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Denison Witmer Biography

Denison Witmer is a singer-songwriter from Lancaster, Pennsylvania. His first release, in 1995, was a cassette titled My Luck, My Love. He has since released six studio LPs; two live albums, a cover album (Recovered); three EPs; and an LP with The River Bends—a side project consisting of members of the Philadelphia-based alt-country band One Star Hotel. Witmer's 2005 album, Are You A Dreamer?, produced by Don Peris of The Innocence Mission and featuring Sufjan Stevens, received acclaim, including positive reviews from Pitchfork Media and Entertainment Weekly. Witmer and Stevens appeared on Rosie Thomas's 2007 album These Friends of Mine, an album which included Rosie Thomas' version of Paper Doll, a track originally written and recorded by Witmer. Witmer toured with Rosie Thomas in support of that album in venues across the US and Europe.

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Denison Witmer Quotes

Sometimes people will request a song I haven't played in a while and I'll play it and singing the lyrics will mean something different to me as a 35 year-old person than they did when I was 25. I know I'm still that person who wrote it and thought I knew what I meant when I was writing them. They meant something very exact to me in that time of my life. But it's really cool when those same lyrics can transform into something else and mean something entirely different to me.

Entirely, Mean, People, Song, Writing

Art that I like the most is born out of free association. I try to let my mind open up and see what comes out.

Art, Association, Born, Mind, Open, Trying

I like when people don't feel the need to have everything add up perfectly. I don't think we need that, what I think we need is to let ourselves have room to move and understand that life is a journey. And with that comes freedom. I think the more you try to compartmentalize and snap it all into place you may rob yourself of an experience that's really important for you.

Add, Journey, Moving, Rob, Thinking, Understand

Whether or not you're writing fiction or you're making sculptures. You're trying to create a space. You're trying to make something where your own epiphanies and your own desires and your own understanding of the world can reveal itself.

Make, Space, Understanding, Writing

You don't always get lucky enough to have songs that can breathe and shift meaning. But every once in a while you open up a window and something passes through. It's really nice for me when I discover those songs in my catalogue. It's one of the reasons I try not to get too specific about what my songs mean.

Discover, Mean, Meaning, Nice, Song

I'm fascinated by Catholic mystics, even though I grew up Mennonite in Pennsylvania.

Catholic, Fascinated, Grew, Grew Up, Pennsylvania

I think I'm attracted to the mystics, to seeing needs in the world. I'm attracted to caring for people who are disenfranchised. I'm attracted to getting rid of worldly possessions.

Attracted, Caring, People, Thinking, World, Worldly

I'm a true believer in not forcing anything. I hate forced art, forced anything.

Art, Believer, Hate, True

I kind of talk about songwriting in the sense that it's really not my job to try to state hard truths. I'm not out to say this is what truth is, this is what's false, this is reality, this is not reality. What I prefer is to try to create a space where truth can move.

False, Jobs, Move, Moving, Reality, Truth

There's something about Saint Francis's approach to life, zero expectations but pleasant surprise. In a lot of ways he was a really conflicted person. Some people would say he's masochistic. I don't really know, but I've always loved his reverence and his mindfulness.

Expectations, Life, Masochistic, Mindfulness, People, Zero

Hearing your voice and your instrument kind of breathe in the room, it affects the way you perform the songs. For instance, if you have that reverb, you can give the songs a little more space. You can play them a little slower or you can play less of the guitar part and just let it open up, which I really love. It's so nice to play a listening room, because the audience feels a certain way too.

Affects, Feels, Instrument, Nice, Song, Space

Instruments of a trade are really fascinating to me. Things that enable you to do your job better. Rehabbing houses is really fun to me. I love taking a space and seeing the potential, gutting it, and putting it back together and I love the tools used to do that.

Fun, Gutting, Jobs, Love, Space