Eric Tuffendsam has spent most of his life making music.

As an artist, songwriter, producer, studio owner, and mentor, he has experienced the music industry from nearly every angle. With his solo project, Sower, Eric is bringing those experiences together to create deeply personal music while using what he has learned over decades in the industry to help other independent artists move forward.

His latest release, Contrast, is his first full-length concept album and the culmination of years spent thinking about what music can communicate when artistry, emotion, and purpose come together.

The Artist

Eric began playing music around age 11 or 12. After becoming a Christian as a teenager, he formed the punk rock band Curb Squirrels, which went on to tour and perform at Cornerstone Festival. He later studied audio and video production and opened Moonlight Studios in Fairfield, Ohio, where he has spent nearly 20 years writing and producing music professionally while raising his family.

His work has appeared in television shows, movie trailers, commercials, and video games. One song he produced, PUBLIC's "Make You Mine," has amassed more than a billion plays across platforms. Yet Eric describes his career much more simply:

“Really, I’ve just been grinding as a self-employed studio owner, producer, and musician for most of my adult life.”

Throughout those years, Eric continued creating his own music. At the end of 2023, he began working on an EP called The Seed. More than a decade earlier, he had released The Soil, a concept project inspired by the Parable of the Sower. The connection between those projects ultimately helped shape Sower as it exists today.

The Project

Eric has long been drawn to concept albums and their ability to make listeners experience an idea rather than simply hear a collection of songs. That philosophy became the foundation for Contrast, his first full-length concept album.

Inspired in part by suffering Eric experienced personally and witnessed during six years serving as an elder at his church, Contrast explores opposing experiences and the ways struggle, hope, doubt, faith, sorrow, and joy can exist within the same life.

“Some of my most profound experiences with music have come through concept albums... The way I experience [them] is almost like watching a movie. The soundtrack is in my ears, but the movie is playing in my imagination... That’s something I want to accomplish with my own concept albums. I want to help people not just understand these realities intellectually, but actually feel them in a way that shapes their souls.”

One of Eric's favorite pairings on the album is "Doubt" and "Faith," which originally began as one long song before developing into two complementary pieces.

That same desire for honesty shaped the way Eric approached the performances on the record. Rather than polishing away every imperfection, he wanted the vocals themselves to carry some of the emotion behind the words.

“I wanted to sing these songs to the Lord as naturally and honestly as I could. I wanted the imperfections, emotion, and strain in my voice to be part of what communicates the message... Music has a unique ability to connect truth with our emotions in a way that can stay with us.

The Challenge

Eric has advantages many independent artists do not. He owns a professional recording studio, has decades of experience as a songwriter and producer, understands the business side of releasing music, and has built relationships throughout the industry.

Yet even with those resources, he knows firsthand how difficult it can be to make independent music financially sustainable.

“Twenty years ago, I might have sold 200 CDs in a few months by playing local shows and telling friends and family. Maybe only 200 people heard the record, but those sales could generate $2,000 or more. Today, I can have 50,000 people listen to my music over the course of a year and barely scrape together $1,500 in streaming revenue. The potential audience has exploded while the value of each individual listener, financially speaking, has collapsed.”

For Eric, the increased reach of streaming is actually a welcome tradeoff. His primary goal with Sower is for people to hear the music, not simply to maximize the income it generates. But that creates an unavoidable challenge.

“For what I’m doing with Sower, I actually prefer that tradeoff. My primary goal is reach, not income... I would rather have 50,000 people hear it than sell CDs to 200 people. But that creates a terrible business model. If the music itself doesn’t generate enough revenue to fund the next project, eventually somebody has to pay for it.”

His own experience has also made him acutely aware of what those economics mean for artists who do not have the resources he has spent decades building.

“When I look at what it takes for me to get something off the ground with all of those advantages, I can’t imagine how difficult it is for a talented 20-year-old songwriter with none of them. You could genuinely be making some of the best music in the world and never find an audience because you don’t have the time, resources, money, connections, or entrepreneurial ability required to get people to hear it.”

Eric sees that as a larger challenge within the industry as well.

“If the artists with the most resources consistently get the most exposure, we shouldn’t be surprised when some of the best art never gets heard.”

For independent artists, making great music is only part of the equation. Getting that music into the world and in front of an audience presents an entirely different set of challenges.

How Faith in Music Helped

Eric first applied to Faith in Music Foundation during an earlier grant cycle. Although he was not selected for funding at the time, he continued working and later returned with a focused proposal identifying specific pieces of the Contrast release where support could make an immediate difference.

Through a Recording Support Grant, Faith in Music helped cover professional album artwork, physical CDs, and a promotional campaign designed to introduce Contrast to a larger audience.

“This grant enabled me to pay a graphic designer for the album cover, order CDs, and hire a solid promotional company to run highly effective ads on social media. Without this grant, it’s safe to say that these things would not have happened because I simply didn’t have the money to pay for it.”

The support arrived at a time when Eric had begun feeling discouraged about how he would afford to properly release a project he had invested so much into creating. For him, being selected meant more than having several expenses covered.

“When the grant came through, it wasn’t just financial help. It felt like a personal affirmation that what I’m doing is worthwhile. With all the different bands and artists being considered, knowing that the people at Faith in Music believed in this project meant a lot to me. That alone gave me so much joy and really fueled me through the final stages of the release.”

The grant did not create Contrast. Eric had already invested his experience, time, and resources into making the album.

Instead, Faith in Music helped close the gap between making the music and giving it the opportunity to be heard.

Beyond the Album

Sower has grown into something bigger than Eric's own music.

Years spent producing other musicians have given him opportunities to connect artists with resources, mentor people, and build relationships that extend beyond the recording process.

“I think God has given me a shepherd’s heart, and I can’t really turn it off. I’m always looking for ways to help people and connect them with others who might be able to help them better than I can... I truly believe the Lord has given me music as an avenue to use some of the other gifts He’s given me.”

Today, that instinct is taking shape through the larger Sower Project, a growing collective of approximately 15 bands. The artists collaborate on projects, cross-promote and support one another, and stay connected through ongoing conversations about music and their shared faith.

“I knew that if I was going to do something like Sower Project, it would only make sense if I could have a direct impact on people like myself... The relationships I’ve developed through Sower have given me an extremely fulfilling and fruitful opportunity to use my gifts to build up other Christians, especially those who feel like kinsmen to me both musically and theologically.”

For Eric, the goal is not simply to build a larger audience for himself. He wants to create a community where artists can support one another, collaborate, share their experiences, and build meaningful relationships along the way.

That makes the impact of supporting Sower difficult to contain within one album.

Eric is creating music, but he is also sharing his knowledge, producing records, encouraging other musicians, creating resources, and building community. Supporting his work means investing in an artist who is continually reinvesting in other artists.

The Impact

Contrast is now out in the world, and Eric is beginning to see the impact of the project firsthand.

Just days after its release, a friend called to tell him that the combination of the music and lyrics had affected him so deeply that he found himself crying while listening to the album in a grocery store. For Eric, responses like that are the reason the work matters.

But the momentum created by Contrast is also moving beyond the album itself. Eric continues developing Sower, strengthening the community around it, and helping other independent musicians move forward.

When asked what support from Faith in Music Foundation has meant for that journey, Eric returned to the same idea:

“Faith in Music... has literally made a world of difference, not only in getting my songs in front of more listeners, but in creating momentum across the board for Sower.”

He also sees the Foundation's support as an investment with the potential to extend beyond a single artist or release.

“Faith in Music isn’t just funding individual projects. They’re investing in artists who have the potential to make a meaningful difference and positively affect the culture around them.”

In Eric's case, that impact is already moving outward, from one album to a growing audience and a community of independent musicians helping one another build what comes next.

Listen to the completed project
Eric’s album is now available to stream. Hear the finished work below and learn more about the music created through this chapter of his career.

[LISTEN TO CONTRAST]

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