Inspired by a life-altering experience, Erin Stoble reflects on her path to music, blending personal stories with a desire to inspire change through her folk songs.
Today we have the pleasure to have Erin Stoble on Goathead!
GH: Hi Erin, glad for you to be here. What inspired you to become a songwriter?
Erin Stoble:I was originally inspired to become a songwriter after graduating from the University of Vermont. My boyfriend and employers committed me to a behavioral health hospital for psychiatric evaluation upon graduation, and a friend brought a Walkman and some cassette tapes for me to listen to while in the psych ward. I chose to listen to Melanie’s Greatest Hits and believed that the Bohemians in Burlington had gotten together to sing for me on the tape. I didn’t realize she was from Woodstock, and I had a psychotic episode listening to both sides A and B on repeat for the duration of my stay. When I was released, my mother took me away from my boyfriend’s home and brought me back to New Jersey. I had been accepted to graduate school at Queens College in NYC to start my career as an English professor, which was Plan A. That didn’t work out, so I deferred my acceptance and began Plan B: to become a songwriter like Melanie, whose music helped me lose my mind and recover, just like I believed college students could. I dreamed of becoming a Woodstock legend.
GH: What’s your experience with performing live so far?
Erin Stoble: I haven’t gigged much in my music career yet, but I did perform at West Philly Porchfest, a great tradition in my neighborhood, every June in 2022 and 2023. I enjoyed performing so much in 2023 that I had a video taken of the entire performance. I was able to rip the audio from the video file and release a live album. This performance is something I’ll never forget, and I think it’s precious that this memory became my first album release.
GH: How do you go about writing songs?
Erin Stoble: Currently, I write songs in one of two ways. Sometimes I’m very thoughtful about my words and start with lyrics from the poetry I’ve written. If I like the lyrics, I’ll try to come up with a chord progression that reflects the mood of the lyrics and the emotion I want to convey.The other way I write is by just playing my guitar and starting to sing. The poetry comes to me as if I were having a conversation with someone. No matter which way the song is created, I always tape a video of myself singing the song the first or second time through so I don’t forget the melody. Right now, until I start playing piano, I don’t compose by writing notes on a staff. Instead, I teach myself the song over and over from the original version.
GH:How has your songwriting evolved over time?
Erin Stoble: Early on in my songwriting, around the time of Occupy Wall Street, I was motivated to write lyrics about the news. I was very moved when President Obama won, and I wrote the song Angels Change at that time. As I got older and returned to songwriting in Philadelphia, I began writing more about my emotions and personal story. I learned at UVM that "the personal is political," so I still classify myself as a folk singer who hopes to bring about change through my music.
GH: Any new exciting projects coming up?
Erin Stoble: Many more, planning to release two songs next year and in December I am dropping an exciting collaboration with Producer and Artist ASTRØMAN who remixed "Believe Me"
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