My new album 'Home' is almost done! I'm getting ready to release it at the end of the month, but for now you can pre-order the digital release on Bandcamp for $7. I hope you enjoy the 6 songs, which you can stream live on the site. I'm also posting every couple days about the album on my new blog: http://hiramring.com/blog - so if you follow me on Blogger, feel free to switch over to the new website blog!
Here's a short video update and new song I wrote at the end of last year. Happy 2013!
I recently decided I needed software for video editing that was a bit more powerful, so I invested in Final Cut Express, which has quite a few more options for video editing than iMovie 08 or the FlipShare software that came with my MinoHD camera. For example, I couldn't previously fast-forward clips or reverse them, and I had no easy way to line them up and cut between them, or to color-correct and filter. It also means that I'll hopefully be planning my videos a bit better - not just shooting from the hip - and maybe getting a few more people involved in shots.
I am still learning the software, but here's my first project: a music video of one of the new songs I've been working on recording with SoundFarm here in Singapore. It's called "Hold Me" and I wrote it awhile back (I began writing it in 2006 and probably finished it in 2010) but haven't played it a whole lot. So you may have heard it live, but maybe not. In any case, here it is below - hope you enjoy it!
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.
When Josephus Thompson III invited me to be part of the MoSoul Poetry Festival in Greensboro this year, I didn't quite know what to expect. Having now experienced it, I am totally blown away by the talent and abilities of those involved as artists and as organizers. When I came to Greensboro in March while on tour, Josephus was my first introduction to serious spoken poetry, and I can easily say that he is not the only one with mad skills in wordplay.
At the risk of making this a long post and expanding on the excellent post by Reason2Rhyme's blog, let me detail the talent represented by this month's (the final of the year's series) poetry festival. Keep in mind that many of the things I say about a single artist are true of every other artist - what I say here are simply what strike me from our first interactions. This post is too long to embed videos, but definitely check each of these artists out on their own websites, go see them live, and check out my YouTube page for performances from the festival weekend.
Here they are in the order that we performed:
Josephus Thompson III - one of Greensboro's premier spoken word artist's, he has been in the thick of the arts scene in this city for most of the last 8 years. He has started or is involved in numerous organizations to foster the arts and most notably to encourage young people in schools to express themselves in new and constructive ways. Along with T.I.G. and a core group of volunteers, Reasons2Rhyme was formed to continue this vision and bring poetry to Greensboro and elsewhere.
Keith Rodgers - a man of many talents who hails from Tallahassee, FL, where he formed Black-on-Black Rhyme, a network of many spoken word artists that has chapters in various cities around Florida. Keith is incredibly business-savvy (he carries a point-of-sale credit card machine with him on his belt), has a way with words both on stage and in everyday conversation, and can really work a crowd.
Hiram Ring - the one writing this post. Need I say more?
Ebony - part of Keith's Black-on-Black network, she is a serious poet dealing with social issues. Ebony is also the co-founder and marketing director of Yo-Talent.com, a social network for poets allows them to sell product as well as connect with other artists.
The One Sun Lion Ra - a musician and rapper as well as a poet, Ra went to school in Greensboro but now lives in New York city. His rhymes run the gamut of rhythmic and inspiring to contemplative. He is a committed family man and speaks from a depth of experience.
Will McInerney - a Chapel Hill, NC native with a political/social bent, Will's poetry often deals with what it means to be human. He is not afraid to tackle and speak his mind on issues such as land rights and political conflict of the past, present, and future. He's a member of Sacrificial Poets and took part in the Brave New Voices poetry competition recently documented on an HBO miniseries.
Justice - Antwidamala Justice Umbiya translates directly to, “He who greets with fire” and “Just and righteous champion of the people”. It's a fitting title for one whose poetry speaks so passionately about individual struggles from a personal perspective. Justice's life is a story of determined struggle, and he recently left his high-paying job at GM to continue pursuing his passion - sharing his stories with others.
Evin Gibson - an award-winning singer, songwriter and producer, Evin is tons of fun in person and on stage. He has traveled the world with his music and resides in Greensboro. Usually backed by dancers and musicians, this guy is an excellent singer and manages to pull off his songs a-capella as well.
Isaiah 11:11 - a teacher in Newark, NJ, Isaiah also pursues his musical passion as a hip-hop and reggae artist and started getting into spoken word poetry around the same time that he first met Josephus at a rap show. Originally from Liberia, Isaiah's words deal with social inequities and racial issues, and his knowledge of history and world politics deepens his expression.
Moe - another Floridian, native of Jacksonville, Moe's rhyme is pokes fun at himself and the world around him while capturing his audience with its depth and wordplay. His phrasing and expression is smooth yet complex. A favorite in his hometown, he regularly sells out shows at Jacksonville's biggest venue.
Andrew Tyree - another killer poet from Greensboro, Andrew has won numerous awards for his work. Most recently he was the 2009 Charlotte Grand Slam Champion. He deals with personal issues, relationships and nearly everything else, making his listeners think about life in new ways.
As I said, the weekend has completely expanded my horizons and makes me want to encourage spoken word events all over the US - hopefully this festival simply continues to grow. To find out what you can do to help the cause, visit the Reasons2Rhyme blog and become friends with them on Facebook and elsewhere. Lets spread the word and encourage people to write.
I slept in today, then got up and went with Duane, his son Calvin, and his father to pick up some things from Normal - fence for the two dairy goats they are getting next week, the PA system for tonight, and some bricks and mortar for repairs around the house. We drove four across the front seat through mile after mile of fields that are empty, waiting for the rainwater to drain so that the fields will be dry enough for planting to begin. Duane's dad is full of knowledge about the area and the process of farming, so I learned a lot on the drive.
On the way back we drove part way on Route 66, which goes right through here on its way south to St. Louis. Then we made preparations for the event tonight, and at 7pm people started arriving. Here's a piece of the event - my car song 'Steer Into the Curve'.
I'm staying with my friends the Samuels south of Kansas City. They are part of the International House of Prayer, which is dedicated to praying for the nations and teaching the gifts of the Spirit to the younger generations. It is a really neat place full of people here to seek God and to learn from the scriptures. They had a guest speaker this Sunday, Bill Wiese, who shared his experience of a vision he received about hell. It was really interesting to hear about his vision, and to hear the scriptural references he found to back up the experience. He's a really good storyteller.
I went with the Samuels to their home group in the evening, and we sang some praise songs together, and I also played 'I Am Not A Thief'. It's a great community they are part of, and I was blessed to be able to spend time with all of them.
My friend Ben Walker is a fellow Wycliffe MK (PNG) who graduated from Houghton and lives in Tulsa at the moment, where he's finishing up a master's degree. He connected me with a group that he is involved with that has a lunch every Thursday for international students who go to the University of Tulsa. They invited me to come play for them, so I was able to stop by and play a few songs, which people really connected to - I think I've found my niche. =)
Ben showed me the newly renovated library on campus and then I wandered around the town for the afternoon. I visited Gardner's used book store, which is one of the biggest I've seen, and discovered the golden 'oilman' accidentally before Ben took me to Tally's Diner on Historic Route 66. It was a beautiful evening, so we meandered through downtown and walked along the river while Ben told me a little bit about the oil-rich history.
My friend Harvey Robinson just finished the excellent video he took of me performing in his kitchen, so I'm embedding it below. Harvey does really good work and has some good equipment. When I traveled through Greensboro, NC I got in touch with him and set up a time to visit his home, where he films. His work with Monkey Whale Productions is pretty incredible, and I hope you'll check it out.
Back to the tour, today we generally hung out around the house and I helped with some chores (like mowing the back yard). It's been really great to have some downtime with family here in Arkansas. In the evening we went to visit Franny's family nearby and I played some songs for them. Here's part of 'One Girl for Me' in their living room, and playing with their dog Molly and nephew Charlie.
I visited my brother and sister-in-law's church today for the 11am service. It's quite a large church, and they have a scan-in system for the kids, which is pretty cool and necessary, I'm sure.
The church is named Fellowship Bible Church of Northwest Arkansas, and they unveiled a new song that one of the members has written - it's actually a decent song, and here's a piece of it.
When traveling through Charlotte, NC, I met Pat of The New Familiars who recommended I get in touch with Matt Morelock at WDVX. WDVX is a community radio station in Knoxville that hosts singers, songwriters, bands and traveling musicians on weekdays during the lunch hour for a live performance. So today I played at the station, which was a lot of fun. I can now say I've played on the same stage as Nickel Creek and Bela Fleck (though not at the same time). Here's some footage of Knoxville, one of my songs and Matt and Jon Ladeau who played after me.
I hung out with my friend Andrea at her church (Stonebridge) this morning, and then we had brunch with friends of hers nearby. Brunch was fabulous (I remained stuffed for several hours) and we also had fun hunting for easter eggs and sat in the sun talking about spiritual things. I played 'I Am Not a Thief' as well. Playing songs for friends is probably my favorite thing to do - totally unplugged and relaxed. Isn't GRACE amazing? I could go on, but read the Gospels for yourself.
Saturday was a day for sleeping in, hanging out, and then a concert in Marietta. Stonebridge Church is a neat congregation nestled in a storefront just off the square in downtown - it reminded me a bit of being in Lancaster with one-way streets and on-street parking. I walked around the square a bit, which you can watch in the video below.
I visited Eddie's Attic for the open mic, which is well-known among musicians for its attentive listeners and the quality of musicians that it attracts. Having said that, however, there were one or two acts that we had to suffer through. But Eddie, the founder, lets everyone who signs up (you have to sign up a few months in advance) have their two songs in the spotlight. I caught him before the night began, having a burger, and had a good conversation - he's a cool guy.
I walked around Decatur beforehand as well, but unfortunately there wasn't much to see. Or maybe I just didn't know where to look - it always helps to have someone with you who lives there, but barring that I did the best I could. Back at the open mic, some people were late (which Eddie says usually doesn't happen), so in the confusion, and what with people playing their two songs, I got on closer to 10:30 - only 20 minutes late, which is impressive for an open mic.
Like I said, there were some REAlly good musicians and singers and it was mostly lots of fun to listen and hang out with friends from college that live in the area. Finalists were a girl from North Carolina who has a killer voice (reminded me of Brandy), the Erickson sisters (folk, Iron and Wine style), and Chelsea Lynn Labate (cross between Regina Spektor and Ingrid Michealson) - the latter of which ended up winning the competition. Because it IS a competition, and that's partly why so many musicians are there.
I didn't video all the acts, but here's a little bit of the song that I sang, 'Voices', and a flavoring of the place.
In the town of Lake Wales in the middle of the state of Florida, removed from civilization, is a great big bell tower called a Carillon. Built by Edward Bok, the Ladies' Home Journal magnate and editor during World War I and the previous 25 years, the structure towers above the gardens that surround it. I spent a relaxing afternoon strolling through the gardens and listening to the carillonneur, William De Turk, play music. He performed a set of classical pieces and ended with the more familiar songs from The Sound of Music - I taped part of 'The Hills Are Alive' for your listening pleasure. Afterward, he came down from the tower and talked to us, answering various questions that we had and generally being friendly.
It rained a bunch last night, which folks around here say is needed - they've been waiting for rain a long time. Woke up to damp surroundings, but with the sun up it was a gorgeous day. I went to church with Warren, Mike and co. at Micanopy Fellowship - today was sharing Sunday, so I shared a couple of my songs (The Problem and I Am Not a Thief) and was blessed by other people's testimonies. Particularly Lenora's - she has an incredible story of how God brought her out of abuse and drugs, and is now working with Teen Challenge in Lakeland, helping others find hope and joy in Christ. Other people's stories were also powerful, with one family in the church having lost two children in a recent car accident, their third is now in the hospital slowly recovering.
We then shared lunch together - potluck and conversation, and afterwards Warren and I visited Hunter in the hospital. I was able to sing one of my parents scripture songs to encourage Hunter and her family, sans guitar. We went back to Mike's and rested, and then set up at the fellowship in the evening for the concert. You can see/hear Chasing Shadows in the video below. People were really responsive and encouraging, and as they prayed for me afterwards I could sense the Spirit of God in this place, among these people.
I slept in rather late today, partly due to the fact that I had a couple cups of Leopard Forest's excellent coffee and as a result stayed up the rest of last night. So I took my time getting up and ventured out into a cold and rainy day around 2pm to visit the local Andrew Wyeth display at the art museum here in town. Who knew that Greenville has one of the largest collections of AW's work? He really did some amazing paintings. Also on display were paintings from early North and South Carolina painters that were quite stunning.
The rest of the afternoon was spent reading in the library next door to the gallery. I picked up a 200-page book by a favorite author at 4pm and was done by 7.40 or so. I think I'm slipping. The time was when I could finish a book like that in 3 hours or less. I was pretty tired though.
Open mics were next in line - I played at Coffee Underground's Acoustic Seen (where I met up with Jeremy and Julie from college who also happen to know my brother from JBU) and then went with some friends to Smiley's Acoustic Cafe, where the fries are amazing. Good times, great food, good music! Thanks Greenville!
Michele took me to Blue Ridge Brewing for lunch because of the ketchup. She was not joking either - the ketchup is AMAzing, as the first video demonstrates. We talked about the recent album review for 'Breathe Deep' (HERE) and how hard it is to strike the balance between being culturally relevant and maintaining excellence without giving in to the culture around you. She then showed me around some of the rest of Greenville, most notably the park that was recently renovated and the Warehouse Theater where she is part of an improv troupe and today was auditioning for a Shakespeare play. Michele said that only recently has competition between the theaters here become less cutthroat and more friendly - it's good to hear that community is being built instead of animosity.
So moving right along, I left Charlie Jones and the Peculiar People in Greensboro and set off for Charlotte. An uneventful drive, and along the way I stopped to visit my friend Doug, who is a project manager (IT/website) at a packaging solutions company.
Doug was a project manager for Samaritan's Purse in Afghanistan when I interned with them in the summer of 2004. He was responsible for the drenching welcome I received when I arrived (buckets of water from the roof now greet all new arrivals to the Afghanistan office). He worked with SP for a few years after that in Indonesia, Uganda, and now is married and lives in Charlotte. A really cool guy that I haven't seen in a few years. It was good to see him.
Doug put me in touch with his sister, and she and her husband Tom had an extra room I could spend the night in. So I hung out with them for the afternoon (great conversations about the work their church is doing in Sierra Leone and internet marketing techniques), and then took off to the open mic night at the Evening Muse here in Charlotte.
My goal for playing at the Evening Muse was to meet some of the local musicians and share some of my music. You can see bits and pieces of the evening below. I gave out some cards, made some cool connections, and generally enjoyed myself. A couple cool bands/groups I discovered/met in the folk/rock (softer) genres: The New Familiars and Elonzo. If you live in Charlotte or near where they'll be playing, you should definitely check them out.
This morning it was still raining. We went to City Church and connected with the group of folks that meet in a theater downtown. A really neat service - Charlie preached and I played 'I Am Not a Thief'. We went out for Vietnamese food and then home for naps. I made a few phone calls and then went off to my next appointment.
Harvey Robinson is a really talented videographer in Greensboro. He does with video what I try to do with songs - tell stories. His framing and techniques are really good, and when I saw his work on monkeywhale.com I knew I wanted to be part of his latest (ongoing) project 'Harvey's Kitchen'.
What is Harvey's Kitchen? Exactly what it sounds like - he films (among other things) musicians playing music in his kitchen. So I brought my guitar, sat down in a chair in the middle of his kitchen, he set up his equipment and filmed as I played a song. It was really cool to meet him and Carolyn, and I can't wait to see what they do with the film!
For dinner I met up with Philip and Miriam - their family was with us in Ghana, and they both happen to be attending UNC Greensboro, so we had dinner and then they showed me around the campus. Tomorrow I head out to Charlotte.
