Stewart Eastham - "The Man I Once Was"

Stewart Eastham’s first record since fronting country-rock band Day of the Outlaw captures what I like best about Alt-Country, lots of ole time vocal twang, pedal steel, lap steel, piano, violin and boot shuffling, knee slapping Hee Hollerin' (on my part)

Eastham’s 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 title track “The Man I Once Was.”   Eastham 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, Eastham 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.  “It’s my ‘L.A. to Nashville’ album,” explains Eastham. “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 its way through many of my songs as well as determining the album’s title and cover art.”

For The Man I Once Was, Eastham teamed up with producer (and former bandmate) Burke Ericson.  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 Ted Russell Kamp and pedal steel player extraordinaire John McClung.

“Through the course of production, Burke ended up building a studio in his house which afforded us the opportunity to really hone the specific sound we wanted for this album,” says Eastham.  “We talked a lot about the early Neil Young records where he had big, funky drums over country-tinged songs.  Burke has such a great ear and I really trust him.   He understands me as a songwriter and always made my ideas better.”

Released September 24, 2013

Track List
1. Let It Go
2. Crazy Old  World
3. Born In California
4. Broken Hearted Lovers
5. Someone New
6. My Favorite Thing
7. The Lights Of Tennessee
8.Livin' With Bad Decisions
9. It's Understood
10. Idyllwild, CA
11. Crawl Up In Your Bottle
12. Butte County Line
13. Across the Sea
14. The Man I Once Was

Album available on iTunes, Amazon, CD Baby, and BandCamp.
Stewart Eastham - vocals, acoustic & electric rhythm guitar
Burke Ericson - lead guitar, acoustic & electric rhythm guitar, piano, percussion, backing vocals

Ted Russell Kamp - acoustic & electric bass, acoustic guitar, mandolin, backing vocals
Neil Mejorado - drums
David Yuter - piano, organ, clavinet
John McClung - pedal steel, lap steel
Skyko Tavis - violin, viola
Dave Pearson - percussion, drums
Jennifer Gibbons - backing vocals
Shannon Browning - backing vocals
Ryan Ramos - backing vocals
Eddie Lopez - cowbell