Dustin Erhardt

Week One.

Like most artists, music has always been about expression for me. But nothing is ever that simple, there are usually a lot of reasons people play music for a living.

When I first started playing guitar, it was a way to escape my reality. Later on in life, it was a way to get attention. And eventually, it became a way to define myself as a person. My name is Dustin, I play guitar and I sing.

The truth about art, I think, is that it is defined by the creator. Not vice versa. Art is honest. Art is an extension of the person or people who create it. This is something I discovered last year.

I’ve been playing guitar for 13 years and singing since I could speak, yet I didn’t write my first honest song until a year ago. I wrote a song called Break To Open about the regret I had for the horrible decisions I made, and how my heart needed to break before it could open. Break To Open. Get it?

That song whet an appetite for honest music, and I continued to write difficult songs. As hard as this past year has been for me and as much change I’ve endured, I’ve never been more excited for the future and content with the present.

Another confession: I’ve been recording songs and giving them away for free, one at a time, for over 2 years now. I never had any intentions for them, and never expected to make any money or get any traction from them. However, deep down somewhere I have a fear that if I don’t keep releasing songs every few months, people will forget about me and my music. For the record, that’s a terrible reason to make music.

I’m no longer satisfied with only releasing a free song every month or two. I’m ready for something bigger, something deeper, something even more honest. I’m ready to start recording a new project.

So here we are, Week One. I’m not putting any expectations on myself, I’m not trying to sound like anyone else, and I’m not giving myself a deadline. I’m just making music that is an extension of myself. My music is currently under construction, just like I am. I give it away to you because it was given freely to me.

You are all amazing, and I’m inspired by you all the time. Keep in touch.

Dustin