Wednesday, May 20, 2009 - Lander Journal

LVHS Grad Debuts Music Album

by Christina Gould, Staff Writer

Eleven years ago this month, Cabe Lindsay walked across the stage at Lander Valley High School to receive his high school diploma. Tuesday, he released his first music album. "Take A Deeep Breath" is described as "folkin' cosmic" and is a product of 2,000 hours of determination the 29-year-old former Lander resident put in over the last four years.

"The music is described as a cohesive, complex layering of voice and accompanying sounds, some acoustic and some techno," Lindsay said. "It's modern folk at its base, enveloped in digital soundscapes."

Now living in Dallas, Texas, Lindsay's endeavor into the music field began in Wyoming. He spent the majority of his childhood in the Lander Valley, and he learned to play guitar during summers in the Cowboy State while attending college in Michigan. "That's when I started writing songs - strumming some of the summers I spent in Wyoming," he said.

That strumming led to the 13 songs that make up the album. "I would say that [the album] offers a new perspective," Lindsay said. "It's a collection of stories, all of which are fun loving, and as 'real' as I see it. The subject matter is likely to offend some people, and that's part of what makes it real."

"It's child-friendly, though. I should know since I am a young-hearted guy."

Lindsay said the songs are inspired by various profound emotional experiences. "Tragedy in the loss of a loved one led to 'Westward Setting Sun.' Curiosity about unexplored territory led to 'She Opted For Scuba Diving,'" he said. "Empathy for disappearing bees led to 'Be Well Bee,' and the fantasy of fearless love led to 'A Diamond Met A Pearl.'"

"These are all personal songs. I made this album for me."

A friend suggested the album title. "Probably because I say it a lot," he said, "and I write the way I talk, so naturally I added an extra 'e' in 'deep.'"

Lindsay is the primary vocalist, guitarist, and bassist on "Take A Deeep Breath," and is accompanied by his younger brother, Jordan Lindsay, 25, who appears on the album as drummer. Four other musicians also contributed: Nathan Zavalney, Catlin Hill, Shelby Cunliffe, and Lee McAfee, all while living in Missoula, Montana.

Lindsay lent more than his voice and song-writing abilities to the project. He produced it on his independent label.

"I want to stick my fingers in as many paint buckets as possible, basically," he said. "I was curious to learn how to do it, and so I just did it. The hardest part was finding the right gear on a lame budget - the computer I used is practically fossilized by now. I tried a lot of things that did not work. Some did. It was extremely difficult to pull off, and I enjoyed every minute of it."

Lindsay recorded his music project in home studios, and bartered with a sound engineer, Missoula SoundWorks (MSW), in Montana, for mixing and mastering. In exchange, Lindsay offered his web design skills for MSW's audio production expertice.

After bargaining for the engineering tasks, the amateur musician then had to figure out how to distribute his album. Using his experience in marketing, he created a new advertising agency, Optimistic Realism. The international art and advertising agency offers services including promotional and studio art and offers a creative outlet for artists to promote and exchange their original work, including music.

"Optimistic Realism specializes in 'upbeat art and advertising,' being commited to the idea that attitude effects art," Lindsay said. "Our unique selling proposition is a positive-minded work ethic that differentiates our creative services from others'."

As of Tuesday, Lindsay's 53-minute album was available for $15.95 on his website, available exclusively at www.cabelindsay.com.

Despite being relatively new to the music scene, Lindsay said he has always been passionate about various forms of art.

"My first passion in life is art," he said. "My dad was an elementary art teacher, and a phenomenal artist himself, so he always enabled and encouraged me to expore and create art." Lindsay's dad, Terry Lindsay, taught art at North Elementary School before drowning in a river near Dubois in August of 1996.

"I think the source of my art is beyond my dad and beyond myself," Lindsay said. "I think it is rooted in my subconscious, or my spirit, or the universe that exists outside me, and I can really only credit myself as a vessel through which this higher source communicates."

In addition to being a musician, Lindsay works as a web designer, graphic designer, and studio artist in Dallas. For more information about Lindsay's Optimistic Realism business, visit www.optimisticrealism.com.