Last fall I received an order for a copy of Aurora Borealis, my instrumental flute-dulcimer CD.  Since the purchaser’s name was unfamiliar, I wrote and asked how he found out about my music.  Eric’s answer delighted me.  It’s taken me a while to get around to sharing it with you, but here it is.  It is always particularly heartwarming when my music is found and appreciated in a random way, and then spread to others, especially through a car window in a park!  Thanks Eric (and thanks for ordering it again as gifts to others).  🙂

(PS:  Curious?  Pre-listen/download Aurora Borealis here.)

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Sept 24th, 2014

Hi Esther-

I am a hammered dulcimer player and came upon your  CD for sale in Cooper Landing Grocery last summer on my first trip to Alaska.

I must tell you this story:  It became my “theme music”  for 10 days as I fished,  hiked and drove all around discovering the many beautiful sights and people of Alaska (including Talkeetna…. I met  Mr.  Stubbs,  the Mayor! ).  I never did get to see the Aurora Borealis while in Alaska,  but I  was able to imagine the Northern Lights while listening to your music.

On the last evening as the sun was going down,  I was sitting in the car in an Anchorage park with your music playing.  Another couple drove up. They came over and asked about the beautiful music.  I explained what I had learned from the CD jacket and your website. They told me that they had just arrived in Alaska and were starting their vacation.  I popped the CD out of the player and gave it to them with the jacket and case, wishing them that they get inspiration and peaceful experiences with it as I had.  I never even learned their name.

I had downloaded the music to my laptop and my cell phone during the trip,  so I’ve been able to still listen to it.  Sometimes I listen to it to meditate.  Sometimes I listen to it  to bring back the smells and feelings of Alaska. As a fellow musician,  I really appreciate the tremendous skill and gift that you have in your music….

I’d dearly like to have another original CD.   If  you could sign it: “To Eric – A Fellow Alaskan Spirit”,  that would be very nice.

Attached is a picture of me up on one of the Denali glaciers below the peak ……. An unusual crystal clear blue morning.  Special moments.

Happy Trails!
– Eric

Stay Warm just got a nice review on the German website Folkworld, written by Swiss reviewer Adolph Goriup.  Thanks Adolph!  Here’s a translation I tweaked a little after running the German through Google Translate:

FolkWorld #53  03/2014 – CD Reviews

Esther Golton “Stay Warm” – Tiny Cabins Records , 2013

Esther Golton (vocals, dulcimer, flutes, keyboards) was born in Philadelphia and in 1997 moved into a cabin in Talkeetna, Alaska, where she led a simple life and released her two previous CDs. At the moment she lives in New Haven, Connecticut, and has just released a new album with nine original songs and two cover versions.

” Yula “, a song in the Congolese Lari dialect by Borrina Mapaka is driven by rousing Afrobeat , two djembe, shakers and drums,  Esther sings and plays dulcimer and flutes on this beautiful World Music Song.

“Where is the field” is a great folk-rock ballad with cello, electric dulcimer, flute, fretless bass and drums.

Esther also offers the folk ballad ” Chokecherry ” which she sings accompanied only by the dulcimer .

“What Can I Say ” is a funky song with organ, clavinet, bass, drums, dulcimer and cello.

On ” Face” Esther thrills us with a great game on flute, dulcimer and piano.  Drums and bass provide the pace along with a notable saxophone solo in this rhythmic song .

The album ends with the gentle title song “Stay Warm”,  sending thoughts to friends up north .

Esther Golton has a beautiful voice, her playing on dulcimer and flute is a delight, and the band centered around the co-producers Pat Fitzgerald (drums, percussion ) and Robin Dale Ford (bass , vocals) is excellent.

© Adolf ” gorhand ” Goriup

Dear Everybody –

I’m happy to report that just 3 months after being paralyzed by the rare neurological autoimmune illness Guillain Barre Syndrome, I’m 99% back to normal.  Hooray!  (That’s an understatement!)  I feel so very lucky; the nerve-damage aftereffects of GBS often take 1 to 2 years to clear up.  My own experience has been far more rapid.

About 3 weeks ago the nerve sensitivity in my hands began to dramatically improve, and now my fingers feel perfectly normal.  I marvel that my dulcimer strings don’t feel like torturous knife-edges anymore, and that I can play evenly and expressively again on both dulcimer and flute.  That means I’ve begun practicing my music in earnest to rebuild my chops (I just wanted to say “chops” because that word makes me smile.  “Chops!”)

On March 9th I’ll play a house concert in New Haven, CT.  This is the only show I had lined up pre-GBS that I didn’t have to cancel.  I’ll be sharing the afternoon with a local folk-bluegrass band called  The Nameless Trio.  Last winter Matt, Morgan and Pat employed me to sing (and flute) a very sweet boy-girl duet for their new album Explore!.  You can listen to samples (I sing on Track 10, “All The Way Home”) and buy it here.  If you live in/near CT and would like to attend the concert, please contact me and I’ll put you in touch with the host, my wonderful friend Louis Audette.

The GBS experience definitely rocked my world.  In my 47 years before this event, major illnesses were always the “stuff that happens to other people”.  Now I truly (and a little anxiously) realize  that random, unexpected “stuff can happen” to me or those close to me at any time.  Of course I always knew this intellectually, but now I feel it in a tangible way.  I’ve talked to friends who’ve gone through big health challenges and they nod knowingly … wide-eyed …  at this change in perspective.  It’s made me more compassionate towards anyone dealing with health issues.  It’s made me want to decide consciously how I spend my days on this beautiful earth.

What does this mean for my music?  I can’t wait to play my “comeback” concert on March 9th!    Then I’m headed to Alaska for the entire summer to sell our house and 10 acres, work for my sister in her wonderful Flying Squirrel Bakery Cafe,  reconnect with friends and breathe the wild, open spaces.  I’m sure I’ll play a few low-key gigs, and will search out new gift shops to carry my Alaska-infused CDs.   It will be a great time for writing new songs, and letting music be music, and savoring everyday life.

Thank you again to all who sent me good wishes/cards/vibes while I was hospitalized.  I can’t help but attribute my strong recovery to the love that flowed my way, right through my soul into my nerve endings.  Also thanks to all who ordered my CDs during the holiday season.  That income really helped ease the financial impact of all those cancelled gigs.  I love imagining my music playing in your kitchen or car or headphones…

By the way, I’ve achieved almost half of my 2000 album goal, which means our “mystery painting” is almost halfway filled in.  I still have to go out and sing pretty for a lot more people to fulfill that goal so stay tuned.  And … stay warm!

Photo of bundled-up Esther taken at 2012 Fairbanks Alaska World Ice Art Show