More Christmas Gifts!

[EDIT: the songs below have expired from the site, but if you are interested in hearing them, just get in touch - ringrecords AT gmail DOT com]

Yup, you guessed it - cheery Christmas goodness for you and loved ones to enjoy!

  The holidays have arrived with gusto, and to tickle your highly-cultured musical tastebuds we have a couple of the more esoteric tunes which, due to time and other constraints, we failed to release last year on the highly-acclaimed 'Love >>> Begotten'. So, following the paragraphs below, which explain said delicacies, are links to each of the tunes where you can download (right-click and 'save target' if from PC, ctrl-click and 'save link' if on a Mac) or simply click to listen. We'd love to have your feedback!

Tune #1: How Brightly Shines the Morning Star
This reproduction of the Christmas hymn is a juxtaposition of familiar sacred elements with the more space-age-tendencies of modernity. Featuring the deep text of the original, the vocals of Cliff and Jen Lewis float over a bed of gossamer and silken yet edgy synthesizers following traditional chord changes (played by Matthew Monticchio). Through the music one envisions candy-coated consumerism portrayed by dancing elves in Christmas garb, yet in the words we are hauntingly reminded of the Child, the Son of Man who is the culmination of all creation - past, present, and future - and who delivers us from our selfishness.



  Download it here: http://www.hiramring.com/downloads/How_Brightly_Shines_the_Morning_Star-Pageant_Music.mp3

Tune #2: Once in Royal David's City
  Another re-done Christmas favorite, this arrangement evokes a sense of the earthiness and reality of our savior's birth. With the noises of a first-century village and the prophecy (in Hebrew) from Micah 5:2, we are immediately transported to the night in the stable with Mary and Joseph. Featuring the vocals of Katie Becker and the pitchy harmony of friends, travel back in time as we remember the One who fulfilled the law and the prophets, He who was what we cannot be - perfection.



  Download it here: http://www.hiramring.com/downloads/Once_in_Royal_Davids_City-Pageant_Music.mp3

Tune #3: O Little Child
  For those of you who missed this song a few weeks ago, you will have the opportunity to download it again on December 22 (Christmas Eve eve, eve) through http://www.itickets.com - a source of daily free downloads from all over the US!

New Recording Project

The other day Matthew Monticchio and I went out to our friend George Yellack's house to record some drums for songs we are working on for a new collection of sacred songs. We wrote some of the songs and re-worked old hymns for this project, much like our last two Christmas album projects. This album will be released again under Pageant Music, and features a bunch of local musicians (Cliff Lewis, Katie Becker, Claire Battle, myself, Matt, others to be named) in a folk/pop/indie vein. You can download a rough demo of one of our original tunes, 'Communion Hymn' HERE. I'll try to keep you updated on our progress - here's a short video of our journey to George's and what we did when we got there.

Lancaster City

It's really good to be home. Last weekend was Music Friday in Lancaster, and my friends Katie Becker and Cliff Lewis each played a set of music with their bands at Building Character, a neat grass-roots venue with a really cool vibe that started up just at the beginning of the new year. It was tons of fun to simply hang out with people and not have to play music - just enjoy it.
After the concert a bunch of us went across the street to The Belvedere, where our friend Matthew Monticchio was playing jazz with a bassist and drummer up in the martini lounge. I brought my video camera along and managed to get some footage of them playing (and riffing off of) Duke Ellington's tune 'In a Sentimental Mood'. It was a great night and it's good to be back in community again.

Check out: Katie Becker - Firstborn

We just finished working on Katie Becker's EP Firstborn. For those of you who don't know, an EP is a collection of songs in which the total playing time of all the tracks is less than 45 minutes. Anything longer than 45 minutes is a full-length LP (long-play). Katie's EP has already received a great review from Ken Mueller, an avid music listener who works for WXPN. It has been really exciting to work on these songs. Katie is a gifted songwriter, arranger, musician and... singer. She has a unique approach to singing, emphasizing particular nuances of the text with movement and poise. Almost Bjork-like in her stylings. She is also a very grounded person. We got to know each other at church through working with the youth group and helping out with music, and I have spent many a meal and evening at her family's house. As one keenly interested in life and what is going on around her, Katie is a songwriter for a new era of concerned individuals trying to make their way in the world even while they lend a hand to those around them. Find Katie online at www.katiebeckermusic.com, visit her myspace site, befriend her, and try to make it to a show near you to pick up a physical copy of this disc. Better yet, set a show up for her near you. You can also find her 5-song EP on iTunes: