Chasing Storms


Erik Shepard is an artist and musician working out of Chicago who has, as of recently, been living down south in Atlanta, Georgia. His signature outlet, Life at Sea, has been a long time member of the Chicago independent music scene - recording a critically successful full-length album, a number of EPs, and touring extensively.

Life At Sea is really one of the best indie- rock outfits around today. Singer-songwriter "Erik Shepard" has a warm, comforting voice and a knack for penning stunning, luscious songs.

- Antonia Santangelo (Big Takeover)

Soaring Vocals, Blazing Pop Hooks, Teeming With Potential

- Jonah Bayer (Alternative Press)

Life at Sea delivers big sounding indie rock ... Like the cover art of the album, the music is multilayered, comfortable, and both delicate and rough around the edges. I definitely want to keep listening to this.

- Abbie Amadio (Punk Planet)

A promising debut album of emotional, well-crafted indie-rock with a definite '80s tinge from this Chicago band, highlighted by rich guitar textures and hooky pop melodies.

- Don Yates (KEXP-Seattle)

A resolute perfectionist and, perhaps somewhat oddly, a most natural of teachers - Erik has the rare set of gifts that allow creations far beyond the sum of the parts through, in no small part, the gentle pulling of more from those around him than they would ever believe they could give. What he most often ends up with are works far more beautiful than they have any right to be.

With this record I wanted to get back to what led me to music: simple, stark, rhythms, and melodies.

At some point, immersed in finishing the recording of the second Life at Sea record "Id" (no pun intended), I had all the basic tracks canned and was looking for those "weird sounds" to fill out the arrangements. Then it all came to a screeching halt. I would come to the studio to work but something just kept pulling me to that acoustic guitar. With just voice and guitar the songs became honest. Pure. Melodies came to the forefront and that allowed the lyrics to create a clearer picture, which was ultimately exactly what I was looking for. I decided that I needed to record these songs like this. If they were good, they would stand on their own.

- Erik Shepard (Discussions about the Recording of Chasing Storms)

On first listen Chasing Storms may strike as somewhat light and simple fare. Give it another listen. There is a line, a thread, through the songs that if followed might just lead one to a small look into a most implausible take on life and love. It's well worth the trip.


The Shinners (pronounced SHINE-ers) was created in the late 90s through the vision of two Kenyan women who saw the need for a group created by women, for the support of women, in the most impoverished slums of Kisumu (Kenya). This women centric vision soon came to include, and ultimately focus upon, the local children as it became increasingly clear that to even begin to help the women you must help raise up their kids. The Shinners have developed and implemented programs including a kindergarten that strives to provide child education, food, basic health care, and the freedom to mothers to seek income generating activities throughout the day; a scholarship program to provide school fees to selected students; and general educational programs for women.

A major push of the Shinners is toward self sustainability, both in the women that it reaches and within the program itself. Toward that end, the group has begun recognizing and developing the artistic talents and potential of Kisumu's local women (and men). The results, creatively, have surpassed expectations however little of this has translated to income due to a lack of available market for the work.

Proceeds from the initial release of Erik Shepard's most recent album, Chasing Storms, will be directed toward meeting the startup costs of developing outlets for Shinners' artistic endeavors. All money will be donated and distributed through the non-profit Health and Empowerment for African Lives (HEAL), which ensures 100 percent of collected funds are provided to the programs it supports. HEAL is a registered 501(c)(3) non-for-profit association that was started by a group from the University of Illinois at Chicago doing research in Kisumu, Kenya and surrounding communities. This project represents a first for HEAL, the Shinners, and Erik - taking the internet marketing and distribution of music to a new place while providing the much needed capital that may allow art to make a real difference in people's daily lives.

Donations are voluntary and all, regardless of amount, will be provided with a one time link to download the entire album, Chasing Storms, in versatile Mp3 format - ready to be burned to CD or played on your favorite digital music player. This music represents six months of very hard work for Erik Shepard and his collaborators along with hope for women and children of the Shinners. All of us at HEAL and in Kisumu thank you for whatever you are able to give and, along with Erik, hope that you enjoy what he has created.