NEW ALBUM OUT NOW

SONGS FOR TIMES LIKE THESE

Songs For Times Like These, Erin Keller's sophomore release, is a bold political statement about the need for us as humans to unite in love and peace to make the world a better place. It features The James Ward Band with James Ward on bass, Jaylen Ward on drums, and Angela Ward on keyboards. Their groovy sound holds it down, lending a funky foundation to Keller's powerful words and soaring melodies. The album starts with "The American Dream", a disco-inspired call for humanity including a rap from Keller herself. Next is "Gotta Get the White Stuff Out", a soulful song about sex and racism. Then "I Am Someone In My Phone" is almost a musical theater number, which evolves into an almost punk song, making light of how we are so dependent on our smartphones as a society. It has a hook you will never forget! "Lord the River, It's a Billycane" is about global warming and how we'll have to get through it together and features Chad Meise on a rocking guitar solo. Then "Open Your Hearts and Minds Motherfuckers", a song Keller wrote over 20 years ago, comes on smooth with a reggae feel and cathartic words. Lastly, is "You Can Feel It In The Air", the most complex song on the album. It talks about right wing media and how we can't let ourselves be defeated by their lies and ends with an epic message of hope and love. Songs For Times Like These is for everyone that believes in love. If you've been feeling disillusioned about the world, this record might make you feel seen and heard and give you a positive outlet for your frustrations.

DISTRACTED

This album includes a brash political statement, sentimental love songs, a loungey excursion into existentialism, a lovely bossa nova, and a free jazz improvisation based on the words of a ho'oponopono prayer. The first track “But don’t forget…,” written by Erin Keller and featuring Mark Southerland on Tenor Saxophone, takes the listener on a journey from inside the mind of someone very frustrated and overwhelmed with the outside world to an eventual realization that “We need to love each other and not hate!” “Distracted,” the title track, also by Erin Keller, is a love song about someone who distracts herself from her reality in order to render her life more manageable. The album then proceeds into unique arrangements of jazz standards. These arrangements by Erin Keller give these songs a fresh voice while at the same time remaining rooted in the honored jazz tradition. Erin Keller performs notable improvisational solos on the tracks, “Agua de Beber,” “Bye Bye Blackbird,” and “All Blues,” showcasing her authentic connection to the jazz idiom. “Azure,” a tune by Duke Ellington, is a breezy escape to a lounge on a tropical oasis where it’s okay to be “blue.” “Moonlight in Vermont,” a truly beautiful jazz standard, provides a different getaway, one in the stillness of the snowy mountains. All of these tracks feature musicians of the highest caliber: Stephen Martin on Tenor Saxophone, Andrew Ouellette on Piano, Seth Lee on Bass, and Brian Steever on Drums. Based in the vibrant jazz scene of Kansas City, these players exemplify the language of jazz and its historical evolutions. The final track “Prayer” is a live recording of a spontaneous free jazz improvisation featuring Mark Southerland on Tenor Saxophone, Catie Rodgers on Trumpet, Jeff Shirley on Guitar, Micah Herman on Bass, and Arnold Young on Drums. Based on the text of a ho'oponopono prayer, the track is a ride of weird emotional realness, expressing the strife and struggle of being a human being.

I hope you enjoy the unique combination of performances and styles that is “Distracted." It is a musical mirror of my own life as it is now and the world around me as it has become.