Eileen Bernstein

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She's A Little Bit Country
Author(s): Sandy Friedman Special to the Jewish Times Date: March 18, 2005 Section: News
Take your typical suburban mom with a husband and two children, a house with a nice green yard and a family car in the carport. Then, add an ear for country music, a heartfelt way with lyrics and a bit of a twang, and you've got a recipe for Columbia's Eileen Bernstein.
Mrs. Bernstein is working her way onto the crowded stage of country music with songs that make you want to tap your toes, along with touching melodies that grip your heart with their expressive lyrics.
It's the storytelling that draws you into each song, whether it's lighthearted as in Mrs. Bernstein's award-winning "She's Got Her Way," or somber as in her favorite song," In Love We Trust."
"One thing I've learned is that if it's too personal, people can't relate to it," Mrs. Bernstein says." You want to try to tell a personal story in a universal way, which isn't so easy."
It was the clever word-play that drew Mrs. Bernstein toward country music 10 years ago when she found that she had a talent for writing. She says she realizes most people don't think of country music as being intellectual, but she claims it really is.
"There is a lot of reading between the lines, but it still talks about real life and things that people can relate to everyday," she says. "It's not so out there that you can't understand what's going on."
While Mrs. Bernstein sings and plays the piano, guitar, string bass and flute, her favorite thing about her music is writing the lyrics.
"Without writing, you don't have any material," she says," It's just so exciting to come up with something where there was nothing before."
Mrs. Bernstein creates that something- by using real life experiences that she or other people have gone through as her inspiration. She wrote "In Love We Trust" after Hurricane Isabel in September 2003 flooded hundreds of homes including her own, washing away years of mementos and memories.
"I just saw how so many people's lives can be changed, and they can still make it. I think there's a lot of hope that I try to convey in the song, and I think that's why I love it so much," she says.
Her love of songwriting fits in well with her other role of wife and mother to two young boys, Matthew, 8, and Joel, 4. Her husband, Richard, an engineer at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Lab, says his wife's country career took him by surprise at first but over the years he's become very proud of her.
Mrs. Bernstein likes the way her children go around singing her songs. "It's nice to know that at least now, before they become teenagers, they are proud of mommy," she says.
The family belongs to Calah Congregation in Columbia, an unaffiliated congregation of about 45 families. Mr. Bernstein is currently the shul's president of the board of directors, and the family is active and happy at Calah.
"It's small, so everyone is very close, but we're always looking for new members," Mrs. Bernstein says.
Although she doesn't include any direct references to Judaism in her music, Mrs. Bernstein says many of her themes are based on the morality of her religion.
"Just the idea of trying to relate to people's experiences comes from Judaism. Hopefully, it will make people feel better, knowing there's somebody out there that's trying to understand what they're going through," she says.
The quiet hours before her family wakes up or after they go to bed are the times Mrs. Bernstein settles in to get the best of her songwriting done. She says if she's lucky and her children's schedules cooperate, she'll sometimes squeeze in a few minutes during the day.
Once she gets something down on paper, and the draft gets recorded, it's only the beginning of the process. Mrs. Bernstein says she takes her material to workshops to get it critiqued, and then she begins the task of re-writing it until she gets just what she wants.
The workshops, sponsored by local and international singer and songwriter organizations, are invaluable to aspiring artists like Mrs. Bernstein. They provide help with lyrics and melodies, ideas on how to deal with publishers and are a great opportunity for networking with others in the business.
Mrs. Bernstein just came back from a trip to Nashville for a National Song-writers Association International workshop. She attended four days of classes with hit song writers and others in the industry, and met with publishers who critiqued her work.
Over the years, the publishers and record companies have been very encouraging to Mrs. Bernstein.
"Even though they couldn't use what I've sent them, they keep the door open and say to get some practice, work on it some more and call them again," she says.
To that end, Mrs. Bernstein has enjoyed success, winnin - Baltimore Jewish Times - March 18, 2005

Jewish Times Archives

THIS STORY HAS BEEN FORMATTED FOR EASY PRINTING
________________________________________
The article you requested is displayed below.
She's A Little Bit Country
Author(s): Sandy Friedman Special to the Jewish Times Date: March 18, 2005 Section: News
Take your typical suburban mom with a husband and two children, a house with a nice green yard and a family car in the carport. Then, add an ear for country music, a heartfelt way with lyrics and a bit of a twang, and you've got a recipe for Columbia's Eileen Bernstein.
Mrs. Bernstein is working her way onto the crowded stage of country music with songs that make you want to tap your toes, along with touching melodies that grip your heart with their expressive lyrics.
It's the storytelling that draws you into each song, whether it's lighthearted as in Mrs. Bernstein's award-winning "She's Got Her Way," or somber as in her favorite song," In Love We Trust."
"One thing I've learned is that if it's too personal, people can't relate to it," Mrs. Bernstein says." You want to try to tell a personal story in a universal way, which isn't so easy."
It was the clever word-play that drew Mrs. Bernstein toward country music 10 years ago when she found that she had a talent for writing. She says she realizes most people don't think of country music as being intellectual, but she claims it really is.
"There is a lot of reading between the lines, but it still talks about real life and things that people can relate to everyday," she says. "It's not so out there that you can't understand what's going on."
While Mrs. Bernstein sings and plays the piano, guitar, string bass and flute, her favorite thing about her music is writing the lyrics.
"Without writing, you don't have any material," she says," It's just so exciting to come up with something where there was nothing before."
Mrs. Bernstein creates that something- by using real life experiences that she or other people have gone through as her inspiration. She wrote "In Love We Trust" after Hurricane Isabel in September 2003 flooded hundreds of homes including her own, washing away years of mementos and memories.
"I just saw how so many people's lives can be changed, and they can still make it. I think there's a lot of hope that I try to convey in the song, and I think that's why I love it so much," she says.
Her love of songwriting fits in well with her other role of wife and mother to two young boys, Matthew, 8, and Joel, 4. Her husband, Richard, an engineer at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Lab, says his wife's country career took him by surprise at first but over the years he's become very proud of her.
Mrs. Bernstein likes the way her children go around singing her songs. "It's nice to know that at least now, before they become teenagers, they are proud of mommy," she says.
The family belongs to Calah Congregation in Columbia, an unaffiliated congregation of about 45 families. Mr. Bernstein is currently the shul's president of the board of directors, and the family is active and happy at Calah.
"It's small, so everyone is very close, but we're always looking for new members," Mrs. Bernstein says.
Although she doesn't include any direct references to Judaism in her music, Mrs. Bernstein says many of her themes are based on the morality of her religion.
"Just the idea of trying to relate to people's experiences comes from Judaism. Hopefully, it will make people feel better, knowing there's somebody out there that's trying to understand what they're going through," she says.
The quiet hours before her family wakes up or after they go to bed are the times Mrs. Bernstein settles in to get the best of her songwriting done. She says if she's lucky and her children's schedules cooperate, she'll sometimes squeeze in a few minutes during the day.
Once she gets something down on paper, and the draft gets recorded, it's only the beginning of the process. Mrs. Bernstein says she takes her material to workshops to get it critiqued, and then she begins the task of re-writing it until she gets just what she wants.
The workshops, sponsored by local and international singer and songwriter organizations, are invaluable to aspiring artists like Mrs. Bernstein. They provide help with lyrics and melodies, ideas on how to deal with publishers and are a great opportunity for networking with others in the business.
Mrs. Bernstein just came back from a trip to Nashville for a National Song-writers Association International workshop. She attended four days of classes with hit song writers and others in the industry, and met with publishers who critiqued her work.
Over the years, the publishers and record companies have been very encouraging to Mrs. Bernstein.
"Even though they couldn't use what I've sent them, they keep the door open and say to get some practice, work on it some more and call them again," she says.
To that end, Mrs. Bernstein has enjoyed success, winnin - Baltimore Jewish Times - March 18, 2005

Artist: Eileen Bernstein
CD: The Wind is Gone
Hometown: Columbia, Maryland
Genre: Country
Eileen Bernstein would make a great performer at a spiritual retreat or self-empowerment
seminar. Her songs, whether sad or upbeat, come from a place of lessons learned. We
get songs about what really matters in life (“Searchin’ for Cloud Nine”), feeding the spirit
as well as the body (“Daily Requirements”), and life assessment at age 30 (“Spring
Cleaning”).
The whole time I was listening, I couldn’t help comparing her to North Carolina’s Jamie
Anderson, who’s also been featured on this site. Same spunkiness and bluntly-stated
lyrics, same dry and often self-effacing humor. While Anderson comes from more of a
folk music place, Bernstein is pure country rock with a twang to match.
I kept jotting down lyrics that jumped out at me. She’s living life “somewhere between
reality and [her] dreams.” When looking for what’s real and natural in life, she’s “going
to the country to drink a glass of rain.” I’m not surprised she won a 2004 Song of the
Year award. She does make quite an impression.
She sounds like she’s having the most fun in honky-tonk stompers like “Spring
Cleaning,” and that’s where she really shines. The ballads can be a little heavy, and her
voice works best when she’s not reaching for notes, but these are minor complaints. She
also shines when she’s experimenting with sound, such as the lush piano work on the title
track. These songs may have a common theme, but they don’t sound the same.
If you care to disagree, she’ll go ahead and put you in your place with “Get a Life,” a
great opener. Trust me, this is not a woman to trifle with.
http://www.peakandvalleymusic.com
- Indie Music Review