HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!
Need a cheap stocking stuffer or unique white elephant gift? Well, introducing my Stocking Stuffer Steal. 2 albums and 2 stickers for just 10 bucks!!

THIS DEAL INCLUDES:
-Long Before the Wheel (2010 EP)
-Another Gleam (2011 LP)
-Two 2″ x 4″ vinyl stickers

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Of course, you can always give the gift of my other music by shopping my page on CD Baby.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS FROM TYLER STENSON!!

Tyler Stenson is a singer/songwriter in Portland, OR that is increasingly known for his unique brand of elegant folk music. Along with spending 15 months as a singer/songwriter in Nashville, he has been twice-named the “Songwriter of the Year” by the Portland Songwriters Association, “Best Male Artist” at the Portland Music Awards, was nominated for the Wyoming Governor’s Art Award, has opened for famed rocker, Chris Isaak, performed on OPB’s Live Wire! Radio and has 10 studio albums being distributed internationally.

I was recently asked by Redwood Son to design a concert poster for his upcoming performance at the McMenamins St John’s Theater, a show that will be dedicated to his former friend and drummer, Kipp Crawford, a shining light that was taken from us, long before his time. The show will mark the 2-year anniversary of Kipps’s tragic death and all proceeds will be donated to Kipp’s Memorial Fund to benefit Ashland Schools. The poster is below.

Redwood Son at McMenamins St John’s Theater
A dedicated performance for the Kipp Crawford Memorial Fund
Friday November 4th @ 7pm

PERFORMANCES BY:
Redwood Son
Celilo
Fractal
Thanks Kipp
and many other special guests

GET MORE INFO ABOUT THE SHOW HERE OR BY CLICKING ON THE IMAGE BELOW!!

Although my encounters with Kipp were much more minimal than some, I was certainly affected by his passing — if you’ll recall, I wrote a song called Daffodils that penned him into the second verse and chorus. I believe this is a grand cause and hope you’ll join Redwood Son for the dedicated performance to the Kipp Crawford Memorial Fund.

DOWNLOAD DAFFODILS NOW

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

In an effort to fully jump into the nerdy end of the pool, I’ve recently purchased unique urls and built dedicated websites for the three albums that I’m endlessly promoting. Ladies and gentlemen, introducing my new album websites:

BittersweetParade.com
LongBeforeTheWheel.com
AnotherGleam.com

The goal was to make them simple and standard. There’s nothing too fancy about any of them but my hope is that it gives people another place to learn about the various records that I’ve created and who knows, maybe even buy a copy or three.

BITTERSWEET PARADE .COM

LONG BEFORE THE WHEEL .COM

ANOTHER GLEAM .COM

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

I was in the Kink.fm studios today and had a pleasant conversation with Inessa that will be featured on tonight’s Kink.fm Local Music Spotlight. Between opening for Chris Isaak in July, opening for Alpha Rev tomorrow at the Aladdin Theater and a new management agreement in the works, we had much to discuss — and discuss we did.

Here is the link to the full interview: http://bit.ly/n8PFNE

TO BE TRANSPARENT, THIS INTERVIEW WAS TO PROMOTE:
1) I’m opening for Alpha Rev at the Aladdin Theater on 9/14
2) I’m playing on the Kink.fm Early Escape Cruise on 9/16
3) I’m playing at the Alberta Rose Theater on 9/29

Tune in tonight to hear the discussion and my song Daffodils live on the air!!

Can You Help Me Rank My Horses?

I am trying to figure out which of my latest 3 albums is my “best” album — the strongest horse in my race — to help me focus on which one I should be sending out to the powers that be.

Because music is often an emotional decision, I believe math is the answer here.

Please fill out the small survey below and email the results to info (at) tylerstenson (dot) com

RANK THE FOLLOWING SONGS ON A SCALE OF 1-10
(one being “ehhh” and ten being “wow”)

BITTERSWEET PARADE (2010):
Welcome the Change:
The Road:
I Get No Sleep:
Great Man’s Funeral:
You Already Know:
As the Crow Flies:
Push that River:
Explode:
Blush:
Fight til Dying Day:
Wyoming:

Don’t have it? Buy it here!

LONG BEFORE THE WHEEL (2010):
Leave Oregon:
Daffodils:
That Moon:
Clover:
We Grow:

Don’t have it? Buy it here!

ANOTHER GLEAM (2011):
NOT TO BE CONFUSED WITH SEE THAT GLEAM from 2008!!
Big Hearts:
Cellophane:
Better Be Us All:
Whistle Stop:
Paper Plane:
Come Around:
Popo Agie:
Getting Old:
Separate Things:
The Bus:
Feeling the Sun:
Fingertip:
Babysitting the Cowboy:
Carry On:

Don’t have it? Buy it here!

I will figure out the average rating strength of each album and consider the record with the highest average to be my best. THANK YOU ALL.

My cousin Grant teaches 2nd grade and across the years he has creatively used my music within his classrooms to lighten the mood, maintain order, inspire minds and ultimately teach lasting lessons in an interactive format — this lesson tops them all.

If you recall, I visited his class back in 2008, where we co-wrote a new version of my song The Bus. It was a really fun experience to show them a previously written line and then ask them to recreate it, in their own words, using the same structures and syllables, but totally unique to them.

This time, years later, his 2010-2011 class has been studying my song We Grow from my album Long Before the Wheel and learning about metaphors in the process … to my everlasting joy, they’ve written and recorded their own version of We Grow.

Check out Mr. Bushman’s 2010-2011 2nd Grade Class from Heritage Elementary School in Nibley, Utah singing their own version of my song We Grow.

WE GROW — BY TYLER STENSON & 2nd GRADERS

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WE GROW
Lyrics by Tyler Stenson and Mr. Bushman’s 2nd grade class
NOTE: The italicized words are theirs.

I heard you say that you wish I stayed
An older version of me — long before my change.
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, we grow
Like baby to man
Like ideas of Mr. Bushman
Like the airbag inside of a van
Like things from a recycled can
The change is going to 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,
How is that different than me?
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, we grow
Like dust on a mat
Like the wings of a small baby bat
Like a kitten growing into a cat
Like the whiskers from a beautiful rat
The change is going to 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…

We’re entitled to change, we grow
Like egg into bird
Like the little baby cows in a herd
Like adding suffixes to a word
Like a 2nd Grader moving to third
The change is going to happen real slow
But not a day goes by we don’t grow.

THE ORIGINAL WE GROW:

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You can buy “We Grow” on CD Baby and iTunes!!

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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If you recall, 95 people banded together in late 2010 to help me fund my Long Before the Wheel EP via Kickstarter…

I’m writing today to tell you bluntly, I have 3 major projects that are simultaneously in need of funding; however, because there is a personal lack of finances to make them happen, I’m transparently taking a survey to determine: Would You Back Me Again?

THE PROJECTS & ESTIMATES:

1. Another Gleam: I have finished re-recording See That Gleam from 2008 in its entirety (plus 2 bonus tracks) and the result is stunning. Although it is totally tracked, I still need to have it mixed, mastered and manufactured into physical copies.

This will require another $3,000.

2. Greatest Hits CD/DVD: In March I did a live performance in Portland that captured my greatest hits from across the years, with a stellar backing band. I need to have the audio mixed and mastered and the video converted into a DVD.

This will require $1,000.

3. The 2012 Album to End All Albums: I have already written my next album and would like to release it in early 2012. With an extreme amount of confidence, this will be my finest work to date and include songs such as Often & Much, Best Laid Plans, Ghost and 10+ others that will top anything I’ve ever done. No lie … but, I’ll need this funded from top to bottom.

This will require $7,000.

As you can see, there is about $11,000 unaccounted for … I’m currently looking for investors, donors, pre-order agreements, sugar mommas, etc to make up this amount. Let’s get creative!!

As an artist, I am more prolific than my pocket book. I can create endlessly, I just need finances to make my creations public and immortal.

So, I ask the question, Would you back me again?

Thank you all — Regardless!!

Tyler Stenson