My wife and I suffer a date-night curse. NIne times out of ten we plan to go out on what’s set to be a beautiful evening. Five PM the ‘cold front’ blows in and we’re wearing rubber boots with our dress up clothes. It’d be nice, but we can’t control the weather. Driving across town …
Santa Fe is a travelogue of longing. For the past five years I have travelled to Santa Fe, New Mexico for an arts and faith retreat called The Glen Workshop. My life has been changed in so many ways by the event, the people who attend and the location. For the first time in the …
I wrote I Waited years ago, making it one of my oldest songs in current rotation. While I can’t pin down an exact date, I have records of it’s use in set lists as early as 2013. Maybe it all started in 2010 when I took part in a friend’s photography project called “The Art …
2017 was a big year for me, and I’m ramping things up in 2018. I feel like I’m hitting my stride as a musician, so rather than doing anything totally different, I’ll be doubling down on what has been working, and sharpening my focus. I’ve got four overarching goals; refine my brand, enlarge my audience, …
2017 leaves me a bit tired, but full of gratitude and even awe. So much happened for my music this year, even though I feel like I’m still lacing up my runners to head to the starting line. On days when it feels the race may never begin, it helps to take stock. Von Bieker, …
I thought you might like to know a bit more about the songs I write and record. Why do I make certain choices? Why do I feel a song is important enough to put work into, and how do I know when it is done (hint: they’re never done)? Consider this series; Song Stories, the …
It used to go like this; beg for a record contract, get said contract and sign away your rights. To your music. To your time. To your own creative vision. It wasn’t always so bad, but there are enough stories in music-business folklore to warn any artist to read between the lines of any record …
The Needle Vinyl Tavern, one of the most active music venues in Edmonton, closed indefinitely Tuesday night. This situation is sad on so many levels, and things unravelled incredibly quickly. Here’s how the Needle saga unfolded from my perspective. Sunday evening I’m playing a Tom Petty Tribute Show at The Rec Room. Just before I’m …
Music is a long game. There are people who strike lightning and garner instant acclaim, but they are exceptions. The rest of us build a career, brick by brick, over years. I met Andrew Allen when I arrived at The Almanac Friday night to open for him. I wasn’t familiar with this music or how …
I’m happy to announce that my song Beauty Bright is making it to more ears this week thanks to Rachel over at Adobe and Teardrops. I love the name of this alt-country music blog, and am honored to kick off one of her playlists. Discover some alt-country gems (and that is a broad, broad category here) …