Wyatt Easterling
Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States | Established. Jan 01, 2014 | INDIE | AFM
Music
Press
Singer-songwriter Wyatt Easterling will perform tonight at Inspire Cafe. Easterlings songs have helped sell millions of records for countless artists.
While he doesn’t necessarily wish bad things on other people, Wyatt Easterling knows there can be a positive outcome for him.
“In Nashville there’s nothing better than a co-writer with a broken heart,” he says with a chuckle. “You can really mine that for great stuff.”
Easterling is an award-winning songwriter who is in Medicine Hat for a few days this week. On Thursday he hosted a songwriting workshop and tonight he’ll perform at Inspire Cafe, beginning at 8 p.m.
With a career that spans close to 30 years, he’s had songs reach the top of the charts and help sell millions of albums. He won the 2012 Smoky Mountain Songwriter Festival’s Songwriting Contest, and was a finalist in the 2013 Wildflower! Performing Songwriter Contest and the 2010 and 2011 Kerrville Folk Festival’s NewFolk competition.
There’s really no secret to his success. He just writes what he sees.“I use daily observations to write,” the folk/Americana artist explains. “When we sit in studio we start talking about life, things we see. I like to write about things that people can relate to, a little slice of everyday life.”
While he enjoys a co-writer with a broken heart, Easterling also likes working with up-and-coming talent, because they haven’t yet been jaded by what can be a tough industry.
“I like to work with people new to Nashville, still very wide-eyed,” he said.
Easterling has a new album almost completed, one which he is excited about. “Goodbye/Hello” is a look at his life these days.
“It’s about leaving one stage of my life and moving to next,” he says.
Something everyone can relate to.
- By Chris Brown (Medicine Hat News) on August 16, 2013.
Singer-songwriter Wyatt Easterling will perform tonight at Inspire Cafe. Easterlings songs have helped sell millions of records for countless artists.
While he doesn’t necessarily wish bad things on other people, Wyatt Easterling knows there can be a positive outcome for him.
“In Nashville there’s nothing better than a co-writer with a broken heart,” he says with a chuckle. “You can really mine that for great stuff.”
Easterling is an award-winning songwriter who is in Medicine Hat for a few days this week. On Thursday he hosted a songwriting workshop and tonight he’ll perform at Inspire Cafe, beginning at 8 p.m.
With a career that spans close to 30 years, he’s had songs reach the top of the charts and help sell millions of albums. He won the 2012 Smoky Mountain Songwriter Festival’s Songwriting Contest, and was a finalist in the 2013 Wildflower! Performing Songwriter Contest and the 2010 and 2011 Kerrville Folk Festival’s NewFolk competition.
There’s really no secret to his success. He just writes what he sees.“I use daily observations to write,” the folk/Americana artist explains. “When we sit in studio we start talking about life, things we see. I like to write about things that people can relate to, a little slice of everyday life.”
While he enjoys a co-writer with a broken heart, Easterling also likes working with up-and-coming talent, because they haven’t yet been jaded by what can be a tough industry.
“I like to work with people new to Nashville, still very wide-eyed,” he said.
Easterling has a new album almost completed, one which he is excited about. “Goodbye/Hello” is a look at his life these days.
“It’s about leaving one stage of my life and moving to next,” he says.
Something everyone can relate to.
- By Chris Brown (Medicine Hat News) on August 16, 2013.
When Wyatt Easterling entered the studio to simply play some guitar tracks and add some vocals, he didn’t foresee what would eventually be his next studio album.
The album, titled Goodbye, Hello, will feature all original material that Easterling had been writing for the past three years. It’s a new sound for Easterling, who said the album turned into a concept album about new beginnings and letting go, and was a different approach to record.
“It was less of a Nashville approach,” said Easterling. “I’ve been in Nashville so many years doing these productions and records that I’ve been privileged to be a part of and this time, I just went after each song individually and didn’t worry about making a record that would necessary fly high in the eyes of Nashville.
“I think it will, but I was more concerned with treating each of the songs the way I wanted them to be treated. I enjoyed doing it this way so much more where if I wanted to put on a flute, I did it. I had a lot of fun doing it.”
It’s the continued evolution of his sound, which Easterling said is the fun part of making music. From his days of playing in Los Angeles with other artists, recording the music they played at live shows, Easterling took that approach to his new record, bringing in his friends and different musicians to make the record he wanted to make, allowing the songs to grow on their own.
His songs have a generally commercial bent to them as he tried to make a living in music, and has lately found himself writing more on his own and stepping away from the expectations of the music publisher to write about his own life. Through an industry change in Nashville to personal loss and new relationships, Easterling has found a plethora of new inspiration to write about.
“I think this record is more of a life story, observation if you will,” said Easterling. “Songs about living and songs about dying are on there.”
“Teach Me How to Say Goodbye” is an example of his new inspiration, diving into the death of a parent, something Easterling said he had no desire to write, but, through a songwriting session, it evolved into one of the tracks on the album. From up-tempo love songs to gospel, his new record has a mix of everything.
The Chapel Hill, N.C. native will bring his new record sound to The Root: Community Emporium on Saturday, Aug. 10. Over the last few years of playing in Canada, Easterling said he has made some good friends and will enjoy seeing them again and letting them hear the new music. Tickets for the show are $10 at the door.
With a new unexpected, organic album ready for release later this month, Easterling is now set to say goodbye to the Nashville way of writing his music, and embracing the challenge of adding new layers, and trying new techniques.
- By Andrew Brethauer (Lloydminster Source)
When Wyatt Easterling entered the studio to simply play some guitar tracks and add some vocals, he didn’t foresee what would eventually be his next studio album.
The album, titled Goodbye, Hello, will feature all original material that Easterling had been writing for the past three years. It’s a new sound for Easterling, who said the album turned into a concept album about new beginnings and letting go, and was a different approach to record.
“It was less of a Nashville approach,” said Easterling. “I’ve been in Nashville so many years doing these productions and records that I’ve been privileged to be a part of and this time, I just went after each song individually and didn’t worry about making a record that would necessarily fly high in the eyes of Nashville.
“I think it will, but I was more concerned with treating each of the songs the way I wanted them to be treated. I enjoyed doing it this way so much more where if I wanted to put on a flute, I did it. I had a lot of fun doing it.”
It’s the continued evolution of his sound, which Easterling said is the fun part of making music. From his days of playing in Los Angeles with other artists, recording the music they played at live shows, Easterling took that approach to his new record, bringing in his friends and different musicians to make the record he wanted to make, allowing the songs to grow on their own.
His songs have a generally commercial bent to them as he tried to make a living in music, and has lately found himself writing more on his own and stepping away from the expectations of the music publisher to write about his own life. Through an industry change in Nashville to personal loss and new relationships, Easterling has found a plethora of new inspiration to write about.
“I think this record is more of a life story, observation if you will,” said Easterling. “Songs about living and songs about dying are on there.”
“Teach Me How to Say Goodbye” is an example of his new inspiration, diving into the death of a parent, something Easterling said he had no desire to write, but, through a songwriting session, it evolved into one of the tracks on the album. From up-tempo love songs to gospel, his new record has a mix of everything.
The Chapel Hill, N.C. native will bring his new record sound to The Root: Community Emporium on Saturday, Aug. 10. Over the last few years of playing in Canada, Easterling said he has made some good friends and will enjoy seeing them again and letting them hear the new music. Tickets for the show are $10 at the door.
With a new unexpected, organic album ready for release later this month, Easterling is now set to say goodbye to the Nashville way of writing his music, and embracing the challenge of adding new layers, and trying new techniques. - By Andrew Brethauer (Lloydminster Source)
• “His songs are simply splendid, and he sings them with hearty, immensely appealing warmth. Check him out folks.” – Robert K. Oermann, DISCovery of the Day, Music Row - Robert K. Oermann
• “His songs are simply splendid, and he sings them with hearty, immensely appealing warmth. Check him out folks.” – Robert K. Oermann, DISCovery of the Day, Music Row - Robert K. Oermann
“This songwriter and artist extraordinaire is cruisin'… With credits too numerous to mention, as well as a long list of talented stars that have taken his hits to the top of the charts, Wyatt continues … Where This River Goes is a classic Americana and folk mix of pleasurable delights, Wyatt's stories are about everyday life, unfolding line by line with smooth tunes that reach down to your soul …” – Barbara J. Mason, Elmore Magazine - Elmore Magazine
“This songwriter and artist extraordinaire is cruisin'… With credits too numerous to mention, as well as a long list of talented stars that have taken his hits to the top of the charts, Wyatt continues … Where This River Goes is a classic Americana and folk mix of pleasurable delights, Wyatt's stories are about everyday life, unfolding line by line with smooth tunes that reach down to your soul …” – Barbara J. Mason, Elmore Magazine - Elmore Magazine
• “With a very smooth and relaxed voice Wyatt will charm and delight you on wonderful songs like “Sounds Like Life To Me” which is a gorgeous duet with the great Jessi Colter Jennings. His vocals have a certain allure, which is why you cannot help but to be drawn into stopping what you are doing and just sitting and listening to the stories he is telling.” – Maverick Magazine - Maverick Magazine
“TOP 5 MOST ADDED” – Americana Music Chart
#21 – Roots Music Report’s Folk Top 50
“Clean Excellent Americana” – WESU, CT
#14 - Root Folks Chart
The amalgam is often pure poetry of the Americana or what used to be called folk country variety.” – Stacy’s Music Row Report - High Horse Records Publicity Dept
“TOP 5 MOST ADDED” – Americana Music Chart
#21 – Roots Music Report’s Folk Top 50
“Clean Excellent Americana” – WESU, CT
#14 - Root Folks Chart
The amalgam is often pure poetry of the Americana or what used to be called folk country variety.” – Stacy’s Music Row Report - High Horse Records Publicity Dept
Wyatt is a "New Folk Finalist" at the 2010 Kerrville Folk Festival - Kerrville Folk Festival
Wyatt is a "New Folk Finalist" at the 2010 Kerrville Folk Festival - Kerrville Folk Festival
Discography
Still working on that hot first release.
Photos
Bio
Ive known Wyatt since he was a teenager and even helped him make his first album way back in the 80s, so a few years ago, I was delighted to hear that hed stepped back over to the other side of the microphone after years of success as a writer and producer in Nashville! Even as a youngster I loved his songwriting and smooth vocal style but now he has matured into a legitimate triple threat - producer, writer and performer. Goodbye/Hello, is a peerless collection of songs sung with quiet conviction and effortless style. DON DIXON
Growing up in Chapel Hill, NC, Easterling released his debut album, Both Sides of the Shore, on Moonlight Records (Warner Bros.) in 1981. With his album tucked under his arm, he moved to Nashville and began striving to make his way in the music business in whatever way he could. While looking for another record deal, he wrote for various song publishers.
In 1990, he became head of A&R for Atlantic Records Nashville. That same year, he wrote and sang on This Time Im Takin' My Time for Neal McCoys album At This Moment. This collaboration launched more than 2 decades of gold and platinum winning releases with Easterling acting as songwriter, producer, executive and/or session player.
Wyatts partnerships with Miles Copeland (The Police & Sting) at Bugle Publishing Group and Firstars Management occupied him in the late 90s and early 2000s. Leaving Bugle/Firstars, Wyatt's next step was to work on his own writing with songs like his title track for Dierks Bentleys chart-topping, million-selling album Modern Day Drifter, followed by his his critically acclaimed album Where This River Goes released on High Horse Records on May 4, 2009.
In Nashville, theres nothing a songwriter likes better than a co-writer with a broken heart.
A quote Easterling laughingly coined. You can really mine that for great stuff. That said, Ive been going through some major life changes so Ive had my own stuff to mine lately. In the process of writing these songs I discovered, for the umpteenth time, that life is about facing change and embracing it. As the new album began to come into focus, it dawned on me that I'd been writing songs about my own transitions - some good moves like kicking the smokes and the booze, some happy times and some sad goodbyes, songs about people coming and going, songs about living and one or two about dying." The songs and performances on Goodbye-Hello are rich with wisdom, acceptance and optimism. "I must say it's the most personal album Ive recorded to date."
Recording an album is an all-encompassing process. Youre holed up in a windowless lab for days on end creating what you hope will be well-received music, all the while learning to trust the mad scientist in the room pushing all of the buttons and pulling the levers, or in this case, my Producer Bill McDermott. McDermott and Easterling are both seasoned record producers. McDermott has arranged more number one charting songs than he can count and Easterling has racked up more studio hours than he can remember including time with John Michael Montgomery, Paul Thorn, Neal McCoy and Keith Urban, to name a few, so it was important that they agreed to check their egos at the door and allow the songs to take themselves where they needed to go when creating and producing Goodbye-Hello.
Easterlings career has been full of chart-topping songs including cuts with Dierks Bentley, Joe Diffie, Billy Joe Royal, Paul Thorn, Neal McCoy, Sons of the Desert, Robbie Hecht and others, but these days, Easterling is embracing the life of a troubadour, focusing his energy on bringing his music and his stories directly to his audience. Hes put together some of his favorite songwriters (who collectively have won 18 Juno and 35 Canadian and U.S. country music awards between them) and created The Troubadours tour. The Fall of 2013 saw them completing their 2nd Canadian tour with another planned for Spring 2014, as well as plenty of solo touring. Playing for new audiences reminds me why I fell in love with music in the first place.
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