The Big Hearts performance from Artichoke Music is now posted to YouTube for posterity. This song was written for some very close friends of mine that have amazing hearts- constantly helping mine grow. Though I could never thank them enough for their grace, let this song be my humble attempt. This is quietly one of my favorite songs so I hope you enjoy it too.

Watch the video then listen to the studio version:

BIG HEARTS

Heaven knows I’d wait to feel another breeze.
To lay beneath another sun.
Germany here I come.

Big hearts are filling up the hemispheres.
Big hearts are warming up the coldest years.
They’ll lay beside me forever more
Cause big hearts make mine grow.

Growing everyday and softly resting miles away.
Heaven is exploding there-
It’s filling up the air.

Big hearts are filling up the hemispheres.
Big hearts are warming up the coldest years.
They’ll lay beside me forever more
Cause big hearts make mine grow.
Big Hearts are Full Moons and Northern Lights
They come full circle to defy science.
Big Hearts are freight trains that push me along-
Shine out the clearer;
Shine on.
Big Hearts are factories of Godlight Beams
That just get brighter as the daylight recedes.

A month ago, I made up my mind that I was going to write a song about Wyoming. The inspiration was there, the love of subject was there and my writing had finally returned after months of drought. I finished it (proudly) last week just in time for the Artichoke concert.

I wanted this song to be deep, heartfelt and human. I wanted it to really express the beauty within the state and the air that flows through it. With that said, it spoke for itself and I had written three of the four verses before finally hitting a wall. In search of some final inspiration, I went to Wikipedia to gain a little insight on Wyoming and her history.

Above is the song’s debut at Artichoke Music. The lyrics to Wyoming should reflect my love but above all, tell a story and pay tribute to the last good plot of land.

Sometime in February, my song Babysitting the Cowboy was featured as a Willamette Week Local Cut of the Day. Riding the momentum of the PSA Award and upcoming album See That Gleam, I’m hoping to get much more press like this one to continue to spread the word. Click here or on the image above to see the full Local Cut post and read the author’s interesting interpretation of the Babysitting the Cowboy story. I always love hearing a third-party analysis of my songs but of course, if you view the comments, I had to leave a note from the writer… telling the true inspiration behind Babysitting the Cowboy.

It seems months since I last wrote a song. Between recording the new album, work and juggling my personal life, I’ve been sitting in a major writer’s slump with no signs of progress. Well, this Sunday I slept in, woke up and made a pot of coffee and went to my balcony with my writing journal in hand. I sat in the sun for a couple hours with nothing but my thoughts and a pen.

Nothing is final, nothing is complete but I did get a jump start on three possible songs: The Ramblin’ Kind, Explode and Constant Bending (all tentative titles). Above are a few Ramblin’ Kind verses directly from my journal. Read them out-loud and and imagine its potential. It was a good weekend- no doubt.

Quickly becoming one of my favorite songs, Cellophane was schemed at the top of Mt. Pilatus in Luzerne, Switzerland roughly one year ago. As you can see from the picture, very few sites in this life parallel the beauty of a Swiss Valley and the magnificent Alps in the distance; however, as the song lyrics suggest, one other caused distraction:

Oh, look there!
See that gleam?
It’s the sun-
Your eyes the beam.

Below is the new recording of Cellophane from Mississippi Studios, PDX. Though the lyrics aren’t quite current in this version, I hope you’ll take the time to read along with the updates on the lyric page at some point. I laugh because when I wrote this song, my intentions were romantic but I’ve since been told that there is nothing romantic about plastic wrap:)

The water looked like Cellophane,
Reflecting stars back into space
And your eyes look that way to me.

Cellophane by Tyler Stenson

Random Note: Lake Pilatus is said to be the resting place of Pontius Pilate.

Whether you know it or not, recording and producing music is extremely expensive and always a climb for indie bands everywhere. You can have talent, heart and loads of original music but in the end, it will require an enormous personal investment to see any of that material immortalized onto an album. This spring, I hosted a concert and live recording at Mississippi Studios with the plan of eventually releasing that recording to the public. However, all of my money was spent hosting that show and without a surplus, that recording has sat on the shelves waiting for my pocket book to catch up with me. I have no doubt that it would have collected dust until 2020 if it wasn’t for one very generous fan…

I am overwhelmed with gratitude toward Super Fan Jeff Sanford and his family. He emailed me asking when are you going to release the Mississippi Studios recording? I answered with the truth, probably never. I gave him my financial sob story; explained how I am still paying for Orange Chrome Sky and a new solo album (amongst life itself). I expected nothing from that conversation but nonetheless, a check arrived at my door today.

There are no words to explain his Big Heart. He simply shrugs and calls it an investment in good music. I will never disclose the amount donated to my cause but the recordings will be heard and I will no doubt dedicate them to his name. Thank you Jeff, for everything you’ve ever done for me.

Big Hearts are filling up the hemispheres
Big Hearts are warming up the coldest years
They’ll lie beside me forever more
Cause Big Hearts make mine grow

Big Hearts (basement recording)

We were scheduled to play at 4pm on the opening day of the 2007 Oyster Ridge Music Festival. Our plan was to leave Salt Lake City at noon in order to give us time to check into our hotel and arrive at the Festival with time to spare. From Salt Lake City, UT to Kemmerer, WY is never more than a two-and-a-half hour drive (but nobody told us of the two hour traffic delay that was ahead). We set out at a standard pace, abiding by the law until we hit the unforeseen traffic that put us well behind pace.

We had an obligation; Tommy was driving the van and knew what needed to be done. We were pushing the limit of the vehicle and well on our way to making up the lost time when we happened upon a State Trooper 13 miles outside of the Kemmerer city limits. The officer was kind, understanding of our situation but obligated to teach us a lesson. As you can see, he quickly issued us a ticket (as not to delay us any further) and set us on our way. We were sure to signal as we re-entered traffic that day and continued with haste as we entered Kemmerer. We pulled up in a daze, unloaded our equipment directly onto the stage and started our Friday set slightly winded but conveniently on time.

PS. 79 in a 65 was a very generous white lie (courtesy of the State Trooper) to avoid the ticket posting on Tommy’s long term driving record.

Sifting through the pictures from my trip to Wyoming, I found this beautiful shot of the Popo Agie River. The Popo Agie is a small river that runs through the middle of Lander, WY and I had the opportunity to wade my feet in the water and sit on the shore like I use to as a child. This time, I repeated the lyrics of my song Popo Agie to myself while I sat in the place of its inspiration. I guess I wanted to relive the days and see how accurate my words were in relation to the actual. See for yourself:

POPO AGIE
by tyler stenson

I can feel the Lander wind,
Coming up beneath me again.
But to the north there are billionaires
That lay between the millionaires and
Their buildings stretch to touch the sky
In the bigger world on the other side of the middle-
of Popo Agie.

Running down the crooked miles,
I could feel the muscles tire.
I could bend my tongue and sing
The words of Pioneers
(They’re coming up between my teeth).
And all at once their melodies
Turn to fields of industry and
The California air to black
So the movie stars are moving back to the middle-
to Popo Agie.

These are places,
Western spaces and
I go back there just to taste it.
Feel a warm night,
Mixed with fireflies
Where I can feel the Lander wind
Coming up beneath me again.

POPO AGIE live at ORMF 2006 (the 2007 recording is on the way!)

We were really excited to be offered two days at this year’s Oyster Ridge Music Festival in Kemmerer, WY. Last year we debuted on a Sunday afternoon but this year we were honored to be placed on Friday and Saturday’s stage. We didn’t want our two sets to be redundant, so we purposefully saved a lot of our best material for the second day of the festival. Friday was fun but the set list on Saturday was strong all the way through and filled with the best we had to offer. Take a look at the image above… this is the actual set list that we crafted in the minutes leading up to our second performance at ORMF 2007.

I’ve just returned from my trip to Wyoming and I’m truly inspired- I’m amazed at what a secluded mountain lake can do for the soul and for writer’s block. I can’t say that I have a hundred new songs to share with you but it was a great chance to clear my head and piece together a few lines that have had me puzzled for months. Now in Portland, I’ll be sinking back into reality over the next few weeks and sorting my thoughts onto paper just in time for Lander’s return to the Oyster Ridge Music Festival in Kemmerer, WY. Check out the show schedule to the right and be sure to come listen to my new thoughts as they appear in song.