Eriksen was a founding member of Cordelia's Dad.
Tim EriksenTim Eriksen, founding member of the seminal Valley band Cordelia’s Dad, will celebrate the season with a performance at the Iron Horse Music Hall in Northampton on Saturday night. Eriksen will be playing selections from “Star in the East” his recently released collection of Christmas music.
“I never thought of making a Christmas album, but I love these songs and since I was playing them around the house at random times throughout the year my wife suggested I record them for people,” said Eriksen. “I got excited about making something that was intimate and home made on a number of levels, and then I got excited about releasing it in a very limited and local way. I think Star in the East is the first thing I’ve released since I was nineteen that doesn’t even have a bar code.”
On “Star in the East” Eriksen delivers a sparse, yet powerful and moving interpretation of the sacred songs of the winter season. Songs like “Angels We Have Heard on High,” “The First Noel,” and “Silent Night” are inspiring.
“Whatever you think about Christmas, winter is intense, birth is intense and Jesus is intense, so it’s odd that the associated music is often so bland,” Eriksen said. “To me ‘Star in the East’ feels kind of like building a fire out in the woods on a really cold night. I had that feeling while I was recording and the songs just followed.”
The work is not aimed at firing up faith, but has that type of impact nonetheless.
“I imagine ‘Star in the East’ as unapologetically sacred music for an unapologetically inclusive audience,” Eriksen said. “I’m not interested in changing anyone’s mind, just in showing them something good.”
The holiday music genre has been tackled by everyone from Alice Cooper (“Santa Claws is Coming to Town”) to the late Warren Zevon (“The Christmas Song”) but Eriksen wasn’t concerned about jumping into the fray.
“I love the fun, the challenge and surprise of taking something people may be tired of and finding something new and beautiful in it,” he said. “Sometimes it’s just a matter of removing layers of goo that have accumulated over the years.”
Eriksen’s show at the Iron Horse is Saturday, Dec. 16 at 7 p.m. Tickets are $15 in advance and available at the Northampton Box Office at (413) 586-8686.