SEEKING
Trumpet, Violin, Other Percussion, Drums, Bass Guitar, Acoustic Guitar, Lead Guitar, Rhythm Guitar, Vocalist - Soprano, Vocalist - Tenor, Vocalist - Baritone, Vocalist - Bass, Vocalist, Saxophone, Keyboard, Piano, Background Singer, Harmonica, Flute, Other, Banjo, Mandolin, Fiddle, Dobro, Vocalist - Alto, Trombone, Bagpipes, Steel guitar.ABOUT
"Words to lift the Spirit; Music to nourish the Soul"
Passionate singer-songwriter / performer of "soulful folk" music... and...
Extremely lyrical,
"performance"-style "Spoken Word" poetic messenger...who loves to mix it up by blending the gentle, yet surprisingly passionate spoken elements with some meditative, yet "soulful" music (which, among many other elements, presently makes much use of keyboard / synth and harmonic "chant" and vocals.)
To this singer-songwriter, lyrics are "everything". But just the right blends of most acoustic and some electronic sounds are passionately pursued to blend with these most meaningful of lyrics.
Along with some vocals, it's these "blends" that I hope to create through some very hearfelt, inspired, yet often playful, "in the zone" collaborations.
- Screen name:
- DeepSoulLightHeart
- Member since:
- Dec 23 2008
- Active over 1 month ago
- Level of commitment:
- Very Committed
- Years playing music:
- 20
- Gigs played:
- 50 to 100
- Tend to practice:
- More than 3 times per week
- Available to gig:
- 2-3 nights a week
- Most available:
- Days
Influences
Extremely eclectic. World music. Sacred and mystical traditions.
John Denver, Jackson Browne, Loreena KcKennitt, Kitaro, CUSCO, AhNeeMa, Anugama, Karunesh, Enya, Elyza Gylkeson...many more.
EQUIPMENT
Keybd.
Acoustic Gtr.
Bass Gtr.
Djembe (& other percussion)
Misc. Bowls, Harps, etc.
MUSIC
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I am an Eagle (excerpt)
I am an Eagle (excerpt) Track number: 2 Year: 2008 Album: Eagle Possibilities Genre: Folk
This is a relatively "unplugged" recording, with some extra (personally-performed) vocals thrown in. Looking forward to doing this more as my more recent signature style as a passionately peaceful and "electrifying" performance of this one... with solid vocals. I can see doing it as a duet with someone who, like me, has a passion for uplifting messages...and passionate delivery. (Thanks to much recent progress on my path, I've been performing songs like this one with 10 times the passion heard here [from 1.5 yrs. ago]. It's really getting exciting. Even if people don't quite get the lyrics, they often are mystified by...and "eat up"...the passion. I'll see if I can capture a recording of some of that passion...and post it here.) Please note: It's true. I'm very passionate about sharing these uplifting messages. I'm the antidote to all those "downer" lyrics. I'm the Eagle your mother warned you about. ::grin:: I just might get you lifted up past all the "status quo" ways of thinking (that your family and many well-meaning [and not-so well-meaning] people in your life have enforced for you...and then you took it from there! ::grin:: ) that have left you often feeling so "stuck" in your life. That's why I'm "pumpin' it up" to help get you outta there! :-D But only if you keep listening. At least until you start to really receive the lyrics...deep into you...heart and soul. Then we can clear out some of the clutter from all those despondent and self-hating lyrics that you've been fed on for years! Hold on! You're in for the "flight of your life"! That is, if you're ready to really begin to "see"...that...deep-down...YOU might just be an Eagle. Really? For real? Mmmm Hmmm. If you're ready...if you feel the "nudge"...maybe deep down you know it. If you think you can handle it--a whole new way of flying...Join me! I'm looking for those who are "open to be open" to infinite possibility. You don't have to be convinced--just "open". Open" to all that life has to offer. No, not the "system". Life. The Universe. It's way too big "out there" to live so small...where most people live it. But "the truth" is "in here". All of it. Let's find it. Feel it. Know it. Share it. Thinking and dreaming waaaay outside "the box" is more our style. (To be clear...not an overtly religious" perspective here. Or a traditional "spiritual" one. But still, all about connecting with people in a very real, "deep down" way. And reminding them of what they already know. That Love rules. That Peace can be found. That Joy is what it's all about. 'Cause it's all "in there". Once you meet the Eagle--in YOU. That's what I'm passionate about.) Is this all too much for you? Or...can you catch it? Can you hear a pulse or two from my "eagle heartbeat"? If you do...and you think it sounds familiar somehow.... like it came from somewhere deep inside of you...then maybe...just maybe... you're one of "us". The eagle-hearted ones...Keeping an eye on the clouds. Thinking there must be a better way. In fact, at some level...we feel...we "just know" there is. Could you be one of us? If you're looking for something more than forever recovering from cover-banding...if you're sick of settling for whatever the industry wants. What the alcohol-sellers want you to play and sing to boost sales...You've had it with being a commercial for excessive alcohol consumption...(you might've even noticed you increasingly becoming a "poster person" for the product!) ...if you're tired of wrestling with egos and everybody wanting to be in the limelight....and the whole scene kind of keeps you feeling like life is handin' you lemons... If you hunger for something more meaningful...something more satisfying. You want to inspire others, you want to change lives with your music....then, we need to talk. We might just be "on the same" page... on the same wavelength...at least enough to "touch" the "heart" of the world with something "higher" and "deeper" than what they usually settle for. Maybe on our own. Maybe together. My dream? That we'll do it all in an unassuming, "for real" way. Not for the show. Not even for us. For Love. For Joy. For Hope. That the world can be a better place. And we'll lift hearts one at a time. We'll start by making our hearts a "better place"...that overflow so much light and Love to the world. Not that we're masters of anything. We're not "gurus". Just regular people. But we're "open". More "open" than most. And more "open" every day. "Open" to let some Love "shine through". And, if you're like me... you're thinkin'...if Love is as big as you hope it is...as big as you want to believe it is... then maybe...it "wants to" come splashing through us. IF it does...well, we're certainly "open" to lettin' it! Yeah, I know. Way "over the top" here. ::grin:: But why not? For one, I don't really enjoy the smokey bar scene...or being background music in coffee shops...(although I've done my thing in these places with much passion and gratitude for the opportunities they represented) or trying to "fit" just right in other venues at the whim of others with agendas I couldn't believe in. But I have this feeling, you see? Very deep down... that...if we stay with the message (I've been given SO many songs...and continue to...that convey it...and I'm certainly VERY "open" to others' lyrics that are uplifting as well!)...and keep the passion alive...and follow our deepest joy...our highest bliss...the Universe will find a way to "beam" us to the world. And I'm thinking...that could be really exciting...and, as we trust the process...ultimately...we will impact the world...and it will be rewarding--even financially. But that's a side benefit. What matters most is lifting people up to the Love...giving them a sense of connectedness to the Love that we're all part of. That gives them Hope. And Peace. And Joy. Love is the foundation...always. And that's the only thing that can really change us, them...and our world. Do you tend to feel this way too? If so...even if you have some skepticism...(and that can be a good thing ::smile:: )....but something here "rings true" for you ...like you'd like to believe in something like this...and that if I'm really as real as I sound... then maybe...just maybe...you could get "on board"...then...maybe we should talk. We might just "spark" something that will ignite the world with waves of...all that's Good. And change it...just a bit...for the better...forever...because of our audacity to believe in a dream...that we really could make a difference. Not just by our music...but by everything that we stood for...and pursued...and believed in. That we are One....that we are the Ones to shine a Beaming Light...for...at our core...we are Love. I know the "right" partners will join me. It's a matter of time. "All in good time". The world is "ripe" for this. So I have a feeling the time is very soon. I will impact my world in ways I can't even yet imagine. I have a feeling it will be a team of us. A group who will unite "as one". And be a "force" for so much good...to raise the "vibes" on this darkened planet...in so many ways. If you're "open" to follow a dream...and let the dream believe in you...till you can fully believe in it...and let it take you to where you belong...the skies of all you can be... then, by all means...do it! And if we agree this much on what we want it to be about...(and if you're still actually reading all this! ::grin:: ) ...maybe we should get together. If nothing else, maybe we can encourage each other to follow the dream...to impact our world like this. If we do it on our seperate paths...KEWL. If we have the privilege of joining forces to be a team...that's KEWL too! Whatever your path...if you have a dream of impacting the world...and making it better...through your music...at many levels... then where ever you take it from here... I do so wish you SO much good...So much peace. Be the Love, man. Be the Love, lady. Be the Love. S t e v e n D. L i g h t s p r i n g
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One with the Sun
One with the Sun Track number: 4 Year: 2008 Album: Eagle Possibilities Genre: Other
This is a sample of one of my Spoken Word blended pieces. The chorus is "over the top" edgy recording but was fun to make. (All the vocals are mine!) In some ways I may have overdone it a bit, but...it does show a glimpse of my love of Native American influences, and many other native, mystical and world sounds. I feel that the music I make is made to "make a statement" to the Universe...the world can catch on a bit later. (In the mean time, I'll keep getting better. Hopefully with the help of "a few close friends"! I'm mostly a vocals and lyrics guy. I'd love to have other solid vocalists and musicians join with me, each of us bringing our strengths...[and yes, your uplifting songs too!] and take messages of an uplifting nature to the world... I'm even "open" to having some songs that "hit" you where you live. I just want every one to have at least a "silver lining" of hope to it. The world is already full of hopeless, downer songs. [Even if many are "hits"!] I, for one, want to bring messages that lift people up, not ones that just make them more comfortable in their misery!) This song...along with quite a few others...are all about stating what I deep-down "know" is true...that I am "one with the sky in me". The "Sky" represents "All-That-Is", the infinity of Love and the winds of Spirit...of which we are all part. I love to focus on the awe, the peace, the joy and the deep gratitude that this Oneness brings to me...and I want to contemplate these uplifting themes and share them with others--hopefully in a way that helps them "taste" them with me! Even if they don't "get" it yet... I want the music to be so intriguing, so captivating...that they'll keep listening till they do! ::smile:: Would YOU be someone who would be interested in making that happen with me? I'm looking for others who feel like they want to take their hearts and music to a much higher plane than what most people settle for. A place of being so "in the zone" together...in an ongoing way... that there's no telling how much Love and Light could come beamin' through us! (Well, if we all feel this way...we should at least network. And if we really "gel"... then who knows what all we could accomplish from there?)
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Sailing Waves of Spirit (excerpt)
Sailing Waves of Spirit (excerpt) Track number: 5 Year: 2008 Album: Chants Encounter Genre: Other
This is one of the "Spoken Word" pieces that has often been requested. It represents some of many aspects of walking a "higher" path...and being KEWL with it...(i.e., being able to "go with the flow" by keeping it all "in balance".) Blending music with "spoken word" poetry is a "signature" of what I do. Peaceful, passionate performance of the message...blended with somewhat "hypnotic" music and vocals to help people get "in the zone" with us...and let the message speak directly to their heart and lift their spirit. I'm looking forward to taking this to "a whole 'nother level" when joined with musicians who can help me make it "sparkle". (To be clear, it's not about me. It's all about the message. All about the Love. I often feel it shinin' through me. I want to always stay "open" to that. Whoever writes the songs. That way I can be a voice...with other passionate musicians...that reminds us and others of what...deep-down...we already know. And yes, I'd love to collaborate with other musicians who love to make music like I do... for a "higher" purpose...but not for a religion or dogma. Just bringing people together to point them to their deepest truth--what they "know" deep-down. And gently lifting them up to be reminded of the Love they are that will enable them to follow their bliss and find their own true peace. If that includes a specific religion for them, great. But my goal is to honor the essence of people, their spirit, and lift their heart to a higher, more joy-full place...no matter what their path.) (Have you ever seen Alanis Morisette's "live" concert performance with "Story Tellers"? The interconnectedness of artist, band and audience in that video is beautifully off-the-charts. That's what I envision. Where we can gently lift people to heights of bliss and greater awareness and appreciation for life and love...by what we do.)
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Sweet Possibilities
Sweet Possibilities Track number: 7 Year: 2007 Album: Chants Encounter (But recorded earlier) Genre: Other
This is another "spoken word" piece that seemed to blend nicely with these vocals (all "original" vocals recorded myself) that came together surprisingly well, I thought, though the recording quality could've been better. The message of "Sweet Possibilities" is one I really do believe in. "Giving Joyful Thanks"...ahead of time... for things that aren't even "manifested" yet. Just trusting that all will work out... "all in good time"....and going ahead and "getting glad" about it! Zany, I know. ::smile:: But it sure beats some of those "downer" alternatives! ::grin::
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Fullness of Love (That is the Kingdom) (excerpt)
Fullness of Love (That is the Kingdom) (excerpt) Year: 2007 Genre: Other
Okay, so this one does look an awful lot like some Christian music. It does have some of the same wording, and has a very soft, reverent feel to it. It is meant to be deeply reverent of "Great Spirit". Yet, its message is more about reminding us that whatever is from love, points to peace and unfolds in joy...in a most genuine way...is most likely a Divine gift. My message is always much more "inclusive"...than most "religious" music, so...with all due respect, I don't really care to be aligned with most of that. My music is more about pointing us...all of us...to the best in us... and uplifting us to believe in all we can be. Anyone...with a similar "openness"...care to join me?
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The Ocean of Your Being (Excerpt)
The Ocean of Your Being (Excerpt) Track number: 4 Year: 2009 Album: "Forever Second Chants" Genre: Other
This is definitely a prayer. A very heartfelt one to Great Spirit. It came "splashing" through me one day, and was deeply meaningful for me, and gratefully received. (I have quite a few that are, like this, passionate prayers.) I know many can't relate. But I deeply feel that all people...at some level of their being...at some point in their life...are aware of some level of instinct for sacredness in all of life. I want to be part of encouraging their awareness of that. And giving them a "lift" to believe in the best in themselves...and all they can be. That's much of what is expressed here. A celebration of Life. Of Love. Of Spirit. Of all we can be. If you've ever bumped into any classic quotes or poetry by Rumi (well-known 13th century Sufi poet) or his counterpart, Hafiz. They are all about this. They write passionately, beautifully, and extravagantly of this Oneness of all things...and how Love flows through it all. And their poetry celebrates dancing with this Oneness, celebrating it, welcoming it. That's what I'm about. (Some of my most deeply appreciated compliments from fans were when they compared me to Rumi.) That's what this is about, as is much of the poetry I write and perform...blended lavishly...with often "hypnotic" music. (I look forward to collaborating with musicians where we could take the "hypnotic", soul-stirring effect to a whole 'nother level!)