Recent Blog Posts - Dave Von Bieker

Song Story: Wherever You Are
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I wrote Wherever You Are (the first version, at least) around 2007 in the early days of a church I was helping plant. We were a group of hip zealous young people and world-wizened elders wanting to change the world. Or at least the Church. Or at least our selves. I think we succeeded in that l...
Published at Dave Von Bieker
Caught Between the Work and The Waiting
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Last week I woke up and wrote ‘apply for shows’ on my short-list of important to-dos. I set an intention that morning, and somehow, received three new shows from unexpected places. Random emails and facebook messages. So there is effort and there is luck and there are invisible bonds between ...
Published at Dave Von Bieker
Song Stories: Santa Fe
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Santa Fe is a travelogue of longing. For the past five years I have travelled to Santa Fe, New Mexico for an arts and faith retreat called The Glen Workshop. My life has been changed in so many ways by the event, the people who attend and the location. For the first time in the past six years...
Published at Dave Von Bieker
Song Stories: I Waited
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I Waited has always been a dark tune for me. I sometimes tell people this song is about being stood-up by the devil. This is a morning-after-mistake dirge. An ode to that tar-stain darkness that is so hard to wash from your soul after you’ve made a terrible moral choice. Harmed a friend. Told ...
Published at Dave Von Bieker
Hey 2018, This is Where We're Going
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2017 was a big year for me, and I’m ramping things up in 2018. I feel like I’m hitting my stride as a musician, so rather than doing anything totally different, I’ll be doubling down on what has been working, and sharpening my focus. I’ve got four overarching goals; refine my brand, enlarge my...
Published at Dave Von Bieker
Why 2017 Was My Biggest Year in Music So Far
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2017 leaves me a bit tired, but full of gratitude and even awe. So much happened for my music this year, even though I feel like I’m still lacing up my runners to head to the starting line. On days when it feels the race may never begin, it helps to take stock.
Published at Dave Von Bieker
Song Stories: Silent Night
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This track has it's beginnings in my 'day job'. A few years ago I was working for Hope Mission, a homeless shelter and soup kitchen here in Edmonton. They serve hundreds of meals every day, but the holiday meals are the biggest. My job was communications. I did website updates, graphic design...
Published at Dave Von Bieker
Join Our Growing Patreon Community
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It used to go like this; beg for a record contract, get said contract and sign away your rights. To your music. To your time. To your own creative vision. It wasn't always so bad, but there are enough stories in music-business folklore to warn any artist to read between the lines of any reco...
Published at Dave Von Bieker
This is how I feel about the Needle shutting down
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The Needle Vinyl Tavern, one of the most active music venues in Edmonton, closed indefinitely Tuesday night. This situation is sad on so many levels, and things unravelled incredibly quickly.  Perhaps all I really want to say, out loud so I know you hear me, is that this just sucks for so man...
Published at Dave Von Bieker
On Mental Health and Faith Healers
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"To dwell on my painful thoughts was to give them power, and to pray against them was to dwell on them. This is the paradox of prayer and mental illness. It can become a wicked trap, hurting with the very tools that should heal."
Published at Dave Von Bieker
The Opening Act and My First 40
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I had hoped I'd make some new fans of my own through the cross-pollination that an opening gig offers. I did, and this week crossed one more tiny threshold. My email list has now hit 40 subscribers. That's not a big number, but these are some of my best fans. People who are following my story...
Published at Dave Von Bieker
Adobe and Teardrops Playlists Beauty Bright
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I'm happy to announce that my song Beauty Bright is making it to more ears this week thanks to Rachel over at Adobe and Teardrops. I love the name of this alt-country music blog, and am honored to kick off one of her playlists.
Published at Dave Von Bieker
Sharing the Love with Ohestee and Ride the Tempo
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I'm super grateful today. Grateful for those who take the time to listen, and if they like what they hear, pass it on. Grateful for those offering kind words. We put our work out there and it begins to become something else. Every time I hear another person speak about a song of mine, the song...
Published at Dave Von Bieker
Hi-Fives to Pretty In Noise
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Today I got a little SoundCloud love from German music blog, Pretty In Noise. That's rad, and from the looks of things, so are they.
Published at Dave Von Bieker
A Poem for Holy Saturday, Revised
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Last year I wrote a poem for Holy Saturday, with a warning that it was likely not ready for public consumption. This Holy Saturday I've sanded it down a fair bit, and while it is still raw, it gets at something desperate that this day is all about in the cycle of Holy Week.
Published at Dave Von Bieker
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