I am so excited to release 'Home' officially as a digital download! Now on iTunes, Amazon, etc.. More details on the new blog HERE, where you can learn how to download two of the songs for free.
You can also stream all the songs online via Bandcamp: http://hiramring.bandcamp.com
I had a great time at home for the holidays, getting to see lots of friends and family and spending some relaxing days on the couch. Speaking of the couch, I recorded a video while I was relaxing, of a song that will be on the new album. It's called 'This Lamp' and is the story of an old abandoned house, told from the house's point of view.
One of my favorite parts of the video is how you can watch the sunlight disappear as the sun sets outside the window. Check it out below.
I've been in the throes of paper-writing for two of my classes, and the papers are due next Friday, December 10th. However, I did want to give an update on the extra-curricular activities I've been involved in, most notably recording songs for another album or two. You can watch the video above for a preview.
My main project is a new solo album of 12 songs which will tentatively be titled 'Home' as many of the songs deal with this theme. I've had some really crazy experiences over the last year and a half (some of which are on this blog) with touring to promote my first album, trying to figure out direction, experiencing intimacy and loss, and traveling half-way around the world, which have really made me ponder the meaning of home. What is it and how do I get there? In this album I suppose I continue one of the themes from the first album, 'Breathe Deep'.
The second set of songs are more worship-oriented prayers and psalms that I've written mostly over the course of the last year as I've struggled with the theme of 'home'. They're directly or indirectly influenced by the time I've spent alone with God, fellowship with friends, and particularly encouraged by the album of sacred songs, '12 Gates', that I worked on with Matthew Monticchio and others. There's two kinds of these tunes - new hymns (some of which we've done in church) and general worship songs (some of which could be congregational). So I'm not sure if that'll turn into two EPs or if I'll just release a full-length album. I welcome your feedback!
It's been really great to record guitar and vocals with the guys at SoundFarm here in Singapore, and later this week I'll be doing another session to get vocals. I'll be taking the tracks back with me to the US for Christmas, where I'm hoping my friend Ross can lay down some drums while I'm there, and maybe I can get some other musicians to contribute as well. I'll try to upload some samples as the arrangements get finalized.
I feel like sometimes I only surface long enough to post something on my blog, make a halfhearted effort to let people know I'm playing nearby, and then submerge once again into work and the other details of life that continue to gather around me. It's become such a common thing that I feel like I live a double life to some extent. Music vs. work/family/friends. It's then that I realize my focus needs to be something else.
I'm setting my alarm clock half an hour earlier every day and trying to get to bed by 11pm this week. I've realized that my most fulfilling moments in life were three months in 2006 when I was doing language survey in Central Asia. I would go to bed by 10pm and be up with the sun around 6am. Since there was nothing else to do, I would read scripture, memorize, pray, and commune with God until 8am or so, when I ate breakfast with the friends I was staying with.
"since there was nothing else to do" - that statement makes me realize how little I value scripture. And yet, THAT was what changed me. It was the WORD of GOD that renewed me, bathed me in cleansing water. And I am so thirsty.
Will you drink deep with me from the river of life this week? I'll be sharing some stories and new songs this wednesday with my friend Phil on WJTL at 9pm EST - if I can encourage you, please tune in to 90.3 FM in Lancaster, PA or listen online: WJTL.com/listen
But most of all, listen to the WORD of GOD. Read it, digest it, let it speak to you. Let it renew and transform you. Memorize it and sink your teeth into it. Spend time with the one who gives it and let him teach you and fill you with his life-changing power.
As you can see, I haven't had much time (either on the road or now that I'm home) to blog, but that may change. There are so many things I'm trying to do at the moment, though, that it's hard to remember there are people out there in the blogosphere (or elswhere) that are interested to some extent in what I'm doing.
So... a brief recap: The last week of the banquet tour was really good. I got some great responses and actually met a lady who still sings my parents scripture songs (when my parents first became Christians they wrote a lot of folk-oriented scripture songs and sang them all around Florida at churches in the early days of the Jesus movement of the 70's). It was really cool. Here's some video of me singing 'I'm on a Journey' (which I did every night), as well as another video of parts of Charleston, SC that we got to see.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JAw74iPV1Gc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EvEHnWOO15M
I flew back from the banquet tour on a Sunday (Mother's Day), and the following day my parents flew down to SC to help lead a 2-week spiritual retreat. I started back to work the same day and so it's been somewhat hectic. I've been working overtime for Math-U-See while overseeing house affairs (cooking, cleaning, upkeep, shopping, keeping tabs on things) with the help of my younger siblings, catching up with folks, applying to this PhD program, and working on some new recordings with a few new pieces of equipment. My parents come home on Saturday. =)
I drove from Grove City to State College, where I spent the afternoon with my friends Paul and Katrina and their daughter Anna. We went to the book sale (which I forgot to take video of, unfortunately - tons of books in a big agricultural arena) and then had lunch and I hit the road again for Lancaster.
On the way home my 1985 Toyota Tercel hit 100,000 miles! Pretty cool - it is now officially broken in to life on the road. I must say it is really good to be home, and I made it in time for Mother's Day!
