Tonight marks a monumental moment in my career as I finally had the honor of playing at the legendary Bluebird Cafe in Nashville, TN. Music lovers of most makes and models would be able to tell you that this is amongst the greatest venues in the world for an intimate musical experience, and in my humble opinion, it did not disappoint.

Though the rain washed many away, roughly 100 people still gathered to watch our writers round (featuring Lane Turner) and I must say the vibe was magical.

As an added honor, my good friend and host of the evening, Melissa Bollea, asked me to sing the last song of the night, to put a poignant bullet point on a fine evening — as you’ll witness in the video below, my song Better Be Us All was the final statement.

It was truly a thrill to be on one of the world’s premiere stages … I assure you, I’ll be floating for days as a result.

BLUEBIRD CAFE 02/01/2011 SET LIST:

1. That Moon
2. As the Crow Flies
3. The Road
4. Often & Much
5. Daffodils
6. Better Be Us All

Over the past few months I have been in the studio completely re-recording my 2008 album See That Gleam. While I’ve always loved the songs that were on the record, I never felt like the production did them much justice.

Well, I aim to do them justice.

Below is a sneak peak of a few of the sessions where we’ve tracked keys — the oh so talented Reginald Bradley on the organ and Matt Heasley on the grand piano. Enjoy the behind the scenes footage of Another Gleam.

TRACKING ORGAN ON “POPO AGIE” (FEATURING REGINALD BRADLEY)

TRACKING PIANO ON “FEELING THE SUN” (FEATURING MATT HEASLEY)

BUY ANOTHER GLEAM!!

As you may or may not know, I’ve been in the recording studio since Thanksgiving working on a new album. I use that term loosely in the sense that it’s not an album with never-before-heard songs; rather, a complete re-recording of my 2008 album See That Gleam.

Though I care deeply for the songs themselves, I’ve always felt that the original recording of See That Gleam didn’t do them their full justice. I was younger then and didn’t quite know what I was doing. That said, from top to bottom, I have decided to re-track the album in its entirety and will be calling it Another Gleam.

Best decision ever.

There will be a full preview once the songs are completed; however, for the time being, I’d like to show you a glimpse at the differences between See That Gleam 2008 and Another Gleam.

NOTE: Keep in mind these tracks are NEITHER complete NOR mixed. I still need to add bass and other production elements. Though they are far from finished, just listen to the blatant difference.

COME AROUND 2008

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COME AROUND 2011

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FINGERTIP 2008

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FINGERTIP 2011

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OTHER TRACKS THAT YOU CAN LOOK FORWARD TO:
1. Big Hearts
2. Come Around
3. Babysitting the Cowboy
4. Cellophane
5. Better Be Us All
6. Paper Plane
7. Carry On
8. Fingertip
9. Popo Agie
10. Separate Things
11. Whistle Stop
12. The Bus
13. Feeling the Sun (bonus track)
14. Getting Old (bonus track)

BUY ANOTHER GLEAM!!

Inspiration is a funny thing — months ago, I felt inclined to write about the mystery woman of my dreams and even though Clover came to be, Old Man Muse must not have been finished with me. No, not quite.

After digging a little deeper, I’ve officially written a new song in the same vein as Clover called That I’ll Know You… and today’s live recording can be heard below. Simply put, it’s a love song for the woman that I thought might never show. Thought. Enjoy the new song.

That I’ll Know You…
by tyler stenson © 2010

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I’ve gotten good at being alone,
Through the Valentines and the Mistletoe,
Though I’ve tried to find my heart’s Muse-
Oh, that I’ll know you when I see you.

It’s not that I have never loved,
It’s that my timing has been a victim of
The Winds of Change-
My, how they blew.
Oh, that I’ll know you when I see you.

So, shine sun, shine
And burn brighter than the others
So that I might see your brand of beam
And want another and another.
I cannot call your name
Cause I don’t know who I’m calling to-
Oh, that I’ll know you when I see you.

I’ve pictured it one thousand times;
My hands have run the length of your spine,
Down to your thighs,
To your glass shoe.
Oh, that I’ll know you when I see you.

So, to my Love I haven’t met,
Where for art thou Juliet?
You see, I switched the lines
But the play reads true:
Oh, that I’ll know you when I see you.

So, shine sun, shine
And burn brighter than the others
So that I might see your brand of beam
And want another and another.
I cannot call your name
Cause I don’t know who I’m calling to-
Oh, that I’ll know you when I see you.

LIKE THIS SONG? THEN PLEASE VOTE FOR ME AS PORTLAND’S BEST MALE ARTIST: http://bit.ly/akdIA

I spent a couple hours in the recording studio today with Rob Stroup recording a new song called Often & Much. What makes this song slightly different than my others is that I co-wrote it with my good friend Melissa Bollea. Although this is simply a demo, unfinished with some definite tweaks on the horizon, I want you to enjoy it to the fullest. Introducing Often & Much…

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OFTEN & MUCH
by tyler stenson & melissa bollea

I’ve been drifting for days on the blue
And that horizon is telling the truth.
It says the land is a lonely distance from this view
But there is a light house cutting through.

You’re my hope.
You’re my sail.
You’re my crutch.
So, my head, returns to you often and much.

I’ve been trying to buy me some time
With all these buffalo nickels and dimes
And I’ve been reading books
(Just to learn from the lines)
But those words don’t rhyme.

You’re my hope.
You’re my sail.
You’re my crutch.
So, my head, returns to you often and much.

So, pull up the anchor;
Release the white dove
And set a course for the sun
And pray this gail
Will guide my sail
To the one I love.

You’re my hope.
You’re my sail.
You’re my crutch.
So, my head, returns to you often and much.

My new album Long Before the Wheel is officially available for purchase and download on both CD Baby and iTunes. Please pick up a copy for you and your friends and leave a raving review while you’re at it. Your dollars and kind words are beyond appreciated. Enjoy.

Buy it on CD BABY: http://bit.ly/bDb4xo
Buy it on iTunes: http://bit.ly/cZFbma

TRACK LISTING:

1. Leave Oregon
2. Daffodils
3. That Moon
4. Clover
5. We Grow

Track #3 off of Long Before the Wheel is a mysterious gypsy tune about a very strange encounter I had while touring through San Louis Obispo, CA — simple show at the Cal Poly campus that turned into a full moon hike through Poly Canyon with a group of strangers.

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THAT MOON
by tyler stenson © 2010

Just before the summer,
I was playing my guitar
When a boy came from the audience
And motioned toward the stars.
He said it was a full moon
And It’s all the light we’ll need
For walking Poly Canyon … it’s a site to see.
He said, We’re walking Poly Canyon,
Come along, it’s a site to see.

So, we rose up in a clearing
That was filled with all these shapes
From all the heads of all these architects
That never grew tired of learning
Of Nature and Her systems
And how man can live within ‘em
And how the two can live as one
Just like it was long before the wheel and before the gun
-I wonder how they lived before the wheel and before the gun.

That moon was brighter than day
And who knows, maybe even God’s way to say:
Hey, I know by the looks of it
You’re human and you’re small
So, may that moon make you feel 10 feet tall.

I looked up at the two mountains
With that moon high up above ‘em
And it looked much like a pendant
Dangling from the neck of a woman.
With so much beauty there to offer,
There’s that much more to lose.
I said, This might be a stupid question
But do you suppose we’ve landed on that moon?
Oh, please forgive my stupid question,
But some would argue, that we’ve never touched that moon.

Scotty handed me a cig
And I burned it to the ground
And in the dirt, I turned those embers
Into something like a ghost town.
Then a man came out of nowhere-
He was the law but fair.
He said, On such a night like this,
You know it pains me,
But I have to ask you to leave.

That moon was brighter than day
And who knows, maybe even God’s way to say:
Hey, I know by the looks of it
You’re human and you’re small
So, may that moon make you feel 10 feet tall.

The sign said that the Lions
Would be hunting men like us
And that the Snakes had a taste
For human heels just above the dust
But that moon was all we needed
To be giants on that day
And to walk among the comforts
That no evil thing would dare to come our way.

That moon was brighter than day
And who knows, maybe even God’s way to say:
Hey, I know by the looks of it
You’re human and you’re small
So, may My moon make you feel 10 feet tall.

Hey, I know by the looks of it
You’re human and you’re small
So, may that moon make you feel 10 feet tall.

Track #2 off of Long Before the Wheel is a bittersweet ballad that was written for a special few — Scotland Barr and Kipp Crawford.

As the video and song suggests, Scotland passed away in September of 2009. When I heard the news, I began to write a song in his honor based on his song called Spanish Dust. Midway through writing the piece, in November, Kipp passed away tragically and, because this was a song for Music Men, I thought it highly appropriate to include him in the tribute.

I will never claim that I knew either of them extremely well but our brief passing in time had great effect. I will always remember them for their talents and their contribution to the Portland music community and beyond.

Read more about Scotland Barr
Read more about Kipp Crawford
DOWNLOAD DAFFODILS NOW

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DAFFODILS
by tyler stenson © 2010

Who was September
To decide it was time
To pull your pen from the page
That drew out your line
Since 1965?
-Long before your time.

May your fields be pure gold
And yellow like the loveliest sun.
May we hear your bones
Singing at the top of their lungs.
May all your fields be songs and daffodils.

Oh, then November
Would not be outdone
And dimmed that bright old smile
From an Ashland Son
That burned since ‘78
-Then all at once faded away.

May your fields be pure gold
And yellow like the loveliest sun.
May we hear your bones
Sounding out the beat of a drum.
May all your fields be songs and daffodils.

I for one, hope you found your Sun Years
And finally laid your eyes on some Spanish Dust.
Your words fill up our Paper Dixie Cups,
In a cheers to you,
One of the few who knew love.

So, may all your fields be pure gold
And yellow like the loveliest sun.
May we hear your bones
Singing at the top of their lungs.
May all your fields be songs and daffodils.

May all your fields be songs and daffodils.

DOWNLOAD DAFFODILS NOW

Track #1 off of Long Before the Wheel is a simple song called Leave Oregon. It was the first song I wrote after moving to Nashville and it’s therefore a vulnerable discussion of the West vs. East and the distance I felt from Home as a result.

What I like most about this song is that it’s deceptively motivational and even though it questions my move into the Lion’s Den of music (aka the Music City), I consider it to be a fearless march to war — much to gain, little to lose.

Enjoy Leave Oregon, no matter where you’re from — no matter where you’re going.

Leave Oregon will be released on Oct 2nd
At the Secret Society Ballroom in Portland, OR

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LEAVE OREGON
by tyler stenson © 2010

It’s the loudest sound;
When the heart knows what it wants and makes it known.
So, I’m leaving this town
Because it’s the season that changes all things into Gold.

But who am I to leave Oregon
When the rearview facing West holds all I love
And before me is October,
Where I might become my own fall,
But might never know my cards until I call?

Deep in the Lion’s Den
I’ve noticed Autumn holds a difference in the East;
Made up of different reds.
That color is bold, but just a lonely shade of dream.

So, who was I to leave Oregon
When the rearview facing West held all I loved
And before me was October,
Where I might become my own fall,
But might never know my cards until I call?

This is my loudest sound
And it’s meant for no one
But my loved ones in the West.
I’ll aim to make you proud
On a southern stage,
Lit by the lights, doing what I do best.

So, who was I to leave Oregon
When the rearview facing West held all I loved
And before me was October,
Where I might become my own fall,
But might never know my cards until I call?

As you know, I recently initiated a fundraiser for my new album Long Before the Wheel and I’m proud to announce that it was successful. That said, the dust has settled, the funds have been collected, the album has been made and now, it’s time to offer previews and thank yous.

The album is currently being replicated and will be officially released on October 2nd in Portland, OR at the Secret Society Ballroom. For those that helped me fund this project, you should have already received a free admission ticket via email (if not, contact me). Otherwise, there will be a small cover charge for those that haven’t yet shelled out any cash:)

Roughly 90 individuals banded together to make this album a reality. If you’re a fan of my music, you and I both have these people to thank:

THANK YOU TO:
Kelli Redding
Kelly Chalmers
MJ Yoon
Kim & Angela Redding
Thomas & Janet Lively
Jon & Mary Lively
Daniel Bushman
Holly Bonanomi
Brian Reeder
Kathleen VanDerAa
Robert Phillips
Garett Stenson
Dave Agee
Amanda Broadway
David Kocherhans
C. E. Ferguson
John Hice
Delia
Erik Martin
Emily Fox
Erik Blumenfeld
Jeffrey Sanford
Darlene Boyce
Emily Dufty
Lana Kress
Steve Golston
DaisyBobby
Grant Bushman
Chris Connor
Ripley
Phyllis Griffin
Ian Bailey
Tisha
Matthew Price
K.KB
Megan Welling
Brad Hirsch
Alex
Amy Mfuni
Hanna Rayn Elliott
Kyle Stenson
Bryce L Tomlinson
Raegan
Benjamin Metcalf
Aaron Cook
Nicole Laird
Danny Fernandez
Cort
Taylo–Ø Brown
Austin Walker
Crystal
David Steele
Bryan Belanger
Nina Sparr
Summer Widmer
Erika Turner
Natalie Ann
Kisha Turner
Heather
Eric Stein
Barbara Melton
Ryan Pennington
Mary Tanner
Ashley OHollaren
Wendy
Kelsey Lewis
Robert Kraus
Hilary
Rose Qutub
Kristin Smith
Chad
Megan Kieling
Holly Bonanomi
Lexie
Rose Anderson
Malia Sajko
Brittney Myers
Jesse Corson
Tiffany Redman
Adam Herman
Heather Zimmer
Rae Ann Coombes
Brian Reeder
Jessica Sessler Alesso
Maureen Stein
Cindy Ripley
R Michael Torrey
Corey Nebel
Jeffrey S Schauland
Shaun Harris
Tom Ashton
Eric Ruth
Tyler Toney
Anna Koch
Simon Burrows