Album Notes

Born and raised in Central Minnesota, Aric Bieganek grew up infused
with the belief that music can both tell stories and inspire personal
and social change. His perspective and his songs -– from the
introspectively placid to the passionately outspoken -– all embody
this belief, just as they have since he was a little boy playing his
first plastic guitar. Although Aric has traveled as far east as Japan,
as far north as Iceland, and across the United States in his trusty
Ford, his connection to his roots is evident in all the poetry and
fervor of his songwriting. Minnesota! Land of 10,000 Lakes, grassroots
politics and the hard-working American…and land of MacGyver, the Mall
of America, the Pillsbury Dough Boy, and Jesse "The Body" Ventura.
This is the state responsible for both hot dish and Bob Dylan, and it
is unsurprising that American Junk is such a complex mix of the
contemplative and the hard-boiled. Aric's frank, unaffected lyricism
as well as a rich blend of sounds culled from outdated, broken, and
otherwise unlikely instruments combine to create an album that
transitions smoothly from the bittersweet nostalgia of "SC Excavating"
to the eerie homage of "Some Inspiration" to the brass-knuckled
sarcasm of "Number 1." Currently performing from the East Coast to the
Middle States, Aric has played venues ranging from theatres and bars,
to coffee houses and the occasional grocery store. Wherever you see
him, you can be sure he will be singing straight from the heart, using
music to tell his own story of the absurdity, gloom, and splendor of
American life.

Aric also performs as a multi-instrumentalist in the band Northernly
based out of Easthampton, MA. www.northernly.com