Teacher by day, musician by night

Curtis Ehresman is happily chasing his dream

By Joan Janzen
joanjanzen@yahoo.com

Local Kindersley resident, Curtis Ehresman, is currently working for the Sunwest School Division as a substitute teacher and Educational Assistant sub after completing his Education degree. However, after working hours, Curtis is busy “chasing his dream” of being a singer/songwriter and guitarist.

He’s been playing guitar since he was twelve years old but says, “I probably didn’t learn to sing until I was 19 or 20.” Curtis was part of a heavy rock band in high school and later joined a metal band before the members parted ways.

“In 2015, I went to Australia for a year and New Zealand for a year. I did some shows in Sidney, which was amazing. I was busy working the whole time, but on weekends I would try to get out and play a show or two,” Curtis said.

After two years, Curtis decided to come back to Saskatchewan and complete his Education degree. “I decided I wanted to become a teacher after working a lot of jobs in New Zealand. And I got homesick; I missed watching hockey and missed the snow. I realized what a homebody I am. But I’m super lucky that I got to travel,” he noted, especially now, given all the travel restrictions.

“It’s been five years since my official music release,” Curtis explained, as he was busy obtaining his degree. “I didn’t stop writing music the whole time, though. I’ve written dozens of songs; I almost have too many songs, but it’s a good problem to have. I need time and money to release them.”

In addition to time and money, Curtis has received a lot of help from close friends. “I have such a good group of friends. They’re all super talented musicians as well. One friend is willing to record for me, and I just kind of pay him with food and beer. It’s lucky because going into a studio can cost thousands of dollars,” Curtis said, admitting he doesn’t know much about sound engineering. “With my new release, a friend of mine, who is really good on bass, stepped in to lay down some bass tracks.”

Curtis managed to make his first video on his own. “I did it on my phone, and it turned out pretty good. I”m hoping people like it because it took me a long time to make,” he said. “Basically, all my songs are about whatever I’m going through. No matter what I’m going through, singing and playing the guitar make me feel good. Music makes me happy.”

His musical talent is also a helpful tool in the classroom. In a science class, Curtis took a song and changed the lyrics to make it a song about mitosis. “Mitosis isn’t the simplest thing to learn; it’s pretty abstract,” Curtis admitted, but hey, even mitosis can become fun to learn about when you make a song about it. “I love teaching because there’s room for creativity in the classroom. It’s totally acceptable to play guitar in the classroom. I play a silly song, and the kids are certainly engaged.”

Not only are kids engaged in the classroom, but Curtis is acquiring an increasing number of Facebook fans. “I’ve only been grinding at it for a month, and a lot of friends and family are reaching out to help me. It’s small time, but even if I connect with one person, I’ll be super happy,” Curtis says. However, he’s had someone from Mexico listening to his music and people from all over the world.

“I’m super happy already with this new release,” he says, referring to his song ‘Is It Over?’ “I’m happy chasing my dream. It’s a passion thing; I do it because I love it, and it just makes my soul happy to say I did it.”

You can listen to Curtis’ “emotionally honest” music at www.CurtwoodBearsman.com