Category: Music

Reevaluating Everything: Goals for 2026

I already set my goals for 2026 a couple of months back. They are very simple and general. In fact, I’ve already met a few of them and it’s not even 2026 yet. Here’s a review:

10 things I hope to do before the end of next year.

  1. Give my website a simple remodel.
  2. Continue writing and recording songs and music.
  3. Write poetry and consider short story.
  4. Keep walking regularly and participate in other physical activities.
  5. Monitor my health and see experts on my blood condition.
  6. Read on a fairly regular basis.
  7. Consider a second piece of real estate in Kansas or Missouri.
  8. Retire from my current job and move back to Maine.
  9. Create a YouTube Studio in a different location and focus on a few strategies to promote the channel.
  10. Travel and work on becoming a better photographer.

So, #1 is done. #8 is part done. I’ll be taking a photography class starting in January, #10. Many of the other goals are things I simply do on an ongoing basis. See what I did there. I made it nearly impossible not to meet my goals.

There are a few things I want to reevaluate.

Let’s review #2, #7, #9, and add one big thing that I forgot to include.

#2. Continue writing and recording songs and music: Of course, I’m going to continue to do music. The question is at what level? Since I retired, I’ve sped up my output, both in writing and posting to my YouTube channel. I’ve even done some new Anderhill music. I’m not sure I’m going to continue to increase musical output going into 2026. Something is telling me to slow down a bit on the musical output and to focus on quality over quantity.

#7. Consider a second piece of real estate in Kansas or Missouri: This is simply a thought, an option. I often consider real estate in that region for the low cost, and to be close to my first daughter who was stillborn and buried in Joplin, Missouri. But I think in 2026 it will be more important to focus on my property in Maine.

#9. Create a YouTube Studio in a different location and focus on a few strategies to promote the channel: As with #2, I’m not going to stop. However, I’m also not going to put the YouTube channel at a high level of importance. In fact, I’ll be making an announcement on the channel before the end of the year that I will be slowing down output. And chances are fair that I’ll keep the channel simmering on the back burner until after I’ve resettled in Maine. Only then will I decide about the new studio space and the direction of content and promotion.

One important thing I left off the initial list.

I have a small condo in Maine. It’s livable but is also in need of some updates. So, upon my return, I need to start on the process of getting some things done. Here’s a list of things I’d like to consider completing over the next couple of years:

  1. Get electrical and plumbing inspected and repaired.
  2. Get the windows and exterior doors replaced.
  3. Do a partial kitchen remodel and get new appliances.
  4. Get a new shower/tub.
  5. Repaint the entire interior.
  6. Possibly install new flooring downstairs and resurface the stairs.
  7. Replace heating units with new and more efficient models.
  8. Turn the basement area into a YouTube studio instead of a storage area.
  9. Minimize furnishings and decor.

And a few of other things…

Other things I left off my original list because they are not certainties:

  1. Consider getting another dog.
  2. Working part-time either at Cabelas and/or adjunct teaching.
  3. Traveling to Canada, Scotland, and/or Iceland.

So, there you have it. A slightly more specific list of goals for 2026. Again, I do not like to set goals the way I used to. I used to aim too high and set unrealistic goals. I might have met 40% of them. Life is uncertain and keeping your goals loose is a much better option, especially things that are outside of your ability to control.

Don’t set goals you can’t control.

For instance, a few weeks ago, I noticed that my YouTube channel had about 83 subscribers and 180 posts. So, I posted a goal on Facebook. I said by the end of the year I’d have 200 posts and 100 subscribers.

At the rate I’ve been making videos, the 200 posts by the end of the year was very reachable. Still is. But I can’t control how many people subscribe to the channel. It’s gone from 83 to 92 but I don’t expect to reach 100 by December 31. I was setting myself up for failure by making my goals dependent on the actions of others.

This, in part, led me to reevaluate the importance of my YouTube channel. I’ve blogged and I have been caught up in the endless cycle of trying to grow an online presence in the past. I’m not going to let that cycle repeat when I retire. I cannot control the actions of others. I cannot force people to come to my channel. This is not The Field of Dreams.

I started the YouTube channel as a place to catalog songs and discuss things related to songwriting and music, and occasionally, life. I started the channel with no illusions of becoming popular or monetizing. And for now, that’s just how it will remain. And I think I’ll end the year with 199 posts just because I can. – dse

Why I Gave up the Dream 100%

Photo by Chris Otten

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about the idea of ever “making it” as a songwriter, musician, or writer. What does that even mean? To make it? Then I realized that I already gave up the dream. 100%.

I’ve recently retired and that matters here.

First, I am officially retired from full-time academic work as of December 1, 2025. I’ll have more time on my hands. Time that might allow me to work harder in pursuing my artistic endeavors. And I will.

I’m going to keep my YouTube Channel going. I’m going to keep writing songs. I’ll keep composing ambient music and writing poetry. Maybe, I’ll even write another book. But never again for the reason of trying to “make it.” And only out of the love for the process, and the art.

I work to create a healthy balance in life. I’ll likely continue to do some part-time work. I’m going to do some upgrades to my condo. I’ll travel some. I’ll work more on photography. I might even learn more about how to create a successful YouTube Channel instead of just posting random videos of me singing songs. Who knows? But I’ll decide.

I won’t do any of that in hopes of achieving financial or social success in the industry. Here’s why.

My work is 100% driven by artistic value, not money.

In the past few years I’ve noticed something. I understand that people who have been successful in the music or entertainment industry have worked hard to get there. I also understand that they are busy people. Even those who have not made it, but focus on that commercially-based track to success seem to have similar attitudes toward artists as myself.

They are dismissive.

That’s right. I’ve discovered an underlying unfriendliness among many people I’ve met who have been successful in the music business, or are trying their hardest to make it. I’m not sure exactly why, but I’m going to take a stab at what I think might be going on.

It’s a game of egos, and some people are threatened by purity.

I know some people may disagree, but from clear back in my early blogging days, I noted something. Most bloggers who had already had some success seemed to snub their noses at those who were trying to reach similar levels. Unless you were kissing up to them.

Why? Because their success depended on those who had not “made it.” That’s right. They want you to buy into what they are selling you, their courses, their programs, their coaching. They want you to believe that they are somehow better than you. Even if your raw talent is superior to theirs, they could never admit that. The ego will not allow for it.

I’ve found the same thing within the songwriting and music world. You’re a fan, not a contemporary. I’ve even had the sense that some of the successful artists I have met and worked with in the past few years are intimidated by those of us who have spent our lives mastering the art of something without “selling out.”

When you really think about it, if one has spent 50 years mastering a specific art while the other has had to worry about business, performances, recording, touring, and keeping their base happy, which one has truly had the unadulterated time and space to be more faithful to the art?

Alternative roads are shunned.

I also see that those of us who refuse to take the expected route in the music industry are ignored. The expected route is to spend lots of money to create a product to sell.

In Nashville, you are expected to make a high-quality produced demo. But it wasn’t always that way. Country music publishers used to request nothing more than instrument/vocal demos. Now there is a whole studio industry catering to wannabe songwriters to spend $500 per song.

You’re also expected to play the open mic and songwriting round circuit, and to co-write in an effort to prove yourself to the industry community. The venues where these events happen are selling you hope and dreams and food and beer.

In other words, the songwriters have become the product. The majority of the tens of thousands of songwriters in Nashville will spend thousands of dollars to never make it. I played that game as a younger man. I see through it now.

I think about Woody Guthrie.

Woody Guthrie refused to sell out. Sure, he made a meager living as a songwriter, but he never wrote anything he did not believe in as a means of pursuing commercial success.

Woody stood up for the things he believed in. He simply created whatever he chose. He was never impacted by the lure of success. In fact, he walked off the set when he was expected to play the role of a hayseed and sing commercial songs for a TV show.

Yet, in the end, Guthrie, never really a success in his own right, became a legend, and one of the biggest musical influences for future generations of songwriters.

I’m done dreaming, but I’ll keep on doing.

So that’s it. I’m done dreaming. 100%. But I’ll keep on doing. Or not. I won’t give into pressure to conform. I’m too old for that shit. I’ll write and post what I want when I want. And if I decide to stop doing altogether, that’s my prerogative.

For years I thought I was missing out because I never found much success in my creative endeavors. Now I understand something much more important. I’m free. – dse

Rooms

I wasn’t planning on releasing a third Anderhill project this year, but it just sort of happened. This 7-track album is called Rooms.

At first, I was going to name each track based on what the piece made me feel, or what it reminded me of. For instance, I hear the ocean in the first track. But as I was listening back to another track, I felt like I was in a big room. That gave me the idea of simply calling the album, Rooms.

All of these compositions are created fully within the DAW except for “Rm. 666,” which is subtitled “I Broke Your Heart” based on the back-masked sampled voices.

I feel new energy for electronic experimental music rising. Next year, I’ll work on more sampling and incorporating real sounds and instruments into the work. Enjoy. – dse

Little Trilogy

I wanted to complete one more Anderhill project before the year’s end. Over the last few days I’ve been working on a few tracks. A trilogy will have to do for now. Here’s Little Trilogy.

Now that I’m no longer working full time, I hope 2026 will allow me more time to work on ambient and drone music. I’ll also be moving back to Maine which offers a lot of great landscapes to meditate upon. My electronic work is often based on place.

This short EP, Little Trilogy, is reminiscent of work I did during the pandemic. It has dark and light drone and ambient compositions that may be a hint of more to come in 2026. – dse

Performing at Our Spot, Gallatin TN, December 3, 2025

I’ll be making a rare performance in a week! If you live in the area come on by and check out the show.

Since retiring from my day job, I’ve been doing a little bit of playing in the Nashville region. On December 3, 2025, I’ll do a one-hour set on the patio at Our Spot, 134 Broadway, Gallatin, TN.

I’m not making a huge push to do live performances, but my goal is to play once or twice a month in the region until I move back to Maine in the spring. I’ll post more dates and times soon.

If you live in the area, come on out and check out the show. – dse

Songwriting and Self-Importance

Lower Broadway, Nashville – Photo by Dan Steven Erickson

When I was a young songwriter I didn’t see it. I came to Nashville in the early 1990s and played my songs at open mic nights, and among small groups of singer-songwriters at houses and hotels. We were all having fun. Some writers were good, some sucked. I thought I was okay, but I knew I was still a beginner.

Almost 35 years, and well over 1000 songs later, I’m back in Nashville and my perspective has changed. And let me say, from the outset, I’m guilty of what I’m about to say. Songwriters and musicians, maybe artists in general, are often filled with self-importance.

I moved to Nashville in the fall of 2024 with a huge catalog of songs. But I moved here for work, not to play or plug my songs. Then I unexpectedly stopped working at the start of this month. I have a lease until May 1, 2026. So, I decided to go out and mingle among the musicians and writers.

Everyone tends to talk about themselves.

Among groups of songwriters, I’ve discovered that most songwriters spend the majority of their time telling others about themselves, about their songs, their experiences, and skills. I understand that artists need to market themselves, but I note a self-absorption that is slightly off-putting.

Coming from an educational background in communication, I have the ability to speak in public, but I’ve tried to keep to myself and lay low at these musical gatherings. Perhaps that’s a weakness. Or maybe it’s the nature of what I think the #1 tool of a good songwriter is: observational skills.

Other than my closest friends, and people on my social media, very few acquaintances know that I’m a songwriter. And I often consider eliminating Facebook, my one social media. Although, like any artist, I want my work to be seen and heard, I struggle with the whole self-promotion aspect. It feels too self-important. “Look at me!” Instead of spending hours in the bars promoting myself, I’d rather be writing, reading, or hiking.

The pot calling the kettle black.

You might wonder if I lack confidence because I tend to be reserved among groups, including songwriting groups. Upon some self reflection that is definitely not the case. As I said earlier, I can be just as guilty of being self-absorbed as the next. But I also have a long history of songwriting.

I know there are probably thousands of writers who feel this way, but in the past few years I’ve often referred to myself as, “A Great Undiscovered American Songwriter,” with the emphasis on great or American. You decide.

But I say “great” because I have spent a lifetime learning and honing my craft. I have studied the greats. I have stopped trying to be like anyone else and simply do what I do. I don’t care what anyone else thinks. I simply write songs regularly, take ’em or leave ’em.

But does that make what I do important? Not really. Sure, a song could change the world. A song could save a life. Songs can make people happy. They touch us emotionally. They can be therapeutic. But does that mean I’m special or worthy of praise?

I’m just doing something that comes natural to me. It started when I was a child. I heard songs on the radio. I wrote my own. It helped me through six years of being a child victim of a cult. It’s a fun pastime. It’s therapeutic and it has an element of curiosity and discovery. Songs are puzzles. It keeps one’s mind sharp.

But given a choice between spending the rest of my life fighting among the crowded bars and competitive music business (even with a guarantee of success), or simply living my life on my own terms and spending my time doing a variety of things that I love, including songwriting, I’d choose the latter. – dse