In high school, Erik Mehlsen was obsessed with playing guitar. Then in Grade 12, he got burnt out teaching guitar lessons.
He learned that “when you put an obligation to make money on a passion you have, it can kind of turn it sour.”
His parents advised work before play. So he got a business management degree, then a job in commercial real estate, playing in bands on the side (Andino Suns among them).
“I kind of came to this agreement that, for a while, (music is) just going to be a thing that I do,” said Mehlsen, who performs as Del Suelo. “And then maybe one day when I get my ducks in a row, it will make sense to pursue music in a way that I don’t have to compromise.”
In December 2014, at age 27, Mehlsen took a “blind leap of faith.”
He quit his job and sold his house, turning his comfortable situation on its head, because of a nagging feeling: “‘Alright, there’s an evolution of my emotional and spiritual self that needs to happen and it isn’t going to happen in this situation.’”
That experience loosely inspired I Am Free, Mehlsen’s first novel, which accompanies the same-titled album — both of which he created after getting over the “deer in the headlights” shock of losing his routine.
I Am Free is a joint album/novel project.
Mehlsen sifted through 150 songs he’d written, ultimately narrowing down to his favourite 10. Then he headed into a recording studio a few hours at a time, sometimes a week separating sessions.
With creativity flowing and time to burn, he wrote a short story to accompany each song. With some rejigging, the short stories became the novel, published by Your Nickel’s Worth Publishing.
The story is about a young man questioning his “values and the world that’s been handed to (him.)”
“You talk to any person in their late 20s and there’s this whole identity crisis thing about, ‘Holy s–t, what AM I doing with my life?’” said Mehlsen. “I think a lot of people can relate to it.”
But “we’re all so scared to make mistakes,” and many people don’t have the luxury of even considering their emotional well-being.
“It felt incredibly decadent and incredibly selfish to section off a year of my life just to think about my life,” said Mehlsen.
But his was not a snap decision. It was a calculated risk supported by a safety-net savings account.
For other people considering a plunge like this, Mehlsen recommends a similarly careful gamble: Figure out what you’re interested in; do some research; find a mentor; shadow someone in their work. Start keeping a journal and (he recognizes this idea sounds “cheesy”) “have conversations with the universe.”
Del Suelo’s album/novel release party is Thursday at The Exchange. The opening bands start at 7:30 p.m. Del Suelo is on at 9 p.m. and will be performing the album in its entirety.
