Barack Obama is going to be the next president of the United States.

To write these words still feels a bit surreal, and perhaps will for a while yet - after the stolen victories of 2000 and 2004, many of us practiced what can only be described as cautious optimism going into election day and far into election night.

But let there be no doubt: Barack Obama is going to be the next president of the United States.

This marks the triumphant end to an epic journey: it’s been four months since Obama became the official Democratic nominee, ten months since he pulled ahead of the pack in the Iowa caucus, 21 months since he announced his candidacy, four years since he was elected to the national senate, twelve years since he was elected to the state senate, twenty years since he entered Harvard Law, 47 years since he was born, 54 years since the Supreme Court passed Brown vs. Board of Education, 145 years since Abraham Lincoln passed the Emancipation Proclamation, 389 years since the first slave boats arrived in the New World.

“It’s been a long time coming,” the new president-elect said in his acceptance speech, paraphrasing the words of an old Sam Cooke song, “but tonight, because of what we did on this date in this election at this defining moment, change has come to America.”

While his words cap the end of one journey, they also mark the beginning of a new one, which is where Obama has been all along. For all of the things that his victory represents both literally and figuratively, it is most importantly a new beginning, one that the likes of this country has not seen for a generation. For many of us who were born too late to experience them firsthand, Obama seems to be spiritual son of John F. Kennedy, Robert F. Kennedy, and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. - a vibrant, charismatic, and inspiring young leader, who, to paraphrase one of these men, is not afraid to dream of the way things never were, and ask why not.

I believe that Barack Obama has the potential to be a great president and I cannot wait until he is sworn in early next year. When it was first announced that he was the projected winner, a cool rush filled me that felt contagious but I couldn’t quite describe. And then it hit me. After eight long years in the desert, my faith in America had returned.

Here’s an amazing new video for my “Obama” song shot by Josh Litwhiler!

Check it out & share it with friends!

Go Obama!

Fer those of you who haven’t run into this yet, Creaky Boards’ frontman Andrew Hoepfner (who plays organ on my record and often plays bass with me live; I, in turn, play bass fer Creaky Boards) has caused quite the sensation with his YouTube clip alleging Coldplay of stealing his song. The story’s been picked up by many places in the past few days, including Rolling Stone online, MTV news online, the Wall Street Journal Online, Pitchfork Media, and even Perez Hilton. It also was ranked yesterday at #6 in the E! Channel’s Daily Top 10, where it aired on television.

Did Coldplay steal from Creaky Boards? Judge fer yerself:

And, in the live clip of the band, you can see yers truly rockin’ out on bass (stage left in an orange shirt)…

Almost a year ago I released my first album, State Street Rambler, which was a big and fun rock and roll record to make in the studio. As things wound at the start of this year, I found working on a project quite different than State Street Rambler — a quiet, modest song-cycle recorded entirely in my room on a cassette tape 4-track recorder.

It’s a song-cycle I’ve been working on for years, literally — some of the songs were new since I’ve been in New York, but most are from when I lived in Boston, or even earlier than that, when I lived in Pittsburgh long ago. Combining my archaic 4-track technology with my state-of-the-art iPod technology, I kept the whole thing feeling free and low-key, as I recorded little pieces of songs and then arranged and rearranged them like cars in a train, taking ones out and adding ones in until I found a running order that suit the project.

The result is Lighthouse, a 10-song, 20-minute EP that contains music written and performed by myself in my room; they were then mastered with loving care by Brian Speaker at SpeakerSonic Studio. No punch-ins, no vocal overdubs, no electric guitars, no bullshit.

To celebrate the release of Lighthouse, I am playing a special show at the Delancey on Friday, May 2nd, with Pittsburgh’s own Triggers (which is only appropriate because the bulk of the Lighthouse song cycle takes place in Pittsburgh). Check ‘em out though cuz they’re well worth yer time: www.triggersmusic.com or www.myspace.com/triggersmusic

The show is 21+ and $8.00, which includes a copy of the Lighthouse EP.

Hope to seeya there!

It’s now officially Super Tuesday and I hope yer all planning to go out’n vote.

This is the most incredible campaign I’ve ever witnessed and I feel so lucky to be alive for it.

As many of you know, I’ve been supporting and working for Barack Obama. Many people have asked me why.

For me, it all comes down to one thing: the war in Iraq. Unlike Hillary Clinton, who initially voted for the measure that initiated the war, supported it when it was popular, and now is calling to end it now that it’s unpopular, Obama has ALWAYS spoken out against this war. He spoke out against it when he was first elected to the U.S. Senate, back when that was considered political suicide, and he is still speaking out against it now.

Furthermore, Obama has won the respect of my four favorite politicians: he has been endorsed by George McGovern, John Kerry, and Ted Kennedy; he has also been highly praised by Jimmy Carter (who doesn’t officially endorse candidates out of respect for his non-profit organizations).

And for those who say that Obama is too inexperienced, I say this: counting his time in the Illinois State Legislature, he has served as a senator for over twenty years; also, as Obama himself has said, this is his time - another 100 more votes over the next four years won’t prepare him any more for this office.

And for those who say that Obama is too young, I say this: at 46, he is already three years older than JFK was at inauguration, four years older than Teddy Roosevelt at inauguration, and the same age as Bill Clinton at inauguration.

These are exciting times to be an American; as John F. Kennedy once spoke of a torch being passed to a new generation, I believe that with Barack Obama, the torch is being passed once again.

Eric.

My good friend Jesse Miksic just finished a video he shot of my song “Sleeping Is a Sucker’s Game”!

Check it out right here:

A special thanks to all of my friends and bandmates who took part in the project, as well as to the kind and supportive people at the Sidewalk Cafe!

Happy New Year!

As many of you know, one of my big concerns over the last year was about the continued devastation in New Orleans, despite the fact that over two years have passed since Hurricane Katrina. To help raise awareness and money, I got together with Annie Crane to make Nowhere to Go, a benefit single that we’ve been selling since the second anniversary of the flood. We were touched to see the support of so many people - old friends and new friends, musicians and coworkers, family members and strangers - who purchased copies of the single, made their own donations through us, and came to our special benefit concert a few weeks ago.

Now as the year changes over, we were able to donate well over $350.00 to the Preservation Resource Center of New Orleans’ “Rebuilding Together” program, which has the mission “to preserve and revitalize houses and communities, assuring that low-income homeowners, particularly those who are elderly and disabled, can live in warmth, safety, and independence.”

For more information, please check out www.prcno.org/programs/rebuildingtogether/ and see the great work PRCNO is doing.

We also still have a bunch of copies of the the benefit CD if anyone is interested in buying a copy. Please e-mail me at ericwolfson at hotmail.com for more information. Even if you live far away, we would be happy to cover the postage from our side!

So thanks again for everyone’s help and support. Let’s hope that 2008 is a year in which we can see some change for the better in New Orleans.

I have three very special shows coming up that you should all be aware of, within 48 hours of each other:

- On Friday, December 14th, I’m playing a solo show at the American Folk Art Museum in Midtown Manhattan (right next to MoMA).

- On Saturday, December 15th, I’m playing a special duet set with Annie Crane as part of a Katrina Benefit Show we’ve put together at the Creek and the Cave in Long Island City.

- On Tuesday, December 18th, I’m playing a full-band set for my own Christmas/Birthday show at the Sidewalk Cafe!

The first show is entirely free; the second is $5.00 with ALL proceeds going to victims of Hurricane Katrina…AND you get a free copy of the “Nowhere to Go” benefit EP that Annie and I made to raise awareness of the victims; the third show is free with a two-drink minimum.

Please check out my Shows page for more information on both.

I’ve got a very special show coming up at Borders Bookstore in Midtown Manhattan to celebrate the store selling my album, State Street Rambler! The performance takes place Thursday, October 18th, at 7:00 PM and it’s gonna be full-band, all ages, and entirely free and open to the public.

Borders is at 461 Park Avenue at 57th Street and the event will be happening on the basement level; it should be fairly obvious where to go once you’re down there…for more information, click here

And be sure to check out my “Shows” page to find out about some more cool performances I have coming up, including one at the Greenpoint Reformed Church and one at the American Folk Art Museum!

Welcome to the new home of ericwolfson.com!

I’ve finally gotten a chance to update my website to include all the of music I’ve been up to upon moving to New York City. This is not a mere replacement of the previous incarnation of ericwolfson.com - which solely contained my artwork - but rather, a fuller and more well-rounded picture of what I’m up to (and for those of you keeping track, the original ericwolfson.com is preserved in the “Art” category of this website).

As many of you know, most of my recent time has been devoted to music, and this new website reflects it. On this site you can find MP3 clips of some of my songs, links to buy my album, upcoming shows, and, for the first time, full lyrics to the State Street Rambler album. I have also created a “Writing” category where there are articles that I have written for various local publications.

All of this was made possible by the hard work of two very good friends of mine, Becca and Patrick Connors. I thank them very much for all the time and support they have given me - not just in putting up this new website, but in everything they’ve done for me over the past few years that I’ve known them. Two more kind, trustworthy, and giving people would be hard to find.

So thanks for swinging by the site and be sure to keep checking back for various updates!