Tim Eriksen
Tim Eriksen | |
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![]() Tim Eriksen performing at the Iron Horse, Northampton, MA, Feb 29, 2008 | |
Background information | |
Origin | Northampton, Massachusetts |
Genres | Traditional folk, folk punk, punk rock, |
Occupation(s) | Musicologist, professor |
Instrument(s) | Violin, banjo, guitar, vocalist, bass guitar, saraswati veena, bajo sexto |
Years active | 1987–Present |
Tim Eriksen is an American musician, musicologist, and professor. He is the leader of the band Cordelia's Dad, a solo artist, and was a performer and consultant for the award-winning soundtrack of the film Cold Mountain.[1][2][3]
Cordelia's Dad
[edit]Cordelia's Dad combines traditional/old-time music and punk rock influences to create a unique folk-punk sound. The Village Voice describes the band as "semi-reformed punks turned shape-note singers...recently gone entirely acoustic, but buzzing with metaphorical electricity". The band has released nine full-length albums, played festivals such as The Newport Folk Festival, and toured with notable bands Nirvana, Uncle Tupelo, and Weezer.[4]
Musicologist
[edit]Eriksen successfully defended his PhD in ethnomusicology at Wesleyan University in May 2015, having received an M.A. in the same discipline from Wesleyan in 1993, and has served as a visiting music professor at Dartmouth College, Amherst College, Hampshire College and the University of Minnesota.[5] He has also taught in Poland and the Czech Republic.[1] Additionally, Eriksen is a collector of variations of folk songs, and has conducted extensive research on traditional Yugoslavian music.[2][6] Eriksen shared his extensive knowledge of folk music while a consultant for the soundtrack of the film Cold Mountain.[1][2] In 2011, Eriksen taught a class on the history of the Sacred Harp at Smith College.[7]
Solo artist
[edit]Eriksen performed on the Cold Mountain soundtrack, singing with Riley Baugus on traditional songs such as "I Wish My Baby Was Born" and "The Cuckoo".[8] He was part of The Great High Mountain Tour, which celebrated the traditional music of Cold Mountain and O Brother, Where Art Thou?[9]
T-Bone Burnett, the producer of the Cold Mountain soundtrack, had Eriksen teach performers the complex style of Sacred Harp singing.[10]
Eriksen has also released seven solo albums: Tim Eriksen; Every Sound Below; Northern Roots Live In Namest; Soul Of The January Hills; Star in the East; Banjo, Fiddle And Voice; and Josh Billings Voyage or, Cosmopolite on the Cotton Road. The Pop Matters review of Every Sound Below describes it as a "stunning mixture of traditional hymns, songs from the American Civil War, and Eriksen's own compositions".[8]
The Sacred Harp documentary Awake, My Soul's accompanying soundtrack Help Me to Sing: Songs of the Sacred Harp features a song by Eriksen and one by Cordelia's Dad. Paste Magazine describes Eriksen's performance of Sacred Harp songs at an Atlanta concert as "stand-out" and said Eriksen "was best at adapting the raw power of Sacred Harp to his own arrangements."[1]
Eriksen has also been a guest on the radio show A Prairie Home Companion, where he performed the traditional folk song "O, Death" on October 29, 2005.[11] He also played Bosnian Pop music with the band Zabe I Babe.[10] In 2018, his arrangement, including an original tune, of the song "I Wish the Wars Were All Over" was recorded by Joan Baez on her album Whistle Down the Wind.
References
[edit]- ^ a b c d Jackson, Josh (September 26, 2008). "Sacred Harp in a Strange Setting". Paste Magazine. Retrieved December 30, 2008.
- ^ a b c "TIM ERIKSEN". University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre and Dance. Archived from the original on September 10, 2010. Retrieved December 30, 2008.
- ^ Hogeland, William (November 21, 2004). "MUSIC: PLAYLIST; The Answer, My Friend, Is... Mono?". The New York Times. Retrieved December 30, 2008.
- ^ O'Connor, Keith J. (June 13, 2008). "Wednesday Folk Traditions begins at Porter Phelps". The Republican. Springfield, Massachusetts. Retrieved December 30, 2008.
- ^ Wells, Bonnie (May 1, 2009). "Singing the world acoustic: Tim Eriksen at the Iron Horse". Amherst Bulletin. Archived from the original on October 19, 2010. Retrieved August 15, 2010.
- ^ Mason, Stewart. "Tim Eriksen: Biography". Allmusic. Retrieved February 27, 2014.
- ^ Leahy, Jackie. "Faculty Member Tim Eriksen Releases New Star in the East Christmas Album". The Sophian. Archived from the original on March 16, 2012. Retrieved June 27, 2012.
- ^ a b Metivier, Michael (September 10, 2004). "Tim Eriksen: Every Sound Below". PopMatters. Retrieved December 30, 2008.
- ^ Pareles, Jon (May 29, 2004). "MUSIC REVIEW; In Praise of the Lord and Fear of the Reaper, With a Twang". The New York Times. Retrieved October 27, 2014.
- ^ a b Hukill, Traci (April 22, 2009). "Northern Star". Santa Cruz Weekly. Retrieved October 24, 2009.
- ^ "A Prairie Home Companion: October 29, 2005". NPR. Retrieved October 27, 2014.
External links
[edit]- American male singer-songwriters
- American rock songwriters
- American rock singers
- American rock guitarists
- American male guitarists
- American musicologists
- Living people
- Old-time musicians
- People from Northampton, Massachusetts
- Wesleyan University alumni
- Guitarists from Massachusetts
- Singer-songwriters from Massachusetts