A local songwriter has had three of his works recorded on two compact discs featuring the latest songs written by composers and lyricists from all areas of the country.

Saturday, February 16, 2002

A local songwriter has had three of his works recorded on two compact discs featuring the latest songs written by composers and lyricists from all areas of the country.

Rick Pieper’s songs &uot;The Cattle Drive&uot; and &uot;Flatlanders Dream&uot; were recorded on a CD produced by Hilltop Records in Hollywood. The name of the album is &uot;America.&uot; His song &uot;The Last Stand&uot; was recorded on &uot;Star Route USA&uot; and produced by Amerecord, also of Hollywood.

Pieper said the companies solicit original music from songwriters, and ask them to submit three or four of their best songs. In 1999, Pieper, with help from Larry Shaunce and Jerry Linquist, recorded a CD of 10 of his original songs. &uot;The Cattle Drive,&uot; &uot;Flatlanders Dream&uot; and &uot;The Last Stand&uot; were included on the CD, so he already had recordings of them. The local project took about six months, he added.

He heard replies back from both recording companies and signed a one-year contract with them, where they agreed to produce his songs along with those of other songwriters. The songs have been recorded by various artists.

&uot;They try to keep them true to the originals,&uot; he said.

Pieper said he’s happy with the job the recording companies did.

&uot;Where it goes from here, anybody knows,&uot; he said. &uot;Where it goes from here is up to the people.&uot;

Pieper began writing songs 13 years ago but got serious about it about 10 years ago. &uot;That was about the same time I got a guitar and tried to learn to play it,&uot; he said.

He’s loved music ever since high school. &uot;But not the pop stuff. I love artists like Jimmy Buffet,&uot; he said.

At the family business, Pieper’s Western Store in Albert Lea, he keeps a clipboard near his work and if he thinks of something he’ll write it down. He’ll fine-tune and add music to it later. Sometimes he can write a song in half an hour. Other times, it takes several attempts to finish a work.

&uot;I have piles and piles of paper,&uot; he said.

Pieper lived in the Western United States for 6 1/2 years and moved back to Albert Lea in 1985. &uot;My love for the West continues to fuel my songwriting,&uot; he said. &uot;I figure if I can’t live there, maybe I can at least write a song about it.&uot;

Sometimes he’s inspired by watching a good Western movie on television. Or he draws on his own experiences or others he’s observed. &uot;I like to write about love and broken hearts, but I know I need to diversify. I like stuff pretty country. I like a good tear-jerker. I can’t help myself. I feel uplifted by them.

&uot;The Cattle Drive&uot; was a total inspiration, and is about a cowboy all alone out on the range. Pieper said he can envision Alan Jackson singing that one. &uot;The Last Stand&uot; is Pieper’s own story, a love song about leaving it all behind and moving to Montana to chase dreams. &uot;Flatlanders Dream&uot; is a mountain man song.

&uot;With the Lewis and Clark Centennial, I’m trying to get it to them. I love Western history,&uot; he said. &uot;If it’s from the heart, it’s real.&uot;

His dream, Pieper said, is to produce another CD with more of his original songs. There is a lot of local talent as well as modern technology available locally so that could happen.

And the idea of taking his work from start to finish and performing someday is also something of which he dreams.

&uot;Singing comes harder to me,&uot; he said. &uot;I like to sing, but I can envision others doing my music too.&uot;

For Pieper, the end doesn’t necessarily have to be a top hit on the radio, although that would be nice. &uot;There’s still more to music than just the Top 40 that’s played again and again until people are sick of it. I think there are people who are looking for music to listen to in their own homes that isn’t necessarily on the radio all the time.&uot;

Pieper said he hopes the CDs will be available in local stores soon and that people can hear his songs on local radio stations.

&uot;It’s been fun,&uot; Pieper said. &uot;Hopefully something will come out of it. It’s a longshot, but sometimes longshots pay off.&uot;