There is a humble river from my childhood that runs through the middle of Lander, WY — the place of my birth. I have vivid memories of wading in the shallow waters of the Popo Agie and breathing the clean air and soaking in a simpler time.

Below is a video discussion of the behind-the-scenes background of Popo Agie, track #7 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.

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POPO AGIE
by tyler stenson © 2007

I can feel the Lander wind
Coming up beneath me again.

But to the north there’s millionaires
That lay between the billionaires
And their buildings stretch to touch the sky
In the bigger world on the other side of the middle
… of the Popo Agie.

Running down the crooked miles,
I could feel the muscles tire
And I could bend my tongue and sing the words of Pioneers
(They’re coming up between my teeth).
All at once their melodies turn to fields of industry
And the California air turned black
So, the movie stars started moving back to the middle
… to the Popo Agie

These are places- Western spaces
And I go back there just to taste it.
To feel a warm night mixed with fireflies and I–
I can feel the Lander wind coming up beneath me again.

But to the north there’s billionaires
That are speckled between the millionaires
And their buildings stretch to touch the sky
In the bigger world on the other side of the middle.
It’s just a little river,
But it’s clean as all hell
… Oh, Popo Agie.

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In the wake of my dark and dismal song from 2006, What I Feel Like As Winter Comes, it seemed that the clouds all at once separated and a bright light finally shined through. Although I didn’t recognize it at first, it was no doubt warm on my shoulders and, after many long winter months, I was finally Feeling the Sun.

Below is a video discussion of the behind the scenes of the second bonus track on Another Gleam; Feeling the Sun — a revealing look at the inspirations, the meanings behind the song, the songwriting process, the recording experience and much more. Enjoy.

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FEELING THE SUN
by tyler stenson © 2007

How am I suppose to love you
When I never even thought of myself that way?
I am a fine line…
But getting bolder everyday.

But, if you smile at me any longer
I don’t think I’ll have the nerve to fade away
Cause it’s been so damn long
Since something beautiful my way come.

I have been feeling the sun-
Warm on my shoulders it comes.
I must believe that we’ve found a hole in the clouds…
Feel it now?

Collecting little pieces of fact
And I’ve been writing my guesses down-
No answers-
Just theories we entertain.

So, tell me why every time you come around
Something’s got me feeling half as gray,
With twice the light
Of the most amazing sun ray.

I have been feeling the sun-
Warm on my shoulders it comes.
I must believe that we’ve found a hole in the clouds…
Feel it now?

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In the Spring of 2004, I took a poetry class at the University of Oregon where we were assigned to write a descriptive poem about a childhood memory — my mind jumped immediately to the oldest memory I have of my babysitter’s backyard in Lander, WY.

In reality, I was a child playing on a broken down riding lawnmower; however, in they eyes of a younger me, a child lost in a daydream, it was a chugging John Deer tractor and I was an important farmer/cowboy, responsible for keeping the crops alive, feeding hungry mouths and corralling the cattle before the dust storm.

Written in one sitting, this poem-turned song is one of my most prized creations and I proudly dedicate it to Lisa, the teenager that answered the call of duty all those many years ago and accepted a humble hourly wage in exchange for Babysitting the Cowboy.

Below is a video discussion of the behind the scenes of my original song Babysitting the Cowboy, track #13 off of my new album Another Gleam — a revealing look at the inspiration, the songwriting process, the recording experience and more. Enjoy.

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BABYSITTING THE COWBOY
by tyler stenson © 2006

My memories are a series of backyard cul-de-sacs
That smell of fresh cut grass and juniper.
Wyoming sunsets burned and
Crickets sang their hearts as the sky turned orange
And mother called us in from the day.

In one particular backyard
Sat a stagnant John Deer tractor that remained
Green all year round
As it rested quietly in the shade
Of the Bellevue Alley shrubbery
(No more than ten feet from the fence line).

A younger Me could turn the ruins of
Once Great Machines into a dream.

This useless tractor was fully functional
In the eyes of a younger me-
Those eyes saw fearlessly a cowboy
With buckles and leather and mouths to feed
And dried up fields that desperately
Need a farmer’s touch.

A younger Me could go and do great things in the shade,
While the rest of the yard was green-
How it glistened in the sunlight.

Lisa. Please watch over me;
Write it down in your memory that I-
I was a child lost in a daydream.

She would say Only boring people get bored.
So, today I’ll be plowing a field and
Corralling cattle before the dust storm.
Disintegrating are the chances for our lunch break-
There is too much work to be done today and
The cattle won’t milk themselves.

——

There are multiple recorded versions of Babysitting the Cowboy to be found online:

Orange Chrome Sky
Live at Mississippi Studios
See That Gleam
Another Gleam

One of my favorite songs from the Long Before the Wheel album is the last track, We Grow. It’s my favorite because it’s like nothing I’ve ever written — totally unique and a pure labor of gritty love.

While the theme of this song is universal — how we’re human and therefore entitled to change and grow — the inspiration was very specific. After releasing my album Orange Chrome Sky in 2006, an avid fan of my old Rhetoric Tuesday material from 2002 wrote me an email that expressed his disappointment in the new direction of my music. He was adamant that I should return to my old ways because the new stuff wasn’t any good.

While my older music was a bit more pop-oriented and instantly appealing, my Lander: Orange Chrome Sky record had its own heartbeat and spirit — a darker piece but, in my eyes, equal in quality. Less instant gratification but more sophistication. Of course, he did not see the forest for the trees.

In the end I wrote him a calm and collected email explaining that I was sorry to have fallen short of his expectations but as a human, I was entitled to change and as an artist, growth was inevitable. I left it at that — who knows what he took from that retort.

In all, this song is 16 metaphors of growth and an artsy piece that argues that growth is not only healthy, but inevitable. Enjoy We Grow.

Learn more about the process of writing the metaphors behind We Grow!!

DOWNLOAD “WE GROW” on CD Baby or iTunes!!

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WE GROW
by tyler stenson © 2010

I heard you say that you wish I stayed
An older version of me — long before my change.
But, if we’re not growing we are staying the same,
So I will welcome the change and stretch myself day to day.
We’re entitled to change because we grow

Like blown up balloons.
Like the flare at the end of a spoon.
Like one note becoming a tune.
Like the city lights in the darkening blue–
The change is gonna happen real slow
But not a day goes by we don’t grow.

If a seed can grow into a tree
And if that tree can grow leaves,
I ask, how is that different than me?
Because we both breathe and we come from the dirt
And that’s where we will return
When both of our seasons fade.
We’re entitled to change because we grow

Like one into two.
Like the eleventh hour turning to noon,
Then May slow fades into June,
Then you’re a grownup in your childhood room–
The change is gonna happen real slow
But not a day goes by we don’t grow.

If we’re not growing, we are staying the same
So, I will welcome the change and stretch myself day to day.
We’re entitled to change because we grow

Like a high tide caused by that moon.
Like a flower knowing Spring is coming soon.
Like wings inside a cocoon,
(Or anything else that is destine to bloom)–
Like our faith in the things we know to be true
Or like the courage found in the wine and the booze–
The change is gonna happen real slow
But not a day goes by we don’t grow.

DOWNLOAD “WE GROW” on CD Baby or iTunes!!

As an aside, a group of second graders recently studied my song as a lesson in metaphors. To my everlasting joy, they’ve written their own set of metaphors and recorded their own version of We Grow. Give it a listen!!

WE GROW
By Mr Bushman’s 2nd Grade Class

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I hope it has never been a secret about where I was born; Wyoming. Many songs have referenced this Western space and it holds a most dear piece of my heart. Although I am a Portlander at the core and by trade, I am endlessly proud of these roots…

A few years ago when I wrote a song about Wyoming for my Bittersweet Parade album, I sent it to the Wyoming Tourism Bureau and even though they enjoyed the song, they didn’t have any use for it at the time.

However, years later, the Wyoming Ad Council has called me with a use: They’re doing a targeted “Visit Wyoming” campaign in Pioneer Square (in Portland, OR) and will be leveraging my Wyoming roots and my Portland connection for their weekend long event.

MORE ON THE EVENT:

Forever West | 8:00AM – 6:00PM
Want to get a taste of Wyoming and see what it feels like to Roam Free? Come on down to experience all that Wyoming has to offer, and for a chance to win your own vacation to an authentic dude ranch! Enjoy samples of delicious bison burgers, chili, and yummy candies – straight from the source. Also, learn to rope, take your picture running from a bucking bull or on top of Old Faithful and listen to music from Wyoming native, Tyler Stenson. For more information about Wyoming, click here.

WYOMING

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With the holiday season fast approaching, nothing would help me more than you taking this time to introduce someone to my music. Whether they’ve never heard of me before or only have a couple of my six albums, there is all kinds of music to go around and I’m confident that any music lover would enjoy my music as their gift. Pass it on.

BROWSE ALL OF MY ALBUMS HERE

LONG BEFORE THE WHEEL
CD Baby
iTunes

BITTERSWEET PARADE
CD Baby
iTunes

SEE THAT GLEAM
CD Baby
iTunes

LANDER LIVE at MISSISSIPPI STUDIOS
CD Baby
iTunes

ORANGE CHROME SKY
CD Baby
iTunes

THE LOW CEILING
CD Baby
iTunes

I received a tweet today from one of my favorite Northwestern gals Mrs. @sprizee … she took a trip to the beach this weekend and was sweet enough to take this very special picture for me. It is a lyric from my song Whistle Stop:

Don’t whisper softly the things
That you want loudly to be;
Be like a wave,
Leave impressions in the sand.

Thanks @sprizee for thinking of my music when there were millions of others to choose from. Every sun is going to fade, but in the morning rays I hear a songbird singing your name.

Sanjay Gupta & Joe Albert

My best friend Joe Albert recently had the chance to meet Obama’s Surgeon General, Sanjay Gupta- the resulting picture is above. Though most would be excited to simply be captured on film with such a high profile individual, Joe made sure to point out his outfit of choice. If you pay close attention, this photo features a hand-printed Lander T-Shirt and a couple of other dudes that happened to make the frame. Thanks Joe, we’re making history.

You may or may not know that after my family left Wyoming, we moved to a small suburb called West Linn, OR. I recently caught up with Nicole Decosta (a writer for the West Linn Tidings) and answered some questions about my life and music career post West Linn. The article below landed on the front page of today’s paper- click on the image below to read the full feature!

Tyler Stenson in the West Linn Tidings

Click here to read the full feature!

One of my most treasured songs from the years is Radiate. I wrote this song in a humble studio apartment in Eugene, OR just days after a tolling breakup. Over the years the song has taken many forms and changed in meaning from day-to-day but always a sweet sentiment of respect. Below is Radiate in all of it’s varieties.

LANDER ORANGE CHROME SKY – 2006
I formed the band Lander in 2006 and Radiate became the signature rock ballad that begins the Orange Chrome Sky album and highlighted many of our live shows.

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MANO DESTRA REMIX – 2007
I gave the raw files from OCS to my musically gifted friend Mr. Diggles– I told him to show me his take on Radiate.

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ACOUSTIC CONVERSATIONS – 2009
I recently did a podcast for AcousticConversations.com and chose to revisit Radiate. Because the song has turned in form over the years, I decided to revisit its original form– a delicate acoustic song.

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RADIATE:
by tyler stenson

She took back the sunlight that she gave
And disappeared down the loneliest highway.
I am resting low on this day because
Somewhere where I’m not she radiates
And I don’t mind.

In the night this light is about to burst
And all the good lines get lost in the verse.
I am just a subtle glow on this day because
Somewhere where I’m not she radiates
And I don’t mind.

I don’t mind.
I don’t mind.

All my days are slowly fading gray
Cause somewhere where I’m not she radiates.