Album Notes

Baltimore, MD - Emerging from the widely divergent Baltimore music scene is singer/songwriter Caleb Stine who is the soul of that scene, and the best representation of a city he calls, “vibrant, troubled, and passionate.” His straightforward, honest, music is what Baltimore is at its core – hardworking, genuine, and unafraid to tell it like it is. Armed with a storyteller’s eye and a restless independent spirit, Stine delivers his latest album, 'I Wasn’t Built for a Life Like This'.

His deeply personal music has been described by Honest Tune Magazine as, “somewhere between the renegade cowboy-poetry of Townes Van Zandt and the sweet rough and tumble sound of Neil Young's Harvest. The power in his music comes not from overwhelming volume or violent guitars, but from simple strums and carefully measured words that together carry an army of unmatched strength.”

This year has been a busy one for Stine. In addition to his solo-touring schedule and regular shows with alt-country rockers The Brakemen, he has collaborated with artists as diverse as Arty Hill (who has been called the future of Honky-tonk by the Houston Press), Kenny Liner of The Bridge, and rapper Saleem. Stine and Saleem’s long running partnership has produced the album, 'Outgrown These Walls', which the Baltimore Sun called, “Truly compelling.” The standout track from the album, 'Baltimore', was used by CNN in a news segment on prescription drug addiction. Stine has also found time this year to score two independent documentaries.

'I Wasn’t Built for a Life Like This', Stine’s 5th full-length album, is a collection of ten-unflinchingly direct songs in which Stine continues to tell the story of his exploration in what he calls, “an evolving and eroding America. “ The New Yorker calls this direct approach, “appropriately train-like, steady and powerful.” His timeless style of songwriting evokes images of a classic generation of outlaw-
Country songwriters like Kris Kristofferson, Steve Earle, and Willie Nelson. Each song is glimpse into the heart and soul of America.

Baltimore Magazine proclaims about his songwriting, “Stine weds wide-eyed sensitivity to world-weary tunes with a warm twang. He contemplates right and wrong, love and hate, and questions the durability of what’s pure.”

The uncommonly gifted songwriter simply explains, “I like to produce songs that breathe and spit, and sometimes leave fresh wildflowers on your doorstep.”