Spring Break
WSU graduate releases debut CD
Connie Scott
Issue date: 4/18/08 Section: Arts and Entertainment
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This May, Erickson will release her independently produced debut CD, "Beautiful Place." As a reflection of the challenges she has faced over the years, the project expresses each struggle and life experience that has a unique and beautiful place in her life.
"Her new CD is highly anticipated by me," said Danielle Vaughn, a singer/songwriter from Huntsville, Utah. "I've had the privilege of working with her in the studio a little, and I love how it is coming together. Her songs will take the listener on a musical journey that transcends this mortal sphere."
Erickson is no stranger to artistic expression. At the age of five, her father began teaching her piano, and she received her first guitar on her 14th birthday. When she started attending WSU, she became heavily involved in visual arts, writing and the musical theater program.
Music has always been a part of her everyday life, and it was this foundation she built upon when writing. At age 21, she encountered some rough times, which led her to pick up the guitar after many years and write her first song. But it wasn't until after she graduated that she realized she had found her path as a musician and songwriter.
"When I started writing and playing the guitar," Erickson said, "my style became more influenced by the folk music I grew up on, but the music I wrote was real safe. I just tried to write and sing pretty songs."
Today, Erickson writes about things that she is struggling with in life and the discoveries she has made through overcoming these trials. Her goal is to tell a story through her lyrics. She said the instruments are secondary and supplementary to her vocals.
"I want to get the message across more than anything," she said.
According to Kyle Hill, owner of Salt Rock Coffee in Ogden, Utah, Erickson sings well, but it is her stage presence and delivery that is so powerful and pulls people in.
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