I was born in a little farming town in south eastern Minnesota; the second oldest of five kids raised in a small one and a half story house on the edge of town by hardworking, good hearted parents. It was a little crowded but we managed. My mom liked country music and hymns, and sometimes she’d play piano at our church, where we all went every Sunday without fail. I used to plink away on her piano occasionally, but I never learned to play it. Too bad.

I wrote my first song at age 11. I actually re-wrote the lyrics to the Royal Guardsmens “Snoopy and the Red Baron”, and sold them to my classmates for a nickel a copy. I never paid the Guardsmen any royalties so I suppose it’s also the first time I broke the law. I didn’t write another song for 20 years.

During those two decades I would fall in and out of love with various women, the theatre,
( I wanted to be an actor when I was a teenager), Jesus, school, etc., and would also fall in and out of favor with employers, school, the law,( minor stuff), family and friends, etc. It’s been a bit of a rocky road.

I wrote my second song to impress a woman who fronted a popular country/rock band in
La Crosse WI. She played several instruments and had a great voice. She didn’t like the song, or me, but my friends were impressed and they encouraged me to write more. It was then I decided I should learn to play an instrument, ( I wrote the first song without such benefit), and
a friend gave me an old guitar. I taught myself maybe 10 chords and a chicken scratch sort of picking style. It works well enough, I guess.

After another several years of in and out of love and favor and so forth, I made my first CD, Lotto Jesus. I didn’t like it much, but it did garner my songs the TimeOut London review you see plastered over the front of my webpage. I must say I couldn’t have said it any better myself.

Since songwriters always seem to get asked about their influences I suppose I should try to
nail down mine. Like I said I listened to a lot of country music growing up, along with a lot of hymns, the Beatles, Dylan and Springsteen, and I enjoyed the novels of John Steinbeck and Ray Bradbury, so there you have it. Which brings us to the present.

PleasantVille is the culmination of these influences. Buy it, give it a listen, and I’m certain you’ll quickly agree. It’s part Hank/Bob, part Jesus, part Steinbeck, Lennon and Bruce, and part Ray. How can you go wrong? And if you truly want to get to know me further, read my bi-monthly column, “From the Bottom Rung”. It’s my chance to say what’s on my mind, and
your chance to find out what it is.

Steve Carlson
11-6-07