Erik Lunde

For those of us looking for a local folk/country fix, Lunde Station’s debut EP Another Country is the perfect fit. The Fort Collins’ band is a decidedly folk-rock-country affair that stands out amongst other local folk and country outfits, leaning hard on folk with a slight country twang to it. The band itself describes themselves as a “fiery Roots, Rock and Americana band,” influenced by “Old Gospel and Bluegrass, Outlaw and Traditional Country and the 1960s/70s literate Folk Rock movement.”

That sounds like a mish-mash that would result in something generic, yet Lunde Station’s work isn’t. It’s artful and soothing with its own unique sound; it wouldn’t be out of place being heard at, say, John Galt Coffee. (Have these guys gotten airplay on World Café yet?) You would think a band like this would flourish in this part of Colorado and subsequently crank out albums, but maybe that’s because the group doesn’t want a drop in quality. Another Country is a tightly knit, consistent album with no dull/filler songs. Frankly, I want more of Lunde Station’s work.

The album starts strong with “Burnside Bridge,” the most Country song on the album and my personal favorite, and then switches gears with “40 Ford.” The song brings to mind some of the music of O Brother, Where Art Thou in the beginning, then gives off a slow, choleric 1960s Lynyrd Skynyrd vibe. “Iowa” reminds one of Arlo Guthrie’s work and it’s direct follow-up “Leaving Town” brings to mind Cat Stevens, if Cat Stevens had a bit of a country twang to his guitar work. “In This Life” and “Blue Child” are the most folksy bit on here, again bringing to mind Guthrie and Stevens, though the latter is far more melancholic while the former is somewhat phlegmatic. Overall, the album is truly good. Great, even. Anyone wanting a folk-country fusion should check out Another Country. Hopefully, Lunde Station will come out with something new, soon. - Bandwagon Magazine

When Ft. Collins’ Americana band Lunde Station travelled to Portland, Oregon in October it was not to waste time. The point of the trip was to film a music video to their song “Burnside Bridge” on location and with only three days for the whole trip, they had a lot to get done and not a lot of space to do it in.

“Burnside Bridge” was written by vocalist and rhythm guitarist Erik Lunde about his time living in Portland during the late ‘90s where he would often find himself walking home late at night underneath the same bridge the song takes its name from. Lunde wrote the song in a flurry at the time, then he shelved it for almost ten years until he formed Lunde Station in Ft. Collins.

“A lot of Erik’s songs are a little more dark and I was like ‘we need a song that’s a little more upbeat,’” says percussionist Ryan Lennarston. After looking through Lunde’s extensive back log of original songs, “Burnside Bridge” stood out and would eventually form the basis for their EP Another Country. “Sonically, I was interested in creating a late ‘60s early ‘70s musical vocabulary,” says Lunde.

Focused on getting the video shot in their time frame, the guys knocked out all the filming in one day. Using only an iPhone and the expertise of some very skilled editors, Lunde Station perfectly captured the essence of the song with a final product that is light-hearted and fun.

The real gem to come out of their trip though was the pit stop they made to the recording studio Type Foundry. Wanting something more than just the raw footage for their video to take home with them, they booked six hours in this legendary studio with producer Adam Selzer. Selzer has worked with an incredible list of musicians including M. Ward, She & Him, and The Decemberists just to name a few. On top of that, he happened to be the bus boy of the bar Lunde worked at during his time living in the city.

Once again on a time crunch, the goal entering the studio was to showcase what the band was capable of live. “Water From Stone” is the band at their most epic. What begins with the familiar folk style of previous Lunde Station work soon explodes with southern rock licks and heavy percussion. This single is Lunde Station at their best.

The finished product is professional and solid. Selzer’s production makes the track shine and unlocks a sound the band seems meant to have. If they could get ten more like “Water From Stone,” they would have an incredible album. Say what you want about Lunde Station, but they work well under pressure. - Bandwagon Magazine

The first signs that fall is ending change year to year; winds made of pure bitterness, and the early signs of a snowstorm. These signs are indisputable proof that your dreams of summer are dead. In the midst of this chaotic nature, I sat down with Erik Lunde and Ryan Lennartson of the Americana Rock band, Lunde Station, to talk about their new music video. Filmed in Portland on a shoestring budget, the music video is inspired by some of Portland’s more seedy locations, in particular, the Burnside Bridge (which is the title track of the video) and its regular host of rather unsavory characters, some of whom even made it into the music video.

“In the next shot, there is a guy with no shirt on digging in a dumpster behind us, just wait.” Ryan exclaimed while we were watching the final version of the finished video. “It was a great trip, however, going to some of these sketchy locations was interesting.” The ‘sketchy locations’ Erik is referring to are the Burnside Bridge, the Salvation Army and the Rescue Mission. These locations and the city blocks that encompass them, are some of the last bastions of ungentrified Portland; raw and dirty, no boutiques without broken windows, or alleys without used needles. “I had never seen anyone actually shoot up before,” said Ryan “it was pretty crazy.”

It would be easy to look at this the wrong way, deeming these people to be ‘bad’ and the surrounding area as dangerous. However, as Erik described the area to me, it became more obvious that this was an area of despair, one if viewed through the proper lens could unleash some fantastic creative energy. “I used to have to walk across the Burnside Bridge on my way home when I lived in Portland, and one day I had the encounters that inspired the lyrics and music of the song. It was incredibly free flowing, I wrote it as soon as I got home that night.”

It seems only fitting to return to this environment to appropriately capture the essence of this song. On top of the tiny budget, there was little time to plan a music video with the rest of the band. “There was about two weeks of lead time and we did location scouting on the Saturday that we arrived,” Lunde added. The entire video itself was shot on an iPhone 6. Don’t let that fact deceive you. Lunde Station roped in videographer and champion of content, Circe Link, to help produce. An expert in producing music videos on a tight budget and with equipment not meant for high cinema, Link and the guys from Lunde Station managed to make an impressive music video utilizing some cool tricks.

This style of guerilla filming has become the norm for bands who want to have a music video online quickly, easily, and with little budget. Generally I am not very fond of them; sloppy work and bad quality break the illusion and are a quick turn off. However, with Lunde and Link, both of whom have a solid background in music and video production, it worked. This music video could not have turned out better, I could not recommend attending the video release party more. So get out of the bitterness and the cold. Have yourself a glass of aged whiskey to warm your bones. Join all of us on December 2nd at their video release party at The Whisk(e)y; you won’t want to miss it!

Event: FREE video viewing party for “Burnside Bridge,” December 2, 7 pm, The Whisk(e)y, 214 S. College Ave., Fort Collins. - Scene Magazine