Dan Steven Erickson

News

The 4th of July

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Old Orchard Beach Maine – Photo by Dan Steven Erickson

It’s the 4th of July and I have a couple of things on my mind. First, the good news. Then, the less than great news. Finally, a short update on projects.

The good news is that visits to my website have doubled in the last few months. I’m hoping not too many of those visits are from bots as the more visits I get the more expensive the hosting plan. So, if you’re a new visitor to my site, welcome, and thank you for coming. I hope you might find my work interesting or helpful in some way. Please consider buying a book or some music to help pay for the site expenses. If you’re a bot, go away.

Now for the less than great news.

This 4th of July is less than wonderful for America, at least from my point of view. I won’t harp on all the reasons for my concern. If you pay the slightest attention to the ongoing changes in our nation, you know. If you disagree, that’s your right, but freedom is a precarious thing. Be careful what you wish for.

Finally, I’ve got some more electronic music in the works. I’m still working on traditional songwriting and blues music as well. Remember, I’ll be going to the Rodney Crowell songwriting camp in August. I booked a room today, but am still deciding between plane or train travel. More poetry is also in the works.

Personally, I have ambivalent feelings about this 4th of July, but I still wish you all a happy one. – dse

America the Spiritual

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I usually make a point to stay away from political posts on this website. However, after the recent Supreme Court decision, I was a bit concerned about the freedoms in our country. So, I decided to write a parody of America the Beautiful. The way I see it, we are being ruled by religion as much as politics in this country. That is concerning to me.

I used one of the oldest versions of the original song as my base and kept the original rhyme scheme in most places.

America the Spiritual 

Oh spiritual for darkened skies
For blessed waves of pain
From Trump appointed majesties
Below the hellfire plain
America, America
God she’d Her Grace on thee
But you stomped Her crown into the ground
From sea to shining sea

Oh spiritual for shyster’s feet
Whose cold corruptions stress
A thoroughfare for rich men beat
For greed and to impress
America, America
God will not mend your flaw
You’ve lost your soul, no self-control
No liberty in law

Oh spiritual for Christians proved
With debilitating strife
Who less than self, their country loved
And dogma more than life
America, America
May God be forced divine
‘Til all success be wickedness
And every gain be mine

Oh spiritual for patriot scheme
That’s blind beyond two beers
Thine desecrated cities steam
With infinite amount of tears
America, America
God She’d Her Grace on thee
But you stomped Her crown into the ground
From sea to shining sea

Oh spiritual for polluted skies
For blessed waves of pain
From Trump appointed majesties
Around his orange stain
America, America
God she’d Her Grace on thee
‘Til souls wax dead from states so red
And the kind-hearted flee

Oh spiritual for shyster’s feet
Whose cold corruptions stress
A thoroughfare for rich men beat
For greed and to impress
America, America
God she’d Her Grace on thee
But paths be blocked and doors be locked
At behest of your decree

Oh spiritual for glory’s fail
With debilitating strife
When selfish ways for man’s avail
Dictates how we all live life
America, America
God she’d Her Grace on thee
But selfish gain is all that remains
And the banner waves not free

Collapse

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I’ve been working on new electronic music over the last couple of weeks. This latest work by A Cult of Lies maybe some of my most abstract music to date. It’s minimalist, yet dark and discordant. If you dare listen, I encourage you to wear headphones. It’s my interpretation of the sound of the Collapse of society as we know it.

The tracks on Collapse were created using only a small handful of synth sounds. The compositions only have about 2-4 tracks of audio each. Much of the essence of the sound is achieved by stacking tracks and using reverb and delay. The photo was taken inside a WWII bunker near Port Townsend Washington. – dse

I Am Mostly Ocean

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After a recent trip to Maine, I’ve recorded my first Anderhill composition in awhile. I Am Mostly Ocean is just that, a track created mostly from a sample of the ocean in Old Orchard Beach Maine.

I love the ocean. Not only do I love its beauty, but I love the presence, the power, and the sound of the ocean. It can be both soothing and incredibly awesome. With more of my attention going toward guitar-based songwriting and blues the last few months, I decided to take a short break and put together a new electronic composition.

This track uses a single sample of the ocean played back at different frequencies, and in different lengths and intervals. Throughout the composition I’ve added some simple music and drum parts. The piece is mostly ocean. I Am Mostly Ocean.

The cover art was taken early in the morning on my last day on the Maine Coast. I hope you enjoy this composition. – dse

No Kidding

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Not too long ago I said I’d be posting less often here. I wasn’t kidding. That was actually the whole point of starting the Dan Steven Erickson site. To create something that is less of a blog and more about the music and poetry that I create. It just took me awhile to create a base for the site. I wanted to have enough music, articles, and poetry on the site to give it a little depth. Now I will be intentionally slowing down.

Seeing that it’s been awhile since my last post, I’ll share some of my current projects and plans.

First, I’m in the midst of creating a catalog of blues music. For live performances blues is my preferred genre. It’s fairly simple, fun, and intelligent. However, learning to perform and sing blues at a moderately professional level is no easy task. I’m up for the challenge. Recordings of my blues and songwriter genres are in the works but may still be a ways off.

It’s been a couple of months since I’ve done any electronic or ambient compositions. I’ll be taking a short trip to the East Coast next week and spending some time by the ocean. I’m going to make it a goal to start a new electronic composition or project while I’m there.

Finally, I’m considering beginning a new book project within the next year or two. As a college instructor I am allowed to take a sabbatical. I might just work something out where my sabbatical and a writing project can line up. Still, I’ll be posting here less often.  No kidding. – dse

The Twisted Journey

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Burden KS – Photo by Dan Steven Erickson

Creativity is an interesting, beautiful, and twisted thing. The journey is never completely understood, yet it’s the journey that is always more important than the end result. As usual, my own creative path has again become a twisted journey.

Why do we create? Some may become creative because they hope that their creativity might lead to success and a paycheck. Good luck, right? I think most of us become creators because we must. It’s simply who we are. When I wrote my first song and Christmas play at about eight years of age, I wasn’t thinking about success or money. I was merely trying to express my thoughts and opinions through art.

Over the years, my creativity has morphed and changed. I’ve reinvented myself several times. Why? I think this is also a common thing among true creators. I’m not sure the explanation is the same for us all, but for me, there is a sense of completion about certain projects. That completion begs to lead me into something new, a different art or genre.

Most of my favorite musicians are more than just musicians. People like Woody Guthrie, Bob Dylan, Leonard Cohen, John Mellencamp, Steve Earle, Nick Cave, and Jimmy Buffet are all multi-talented. They go beyond just making music. They are writers, painters, storytellers, and poets. I often wonder if some musicians would continue to record and perform music at the same rate as they age if they could make more income from their other creative endeavors.

And so it is with my own creative journey. I’m always twisting and turning, never knowing what might be around the next bend. So here’s an update on my recent projects.

This year has led to a return to traditional songwriting. Songwriting was my very first creative outlet. But too much of anything can become old and stale. So although I’ve continued to write songs throughout my life, I’ve not focused on it to the same extent for the last decade. I turned to writing books, poetry, creating websites, and composing electronic, experimental, and ambient music. But that changed this year.

Reigniting the songwriting muse has led me to begin performing music again as well. I’m currently performing my own songs at various venues, and performing in an Irish band as a percussionist. There’s still another twist.

I’ve always focused on the art of songwriting over my skillset of playing a musical instrument. The instrument has always just been accompaniment. I’ve looked up to my brother, Paul Erickson. About 15 years ago he decided to focus on becoming a classical guitarist and composer, furthering his playing and performing skills. I’ve said that if I ever were to take one form of music more seriously, that it would be The Blues. And so I have started that journey.

I’m not going to completely stop writing in other genres but by focusing on blues, I’m willfully and happily forcing myself to increase my skillset as a guitarist. I’ve claimed that of all the instruments I play, drums are the most fun. I would argue something similar about blues. Of all the genres of music I play, blues can be the most fun. Ironic, I know, but true.

And so the twisted journey continues. Who knows, maybe chainsaw art is next? – dse

Buffalo

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Buffalo, Buffalo
I’m so sad to my soul
Buffalo, Buffalo
It’s such a senseless thing, I know

How long will it rain?
How many days of pain?
How many hearts must be broken?
How long will the fires burn?
When will we finally learn?
When will this world be awoken?

Buffalo, Buffalo
I’m so sad to my soul
Buffalo, Buffalo
It’s such a senseless thing, I know

How many lives must end?
How long will we pretend?
That weapons have ever been the answer?
When will we stop the hate?
Never retaliate?
When will we cure this cancer? 

Buffalo, Buffalo
I’m so sad to my soul
Buffalo, Buffalo
It’s such a senseless thing, I know

Buffalo, Buffalo
It’s such a senseless thing I know

Lyrics Copyright 2022 by Dan Steven Erickson

Maybe an Eagle

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I saw a dead bird
floating down the irrigation canal
this morning.
And I couldn’t help but wonder
how it met its end.
Was it an electrical wire?
A barnyard fire?
Agricultural spray?
Or just plain old age?

And then I wondered
if its little soul had come back again?
I thought
maybe that little bird came back as?
Maybe a dog or a cat?
Maybe a little ant or the tiniest of gnats?
Or maybe that little bird came back
as an eagle,
and I pictured that. 

The look on its little face
when it realized it could soar,
or when it discovered
that its wingspan
was six feet more.
It might have scared the shit out of it for a minute.
But then I’ll bet that little bird
had the most fun
it’s ever had in its life,
soaring and gliding,
swooping and diving.
Boy, I’d like to have seen that.

And then I thought
what’ll happen to me when I die?
I guess I don’t get to decide.
They say that’s God’s job.
So, I said a little prayer.

I said, God,
When I die
I know you probably won’t make me an angel
because, well,
I might have smoked
and drank too much.
Maybe, you’ll make me a dog
or a weasel or something.
Then I pleaded just a little bit
and asked, God, if you see fit,
maybe an eagle?