Check out Erik Balkey
 by Kathy S-B  ·  26 September 2006

I happen to be one of the volunteers who gets to listen to all the CDs that arrive in our me & thee mailbox. There are many more musicians who want to climb up on our stage to sing or play than there are slots. Sometimes we get one or two CDs a week and sometimes we get a dozen. It’s a lot of work to listen to all of this new music…but someone’s gotta do it! I often take a handful of CDs along with me when I go on a long car ride so I can check the music out. This was the case when I first discovered Erik Balkey. I was on the way home from a weekend trip to Maine last fall and put in “Sanctuary Road.” It grabbed me. I played it again…and listened to Erik’s hushed vocals and great lyrics and they burrowed their way under my skin.

That was it. Erik was officially on my radar screen. I began to see Erik’s name begin to pop up here, there, and everywhere. Erik may not have invented the term “traveling musician,” but he sure is living that life. Man, does he get around! I was glad to finally have the chance to see and hear Erik at the King Hooper Café, an open mic sponsored by the Marblehead Arts Association and hosted by local performer, Angela Masciale and poet and artist, Dan Zampino. Right there on the spot, I asked him if he’d be interested in opening for Steve Forbert because I had just discovered that Steve prefers to do one long set as opposed to two shorter sets like most of our acts do. He said ‘yes’ and here we are…. Erik is playing this coming Friday!

Erik has generously offered four of his songs as free downloads for just this week. Check them out. I hope they grab you as much as they did me.

For this week only, you can get four free songs at
www.myspace.com/erikbalkey.

CDs available at www.cdbaby.com/all/erikbalkey

 

To YOU from ERIK: Four FREE downloads:

THIS WEEK ONLY AT www.myspace.com/erikbalkey

1. SOMETHING IN THE AIR from “Sanctuary Road” CD
a collaboration with the one-of-a-kind Chris Chandler

2. CUT ‘EM DOWN from the “Mission Street Project” CD
award-winning song written w/ Jonathan Byrd

3. IF GOD IS AN APPLE new unreleased song!!!
featuring Tom Prasada-Rao on piano and Beth Wood on
vocals

4. ALWAYS ONE MORE ROUND from the “Sanctuary Road” CD
a song I wrote with Bonnie Lee Panda, featuring Cary
Cooper

Hope to see you at the me & thee on Friday!

Folkily yours,
Kathy

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