Search - Tim Erskine :: First Light

In a sense, First Light reflects its creator?s avowed intent to avoid mimicry. Many of the songs are built on a sturdy bed of acoustic guitar, but far from being a modest, homespun effort, the album reflects serious thought, reflection and concerted effort?not to mention serious chops courtesy of Erskine and his band of stellar sidemen. Like Styx and other progressive rock stalwarts, Erskine isn?t averse to draping his arrangements with Technicolor orchestral washes, and like James Taylor, he?s an accomplished fingerstyle guitarist with a gift for melodic invention. But what pulls these disparate elements together is a controlling intelligence and a wariness of excess that keeps even the sprawling, ambitious numbers firmly under control. Ambitious this is, but it never rambles. You might compare it to prime Steely Dan without the heavy dose of irony. "I think people in these times are looking to be reassured," Erskine reflects. "They?re looking for something to believe in?something more than themselves. Artists can provide that connection." "It?s distressing to me what a product music has become; it?s no longer enough to be a musician, you have be an act, and dance and have fireworks and spotlights." Obviously, choreography is not the emphasis here, but the reference to spotlights brings up an intriguing point. A longtime amateur astronomer, Erskine peppers the album with repeated references to the human experience, often set against the milieu of astronomy and observation of the universe. "Yes, that?s true," Erskine agrees with a grin. "My songwriting explores the relationship between humanity and the infinity underneath. As we go about our daily lives, too often we?re unaware of how our existence fits into the scheme of things. Plus," he adds, "it makes problems seem less large if we can think of the bigger picture."