eric shiveley


 

News, the long & short

 

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January 25, 2010

   Tomorrow Eric has part two of his root canal.   They'll clean out the holes they bored last time and insert tiny posts. Eric says the ringing in his ears hasn't stopped, but that he isn't exhausted all the time any more. Two of the tooth's nerves were badly infected, so for almost a year Eric was probably a walking petri dish germ sampler.  He says that about a week after the root canal, he started writing and recording again. We hope it's not a phase. Or if it is, that it lasts a few years.

 

 

January 18, 2010

   Tequila Mockingbird are a band who write really good songs and sound like their tour van broke down outside Death Valley, across the road from a friendly cult of UFO followers. Their third album, Luck and Trouble, will be released Friday February 12th at their show at The Toad Tavern in Denver.
   Luck and Trouble includes a cover of Eric's song "Actual Size." According to Tequila Mockingbird's website, the song is being promoted as the album's first single.

 

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Tequila Mockinbird release their third album February 12th

January 7, 2010

   Todd Norman lives in Alamosa and just finished the second edition of his book Ideas to Save the Planet. You can sometimes find Todd in Milagros Coffee House, where Eric wastes time every other day. We don't want to push any political or polarized viewpoint (frankly we despise those things), but when someone puts in the time and insane effort to see something through completion, we think it would be criminally rude to not recognize their work. We haven't had a chance to read the book, but Todd assures us it harshly rejects both conventional politics and trendy "green" practices.
   If you're an independent artist, you're haunted by voices constantly say you're crazy. Crazy for believing you have something great when almost everyone effectively tells you to give up.  Ideas to Save the Planet wants you to see things differently. Todd, congratulations on building a 900' flagpole all by yourself.

 

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January 2, 2010

   Last week Eric played with a couple friends at Milagros Coffee House in Alamosa.  Journalist and Yale student Laurelin Kruse has been writing a song a day (between vocabulary tests and improv practice).  She debuted several of her songs, and Matthew Schildt made everything beautiful with his sweet, haunting violin. All the money went to the La Puente Community Gardens.  There was a good crowd, which is hard to get on a Monday night in Alamosa.

 

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December 22, 2009

   You know how the endodontist numbs you and then goes away while the novacaine takes effect? Ever wonder what they do during that break? Turns out they're putting on makeup. Eric says his root canal was performed by a former cheerleader from Mississippi. We don't want to imply there aren't competent endodontists from Mississippi (or that cheerleaders can't excel in the dental arts). It's just a bit unusual for the San Luis Valley.
   The root canal isn't finished.  That will take another month. Eric says his ears are ringing loud as ever.

 

December 7, 2009

   Eric says the dental office called this morning to reschedule the root canal for Friday. Coincidentally, there's also a snowstorm headed this way (see previous post).  For the technically curious, the tooth used to have a filling but it fell out in late summer of 2008. A few weeks later, Eric claims a faint ringing began in his left ear. Soon both ears were ringing loudly. In March of 2009, the ignored tooth began to crumble and a root canal was prescribed.

 

November 30, 2009

   Here goes nothing.

   In exactly one week, barring cancellation or blizzard, our whiny little hero will be in the middle of a root canal on tooth #30 (lower right, 2nd molar from the front). This is significant because it has been needed for over a year. Eric hopes it will finally stop the loud ringing he claims he's had in his ears since late 2008.  The ringing is the main reason Eric cites for why stopped recording his own (and others') music six months ago.
   Don't stare too long at the picture.

 

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November 13, 2009

   Our homebuilder's tip for the day: Make sure you don't circumvent a power supply when wiring a track lighting fixture. There are several reasons for this, but even if you don't burn your place to the ground, Halogen bulbs are $7 each.
   Our great friend Andy Ard has a milestone birthday this month. Hopefully there will be a house party where Andy can play his heart out with a full band. Including theremin and piccolo.
   Eric told us there's a chance he'll be recording his next album soon.   He told us to keep that to ourselves so we will, as well as the fact the album will be titled "Eden's Light."

 

August 13, 2009

   So Eric, Jim, Kelsea and Matt decided to play a brief show without telling anyone.  Just to scare themselves into learning a live set. Atomic Pork also played, more on them eventually.  Here are photos courtesy of Dr. Tracy Doyle, world class cookie-maker and flutist.  Or is it flautist?

 

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July 29, 2009

   A couple weeks ago there was a benefit for the foodbank in Alamosa, Colorado. There was live music in Milagros Coffee House, and a good crowd despite the fact it was 113 degrees.  Alamosa is one of the coldest towns in the U.S. (including Alaska), so most buildings don't have air-conditioning.
    The good people at SLVdweller.com took some video...

 


April 1, 2009

     You (yes, YOU!) can now own Eric's award-winning documentary Everyone But You.  For a mere $17.50, you can own the only feature-length film ever made about the San Luis Valley.  It premiered a year ago at the Oxford International Film Festival and has won several awards including Best Composer (Jackson Hole Film Festival) and Emerging Artist (Oxford International FIlm Festival).
    More importantly, Eric's car broke down in Tennessee and his parents are floating him home on the condition he pay them back right away and sit quietly through an aggressive sales pitch for a small metal house in the desert of southern Colorado.
    To have a hand-made copy of Everyone But you (complete with fancy box and sloppy autograph) mailed directly to your house, apartment, trailer or parents' place, go to PayPal, send $17.50 to eshiveley@gmail.com and make sure your PayPal address is where you want the movie to end up.  Or write us at eshiveley@gmail.com and propose something more complicated.
    Thanks very much for your support and kindness.


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February 6, 2009

     The San Luis Valley reached fifty degrees this week.  That usually doesn't happen until April.  LATE April.  While you're free to debate the existence, cause and effects of global warming, it was nice to hit baseballs at the park Tuesday and Wednesday.

 

January 18, 2009

     If you've seen the documentary Everyone But You and wondered how everything really ended, see below (and we assume it's obvious what happened after the pretty blonde girl moved away)...

   

   

December 10, 2008

   
Didn't you want to be an architect when you were little?   Remember designing your dream house on a legal pad?  Remember how it would have a third floor game room and electric sliding doors like Space:1999?
    Then you found out you'd most likely be told what to design (square office buildings and hospitals that can be designed by your iPhone) until you were 59 years old.  So you became a nurse or software tester instead.  Wise choice.
    But what if you decided everyone were just nay-sayers, and that you could skip the boring phase of the architecture career (also known as "your life") and do the cool, cutting-edge projects you dreamt of as a kid.
    Well, after six to ten years of getting your sorry ass flattened, and taking every golden opportunity to work for free, here you are.
    Ron and Virginia Rael live in the San Luis Valley when they're not teaching architecture in Italy, San Francisco, Tucson or the Dutch Antilles.  If you buy only ONE BOOK this holiday season, make it Ron's!

 

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Earth Architecture by Ronald Rael (Princeton Architectural Press)

 

December 4, 2008

   
James and Tracy Doyle live in downtown Alamosa.  With a population of 8,013 (and in the middle of Colorado's most impoverished region) surely it's impossible for Alamosa to have a music scene worth mentioning.  But there are several fantastic artists in the greater Alamosa area.
    Turns out Tracy Doyle is quite an artist too.  She left this painting at Eric's 40th birthday party last weekend...

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    Is that cool or what?   How can you thank someone enough for a gift like that? Especially when Tracy Doyle is Dr. Tracy Doyle, a world-class musician who has almost NO time to paint.  She's constantly tied up with teaching, rehearsing and organizing recitals at Adams State College (the only four-year college in the San Luis Valley).
    Her husband Jim, an amazingly versatile percussionist, is just as busy since he teaches percussion at ASC and conducts so many ensembles, jazz combos, pep bands and steel drum groups it's scary.  He also plays drums with an Air Force band that tours conflict zones.
    Most importantly, Jim and Tracy are part of a music faculty that's as good as you'll find anywhere.  Seeing them perform in one of Adams State's small theaters is amazing for so many reasons.  If you're one of those who thinks you can only find the real thing in New York, you'll have to rethink everything (if you're capable).  And if you're one of those who always wanted to believe big cities are terribly overrated, and that even the smallest town in the poorest desert has the things that really matter -- and people who work at their art for the right reasons -- you'll breathe a giant sigh of relief.  The thing is, if you don't get choked up when you see Jim and Tracy perform in a beautiful, small theater at Adams State, then you haven't worked hard enough for what you have, you don't know anything about music, and you belong in a giant city, stuck in lines and traffic all day waiting to spend $13 for cup of soup.


October 29, 2008

   
Todd Grayson lives in Alamosa.  Here's his song
Baby Cow.  Eric recorded it at Todd's house last week.  Oh to be a happy baby cow!  Life is simple.  Right up 'til the air-gun through the brain.  But what a great song.  Backup vocals are sung by Todd's wife Luette and Melissa Emminger.

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October 24, 2008 

right click here to download the "everyone but you" movie poster  (don't worry about mailing in the box tops and stuff)

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October 22, 2008 

We can't emphasize this enough, please visit our kind supporters: Elizabeth Arthur, MacyMacy, Jerry Popiel, Jankyvision, Radio Free Colorado,
SLV Dweller, Denver Syntax, AdventureJournalist, the other 'Everyone But You'

 

October 21, 2008 

    10/08 -- Download an interview from 88.7 KRFC (thanks Lex and Andy)
          08/08 -- Someone set up a fan page!!!   Is that phun or what?
          05/08 -- video clip of Q&A at the Indie Spirit Film Festival
          04/08 -- radio segment on
Everyone But You by KRCC's Kate Dawson

    Verdana (the font used above) looks nice.  We might switch to that. Though we'd no longer have a use for this typewriter (which is in perfect working condition).


October 15, 2008 

    Happy Cinco de Señor!!!!

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    Today Señor Chipo turns five.   He was born and raised in the southwest Colorado town of Ignacio.  When he was two, he allegedly snapped at a small child in the household where the universe had placed him (in case you didn't know, small children and Chihuahuas generally don't mix).   So he was turned over to the Ute Moutain Animal Shelter.  In April of 2006, Eric drove to Ignacio to adopt him, and it was only two days until Señor didn't need a leash and would follow Mr. Eric anywhere.  Since then, Señor has become the selectively fearless sheriff of El Rancho Diablito.  We love him like crazy. 
   


October 6, 2008 

    You can't have too many fruits and vegetables in your diet, and you can never over-express gratitude to people who are unduly kind. 
    Our running list for today and all-time (please forgive us and write if you're left out):

    Andy Ard, Steven Bauer, Liz Arthur, Tracy and James Doyle, Miles and Veronica Marlin, Bret Billings, Michelle Le Blanc, Jonathan Richman, Mooga Yoo, Dave Tallent, Dr. Carol Guerrero-Murphy, Matthew Stevens, Bridget Carlin and Bob Kanick, Cevin Cathell, Derrell Durrett, Marisa Burt, Donovan Armijo, Elizabeth Mansfield, Yvette Hamilton, Matthew and Julia Harwood, Frank Galterio, Greg Deuel, J.C. Schroder, Hannah Goerhing, Eric and Holly Graham, Matthew and Veronica Schildt, Tonya Poole, Ranger Jay McBeth, Jerry Popiel, JP Johnson, Jonathan Bitz, Kath Brandon, Karan and Craig Goldsberry, Katey Byrd, Kristen and Robert Speth, Anne Treacy, Ganette Isaacson, Larry Wagg, Annie Troncoso & Gordon Bosa, Laura Klein, Macy Matarazzo, Marilyn Maciel, Matthew Merkovich, Michael Rael, Ron and Virginia Rael, Mick Daniel, Paul and Carlene Bratach, Rhonda Mouser, Shane Iseminger, Don Vasicek and Kevin Yost.

    Thank you very much for your support and kindness.

 

 

October 1, 2008 

    The gold is invading the trees again.  It started a couple weeks ago.  Last weekend Eric filmed the utterly captivating Katey Sleeveless at her home in Chama, CO (just outside San Luis, the oldest town in Colorado).  
    See the video on YouTube below (or click here to download a high-res version)...

 


Septemer 9, 2008 

    Two years ago today, there was a strange party on the San Luis Valley floor, a few miles southwest of Great Sand Dunes National Park.  Under a triangle of hanging lights, a band that had never played together blitzed through the same song over and over.  The sunset was like a movie, and the sky and light were the kind no camera can capture.  When it was dark, a near-full moon rose like a surreal second act.  And a beautiful, perfectly matched couple got up to slowdance right in front of the band.
    Two years can pass like fanning the pages of a short novel.  But sometimes two years is enough for all of earth and sky to turn completely upside down and almost come back to level.  And the only thing you're sure of is what you believed before, only with a another box of junk to sort through.  You still know you're the only person who can decide whether you're being stupid.  And for better or worse, you're still sure everyone else has it wrong, crazy as it seems.



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August 25, 2008 

    From the "truth is stranger" files...

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La Puente stuns Coed Recreation League tourney

    The La Puente co-rec softball team started the season 1-9, getting crushed by an average of sixty-four runs during that stretch.  Catcher Jenna Boostrom (front row, far left) didn't catch a single ball most of the season.  But in the last inning of the championship game, she caught a LASER to home (thrown by first baseman Taylor "Teahen" Little -- top row third from left) to make the second out and kill a potential rally-starting run.  The crowd of twenty in the bleachers erupted like it was Dodger Stadium and Kirk Gibson had done it again.  You've never heard anything like it.  Eric (top row, far left) played a shaky left center and caused his male teammates to gray prematurely with his circuitous routes to every fly ball.  His excuse was foggy glasses and the oversized ball (known as a "softball").  Consensus is La Puente won the tournament because every woman on their roster is hot.

 

August 12, 2008 

    The best you can hope for when peddling your "art" (we hate that word, but it's what most people know) is for someone sharp, experienced and trustworthy to come along and take your baby bird under their wing.  That person sits in a place that has a good view in every direction, and will finally give your little bird a real shot to fly on its own.  "Everyone But You" now has a real booking/distribution agent.  Matthew Stevens, who runs the Kimball's Twin Peak Theater and the Indie Spirit Film Festival has taken on Eric's little movie.  October 1st it plays at the Abbey Theater in Durango.  More to follow.

 

June 26, 2008 

    Andy Ard is one of our favorite people.  We're not sure about our grammar there, but "people" is appropriate because Andy capably plays the roles of satire writer (see Jankyvision.com) singer, songwriter and band frontperson (when he feels like it -- see andyard.com).   But around here, "capably" carries a lot of weight.  We don't mean Andy just gets by.  He's one of those people who really and truly can do whatever he applies himself to.  He also holds a regular job and has a wife and daughter.   So he has all of perhaps an hour a day to fulfill his duties as expert satirist and musician.
    Eric was lucky enough to have Andy down for a visit last weekend.   Andy arrived during the Friday night bonfire.  Below is some video set to Andy's most excellent song "Wonderful."

 

 

June 17, 2008 

    Lupe's full name was Guadalupe Matarazzo Pequeño.  She was 13 1/2 years old when she died June 2nd, 2008.
    Macy adopted Lupe at six weeks from a farm in Iowa.  Lupe was the last Chihuahua left from the litter, and went against every rule Macy heard about buying a puppy.
    Lupe would attack a running vaccuum cleaner, loved ice cream, and despite being plump in her old age, would run like lightning for home when it was dinner time.  We loved Lupe with all our hearts and she was truly one of a kind.

 

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Lupe, we'll never forget you.

 

June 13, 2008 

     It took almost three years, but the other day Eric finally caught an absolutely screaming tailwind on his bike ride home from town. The Alamosa airport's anemometer clocked a gust at 307mph.
    With sincere thanks and respect to the other film festivals that have been kind enough to include
Everyone But You, the Jackson Hole Film Festival is the greatest film festival in the history of the universe.   We're forever indebted to Cevin Cathell, Melanie Miller, Eben Dorros, Jason White, Noam Dorros, Joe Fab and other kind souls who made space in a packed roster of deserving movies for a two-hour documentary about crapping in a trash bag.  Even better, Eric won a Cowboy Award for Best Composer.
     The wonder of winning Best Composer is the insider info we have about a debate among the judges as to the definition of "composer" and "film score." 
Everyone But You has an unconventional musical make-up, but allegedly one of the judges ended the debate with, "Look, which movie had the music that moved you the most?"
     It's funny how your expectations go up and down like the Red Racer at King's Island, until you're just barely hopeful when they start giving out trophies.  Just when you decide to attend the ceremony in your fancy suit, knowing you have no chance, the person at the podium speaks your name into the microphone, and for a moment it doesn't register.  Then all the work you did alone in your basement flashes before you and you're a kid again.  But even better, it's the first time you feel you've actually earned something. And it really is wonderful.
     We're overdue to thank a few most excellent writers for supporting the stupid movie.  Thanks very very much to...

 

James P. Johnson
Clizbiz
A Likely Story
The Valley Courier
Dr. Carol Guerrero-Murphy (Author)

Please check out all the above!!!

 

 

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2008 Jackson Hole Film Festival Cowboy Award winners.   Eric is top row, third from the right.
Justin from Days of Our Lives is front row center. Photo by Michael Caulfield (WireImage).

 

May 23, 2008 

    Two things: we now add lovely columnist Michelle Le Blanc to our list of people to whom we're forever indebted.  Most high-profile film festivals (like Jackson Hole) require a Digibeta copy of each movie (which costs about $500 for a two-hour movie like Eric's).   Michelle was behind an envelope of anonymous donations collected for the purpose of paying for a Digibeta.  Fortunately, Jackson Hole was kind enough to waive the requirement, and the money will only be used for an emergency (like food riots or zombie attack).  Read Michelle's weekly column here.
     Second, Eric managed to piss someone off again.  But the person turned out to be unnecessarily kind and supportive.  There's a blog titled Everyone But You, and Eric's little movie of the same title has caused some confusion/distraction from the blog's Google findability.  Or something like that.  But rather than blast Eric's movie from cyberspace into nothingness, the kind blogger gave an awesome mention of the movie on his site.

 

May 16, 2008 

    There's a girl named Katey Sleeveless who lives in San Luis, Colorado (oldest town in the state) who sings her own songs when she's not herding sheep or doing the non-stop work of tracking the use and levels of the acequias of the surrounding farmland.  The only times we've seen Katey play, she has captivated everyone in the room.  Eric recorded her last weekend and took some video (see it here or below).

 

April 30, 2008 

    Word on the street (actually it's a 4-wheel-drive road on the valley floor, rutted from trucks in spring mud) is the Indie Spirit Film Festival was a knockout.  The whole thing was put on by two guys with day jobs (Matt Stevens and Jim Turner).  Mark our words, these guys will be in demand on the film festival circuit, and the Indie Spirit festival will be huge (if Matt and Jim decide to continue it).  How these two pulled off such a great festival -- alone! -- is beyond us.

 

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Don't mess with Matt and Jim

April 25, 2008 

    Tonight Everyone But You has its official Colorado premiere at the Indie Spirit Film Festival.   The Colorado Springs Independent, Colorado Springs Gazette and Pueblo Chieftain were kind enough to print write-ups.  The CS Indy even put Eric on the cover...

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    AND.........Adventurejournalist.com wrote about the nicest mention possible.  We know a few very good photographers personally, but Tonya's pictures are about the best we've ever seen.  Anywhere.   She'll think we're just saying that to reciprocate her kindness, but it's the plain truth.  Judge for yourself.

 

April 21, 2008 

    There's an online review of Everyone But You by a group who attended the Oxford International Film Festival and watched most of the festival's top-billed features.  Eric says he met them at one of his movie's showings and they were very nice and complimentary.  Thanks very much for saying Everyone But You was your favorite of the festival.
    Reminder: this Friday (April 25th), Everyone But You is the opening night feature at the Indie Spirit Film Festival in Colorado Springs, CO.  THIS WILL BE THE ONLY COLORADO SHOWING FOR SEVERAL MONTHS!!!

 

April 20, 2008 

    The Oxford International Film Festival created an "Emerging Artist" award specifically for Everyone But You after the movie's premiere there last week.  Thanks very much to J.C. Schroder and his insanely hard-working staff for putting together an amazing film festival (with complimentary hotel rooms for directors!).  Eric says he'd forgotten what it's like to have a working shower and cable.  And evidently MTV now has a channel that shows only videos (mtvU.com).   Imagine that.
    We look forward to the video Eric took of Steven Bauer and wife Liz Arthur's farm house in the stunning Indiana countryside.  Steven and Liz are awesome.   Steven is an author and Creative Writing professor at Miami University, and Liz has written approximately 300 novels.  She gave us copies of all of them.
    This week,
Everyone But You kicks off the Indie Spirit Film Festival in Colorado Springs, CO (Friday April 25th at 8pm).  You have to see the Kimball's Twin Peak theater.  Our guess is that anyone who makes a movie dreams that just once it's shown in a beautiful theater like the Twin Peaks.


April 1, 2008 

    The Oxford International Film Festival just called to say Everyone But You will be their opening night feature.  That means people in tuxes and ties will watch Eric crap in a garbage bag.
    Also, the Jackson Hole Film Festival called to say they'll show the movie.  UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon will be at the festival to encourage film executives to spread the word about the urgency of climate issues.
    All anyone wants is a chance.  So we'll be forever grateful to the Oxford International Film Festival, the Indie Spirit Film Festival, and the Jackson Hole Film Festival for giving a chance to a two-hour documentary made by a nobody with a cheap camcorder.

 

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March 6, 2008 

    The Brainy Pretty Girl has left the valley.  And when she did, it tore a hole in the middle of the day and everything that's pretty.  Alamosa and the San Luis Valley as we know them will never be the same.  I'll miss you, Erin.
    So another piece of sad news came with happy news.
Everyone But You has been selected as the opening night feature for the Indie Spirit Film Festival (April 25th, Colorado Springs, CO).  We're ecstatic to be the festival's opening film.  That honor is usually reserved for something good that doesn't suck.

 

February 22, 2008 

    We'd like to assume it's a good sign for Everyone But You that people are suddenly sending money.  Friends who helped screen the next-to-last edit over the past months have been sending checks, completely unsolicited.   We're extremely grateful.  You can't imagine the feeling of getting an unexpected card in the mail every other day with a check for more than most independent musicians make in a month. 
    Maybe it shows in the movie that Eric was flattened by the universe over the past year, and these are gifts of sympathy.  Though in the grand scheme, Eric has everything you could ask (however modest).  Especially with old friends sending money for no reason.  We should all be so lucky.  And we'll add Miles & Veronica Marlin to the list of people we want to pay back in spades (with a lifetime supply of chocolate-chip cookies and Polaroid travel pictures).

 

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Polaroid by Lares

February 20, 2008 

    This just in (with today's mail):  Have faith in people.  If you've ever written a book, recorded an album, or made a movie independently (i.e. with no help or realistic prospect of financial backing or an audience when you finish), you know it's harder and lonelier than anything you could have dreamt.  Every day you feel kicked in the stomach, and it seems half the people you know want you to fail.  You could be imagining it, but you hurt on every surface and it sure doesn't feel imaginary.
    However, if you see the whole thing through, eventually, things begin to change.  And little by little people surprise you with their generosity.  Thanks very much to Steve & Dee Perez, Greg Deuel, Michael Smiley, Liz Arthur and Steven Bauer.


February 20, 2008 

    It happened again.  The day after our last rambling, the air in the valley changed.  Nights are still cold, but yesterday someone was in line at the post office wearing shorts and a t-shirt.   It's funny how quickly a year can slip by.


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February 12, 2008 

    A week-old blanket of snow covering the entire valley floor is postponing the annual "changing of the arctic," where one windy day blasts the entire giant block of icy air over the mountains and onto the plains, where it quickly dissipates into tiny blocks of icy air that are eaten by the ghosts of buffaloes.  Or something like that.  We can't see it, so we can't say for sure.  But that sounds as plausible as any other theory.
    Adventurejournalist.com just posted a review of Everyone But You.  If you want to know how it looks and feels to live in the San Luis Valley, you simply must look at the site.  Tonya's writings and photos capture the seasons and the valley's grandeur through a charming and perfectly imperfect prism of family life.  And seriously, her pictures are stunning.

 

January 29, 2008 

    A few days ago, Eric arrived home to a phone message from someone named Frank Galterio.  Mr. Galterio gushed about Everyone But You and said he'd like to include it in the Kent Film Festival, which he runs.  Eric claims to have been elated beyond words, having spent more than two years making the documentary with no help, and having lost the ability to objectively tell if it's any good.
    The next day, the good people of the Oxford International Film Festival (April 10-13, 2008) wrote Eric to say they'd like to include
Everyone But You in their program as a premiere.  Eric pointed out that the Kent Film Festival is a week before Oxford's.   The Oxford folks agreed to cover Eric's travel and lodging in return for having Everyone But You as a premiere.   So Eric had to call Frank Galterio -- probably the nicest and most complimentary person we've encountered through the whole movie-making ordeal -- and ask him to cut the movie from his schedule.  Great job, Eric.
    Oxford, Ohio is where Eric went to college, and he has relatives nearby he hasn't seen in years.  A paid trip to Oxford also means Eric can treat Steven Bauer (Eric's favorite Creative Writing Professor, and a giant supporter of the movie) to breakfast and the movie's premiere.  It makes us wonder if great news you've been waiting on forever is always paired with something that stings.  We want to thank Frank Galterio for his kindness and understanding.

 

January 21, 2008 

    Now and then Eric says something that makes sense.  Like that it's important to appreciate people who believe in you when you're nobody. We can't adequately express our gratitude to the following people.  Steven Bauer, Liz Arthur, Anthony Calandro, Tia Christine, Brian Ebert, Dave Tallent, Christine Walderhaug, Michael Rael, Trinity & Tom Demask, Mooga Yoo, Angelina Moll, Katey Byrd, Mike Smiley, Marisa Burt, Todd & Barbara Wellman, Marty Jones, Bret Bertholf, Rowena Clark, Eric & Holly Graham, Ranger Jay McBeth, Andy Ard, Laura Klein, Matt Vandermay, Tom Michael, Katherine Shaughnessy, Ron Rael, Annie Troncoso, Gordon Bosa, and Karan & Craig Goldsberry
    There will be a few live dates around the premiere of
Everyone But You (which is in April in Oxford, Ohio).   Keep yourself glued to the "shows" page.  Or whatever it's called.

 

January 9, 2008 

    The exact date and time aren't set, but Everyone But You, the documentary about Eric's downward spiral into oblivion, will premiere in late March at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio.  This is great news since Miami usually spends their visiting artist budget on acclaimed writers like former poet laureate Robert Pinsky and Pulitzer prize winner Natasha Tretheway.

 

January 1, 2008 

    Findlay Ohio, home of the kind souls who provide the text for this site, is TWO HOURS AHEAD of Colorado.  Don't expect anyone here to answer the phone when it's 12:05am mountain time.  Even if it's to say you just finished your movie.  About time, by the way.  Now do something with it already.
    Deep, heartfelt thanks to authors Steven Bauer and wife Liz Arthur for their generous, unsoliticted "grant" to help
Everyone But You find an audience. Sometimes, when you're at the end of your rope, maybe the universe can sense it and allows a small miracle to happen.
    Below is a recent article about the documentary from the Boulder Daily Camera.  Just a thumbnail.  We know you're too busy to read it.

 

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December 26, 2007 

    Everyone But You, the documentary Eric has been making since late 2005, was supposed to be finished a year ago.  But the story took its own turns, and finishing the movie became a story itself.  Eric has belly-ached repeatedly that making a two-hour movie was a monstrously larger task than he expected.  The first edit was finished in late July of 2007.  According to one reliable source, the movie is now 6-8 minutes and one edit away from completion.  Then it will supposedly be submitted to festivals. The only problem is Eric is an unknown filmmaker and too poor to take several $55 gambles on festival screeners not actually reviewing the movie.  He's paranoid about many things, but here we can't say we blame him.
     The good news is the movie has turned out to be the real thing.   Press and blurbs below...

"Everyone But You does a great job, better than almost anything else I've seen, of capturing what it's like to truly be a struggling artist."
   Westword


"Eric is a brilliant writer.  The best literature lets bad things happen to characters we care about, and Everyone But You does this.  It's a moving film that makes you squirm, laugh, cry, reflect, and hope."

    KRFC (Radio Free Colorado)


"Though he doesn't seem to believe it...Shiveley may have a future as a filmmaker."
    Boulder Daily Camera


"Eric Shiveley has made a wonderful and surprising movie
eccentric, disarming, heartfelt, weirdly inspirationalfilled with oddball characters, superb music, stunning Western landscapes and lots of hilarious scene-stealing dogs.  With precise attention to the wounding costs and sublime benefits, he draws a self-portrait of an artist living, in the best American tradition, against the grain, and he does so with scalding honesty and true wit.  I will remember this movie long after all the Hollywood and even indie fare I watch fades from memory."
    Steven Bauer, Miami University (Author -- Daylight Savings and Satyrday)


"Groundbreaking – literally...Shiveley captures the beauty, isolation and potential of the San Luis Valley as he constructs his own studio while surrounded by breathtaking scenery. Hilarious candid and personal moments offer a slice of dwelling in the San Luis Valley as he makes music, falls in love and ponders life."

    SLV Dweller
 

October 8, 2007 

    A three-minute preview of the documentary Everyone But You is now viewable here or downloadable here (the sound is better if you download).
   
   

September 24, 2007 

    Yesterday Eric finished his documentary, Everyone But You.
    It's done, 22 months after Eric bought a cheap video camera and took shaky footage of groundbreaking for his tiny home and studio in the desert.  The movie is 1 hour, 59 minutes long and chronicles the highs and lows of committing yourself to your "art" (we hate that word).  To be fair, there are no real highs documented.  But there are scenes of a Chihuahua humping a stuffed camel.
    Super-giant and sincere thanks to these people for help with the movie and its screenings:  Jerry Popiel, Macy Matarazzo, Erin Kenzie, Jenna Boostrom, Mooga Yoo, Dave Tallent, Michael Rael, Ronald Rael, Tom Michael, Katherine Shaughnessy and everyone who came to the video shoot last September.

   

 

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September 6, 2007 

    Just like that, the first golden leaves appeared in the valley this weekend.  Since we last wrote, the documentary Eric has been working on the past 22 months has been through two screenings -- one in Alamosa and one in Denver.  Right now Eric says there are technical problems holding up the final rendering of the movie.  The following comment is from the Alamosa screening.

"(Eric is) a brilliant writer. It's a gift. Narration is pitch-perfect, delivered by the only guy who can tell the story, and it's marvelously effective.  The best literature lets bad things happen to characters we care about, and Everyone But You does this.  It's a moving film that makes you squirm, laugh, cry, reflect, and hope."
    Dave Tallent, KRFC (Radio Free Colorado)

   

June 23, 2007 

    Colorado Getaways is a show about the out-of-the-way treasures of John Denver's adopted home state.  It airs on CBS4 in Denver.  Today's show will include footage Eric shot of the Alamosa/La Veta steam train.  Hopefully the footage captures how big and intimidating a steam train engine is.


June 11, 2007 

    The first screening of Everyone But You is officially Friday July 20th at 7pm at Milagros Coffee House in Alamosa, Colorado.  A voluntary donation (which goes entirely to the La Puente Home -- a local homeless shelter) is requested.  This is the documentary Eric has been making since he moved to southern Colorado to build a studio in the desert.
    Semi-related, Eric was hired this weekend to film the Alamosa/La Veta steam train.  The footage is tentatively scheduled to air on Denver CBS4's Colorado Getaways in the next week or so.  Helpful hint: do NOT climb under a stationary steam train engine, ever, under any circumstances, even if you don't care what will happen.   Eric wants us to thank the wonderful people at Ethos Media for the opportunity and free train ride.


June 3, 2007 

    There's a moment at every party when suddenly you feel completely alone.  And you remember your German lit teacher from college describing how the text at hand is telling you to cherish these moments.  Actually, you don't think of your German lit class.  That was stupid.   When you're at the party and suddenly everything freezes and you're a little boy again, there's nothing you want but to disappear without being noticed.   You can't move, but every second your insides are being torn up all over again.   And you hate yourself for thinking this wouldn't happen any more.


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May 14, 2007 

    Everyone But You, the documentary Eric has been making for the past 16 months, is close to completion.  There will likely be a single screening within the next few months.  Details by the end of May.   We've seen roughs of most of the movie.  It still needs much fine tuning, but we might have been quick to dismiss what Eric can do with a long-form movie, never having done it before.  Don't get us wrong, he still has his work cut out for him.

May 4, 2007 

    Few things are more important than being a good neighbor (one of the few things we agree with E about).  Recently Eric left town for a couple weeks, and sheet metal he'd left insufficiently covered was tossed like pieces of construction paper by a ferocious windstorm.  Neighbors who moved in while Eric was away picked up every piece and stacked it neatly (beneath twelve concrete blocks).  So think next time before you pre-judge Mormons.
    

April 23, 2007 

    If you ever drive through El Paso in the middle of the night, to the west you'll see a sea of orange, industrial-looking lights.  That's Juarez.  There are no discernible streets, center of town, or patterns.  Just a giant field of dirty yellowish lights that goes all the way to the horizon.  It's enormous.  If you find it riveting and haunting, some might consider you prejudiced, but you're not alone.  Eric says when he stopped in El Paso at 2am to gas up, he asked the woman behind the counter if Juarez is a good place to buy a Chihuahua.  The woman shook her head and said in a forbidding tone, "I don't go over there."

 


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April 12, 2007 

    You're never heard of Bret Bertholf.  If you were to see him at the grocery store you might think he lives in a van.  And you'd probably wonder whether he has access to running water or shampoo.   But if you were to talk with him......well.......it's hard to say.
    So how important could Bret Bertholf be?  Well, if you go to the famous Tattered Cover bookstore in Denver this Saturday at 2pm, Bret will sign a copy of his new book,
The Long Gone Lonesome History of Country Music for you.  Bret wrote and illustrated the book all by himself (without tracing).
    Bret's alter ego, Halden Wofford, will also perform an acoustic set for you with his band, the Hi*Beams.
    Both Bret and Halden have brief but pivotal roles in
Everyone But You, the documentary Eric is currently piecing together from 75 hours of randomly painful footage shot over 14 months.

 

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Bret Bertholf (aka Halden Wofford) in a very serious scene from Everyone But You.

   

March 9, 2007 

    Changing human behavior and lifetime habits is very difficult.  Maybe the hardest thing there is.  We don't think it happens very often.  And we disagree with Eric about many things (recently we ignored a couple things he sent because we knew he'd regret having them posted -- like an essay comparing the pursuit of a record deal vs. selling Arbonne).  But we agree with him that a little practice every day goes a long way.  It's usually what separates a hack from being competent.  In music, the difference can elevate you from of a cesspool of sad, surreal ugliness that 96% of musicians never get to leave.   Because they don't put in 30 minutes a day. 

   

February 23, 2007 

    Straight, unedited text from Eric (he wanted it posted asap for some reason):

    "This morning at 7:29 (by my watch, which is slow I think) I kissed the doggies goodbye, got on the bike and rode to town.  A mile down the road (it's 8 miles to town) I realized I could have gone without the facemask.  Though it's impossible (because the wind won't even start for a few weeks), it feels like spring and summer in the valley are just around the corner.   Eventually, when the snows and spring winds have passed, there's a warm evening when you rush outside to find the source of the first valley thunder of the year, and you get that feeling again and remember why you moved here. I think this place is one of the best-kept secrets anywhere."

    Um, that's nice.  You're welcome for the (nine) corrections.   Just keep working on your little movie.  If we need anything, we'll be in touch.

February 11, 2007 

    Unofficially, the brutal part of the year in the San Luis Valley officially ended four days ago.  There was one more night of -21, then it went away, and there was a distinctly different feel to the air.   Today someone in shorts came into the coffee shop and it wasn't weird or forced.
    Alamosa has a free public skating rink, and if you take your Chihuahuas remember your leashes because Chihuahuas aren't shy about joining the action.
    It's funny why we prefer watching movies on film rather than videotape.  The main reason is film plays fewer frames per second than standard videotape formats (film is 24 vs. video's 30).  That's why film looks less real and more dreamy or detached.  Videotaped action feels like you're right there next to the person, which you'd think is preferable, but we go to the movies to be taken somewhere.  Eric wrote an analogy to bands who wear t-shirts and jeans on stage, but we've already wasted so much of your time.

February 1, 2007 

    For the past month, the average temperature in the San Luis Valley was ten degrees fahrenheit.  Not the average low, but the average daily mean.  For six days in January, Alamosa was the cold spot for the lower 48, despite being just 30 miles from New Mexico.  Imagine the coldest windless night you can.  So cold that even bundled head to toe, standing outside is frightening.  It was 5-10 degrees colder in the San Luis Valley last month.   Under such conditions, heating a trailer to accommodate two Chihuahuas (which are not designed to use the bathroom outside when it's -24) and keeping an audio/video control room running costs $4 a day.
    If you ride your bike to town when it's -21, keep your hands in a fist in your mittens and rest your knuckles on the handlebar.  Not to avoid frostbite, but to avoid carpal tunnel syndrome, which extreme cold seems to catalyze.  It's difficult to play guitar when can't feel your thumb and first two fingertips.
    Eric tells us he's been editing his documentary day and night.  We assume that means he sleeps until noon and puts in a couple hours before eating Little Debbies and and playing Xbox until dinner.
    Eric also said he interviewed local artist Annie Troncoso last week for his documentary.  Annie's paintings are the real thing, and one of her specialties is paintings of field workers, which can be seen around town.  Try finding Annie's work and contact info online.   We think it's cool someone can make a living from her paintings without having a website.


January 3, 2007 

    What do you do when the pipes of your trailer freeze and water won't drain?  We're not asking rhetorically.   Please send suggestions to letters@ericshiveley.com
    Eric says he's spending all his time editing "Everyone But You." He also says sand is the enemy of all things movie-related.  Protect all your gear and Hi-8 tapes far beyond what seems reasonable.  In the San Luis Valley, it takes more than a year to learn how to effectively guard against the wind.  But sand seems to have a delayed effect. So if you get something good on videotape, load it to hard disk asap.
    Below are Don & Lillian (Eric's neighbors) and their house.   Eric Says they're great neighbors.  We think that's far more important than writing a a bunch of melodramatic songs.

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December 19, 2006 

    If you don't mind nights a cold as the arctic, December is a pretty and peaceful time to be in the San Luis Valley.   I guess it's pretty and peaceful regardless.  A couple weeks ago, Eric sent us a rough of the first ten minutes of his documentary.  We'd like to see more.   Specifically, we'd like to see more of the tattooed female singer for Badpenny.   Eric says March 2007 is now his goal for finishing the movie.  A few pictures from the documentary are here.

September 19, 2006 

    Supposedly, shooting for "Everyone But You" (the documentary Eric is making) is almost done.  Below is an image from a video shoot on El Rancho Diablito.  There's a clip of the video on the front page (or here).  Mike Clifford shot some of the video. The song, "Eden's Light" is from the compilation album Eric is (allegedly) putting together called "Point of Failure."  We've been asked to give big thanks to all who helped with the video.   Especially the band (who had to play the song with no reahearsal).  So thank you very much Jerry Popiel, Macy Matarazzo, Andy Ard, James Doyle, Miles Marlin, Doug & Anne Treacy, Bobby & Krysta Lara, Nora Heffernan, Karen Hitchcock, Audrey Simmerman, Marisa Burt, Mike Clifford, Tawney Becker, Michelle Le Blanc, Lisa Dameron and Steven & Jenna.

 

August 10, 2006 

    Eric hadn't sent us anything for almost three months so we wrote him last week.  He replied a couple days ago that he's working non-stop on his house & movie.  He was uncharacteristically brief, which almost makes us worry.  Almost. But he attached a few stills from "Everyone But You" (the documentary he's making that promises to "expose struggling musicians for the useless crybabies they are" -- his words, not ours; but we know one person who fits that description).   A couple pictures from a segment they filmed last week are on the Images page.

May 8, 2006 

    Has it been that long?   Yes.  Yes it has.  Eric sent us pictures of miniature appliances he bought for the miniature house/studio he's building.  But this is the only cool picture he sent.  He wanted us to mention it was $35 for both.
    A new trailer for Eric's little movie is downlaodable from the front page.  The song is by Andy Ard.  We like to refer to Andy as "The Natural."

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__________

March 27, 2006 

    If you didn't notice, there are trailers for the documentary "Everyone But You" on the front page.   Anyhoo, here's how part of Desert Air Recording's home base looks now...

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