Scott

Shauna

“Lately I dream I’m on fire”

Gary just had carnitas fir lunch with me older pal and younger brother Tyler; yes, by using the adjectives older and younger in the same breath/sentence I am referring to the same person. Tyler, to whom I refer, is wiser in the head yet younger in years than me. He is stoic and I am… well, I will let him describe me. He’d probably use words like erratic and emotional and… well, like I said, I will let him paint my picture as he has spent more time with me (in my life) than anyone else in the world. Meals, work, home, play, childhood sports, adventures, etc. He is a stud and hence the purpose for this post.

Tyler who was/is one of the original three members of db clay has recently dove off the deep end into his long awaited, and full time music career. A great move indeed though he will be missed at db clay, but, we both certainly know his pretty music was the thing that was meant to fill his brain and warm his heart in the years to come. At the core, he is all things music. I think he gets it from our mom. He’s a nostalgic bastard, he loves wordplay, he is a great poet and I can say with certainty that though not there yet, I have confidence he is going to be world famous someday. I’ve witnessed his music change people and I have confidence he will be singing his heart out when he’s 95 and broken down in a rocking chair somewhere amongst the jaggedly rugged and painted rock hills of central Wyoming. If I am still around, I hope to be swimming in his Olympic size pool and living off his royalties with him…

Check out his website tylerstenson.com
Listen to a recently recorded rare piano piece As of Late
Most importantly, hire him today and have him play an intimate living room concert for you and some friends… and be sure to pay him well!!! I promise it will be worth it. Hearts will swell, lumps in throats will arrive and smiles breaking out all around for sure. Hire him, serve some wine, light a fire… imagine these songs played in person and prefaced with associated/inspiring life stories.
tyler@tylerstenson.com
His booking agent’s email address: ryan@tylerstenson.com (I don’t know HTML code works to make this an actual email link so you better cut and paste it… no hyperlink for you!!!)
Read his lyrics

Tyler Stenson key words/ phrases:
Elegant Folk
Gold Leaves Curl
Dusty and Shiny Cowboy

John Milton turns 400

Today, December 9, celebrates the 400th birthday of John Milton, an English poet (born in 1608). Our good buddy John is likely best known for his epic poem Paradise Lost amongst a library of other great works. In short, this poem concerns the Fall of Man and though I haven’t read it in its entirety, that I have read, is nothing short of divine.

Image Source: “The Rebel Angels” by Gustave Dore, from his series of engravings for an 1865 edition of Paradise Lost. Hulton Archive/Getty Images

I was compelled to draft this post today for a couple of reasons. Long story short: I was driving home from Corvallis, Oregon this past Sunday afternoon after having visited with one of my older brothers and his sweet little family. Over dinner, I conversated with my brother at great length about the dissertation he is currently drafting for his PhD in Physics. As per usual, he blew my mind with his theories and white board discussion. You see, he is well versed in not only physics, but also philosophy and religion; It makes for great conversation and I always learn a ton.

Speaking of older brother’s, and getting back to the purpose of this post, my other older brother is also currently finalizing his PhD in Literature. His dissertation revolves entirely around the aforementioned work of Paradise Lost. I found the timing of all of this odd/neat because I was speaking with one brother about his Physics PhD and then coincidentally on the drive home an NPR story came on the radio announcing the upcoming birthday of John Milton, who is the subject of my other brother’s dissertation. Weird timing indeed.

Image Source: Blake, William (English, 1757–1827), “Satan Watching the Caresses of Adam and Eve” (Illustration to ‘Paradise Lost’), 1808, pen; watercolor on paper, 50.5 x 38 cm, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

One piece of information I learned that I found particularly unbelievable was the unique circumstance under which John’s poem was written: When Milton began writing the poem in 1658, he had been blind for four years. He recited the entire work to an assistant, 40 lines each morning for five years, says William Kerrigan. When the secretary was late, Milton was said to have grumbled around the house, “I want to be milked. I want to be milked.” This poem is nearly 10,000 lines long and that me friends, is a lot of milking.

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Speaking of Paradise, as I type this, I am listening to one of my favorite online radio stations:
Radio Paradise – give it a listen

Tape, Cars, Wallets

Me haven’t done a post under the “Family” category for quite some time, so here goes…

This ol’ granulated sugar bag has had wonderful support from his family (for db clay) over the years. The running joke, since the beginning was that every year everyone in my family got a wallet as a holiday gift. Year after year- eventually it turned into a joke and I stopped giving them away.

Below are some images I pulled from my family ancestry archives. On top is Chelly, Tyler and me laughing our guts out at a Tradeshow in Vegas. The middle is my nephews car collection. Kid is addicted to cars. And bottom, that is my nephew playing domino’s with Version 2.

My older brother is raising his kid well; a db clay a day keeps the doctor away.

Sister’s Sixth Store

Just talked to me little Brother Kyle who works for our older Sister- she owns a woman’s clothing company called Shade. Kyle was down in Arizona last week coordinating the opening of their sixth retail store which is located in the Chandler Fashion Center. Image below is a snapshot of the store’s inside. If you don’t have access to Arizona, you can also pick up Shade Clothing online here. If you are a women between the ages of 1 and 100 then Shade is definitely for you…

Me other little Brother Tyler and I run db clay out of Portland. Yes, another family affair. And to top it off last year, Tyler, me and others hand printed small batches of limited edition Shade shirts using our signature db clay Dammasch Print. Below is one of our pretty shirts painted. 3 Brothers, 1 sister, 2 companies, and that my friends is only the tip of the iceberg. I’ve got another 2 Brothers and 4 sisters worth talking about too… but another time and place will have to do.

Tyler Stenson Album Release

For those of you who live in Portland (or for those of you willing to spontaneously drive/fly to Portland in the next 24 hours), I’d like to invite you out tomorrow night. My little Brother is having a CD Release Party of sorts…he has worn the crown of “Portland’s Singer/Songwriter of the Year” for two years in a row and his new album, See That Gleam, surely proves his worthiness to sit upon that throne. His new album will put a smile on your face and a lump in your throat at the same time. You should come. It would be good for your soul. Details below:

Tyler Stenson at Lola’s Room
1332 W Burnside St
Portland, OR 97209

TIME:
Doors at 8
Kirk Duncan at 8:30
Tyler Stenson at 9:00

TICKETS:
$10 in advance or $12 at the door (Free CD with admission!)

Click here for more show detailz…

Grandma’s Backyard

My little niece is an aspiring writer. Though only about a decade old (give or take a few years), her mind is full of deep thoughts and self reflection and positivity. Image above is a story she wrote last year about my mom’s backyard…her grandma’s backyard. She sent me a copy in the mail and I thought I’d post it for a couple of reasons:

1. Sometimes I wish I was just a simple, naive, positive kid again, and
2. If you choose to read it, it just might soften you up a little bit…

It did me. Thanks for the reminder Lauren- this world is a “great masterpiece” indeed. Albeit in your mind or reality, you need to keep it that way.

“You brake, you lose”

That quote was told to me in a conversation with Graeme over the weekend. I think he told me it was something one of his old bike coach’s used to say to him; original origin of quote unknown. Below is a recent image reel of my 2,000 mile, 3 day drive/sprint to St. George to visit my family and sell wallets for the Memorial Day Weekend. My sister who owns Shade Clothing hosted the event and helped db clay out a ton- thanks to all who helped the sale go well. It was surely sample sale madness- women buying by the hundreds, if not thousands. I’m not kidding. Don’t worry if you missed it, we are hosting another SALE in Portland this week.

I covered black pavement, blue sky and (3) different states in about thirty sum’ odd hours
I crossed the 45th parallel (half the distant between N Pole and Equator)

Me got a flat tire in a town called Rupert, after midnight
I called an emergency tire service to come fix my flat
A nail had punctured my rubber on the highway
It cost me $300 to repair; I got to my final destination at about 4:30am
One of my sisters was in the car with me at the time…
we just looked at each other

Me came into the office Monday and brainstormed the week ahead on white board
With blue pen
I cleaned it off with ball of Windex covered paper towel
I was writing out a final action item list; I was planning our 10 year anniversary launch party this Thursday!
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Me spit seeds almost the entire time
Me blared me music and had my window rolled down
We’ve all been there right?

You break you lose, etc

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