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Cool Water |
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Time passes; but great songs endure. This collection features some of my all-time favorites. I recorded this CD at Don Richmond’s Howlin’ Dog Recording Studio in Alamosa, Colorado, in July, 2009. |
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The Songs 1. Cool Water (Bob Nolan) 2. Streets of London (Ralph McTell) 3. Bach's Cello Suite No. 1 (Johan Sebastian Bach) 4. Christ Was Born in Bethlehem (Laurence Housman) 5. What a Wonderful World (Bob Thiele and George David Weiss) 6. My Sweet Wyoming Home (Bill Staines) 7. Suzanne (Leonard Cohen) 8. Hobo’s Lullaby (Goebel Reeves) 9. And the Band Played Waltzing Matilda (Eric Bogle) 10. Somewhere Over the Rainbow (E. Y. Harburg and Harold Arien) 11. When I Loved Her (Kris Kristofferson) 12. Hi-Lili Hi-Lo (Bronislau Kaper and Helen Deutsch) 13. Black-Eyed Suzie (traditional) 14. A House of Gold (Hank Williams) 15. Young Willie McBride (Eric Bogle) 16. Grandfather’s Clock (Henry Clay Work) |
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| Reflections (CD - $15) |
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These sixteen original songs have quite a history. They span five decades and two centuries! So this little CD is nearly a historical document now! The recording of these songs has a distinguished history as well, spanning nearly three decades. I recorded the guitar and lead vocals for songs 5, 9, 10, 11, 12, 15, and 16 at Phil Gall’s Mudshark Studio in Flagstaff, Arizona in 1981. Returning to Mudshark in 1996, I added banjo and/or harmony vocals to songs 5, 9, 12 and 16 and alos recorded songs 1, 2, 5, 6, 7 and 8. To complete this compilation, I recorded song 14 at Don Richmond’s Howlin’ Dog Studio in Alamosa, Colorado in 2006 and then recorded songs 3 and 13 in July, 2009. I especially thank recording engineers Phil Gall and Don Richmond for their consummate skills. I hope you enjoy these songs and the sweep of time that they represent! |
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The Songs 1. Ridge Walkin’ 2. Song an Earthman 3. The Cloud 4. Hey 5. How Long is Our Time? 6. Flute Song 7. Red Flower 8. Mindy 9. Heaven Knows 10. Kirsten 11. The Knight and the Dragon 12. Drivin’ Blind 13. Why Should It Be? 14. Ode to Jimmy 15. Maui Prayer 4:18 16. Reflections |
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| Talkin' RPT* Blues (CD - $15) |
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Talkin’ RPT* Blues is the complete, true, uncensored, epic tale of my traumatic tenure trials at a modern university. These events were experienced and written between 1995 and 1997 and recorded at Phil Gall’s Mudshark Studio in Flagstaff, Arizona in 1997. Phil still refers to the 29-minute“Talkin’ RPT* Blues” as “the miracle take” because we recorded it all in one take, the first time through. At that time, however, I was persuaded by a politically-savvy friend and colleague to censor/edit the original song down to a 10-minute, sanitized version (“Talkin’ RPT* Blues Lite”) so as not to ruffle my fellow professors’ feathers. This shorter version is included on my earlier CD, “University Daze” (www.erickarlstrom.com). While “Talkin’ RPT* Blues Lite” told the basic story, however, it pretty much side-stepped the larger issues surrounding the “pc” (politically correct) culture wars that have raged across our campuses in recent decades, often resulting in officially-sanctioned reverse discrimination. The original version of the song presented here addresses all these issues. Today, in 2009, as my university faces unprecedented budget cuts, faculty lay-offs, and tuition hikes, it occurs to me that this story in song still “resonates” and needs to be told. So I am now finally releasing “Talkin’ RPT* Blues” into the world, in the hope that others might learn and profit from my experience- or at least get a few laughs. The “Oregon Coast/Readings” is a collection of pertinent quotes that gave me some solace at the time of my tenure battle which Phil Gall and I superimposed over one of my original guitar instrumentals. Cover art is by Peter Tsacle and photos are by Marilu Weishaar. |
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| University Daze-Tuneful Tales from the Trenches of Academe: Eric Thor Karlstrom (CD - $15) |
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| A humorous and satirical glimpse behind the ivory curtain of academe at some of the insane and inane goings-on at our institutions of higher ignorance, er, I mean, learning. This collection of irreverent (and original) country, bluegrass, folk, and rap songs explores and exposes some of the follies and foibles of modern university life from the perspectives of professors, graduate students, undergrads, and even a grounds crew worker. As a professor for the past two decades, I didn’t need to use my imagination to write most of these musical sagas- most of these stories actually happened to me! In truth, writing and recording these songs may have helped me to maintain my sanity- and hopefully, hearing this collection of songs may also help preserve or restore yours (or perhaps that of a friend or loved one) if you or they currently find yourselves spinning helplessly and haplessly on the academic gerbil wheel. This album was recorded in Phil Gall's Mudshark Recording Studio in Flagstaff, Arizona - which also happens to be his spacious and comfy living room! |
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The Songs 1. Expert
2. Svenska Studies 3. Sexual Harassment Rap 4. Friends of the Pleistocnene 5. Talkin' RPT* Blues Lite 6. Foggy Valley Breakdown 7. West Fork Canyon 8. Ballad of Fred ABD** 9. Oregon Coast/Required Readings 10. I Love My Ol' Truck *RPT = Retention, Promotion and Tenure |
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Mountain Sage- Revenge of the SNAGs (Sensitive New Age Guys) (CD - $15) |
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“Revenge of the SNAGs” is Mountain Sage’s second CD. Eric Karlstrom and Dave Dumas have been pickin’ and singin’ country, folk and bluegrass music since high school and herein are some of their top favorites. Only truly self-actualized SNAGs (Sensitive New Age Guys) would dare include such a wide range of songs - from the mildly irreverent Put Another Log on the Fire, Flushed from the Bathroom of Your Heart, and Bad Jokes to the totally tender Come to My Bedside My Darling, Feels Like Home to Me, and I Still Miss Someone. Some of these classic songs are timeless old friends themselves, such as Desperados Waiting for a Train, London Homesick Blues, I’ll Fly Away, and Shenandoah. We recorded this CD at Don Richmond’s Howlin’ Dog Recording Studio in Alamosa, Colorado in the summers of 2006 and 2008. Don’s tasteful fiddle, pedal steel, mandolin, dobro, and bass backup instrumentals throughout this CD prove beyond doubt that he is another true SNAG. |
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The Songs 1. Put Another Log on the Fire 2. Desperados Waiting for a Train 3. I Still Miss Someone 4. Santa Claus 5. Three Men on the Mountain 6. Ghost Riders in the Sky 7. Come to My Bedside My Darlin' 8. Feels like Home to Me 9. London Home Sick Blues 10. Flushed From The Bathroom of Your Heart 11. Ground Speed 12. The Rooster Song 13. Cripple Creek 14. Bad Jokes 15. I'll Fly Away 16. Shenandoah |
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Mountain Sage - "Mountain Sage" Eric Karlstrom and Dave Dumas (CD - $15) |
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| Eric Karlstrom and Dave Dumas have been pickin' folk, country, and bluegrass songs since they were high school buddies. On the occasion of their 30th high school reunion (yikes!), they decided to record some of their long time favorites. They recruited some friends and relatives (Donna and D.J. Dumas, Anita Glazer, Larry Peterson, and Joy Steele) and recorded these songs in Jerome, Arizona. It was a lot of fun making this CD, and it is reflective of the fun we've had pickin' and singin' over the years. We're pretty sure you'll get a lot of pleasure from it as well. | |||
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The Songs 1. Ridin' My Thumb to Mexico 2. El Condor Pase 3. Salty Dog 4. Oh Suzanna 5. Hello Mary Lou 6. Cowboy's Lament 7. Can't Help But Wonder Where I'm Bound 8. Foggy Valley Breakdown 9. My Own True Love 10. Rollin' In My Sweet Baby's Arms 11. Irene Goodnight |
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The River- 18 Original songs for solo piano: Eric Thor Karlstrom (CD - $15) |
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The River features 18 original piano songs that are used in the movie "An Awakening Journey: Songs and Voices from the Earth". So this CD is an excellent companion piece to the movie. I composed these songs in the 80’s and 90’s and recorded them in 1997 and 1998 on a $90,000 10-foot, Bosendorfer Concert Grand piano. It felt like riding Secretariat! What power! What sound! People of all ages find this music beautiful, relaxing, and inspiring and have been known to play it over and over again, non-stop, all day. My sister's 5th grade class has been asking that she play it for them every day. Recently, they all wrote me letters saying how much they love the music. One girl wrote: "We usually hate soft music but we really love your music. Please send CDs so we can buy it!" Studies have shown that classical music can make people smarter. I hope my music will too! Because it's both peaceful and powerful, this music seems to help people relax and focus. When we focus our minds, we're all geniuses in our own ways. As a college professor who loves music, mountains, and meditation, I chose nature themes for most of the titles. Most people can relate to nature's peace and power, but the music also stands by itself and I hope listeners will enjoy whatever feelings or images the music evokes for them. This CD makes an excellent gift to friends and loved ones. Happy listening! |
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The Songs 1. The River 2. Fern Glen 3. Minstrel's Dream 4. The Storm 5. The Refuge 6. The Clearing 7. The Rainbow 8. Elves' Chasm 9. Rock and Sky 10. The Fall 11. Wyoming Waltz 12. Winds of Fire 13. Angel's Lament 14. Tears from the Land of the Snows 15. Flight of the Mountain Eagle 16. The Ancient Forest 17. Lake Song 18. The Path |
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Some Pretty Good Love Songs (CD - $15) |
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| Some Pretty Good Love Songs is a collection of some of my favorite love songs that mainly features my singing and guitar and banjo picking in a more or less folky style. The CD also includes excellent back-up instrumentals by Don Richmond and vocals by Karen Fricke on 7 of the 15 songs. The main themes of the songs, of course, are love lost (Four Strong Winds, Late in the Day, Drivin’ Blind, Spanish is the Lovin’ Tongue, Ghost Lover) and love found (Come to my Bedside, Colours, Mindy, My Own True Love, I Will). But important sub-themes include love confused and bewildered (How Long is Our Time?), love for the Creator (as represented by a river, in Shenandoah), and even love of my most loyal old pickup truck (I Love My Old Truck). (Incidentally, it was a 1984 Toyota that eventually got over 400,000 miles). Some of these songs were just recently recorded (2006) at Don Richmond’s Howlin’ Dog Recording in Alamosa, Colorado. Others are selected from amongst the best songs I have on previous recordings. The four original love songs (Mindy, How Long is Our Time?, Drivin’ Blind, and I Love My Old Truck) are from my first recording, Reflections. I don’t usually admit to having favorite songs- but now having just recently recorded the classic love song and sea shanty, Shenandoah, I think this song just about says it all. That said, however, I must admit (all modesty aside) that Drivin’ Blind is probably the most perfect song I ever recorded. The song itself has an unlikely, even epic, history. I wrote this song around about 1978 when a very significant girl friend got married to someone else. I recorded the melody vocal and guitar part in 1981 at Phil Gall’s Mudshark Studio when I was just starting out as a Geography professor at Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff, Arizona. But for the next approximately 15 years, I got so side-tracked and busy (jumping through all those hoops professors have to jump through) that I couldn’t find the time or energy to finish the project. In 1996, after I finally won an epic battle for tenure (please see and hear University Daze, below, for the gory details), I finally returned to Phil’s studio, dubbed in harmony vocal and banjo parts, and produced my first album, Reflections! Phil states proudly that this album was his longest-running project of all time! Now, when I listen to Drivin Blind,’ I hear much more than a heart-felt song about an important love lost and more than just a recording project that spanned 15 years. I hear the pretty near perfect (and perfectly recorded) sounds of my 1974 D-35 Martin guitar (which I subsequently sold for a pittance and still miss today) and my 1988 Ome Columbine banjo (stolen from a cabin where I was staying in the late 90’s in California). Just as great people pass through our lives, so do great instruments- and it is not possible to forget either. Today, I mainly play a Larrivee D-60 guitar and a world-class Osborne Chief banjo, both of which I love. It’s been quite a journey. |
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The Songs |
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The Bluegrass Conspiracy: Eric Karlstrom and Jason Winfree (CD - $15) |
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The Bluegrass Conspiracy is my current favorite band to play in. It consists of Eric Karlstrom and Jason Winfree (a philosophy professor at Cal. State University). Here, Eric and Jason team up with Don Richmond (who plays bass, mandolin, dobro, and fiddle and also records and mixes the whole thing at Howlin’ Dog Recording in Alamosa). Jason grew up in West Virginia and got his Ph.D. in Nashville, Tennessee. You can hear that bluegrass pedigree in his fine tenor voice- which has that “high lonesome sound” reminiscent of the masters, Ralph Stanley and Bill Monroe. The songs herein are mostly straight-ahead traditional bluegrass with a modern flair and a real punch. Here, we also offer an updated version of an old bluegrass standard called White House Blues to better reflect the character of the current occupants. This CD has real old-fashioned bluegrass drive and is a lot of fun to listen to. |
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The Songs 1. Ruby Ridge 2. Body and Soul 3. How Mountain Girls Can Love 4. Doin' My Time 5. White Freight Liner 6. Think of What You've Done 7. John Hardy 8. Angel Band 9. Blue Night 10. Walls of Time 11. I Wish You Knew 12. Katy Daly 13. Will You Miss Me 14. White House Blues |
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Finding Home: Eric and Karen (CD - $15) |
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Eric (Karlsltrom) and Karen (Fricke) are brother and sister who began singing together during the “folk craze” of the 60’s and who have that special voice chemistry sometimes bequeathed to siblings. And Karen's voice- at once tender, sweet and soothing- is something rare and magnificent unto itself. It's just a gift that she's always had- and my own opinion is that her voice is as good or better than that of any other female vocalist who has come along on the folk, country or bluegrass scene in the past several decades. This collection of songs features some of our favorite folk, popular, country and bluegrass songs as well as one original by Eric (The Old House). Multi-talented instrumentalist and recording engineer, Don Richmond of Howlin’ Dog Recording Studio in Alamosa, CO skillfully accompanies us on mandolin, fiddle, dobro, accordion, and Weissenborn guitar. This CD has proven to be a favorite for many people of all ages. |
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The Songs 1. Forever Young 2. Don't Fence Me In 3. You Ain't Goin' Nowhere 4. All My Trials 5. The Rose 6. Landslide 7. The Old House 8. Somewhere Over the Rainbow 9. Tomorrow is a Long Time 10. Leavin' on a Jet Plane 11. So Many Pathways 12. There is a Ship 13. I Will |
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Colorado Colors: Kindred Folk (CD - $15) |
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This eclectic collection of timeless songs by Eric Karlstrom and (younger sister) Karen Fricke features some more of our favorites- in the folk, bluegrass, country, jazz, and Spanish and Guatemalan (Luna de Xelaju) genres. In addition to great vocal harmonies by the two siblings, and solid guitar and banjo pickin’ by Eric, this CD features more solid, sweet, and tasteful bass, mandolin, violin, and accordian accompaniment by the amazing veteran musician, Don Richmond of Howlin’ Dog Recording. This CD is one of my very favorites and I know many others who feel the same way. |
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The Songs 1. Let's Get Together 2. Eres Tu 3. Rocky Top 4. Late in the Day 5. Colours 6. Summertime 7. Four Strong Winds 8. Last Thing on My Mind 9. Luna de Xelaju 10. Down in the Valley to Pray 11. Come all Ye Fair and Tender Ladies 12. Lakota Lullaby 13. Gospel Medley |
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Reflections-Cassette (Cassette - $10) |
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This cassette tape features the best of the guitar/banjo/vocal songs that I wrote between about 1967 and 1995. The songs have a folkish flavor and deal with issues such as love, freedom, sorrow, joy, nature, spirituality, and impermanence. While there is considerable variety in the styles of the songs, the use of acoustic guitar and banjo give it a "mellow" flavor throughout. Five songs (Song of an Earthman, Ridge Walkin', Hey, The Knight and the Dragon, and Flute Song) have nature/environmental themes, some using humor. Four are love songs and two are classical/folk style instrumentals. The one spiritually-oriented song (Maui Prayer) has a kind of Hawaiian sound, perhaps because I wrote it by full moon on a beach in Maui! And two (Hey and A Red Flower) are children's songs. I first recorded A Red Flower back in 1967- and it actually became a "top 40" hit song in Flagstaff and Phoenix, Arizona! On the new CD are the original recordings of the two "top 40" hits from 1967 - A Red Flower and Race to Knowhere. The last song in the collection (Rollin' in my Sweet Baby's Arms) is a bluegrass favorite. This recording was started in 1981 and completed in 1996 - making this the all-time longest running project ever to grace the premises of Phil Gall's Mudshark Recording Studio in Flagstaff, Arizona. And to give credit where credit is due, I must acknowledge that it was the hellacious process of getting tenure at my university (please refer to CDs #s 4 and 5 - University Daze and Talkin' RTP* Blues below) that inspired me to get back to doing the things I really love- like making music!!!! Like Ricky Nelson, I finally concluded that "you can't please everyone, so you've got to please yourself." So, it seems the Buddhists may actually be right when they say we should be grateful to our enemies! |
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The Songs 1. Song of an Earthman 2. Ridge Walkin' 3. Hey 4. How Long is Our Time? 5. The Knight and Dragon 6. Heaven Knows 7. Reflections 8. Mindy 9. Flute Song 10. Kirsten 11. Drivin' Blind 12. Maui Prayer 13. A Red Flower 14. Rollin' in My Sweet Baby's Arms |
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