About this product

Product Identifiers

ProducerBurke Ericson

Record LabelCdb, CD Baby

UPC0884501939102

eBay Product ID (ePID)28046061989

Product Key Features

Release Year2013

FormatCD

GenreCountry

ArtistStewart Eastham

Release TitleMan I Once Was

Dimensions

Item Height0.17 in

Item Weight0.10 lb

Item Length5.92 in

Item Width5.01 in

Additional Product Features

Number of Discs1

Number of Tracks14

TracksLet It Go, Born in California, Crazy Old World, Broken Hearted Lovers, Someone New, The Lights of Tennessee, My Favorite Thing, Crawl Up in Your Bottle, Butte County Line, Idyllwild Ca, Livin' with Bad Decisions, Across the Sea, It's Understood, The Man I Once Was

NotesThey say life is a journey, and for Americana singer-songwriter Stewart Eastham, that voyage has recently taken him from the fast-paced sprawl of Los Angeles clear across the country to new digs in Nashville, TN. His songs span the breadth of the Americana realm: from the old school country sounds of "The Lights of Tennessee" and "Livin' With Bad Decisions," to the funky southern rock of "Broken Hearted Lovers" and "Crawl Up In Your Bottle," to the lush, layered arrangements of "It's Understood" and "The Man I Once Was." Stewart is both a prolific and poetic writer with a deep love of storytelling, honed not only through music but also via a deep passion for literature and art films (and their less "noble" counterparts: genre fiction and genre movies.) After a lifetime on the West Coast, Stewart recently found himself at both a personal and artistic crossroads. He found respite from the darkness of his final L.A. years in the change of pace and peace of mind he discovered in Nashville. This allowed him to turn inward and write his most personal album yet: The Man I Once Was-his first solo album since fronting country-rock band Day of the Outlaw. The album is a sincere, unflinching portrait of one man's travels down a rough and rocky road and eventually finding a place of redemption (as outlined in his song "The Lights of Tennessee.") "It's my 'L.A. to Nashville' album," explains Stewart. "As the song 'Born In California' exemplifies, my life has always been based around a series of dichotomies: city vs. country, intellectualism vs. street smarts, freedom vs. security. With the move to Nashville, that dichotomy became literal, snaking it's way through many of my songs as well as determining the album's title and cover art." Stewart was born and raised in the Butte County region of rural Northern California. He grew up on the sounds of classic country, outlaw country, and California country. (Merle Haggard is a constant inspiration.) This was supplemented with a love of rock 'n' roll, starting with the very first time he placed one of his mom's old Beatles records on his plastic Fisher Price record player. Forays into The Beach Boys and The Rolling Stones were other early influences. This led to a lifelong love of classic rock, and he also developed an appreciation for hip-hop and heavy metal. Stewart's early days of creating his own music revolved around a beat up old guitar inherited from his grandfather and a raggedy, shag carpet-lined, flea market drum kit his grandmother bought for him. During his first year at UC Davis, Stewart answered a music store ad placed by a satirical thrash metal band looking for a drummer. That fateful day kicked off a lifelong passion for creating and performing music. After graduating with a degree in Computer Engineering, Stewart switched gears and moved to Los Angeles to attend film school. There he developed his skills as a storyteller through writing, directing, and acting in films, while continuing to play music as a drummer. He also became an acolyte of country music-starting back with guys like Hank Sr., Jimmie Rodgers, and Lefty Frizzell, and then working his way up to the country-flavored singer-songwriters of the '70s like John Prine, Townes Van Zandt, Mickey Newbury, and Terry Allen. After playing drums for a few years in the Los Angeles outfit Minibike, the band morphed to the point where Stewart was the frontman. He explains, "Once I started writing and singing my own songs, I finally found my true calling in life." Minibike transformed into Day of the Outlaw, which released two albums: 2009's Black Mountain Majesty and 2012's The Retribution Waltz. Opting to move forward as a solo artist, Stewart teamed up with producer (and former bandmate) Burke Ericson to begin work on what would become The Man I Once Was. Ironically, he traveled back to Los Angeles to record this album using a group of incredibly talented musicians he'd met during his tenure there, including bassist T