The Portland Songwriter’s Association just released the winter newsletter featuring the Top Ten Final recap. Dan Lowe wrote a nice summary of the evening and the image above made the PSA newsletter cover with a bold headline. Click here or on the image above to read the entire article about the Top Ten Final and the road to the songwriter title.

The best fans outfit their children in Lander attire. Because I print Lander Tees and other merchandise myself, from time-to-time people send me clothing for their babies and I put the Lander touch on it. This Lander fan in particular is the son of my best friend and the inspiration for the song Clementine. When I found out he would be having a child, I surprised him with a stylish Lander onesie and trusted it would get him through the hard times. Thanks Joe for the picture- I’m glad to see you’re raising your son right!

It has been a long time coming but I finally added some new pictures from the latest events in the Lander Photo Gallery! You will now find pictures from the Summer Tour 07, Concert Connect, the PSA Songwriter Finals and a few more random photos taken by random folks. Click here or on the image above to visit the updated photo gallery and always feel free to send us any Lander pictures you may have taken along the way- we’ll post them in the archive!

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!)

Earlier this month another Lander fan was born… literally. Long time fans and friend Jeff and Hayla Sanford had their first baby Kellen in the early days of June and they’ve already started teaching the little guy right from wrong and the value in good choices. I screen printed a Lander onesie for the young couple as a gift so they recently sent me this picture of the newest Lander fan and his custom merchandise. If you recall, Lander performed at Jeff and Hayla’s wedding last summer so this new addition brings us full circle. Congrats Jeff and Hayla… glad Lander can be a part of your life.

I just posted the new photos from the Lander show at Mississippi Studios PDX. My good friend and photographer Haven Seagraves was on the move and took some really amazing photos of the event. Click on the image or visit the ‘Pictures’ page above to view all of the photos from last Thursday’s show! If you missed the concert, this should give you a great idea of what you missed… of course, there is video coming soon!