Erin Cole-Baker
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Erin Cole-Baker

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Band Folk Singer/Songwriter

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"Erin Cole-Baker Releases Album at Liberty Theatre"

Erin Cole-Baker Releases Album at Liberty Theater
Author: Staff Writers , BendNights.com


Erin Cole-Baker brings a little sunshine to your life.
here’s something about Erin Cole-Baker. It’s her music. It’s that amazing smile when she sings. It’s the way she takes control of her audience without their consent. It’s a lot of things.

My love of ECB’s music began as most of us in Bend when she was with The Erins. The acoustic-folk duo was comprised of ECB and Erin Zurflu. Together they made beautiful music. Then one day it was off to medical school for Zurflu.

Now, after recently completing her eight-day French tour, she’s back in Bend and ready to launch her solo album, “Talon and Spur.”
The music she creates is full and passionate. Her voice is a parallel tone to her acoustic guitar, feeding off each other to create a warm note of audible contentment. It’s a little wordy, but that’s the only way I could paint the picture.

Experience the ECB this Saturday at Liberty Theater in Downtown Bend. The show starts at 7pm. Buy tickets now at Ranch Records and Backporch Coffee Roasters for $10 or at the door for $12. Special guest Casey Parnell opens the show.
- bendnights.com


"CD review"

"Cole-Baker's many skills are evident on her recent album “Talon and Spur,” most notably her penchant for delicate, delectable melodies sung by one of the best voices in town. Her songs are simple wonders, a blend of acoustic Americana music and the winsome indie-folk of artists like Sufjan Stevens and The Weepies." - Ben Salmon The Bulletin - The Bulletin


"The best local releases"

At no time in recent history have Central Oregon musicians been as prolific as they were this year. The field of local recordings was impressive, and here are the 10 that stand out from the pack.
Published: December 18. 2009 4:00AM PST

Erin Cole-Baker, ‘Talon and Spur'

The world can be sweet and sad and confusing and rad, sometimes all at the same time. Local folk-pop machine Erin Cole-Baker leaves none of it out, pouring her heart into simple, catchy tunes that feel like tiny peeks into the mind of someone who breathes in all of life's quirks, both good and bad.
- Ben Salmon The Bulletin


"The next step"

The next step
Erin Cole-Baker spreads her wings with ‘Talon and Spur'
By Ben Salmon / The Bulletin
Published: December 11. 2009 4:00AM PST

Erin Cole-Baker was born in California, raised in New Zealand, moved back to America to make music her career and ended up in Central Oregon because of a folk festival (with a six-month detour on the East Coast prompted by, yes, the pursuit of music).

There are a few things — family, faith, her husband Bruce — that help determine Cole-Baker's path. And music is right there every step of the way.

“I will be playing music for the rest of my life,” says the banner across the top of her Web site, www.erincolebaker.com.

For Cole-Baker, 28, playing her songs — which she'll do Saturday in Bend (see “If you go”) — is about more than money or fame. It's about pursuing a passion and being happy. Her time on the East Coast and immediately after was marked by bouts with depression, and she believes her new album, “Talon and Spur,” can be a beacon for others who fight similar battles.

“I think that most of my songs tie into that kind of theme of keeping on track or just living life with vision,” she said. “I think that when you're following what you're good at and you're passionate about, that helps other people to look at that and go, ‘Wow. I can do that too. It's possible to do what I love.' And I think that makes the world better.”

Inspirational aspects aside, Cole-Baker's tunes make the world better. She grew up in a musical family and learned to play piano at a very young age, and she started writing songs on guitar while in college. Since then, she's gone all Genghis Khan on a line of instruments, conquering the banjo, mountain dulcimer and baritone ukulele.

Cole-Baker's many skills are evident on “Talon and Spur,” most notably her penchant for delicate, delectable melodies sung by one of the best voices in town. Her songs are simple wonders, a blend of acoustic Americana music and the winsome indie-folk of artists like Sufjan Stevens and The Weepies.

Or, they were. They still are, sort of.

But on the new album, Cole-Baker and co-producer Steven Tate (of Steve's Drum Studio on Wall Street) pumped up the arrangements a bit, playing percussion, upright bass and mandolin and bringing in Nashville-based guitar wizard Tim May to work six-string magic.

The result is music that's a tad punchier than Cole-Baker's previous solo work and the album she cut as part of The Erins, a duo she shared with Bend native Erin Zurflu until Zurflu moved to Washington, D.C., in 2007.

“With this album I was a little bit nervous about how people would react to it because the stuff that I've done in the past has been really minimal and stripped back,” Cole-Baker said. “Steven (Tate) was just super-encouraging with my songs. I know what I don't like when I hear it, but it's hard for me to say what I do want on a song because I'm kind of just used to hearing myself.

“Steven was just trying to help me sort out what I was doing with my music,” she said. “He wanted to get (the songs) fresh, with that essence (they have) when you first write them, and I was like, ‘No way, I need to practice.' But the ones we recorded that way I'm really happy with.”

There are a couple of classic, minimal Cole-Baker numbers on “Talon and Spur,” too. Overall, she says she's “really pleased with how it came out.”

Now the question is: What next? Cole-Baker is just back from a three-week tour of France, and she plans to head back to New Zealand early next year to release the CD there and hang out with her family, which is growing, she said.

“It's getting harder and harder to be away from home. I've got nieces and nephews being born and parents getting older,” she said.

At the same time, “we love Bend. We have a good group here,” she said. “I can just imagine if we go home more full time we'll be, like, ‘Ugh. We miss Bend.'”

She even wrote a song about that feeling; “Stuck In the Middle,” like most of Cole-Baker's songs, deals with life's trials and triumphs and staying true to one's heart.

So far, that method hasn't let her down. She looks back at her path so far and has no regrets, no matter how many times it hops across the globe.

“I don't have any more money than I ever used to, but does that matter? I love what I'm doing,” she said. “I'm always going to be playing music, to my grave.”

Ben Salmon can be reached at 541-383-0377 or bsalmon@bendbulletin.com.

ARTICLE ACCESS: This article is among those available to all readers. Many more articles are available only to E-Edition members. Sign up today! - The Bulletin


"A Subtle Step Forward: Erin Cole-Baker"

A Subtle Step Forward: Erin Cole-Baker
Wednesday, 09 December 2009 11:15 Mike Bookey
Erin Cole-Baker

Talon and Spur

Erin Cole-Baker has earned her stripes in Bend’s local music scene. As one half of The Erins, Cole-Baker displayed strong songwriting capabilities and an ability to fit in well with different folk styles. Now, with her solo release Talon and Spur, we hear what seems like a matured songwriter whose songs are solidly structured and lyrically unique. The album proves one of the most complete folk-oriented offerings to come out of Central Oregon in recent memory. Rooted in Americana, the record also echoes the indie acoustic vibe that’s been blowing up in Portland for the past few years.

Talon and Spur opens with “Start All Over Again,” an impressively subtle number that gives us the first sign that Cole-Baker has taken a huge skip forward in the past couple years. “Morning Spell” features gorgeous lyrics that seem steeped in personal experience – of which Cole-Baker has plenty.

She was born in California, but grew up in New Zealand, the accent from which she still proudly carries (at least when speaking). These days, she travels extensively, and actually spent the past few weeks leading up to her album release touring in France. Her website indicates she’ll be soon heading to New Zealand for some homecoming shows, as well.

For the most part, Talon and Spur is marked with acoustic mellowness, but when she borrows a title from John Hughes with “Trains, Planes and Automobiles,” she takes it up a notch – not much, but enough to tap your toe – and this is where she’s at her best, and it’s easy to imagine how it would sound on stage, where we hope to see more of her as she piggybacks off this strong offering.
- The Source Weekly


Discography

Talon and Spur 2009
The Year of Hello and Goodbye - The Erins 2007
Song for Roy 2005

Photos

Bio

Erin Cole-Baker is a Usa born, Whangarei New Zealand raised singer/songwriter who has been living in Oregon for the last six years playing her music and making albums.

Her songs are simple wonders, a blend of acoustic Americana and indie-folk style of The Weepies and Brandi Carlile, a bit of sunshine through the clouds.

Cole-Bakers last album 'Talon and Spur' has been dubbed "one of the most complete folk-oriented offerings to come out of Central Oregon in recent memory" and described as "echoeing the indie acoustic vibe that’s been blowing up in Portland for the past few years." by The Source Weekly. She kicked of the release of Talon and Spur late 2009 with a tour in France, shows in Oregon, California and New Zealand and has recieved spins on Radio New Zealand and in Oregon.

'Big Sky', Erin's latest album is in the works and is due to be released in the Oregon Spring time.