Tom Alter explores the passage of time on “Under the Firmament.” Photo – Jay Jylkka
The passage of time weighs heavily on Tom Alter’s mind.
The Fraser, Michigan, singer-songwriter examines lessons from the past while addressing challenges of the present and future onUnder the Firmament.
“When I write, I usually write songs about things that are staying in my mind for a while,” said Alter about his latest indie-folk-rock album.
“It can be issues or life events that are sticking with me, and I can’t let go. Time is an aspect of it, and I think it is just living and the common experiences that we all have.”
Alter chronicles those experiences through nine perceptive tracks, which feature contemplative lyrics, haunting guitars, and atmospheric instrumentation.
“At my age, I’m even writing more about time now on the songs I’ve been writing since then,” he said. “I think the theme will continue into my next album and project. I think it’s … trying to grapple with life and how it impacts us as individuals and as a community.”
Tom Alter tackles a variety struggles on “Dispatch From the Lesser Middle.” Photo – Jay Jylkka
For Tom Alter, life has become quite the head-scratcher.
The current social and political state of the nation and the world leaves him questioning the present, yet remaining hopeful for the future.
“I turned 65 this year, and there’s so much in this world that leaves me shaking my head,” said Alter, a Fraser, Michigan singer-songwriter and guitarist. “I really never thought things would be like this … and as I was writing, somewhere in the middle of the process, I wrote the song, ‘A Wilderness.’”
The insightful opener from Alter’s latest indie-folk album, Dispatch From the Lesser Middle, features a dream in which he speaks to his younger self about being resilient in life.
Backed by wise acoustic guitar, electric guitar, and bass, he sings, “Young man buckle up / Living takes a lot of trust / If this sounds cliché / Don’t know another way I can instruct you / If I only had / A wise old man / Tell me what he’d come to know when I was young.”
“It’s saying, ‘Well, what did you expect?’ It’s kind of always been like this.’ Some of it is just trying to understand some of these changes that are going on in the world, but also realizing that they may not be permanent,” Alter said.
“When we’re young, we think everything’s gonna go along swimmingly, and we can set goals, and they’ll be achieved. The line I like in this song is, ‘You better buckle up,’ and I was setting myself straight.”
Linden Thoburn creates a spring-like feel on “When the Sun Comes Shining Through.” Photo courtesy of Linden Thoburn
Linden Thoburn beautifully shines a light on the road less traveled.
The Brighton, Michigan country-folk singer-songwriter and guitarist shares hopeful tales of navigating life’s seasonal changes on her adventurous new album, When the Sun Comes Shining Through.
“There’s a lot of movement, and there’s a lot of leaving one state and going into another state. I write from listening to life and listening to myself, and that’s just what was there,” Thoburn said.
“It’s somebody who’s able to look back and be here, yet still be able to bring some perspective, hopefulness and realism, too. The journey continues, and if you’re really going to live this life and be here, you have to be awake to the journey.”
On When the Sun Comes Shining Through, Thoburn deeply embraces a pictorial journey filled with lonesome AM radio, cherry red vans, summer berries, Mississippi tributaries, bright wings and Avalon forests. Each radiant track leaves a lasting imprint on the heart and soul of bygone eras and unread chapters.
“A lot of 2022 has been getting this album ready to launch … and I keep thinking COVID is over, and the sun comes shining through, and then COVID keeps coming back,” she said with a laugh. “This album is like leaving COVID, and it’s like going from winter and heading into spring.”
Nick Juno shares lyrics from local singer-songwriters through The Detroit Song Mine. Artwork – Andrea W
Outfitted with a Fender Telecaster and a worn pick-axe, Nick Juno unearths a treasure trove of Detroit musical gems twice a month.
The Motor City folk singer-songwriter carefully excavates and shares priceless song lyrics from local artists through the newly discovered The Detroit Song Mine, which launched today via Facebook.
“For the last several months, we’ve had online access to such wonderful and varied music on all different levels. Oftentimes when hearing people play their songs, I think, ‘That was great live! What did they say?’ And I thought it would be great to see the lyrics to some of these because as a writer I’m always reading the lyrics,” he said.
“It’s all about ‘the song,’ and then I was thinking about how in the ‘60s Greenwich Village had the ‘Broadside,’ which became ‘Sing Out!’ magazine. I thought it would be great to have something like that on a very small, basic level here. I didn’t want to have a contest, review or critique; I just wanted to have the bare bones skeleton lyrics of people’s songs.”
“The first batch of writers in issue No. 1 were chosen randomly from the first handful of people who sent in songs. When I first envisioned doing this, I thought with hat in hand maybe a few people might want to do this monthly, but I got a terrific response. Now, I will be doing this twice a month to keep things moving,” Juno said.
Juno also sought inspiration for The Detroit Song Mine from the city’s historic salt deposits, which date back 400 million years and were left behind by the retreat of an ancient inland ocean. In a sense, he captures that timeless tradition and aesthetically transfers it to publishing song lyrics. Each online issue of The Detroit Song Mine invites artists to discuss and share each other’s songs.
“The idea of mining for rock salt or digging your way for songs out of thin air rang familiar, and I hope people would pick up on that. As writers, it’s often useful to play for other people and get feedback about what they think, what they heard or how things worked out,” Juno said.
“None of that’s happening right now with the ongoing shutdown, so I thought it might be good for people to have an outlet to put their songs out there good, bad or otherwise just for others to see them.”
With the next issue launching Aug. 14, Juno will announce and publish another six or seven songs from a different group of singer-songwriters. He’s interested in highlighting creative lyrics from a multitude of genres, including folk, rock and hip-hop.
“I want this to be like putting up show flyers on a kiosk or wall where you slap up your song with wheat paste and walk away. The people sending in songs are varied and different, so whatever we get I’m happy to put up. Ideally, I’d like to see this in printed form available for people to have in their hands, but I just wanted to get it started,” he said.
“Being online is a good thing because I’ve had people way outside of the Detroit area interested. My hope is that when we finally start up again playing live music readers might say at a show, ‘Oh, I know this song! I’ve seen these lyrics.”
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