

WHISTLE STOP
by tyler stenson © 2006

It’s the end of the line-
Your train rolled through the time
And now all your Graces
And your Legacies stand.
Don’t whisper softly the things
That you want loudly to be
-Be like a wave.
-Leave impressions on the sand.

Because that whistle stop is coming strong
And big machines are hard to stop.

So, I’ll leave behind use-to-be’s
And in that horizon, we’ll leave to the dirt roads
Regret and Disdain.
Every sun is going to fade
But in the morning rays
I hear a songbird singing your name.

Where it stops I can’t say
But those warm summer days
Roll by like cars on a train.
And people everywhere are looking back,
Crying on their hands
And on their knees
Because it’s the end of the line.

Your train rolled through the time
So I’ll say Goodbye to the people you know.
Don’t whisper softly the things
That you want loudly to be-
My, how your legacy glows!

That whistle stop is coming strong-
It shows no signs of slowing down for this town.
That whistle stop is coming strong
And big machines are hard to stop.

THERE ARE MANY VERSIONS OF THIS SONG:
Orange Chrome Sky (2006)
See That Gleam (2008)
Another Gleam (2011)

After surviving a substantial break-up with my college sweetheart in 2004, my four-walled apartment began closing in on me and each day tested my fragile existence. I felt like a flimsy piece of paper, set free into the wind and left to figure it out on my own — a Paper Plane simply trying to make it to the other side.

Below is a video discussion of the behind-the-scenes background of Paper Plane, track #5 on my new album Another Gleam — a revealing look at the inspirations, the meanings behind the song, the songwriting process, the recording experience and much more. Enjoy.

BUY ANOTHER GLEAM!!

PAPER PLANE
by tyler stenson © 2008

Fold me up like a paper plane
That you never want to come back.
She believes in something unfortunate-
I believe in that.

Ruin me like a paper plane
That somehow refuses to fly.
All my wings are bent and broken
And I’ll never make it to the other side.

Forgive me,
Forgive me,
But I’m the only paper plane I know
And it’s hard not to let it show.
So, I’m trying to get up the nerve to leave
Cause my apartment won’t let me sleep-
It’s breaking down like you and me
And it’s hurting everywhere I bleed
And my heart aches inside of me
And it’s hard not to let it show
(That I’m the only paper plane I know).

THERE ARE MANY VERSIONS OF THIS SONG:
Live at Mississippi Studios (2007)
See That Gleam (2008)
Another Gleam (2011)