Eric Erdman New Album Review

Eric Erdman is an artist I’ve mentioned in passing a few times on this blog, but it’s well past time for him to get his due on here. I met Eric I guess around 2013 when I was hanging out with Markus Fox. Did I mention Eric is Markus Cousin? I’ll give you a little background on the man. He used to play in a band called “The Ugli Stick” of which many of my friends were followers, but never really hit my radar. It wasn’t until I started hanging out with Markus that I learned about Eric. Sitting at the table with Markus’ mom and their grandmother it was clear she was insanely proud of the musical talents that “her boys” possessed.

Eric is a true singer/songwriter out there hustling to get his music and voice out there but he’s quite ok with local success that allows him to pay his bills, travel the world playing his guitar and just enjoying life. However he’s too good for just our local shelves. While it’s selfish on our part for him to remain a local artist every time I listen to the radio I think Eric does this so much better and deserves way more of the spotlight. What better time to do that than when he’s dropping a new album, “It’s Not Like You Don’t Know Me” so forgive me for a moment while I fan girl on a dude who gives fantastic hugs and play a guitar even better.

I have 4 of Eric’s albums :

·       It’s Not Like You Don’t Know Me – Released in Jan. 2018 which is the main focus of this post see review below …

·       Not Slowing Down – Released in 2015 (via a Kickstarter fund raising effort for which I happily put my money where my mouth was)

o   This album excited me cause it wasn’t anything like the last two albums (below) but it had an Eric feel to it. You heard the lyrics and knew that the amazing brain housed in the head of Eric Erdman created each and every track. Each song tells a story and as he’s telling it you are seeing it in your head and as you know dear reader I love it when tracks do this. 

§  Tracks you should listen to right now “Aint Ben Right”  “Garden or Gun” “Mistake of a Woman” and “Objects in the Mirror” – get those tracks and you’ll come back for the rest of album. 

·       Color the Silence – Released in 2013 (which introduced me to the Hussy Hicks from Australia (but more on them in another post) 

o   I love everything about this album. It’s my go to album when I’m stressed at work and need to calm down but stay productive. This album from track one to track 10 is filled with songs easy on the ear but that also play tricks on the head and when you get the little nods in each song they make you smile.

§  Funny story. . . Eric is a pretty family friendly guy. Not many NC-17 stickers covering his album covers. At the record release party for this album he sang a song that had a few “bad words” in it. Now throughout the night as he sang he’d have people get out on the dance floor often couples sometimes singles but when he started singing a “safe version” of “Lucky (el Paso) in which he modified the lyrics to not offend anyone the dance floor filled with a TON OF KIDS all dancing their hearts out which made me laugh. As he finished singing he also commented on how that was his favorite part of the night. 

§  Tracks you should listen to right now “Last Night’s Wine” “Burn the Bridges” “Color the Silence” and “Some People”  -- then come back for the rest of the album. 

·       My Brother’s Keeper – Released in 2012 (Which I bought at the record release party for Color the Silence)

o   This album is filled with classic Eric tracks, if you go to a show you are going to hear at least two of these if not more. It’s a fantastic album, and the word play throughout is candy for my brain as well as my ears. 

§  Funny story . . . . I had my younger nephew in the car with me I guess he was around 8 or 9 and we were listening to the album as I drove him from point A to B. well I was listening he was playing a game on my phone not really paying attention to anything. Well there’s a song on this album called “Amy it Aint” which is a song about a young lady who didn’t understand that a relationship had ended. Towards the end of the song out of no where Andrew said “Geeze Amy just doesn’t get it!” I busted out laughing and when we reached our destination I tweeted Eric to tell him that story and he wrote back … “no she did not! Tell him he’s not wrong” – or something to that effect. It was a cute moment that reminded me they are ALWAYS PAYING ATTENTION. 

§  Tracks you should listen to right now “If Two Wrongs Don’t Make a Right”   “Too Close to Heaven”  “Saltwater” and “Peanut Butter and Jealousy” – then come back for the rest of the album it’s fantastic.

His new album, It’s Not Like You Don’t Know Me, has 11 tracks on it, 3 of which are remakes from a previous album but they are such great songs I’m not even annoyed by that.

Let’s go track by track … cause you know me that’s how I do. As previously stated these are the thoughts that run through my head as I listen to each track. Enjoy. 

The Pond – The imagery in this song grabbed me early before I even listened to the song. I also love that I can hear Eric’s fingers as they hit the strings, I love that in a song. I’m in love with the words in this song. Every time I listen to it I get a new gem for my ears to drive into.

Favorite from this song… 

              The pond before the pebble's cast

              Doves before they scatter

              The smooth sheet of perfect glass before it felt the shatter

              The marble before sculptor

              The page before the pen

              Or what I would ask you now if I could go back and ask you then

That’s What Love Does – When you get past the music and listen to the words, which is helped by a semi-acoustic version of this song on the album it hits all your feels at once. You can feel the love in this song from a woman who gave everything she had for her family. Even at the end. I can see her laying in the bed likely making sure everyone else was comfortable despite her own discomfort from her cancer fight. He could have been talking about any southern grandma and that’s what makes it special. To take something, a moment that’s so personal to him and make it universal is a gift. I’m not gonna lie this one … it made me cry.

It’s Not Like You Don’t Know Me – I think every artist wants to sing this song, that is if they lay it all on the line the way Eric and really great musicians do. Sadly, most don’t have the guts. I like this one I’d love to know who he’s singing to here is it the fans, is it a family member, is it himself. I almost see it as a wrestle match with himself in that he can talk to people through a song but it’s harder for him in person. Not sure why I’ve gone there with it but that’s what I think of when I listen to it. Every.single.time.

The Well –I’m going to have to spend more time with this one before I wrap my brain around it. I kept thinking of a coworker going through some things non-work related and would love for her to hear this song but not sure how she’d react to it. I think she’s at a crossroad where she’s likely asking herself these questions or at least feeling what this song outlines. It’s dangerous sometimes in our own heads.

You’re Still Dangerous –I need more time with this one too…right now all I think about when I listen to it is Bonnie and Clyde and wonder if this is how their conversations went as they were speeding around in their car away from the heist.

What Karma Wouldn’t Do – The ultimate revenge song I hope he felt it and that it hurt very much, good for her, good for him and GREAT for Eric for being able to put this story together and this video in my brain. Karma she’s a witch and sometimes … she needs help.

The Leader of the Exodus – I LOVE everything about this song and all artist, new and old should be forced to listen to it every morning when they step out of their beds. Eric has before talked in songs about the mediocrity of music lately and especially the Country side of the table which has recently been filled with more bro country than I’d like to hear. My favorite line …. “In this town where the best thing you can be is overplayed” cause that’s what it is all about isn’t it? Stations play what other stations play, over and over again no matter if it has substance or worth. That’s why artist like Eric are important. The guys who spend their weekend going from gig to gig cause they love to play, love to feel the instrument in their hands and love what they can do with that instrument when left to their own devices to just … play and create.

What’s Left of What Used To Be – A  remake of a classic Eric song. I could listen to this song every day all day long and never get tired of it. I love the idea of a bulletproof younger person who realizes that’s not the case. Reflection is the theme of this song, and in this remake of this song he’s slowed it down and made it a little more mournful and allows the audience to really focus on the words. I love that. Well done Eric.

The Drought Is Over – a true love song that starts with a drought and I love the journey it took to get there. If it’s the summer I think he’s talking about I remember it well. At the beginning of the song you get this sense of relief about everyone standing on their porch thinking finally then it flips everything and turns into a love song and it’s fantastic.

Favorite from this song… 

              May 1st , rain is falling

              It’s coming down

              No doubt this gully washer’s

              Drenchin’ the ground

              Those Sweet honeysuckles

              Yellow and pink

              Open, to the sky

              To get a drink

I mean the visual that pops into one’s head is just …. Lovely.

I Get Carried Away – Another remake of a classic Eric song. The first time I heard this I remember thinking I want to go give him a hug. I love the flow of this track and I love how it all comes full circle by the end of it.

Bird On A Powerline – Another remake of a classic Eric song. I love this song, love everything about it. The video that it makes play in my head, the playfulness in Eric’s voice as he sings it and just the overall vision that it took to create this song about this young man (stalker) watching his lady love going about her day only to know that she will never ever notice him but he’s watching every step she takes. It often makes me wonder how many people you may see throughout your day that you don’t even notice but that notice you.

You can get any of these albums mentioned at Eric’s website below, and you really should get them ASAP:

Website:   https://www.ericerdmanmusic.com/home

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/EricErdmanMusic/ 

Twitter:  https://twitter.com/ericerdmanmusic 

Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/ericerdmanmusic/

Enjoy an artist who has given me years of joy and whom I hope will give my ears many many more songs to digest and play with as I listen for all the cleaver nods that he builds into his music. I told him once that I wanted to walk around in his brain for like an hour and just marvel at it’s awesomeness. He warned me that it was a wild place ….. I still want to do it tho cause wild as it may be … it’s still a pretty awesome brain to come up with the lyrics he does.

Check out Eric and your ear holes will thank me !

Once again Eric … to be the pen to your paper must be quite an honor for the ink. Thank you for sharing your talents, time, and voice with us. 

Marcy (@beaslma)

Falling into the Ed Sheeran rabbit hole

So…. In my self imposed Social Media Ban I have talked about my part in spreading negativity on the internet and my part in spreading positivity on the internet but in this one I’m going back to my roots a little bit. I am jumping on the bandwagon of an artist many have known about for years, looking at you Melissa, but whom I recently found thanks to a gift from a friend (looking at you Katie) so I'm waving the banner of this artist for people like me who thought they knew about him from the radio and had it just so badly wrong. 

So a few weeks ago I helped a friend, Katie, with something and in return she gave me an Itunes gift card. I’m kind of sick of everything I’ve been listening to lately so I decided to use this as an opportunity to find something new. I decided that the first thing I saw I was going to buy without even checking it out. The week that I was given the card was the same week that Ed Sheeran released ÷ (AKA Divide), something that wouldn't have normally hit my radar. When I 1st opened my Itunes store the first thing I saw was Ed Sheeran’s ÷ in the banner and I clicked on it to buy it before listening to a single track as was the deal I made with myself.  This deal ended up costing me way more money than the Itunes card was for.

For full disclosure I HATED Photograph by Ed Sheeran not because it was a bad song, not because it was a good song but because it was ALWAYS on the radio. Like literally every single time I’d flip around the dial (yes I’m that old to remember when there was a dial) this song was playing on at least 3 or 5 stations. I hate that. I always feel like when they do that they are trying too hard to get me to like someone and I rebel so hard it’s not even funny. I still don’t like the song, but now I can at least say I’ve given it a fair shake it’s just not my cup of tea. That being said after listening to ÷ I have jumped both feet in to the Ed Sheeran band wagon. The guy is brilliant. The way he puts a song together very much makes me think of my good buddy Eric Erdman, an artist who deserves so much more love than he gets. Their brains just see the world differently and my ears love every second of it. However Eric has to wait for another post this one is all about my falling into the Ed Sheeran rabbit hole.

To those new to this blog when I get a new album I have a rule; I push play then don’t touch anything until the last song plays. I want to hear the album as the artist/producers intended before I start jumping around to the tracks I really like. I have to admit that with ÷ I didn’t love every song right out of the gate, some I still don't. Actually on the first listen I was on track three thinking about track one and why it was called Eraser. It was quite challenging to move past actually and I still don’t fully understand it, but have decided to not overthink it and just ride with it since it’s a good song.

My favorite songs on ÷ include Happier, New Man, What Do I Know, Supermarket Flowers, and Nancy Mulligan. Tho I admit that Supermarket Flowers makes me cry … every.damn.time. It’s an ugly cry too … the picture he paints of his mom walking around her mother’s room essentially saying goodbye burrows into my head and a little mini movie plays that gives me all the feels creating tears at the same time as the goosebumps. I LOVE IT when that happens!!!!! Tho I'm sad for the circumstances that led to the song, I LOVE when a song does this to me.

There are some tracks I blow past now when they come on, but mostly because I can’t wait to get to other tracks. Like Galway Girl, I love the flow of the track but often find myself not really in the mood for it so I skip it. The first time I listened to New Man I thought dude who are you kidding, then realized I know nothing about this man so who was I kidding. Now it’s one of my favorites. Dive is the same way for me, sometimes I’m not in the mood for the slow soulful feel of the song but I like it and it’s the perfect song for work when I’m editing a document and need to focus. That’s not the case with Shape of You, or Perfect, if I never hear those again I’d be ok. Tho I did go on a trip with a friend and put Perfect on repeat during the night and slept like a baby which was nice, until the next day when it was like an ear worm that wouldn’t die.

As a self-professed Music Skitzo I love the mixture of rap/story/pop whatever you want to label it that Ed Sheeran brings to the table. He’s not really trying to fit into anyone’s mold but in doing that he’s creating his own mold but taking all his musical influences and creating his own genre for people to model future music by and that’s a testament to the influence he brings to the table. To this point, he posted every single song on his youtube channel with full lyrics in the information section so people could really dive into each song the way he  truly intended.

Check out the entire album here ….

After diving into ÷ I then dove head first into his entire library of music on Itunes. It was quite pathetic actually how hard I fell for this man. Like I can’t get enough of his voice, I can’t get enough of how he puts lyrics together and I really feel like he’s put everything he can into a song before giving it to the world. He’s definitely an artist who seems to care about what he’s putting out and isn’t at all putting things out simply cause he has a deal and he can. If that’s not the case I don’t want to know. Some of his earlier tracks that have made my ear holes incredibly happy are U.N.I., Wake Me Up, Homeless, Even My Dad Does Sometimes, Where We Land, and the list goes on and on.

I even bought his “live” albums and that is saying something cause I’m not a live album person. Often it takes away from the experience for me when I actually see them live, but in his case I feel that you really get a taste of who this artist is in front of an audience and he sounds like he’s having so much fun on stage you can’t help but fall in love with him if you haven’t already.  I apologize for being late to this party but damn I’m glad I finally got an invite …thank you Ed Sheeran my earholes haven’t been this happy in years!

Once I get back on Social Media, two more weeks, I have a list of things to do and first is follow Golden's new furbaby, Mighty, second is following Ed Sheeran so I can tell him personally how amazing he is, like he'd care what I think. If you are interested here's his information:

Twitter

Instagram

You Tube

Until next time .... have fun listening! :D

Marcy

Thankfulness Challenge - Day 17

Yesterday I talked of my love of TV and how it’s used to unwind, relax, veg out and chill after a long day at work. I mentioned that Music was my other love. Where TV is my go to at the end of the day, music usually gets me through the day. When I’m having a bad day at work I can put my headphones on and mellow out while accomplishing the items I need to in order for the next day to be better. When I’m having a good productive day at work there’s peppy music for that too. When the guy down the hall is arguing with his wife, or there is a lot of foot traffic on my hallway I have music for that too. So I'm thankful for the creative people who use their talents to entertain me and keep me sane!

Some of my favorite go to artists (new and old) include, because frankly there’s too many to name all of them:

§  Bryan White @bryan_white My ALL-TIME favorite artist ever…. I mean literally if I could only listen to one artist for the rest of my life it would be this guy. It’s crazy to me to think that he’s been entertaining me since 1994 and every CD is better than the last. Not to tell you my age or anything but I bought Bryan’s first album on tape for my first ever car. http://www.bryanwhite.com/

§  Markus Fox @Markus_Fox is a new country music artist who is currently pushing his way up the charts with songs from his debut EP Thinkin’ Out Loud. His award winning song I’m Still Coming Home makes me tear up every time he sings it and his other single 22 Miles From Hell gives me chills. He’s going to be tearing up the charts very soon jump in the Fox Hole now! http://www.markusfox.com/

§  Eric Erdman @EricErdmanMusic I’ll admit I met Eric through Markus (well Markus’ mom) and was blown away, the way this man strings together concepts and thoughts makes me laugh, smile and think. The fact that he’s a complete sweetheart and adorable didn’t hurt. http://www.ericerdmanmusic.com/

§  Haley & Michaels @haleynmichaels As a How I Met Your Mother fan when I hear I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles) I sit up and pay attention and the cover Haley and Michaels do of it is fantastic. The way they blend their voices together and put their own spin on it. They owned this song and give it new life. They also have a new  EP well worth the money. Just Another Love Song their other single is great. http://haleyandmichaels.richardsandsouthern.com/haley-and-michaels-ep.html

§  Nathan Woodward @nathanwoodward a Jazz recording artist who plays a mean saxophone. That’s the one instrument I’ve always wanted to learn to play. It fascinates me and always elevates a song when included on the track. I’m so glad he tweeted me about his album allowing me to find his music. I have used it several times during a stressful situation to relax and mellow out. http://www.nathanwoodward.com/

§  Maddie and Tae @MaddieandTae I was listening to the radio one day on my way to a Markus Fox show and heard the new song Girl in a Country Song and it made me giggle. When I got home I immediately looked them up and followed them on Twitter. They recently released their debut EP and I can’t stop listening to it. These ladies are really talented. They co-wrote each track on the EP and Sierra and Fly are amazing. They run through my head constantly. I work up this morning singing Fly. It’s a beautiful song. If I had a negative thing to say about Maddie and Tae it’s that their EP was too short it definitely left me wanting more. http://www.maddieandtae.com/

As you can tell music makes me happy but even more important that that I love discovering new artist and connecting with them especially early in their career. It’s fantastic watching a really talented person go from an unknown to being on radio, all over you tube and seeing their hard work pay off on the charts. It’s also pretty fantastic seeing an artist who rises back up after being knocked down by the music industry. So whether you buy digital music, CDs, records, or just listen to the radio take a minute to listen to an artist you haven’t heard before … you might be surprised by the artist you come to meet.

While the list above contains a lot of country artist …that’s just the kick I’m on at the moment. I go through spurts of genres and then I’ll get sick of it and move to another genre and eventually make my way back. I LOVE Random on an MP3 player or several CDs flipping back and forth cause I do get bored when I listen to the same thing all day long. Don’t worry there will be many more posts of artist I think you all need to know and I’d love to hear about artist you like that I could discover.

--Marcy

Thankfulness Challenge - Day 11

Today is the day that everyone’s time lines change to show their various military family members with a post on how proud of them they are, how they miss their family members, and how much they love them. People change their profile picture to their dad in their military fatigues or their brother in his dress blues, or a mommy soldier being welcomed home by their children. They post these long stories about their military family member and each one is really touching.

As you scroll up and down your various timelines pause and read what that soldier did and think about how his/her life, actions, and sacrifice has altered your life and give a like, a comment, or even just silently pray for him/her and their families. I can't imagine how hard it has to be to be a spouse, parent, kid, friend, loved one of a soldier gone for months or years at a time.

Today, and everyday, I am thankful for those who put themselves in harms way everyday for me, I appreciate the sacrifice and salute you.

May you all make it home safely and may you come home soon!

My favorite Marine Markus Fox, along with his cousin Eric Erdman, was on the Rick and Bubba show this morning listen to his story and hear his award winning song I'm Still Coming Home, a touching song about PTSD and dealing with it from his side of the table. He also sings 22 Miles From Hell, a fantastic song about what it's like on the front line. Today marks the year anniversary of his Debut EP Thinkin' Out Loud if you like what you hear below check it out on ITunes or wherever you buy your digital music.

Thank you Markus for your service and for your message! You truly are an amazing guy and I love how you use your talents to spread awareness on suicide in the military.