Interestingly, the majority of the songs on local singer-songwriter Eryn Bent’s 2024 album Blush were written some years ago—roughly when the singer was 18 or so. Something about their rawness spoke to Bent when she revisited them as an adult, and the rest is history. With an upcoming show at Unit B featuring Bent’s full band (including locals drummer Thomas Primozic, guitarist Clay Norris, bassist Andy Primm and Tony-winning pianist David Geist), we wanted to check in and see how the whole singin’ for a livin’ thing is going. This interview has been edited for clarity and concision.
(Alex De Vore)
You tend to be very vulnerable and open in your lyricism. Does this mean you almost need to get hurt or get out there and tussle for inspiration?
I always say I have enough from throughout my lifetime to draw from, but I continue to be a happy person. I think…yeah, it’s certainly easier to write when you’re heartbroken or when shit’s going on, but I have evolved into a place where I want to be a happy, stable person. But, yeah, I have so much that’s happened to me throughout my life—good and bad. I mean, even when you’re happy, shit dips once in a while, especially with the current state of the world.
I heard Josh Groban say he has a penchant for sad songs, and I 100% agree. I’d rather listen to the heart-wrenching ballads that rip your heart open. Happy stuff is great, but I love me a sad song, especially when it feels like a cathartic thing for me, which is what Blush is. All of those songs were written before my other albums were released, and they were songs that were maybe a little too vulnerable. I wrote all of those when I was a freshman in college and going through a major heartbreak…and I thought they were a little too raw, maybe a little too sad, and when I [was taking my music] to [producer] Jono Manson the first time to record, I thought, ‘I can’t take him this stuff!’ Then I kind of stumbled upon them again, and I think what makes them good is that I was writing them simply because I needed to, and not because I wanted people to listen to me or get them on the radio. I needed to get something off my chest.
Speaking of being very open, you’ve been fairly candid about your struggles with anxiety. Does that same anxiety fuel your process in any way?
It has definitely changed it over the years, and I have to sit down and write in chunks. It’s very rare for me to be able to work on something for longer than an hour or two, because I get a little more critical about what I’m writing. When I first started writing, I was like, ‘I have to write a song all at once,’ and I still know people who do that, but I have the opposite experience. I put the work in, and I try to do even five minutes a day, five every other day because...the way I write now, I have a lot melodies, a lot of lyrics, a lot of poetry, and I piece it together. I feel I’ve become a better songwriter by making revisions, going back, making sure it’s the way I want it. But there is a certain…I have to stop myself when I’m getting too anxious or hypercritical.
I still sometimes have performance anxiety, but it’s when I’m doing stuff for big shows like Santa Fe Salutes or stuff in front of a huge crowd—and if I’m doing stuff with David Geist.
Writing is my one anchor to what I love to do, and for sure it’s why I’m still here. Through all the hard times, writing is what I’ve clung to. It’s a language when I can’t say things. I’ve learned that I’m always going to have anxiety, and I know I’m not the only person who deals with it. I know a lot of people in the music industry suffering from anxiety, so to be vocal about it is important to me. Every time I say something about it, I hear from other people who deal with it. I don’t think it’s anything to be ashamed about.
Tell us about the upcoming show. Are we talking full band or stripped-down?
I’ve been kind of focused on booking the band at a lot more spaces. We were at Tumbleroot recently, and Launchpad the first time; Unit B is, like, a sit-down, quiet, you-are-watching-us-and-I’m-telling-you-stories-about-my-songs concert venue, so for that reason it was like, ‘let’s get the band in and do it up!’ We’re going to do a full set of original material, and we’ve been doing stuff with Geist, which I love, because I started out doing classical singing and studying operas, and that lets me flex some of that. We’re going to be doing some Phantom of the Opera, but also Taylor Swift and Elton John. I used to say, I played rock-acana—like rock and Americana—but I feel I solidly fit into Americana at this point. Still, with this band, we will definitely rock it out a little bit.
