As  kids returning to school in the fall, most of us knew that at some point in the first week of class we’d have to write a “What I Did on My Summer Vacation” essay. If you were like me, you made stuff up, seeing as how I [...]

“Outta Here,” “The Trio,” and “Riverside” from SOUNDS CRAZY.  Who doesn’t like a story with a surprise ending? (Answer: nobody) The Bible is full of stories that don’t end up where you think they will. On my CD, SOUNDS CRAZY, I included three [...]

When I was young and foolishly sure of myself, my song lyrics too often had the tendency to focus on what the listener should do to get his or her life right. I call these kinds of songs “You songs,” because they say things like, “You need to do [...]

Last week I attended my first day of school. Let me clarify. “Professor” Sterling (sounds weird, right?) met with a small group of students on Saturday morning (yikes!) for the first of fourteen weekly 3-hour classes (double yikes) that will [...]

Here’s another behind-the-scenes look at a recent choral anthem… One for traditional choirs: CHRIST THE WORD For those who compose music for the Church, perhaps the most crucial element in our work – even more so than the music – is [...]

“Church” (Words & Music by Robert Sterling) from the CD Sounds Crazy. Some songs burst out in a creative rush. Others leak out over a period of days. If you look only at the time I spent actively writing it, “Church” arrived in a matter of [...]

I recently released a solo project. We used to call them albums. Then we called them CDs. Now I just go with “project” – because CDs have pretty much disappeared, and albums (LPs) are only for vinyl afficianados. But as I was saying, I released [...]

“Perfect Peace” (Words & Music by Robert Sterling) There are lots of ways to write a song. The “right” way is whatever way works for the writer or writers. The words may come first, fully formed and in search of a melody. Or the [...]

I’m a guy who mostly lives in the “right now.” I never thought too much about yesterday, and probably never thought enough about tomorrow.  Composing and producing music (often on a deadline), tends to keep the Present in the forefront of my [...]

It’s always interesting to see a young person discover something old, and think that it’s new. I remember when my younger son, who was about fifteen at the time, came to me and said, “Dad, I just heard this awesome CD by a band called Weather [...]