Hi ,
I was reminded of a story today when I saw my mother post this picture on Facebook. It was 11 years ago. I had just begun singing and had started to record songs for the first time in my life. My brother Andy had written a song called Two Different Worlds. It was a song about a girl in a wheel chair and a guy who was not. They ended up falling for each other against all their differences. It actually had a good message behind it. I recorded the song and sent it to the local radio station. Now looking back this was a terrible idea. First of all the recording equipment we had was very sub par and the song needed some work. I didn’t know this at that time. I didn’t know that artists used, vocal lessons, pitch correction, compression, multiple takes, etc to make a really great track. I really had no idea that they had all those tricks to make the songs sound even that much better. So from my limited musical experience I thought I had a good, radio ready, recording. I gave it to the radio station and they said they liked the song. Then they said if I could get enough people to request it they would play it. I remember asking all my friends to call and request my song. Well long story short they never played my song despite lots of requests. At the time I was really crushed by this. Looking back I see the reasons why. The quality just wasn’t there. I wished they had just told me that instead of having me ask everyone to call and request the song but that’s all in the past. So I attached this picture and tell this story for a couple of reasons. If you have read my book you know how important I think consistent branding is. Well look at the website address. From day one I have had the same website address. I also have wore a cowboy hat from day one. I am embarrassed at this cd cover, picture, outfit, and at how many copies of this CD are probably still out there but it’s such an important part of my musical journey. I would print these labels in my own house with my color printer and burn my own copies of my songs. I would sell them at my small local performances so I could raise money to buy my first small sound system. I started with a portable karaoke machine from Costco. I would sell the original song and include bonus cover songs to make it worth more money to my fans at the time. This was my first attempt at making a cd that I could afford. I don’t know if anyone who reads my e-mails even has this cd or any of first cd’s but its sure fun to look back at that. I know that many of my friends at the time thought this was all just a phase and I was just playing around. I believe that it shows that I am here for the long haul and willing to do just about anything to stay in the game. I love what I do and I love meeting everyone as I travel around. The concert last week in Vernal was incredible. Not because there was a large crowd, it was actually a pretty intimate crowd. It was incredible because so many people from my Facebook, or my newsletter list, or just a supporter of my music, made the trip to see me. It really made me feel special to sit and talk with so many of you after the show. Hearing your stories and how you first heard of me and my music. I love that so much. Thanks for being part of this adventure. It’s only getting better.
Thanks
Eric
Our next concert is the Washington County Fair in Utah. August 8th at 8pm on the outdoor stage.
Then on August 9th in Price, UT at the Carbon County Fair at 7:30pm at the outdoor stage.
August 16th Rush Valley Days, Tooele County.
Hope to see you at one of these.
Thanks
Eric
Here are Facebook links to the upcoming concerts.
Washington County
https://www.facebook.com/events/1414234285497507/?ref_dashboard_filter=upcoming
Carbon County
https://www.facebook.com/events/470464473087648/?ref_dashboard_filter=upcoming
Satuday August 16 we are back at Rush Valley Days in Tooele County.