Arriving in España reminded me of the time I spent here while studying abroad in Barcelona. We visited Sevilla at that time yet I could not really appreciate the city then the way that I do now.
For starters, our Airbnb was a great choice, and it’s exciting to be here for our friend Maria and Alex’s wedding!
Sevilla is beautiful, romantic, and cultured with a rich history of traditions like Flamenco and food like Paella and Iberian Ham. There are also stories of conquest, exploration of the Americas and stunning architectural design.
As we venture out into the city I am finding there are many parallels to explore as I am releasing my new single, C’est La Vie!
Sitting on our balcony with La Giralda in my view reminds me another time and place. Have you been to space?
Life on Mars is about expressing our best self while practicing empathy, courage and love.
Family is so important and I feel blessed to be able to spend time with them on this lovely vacation!
I’m excited to release C’est La Vie next Friday, June 28th! We are playing a release show at the Prospector the night before, Thursday at 10pm. Come say “hola” as I bring the Spanish vibes home with me to share in the LBC.
Playing on a new friend’s guitar at Luis y Luz (pron. “looth” in the Sevillian accent 🙂 My sister, Shannon, and new friend at the pre-wedding Paella and Ribs BBQ at Luis’ Maria’s son and Spanish father, Luis. He hosted the BBQ at his home in Montequinto, and selected a very special wedding venue. Alex and Maria
Upcoming notes:
it’s amazing you can perceive emotions so subtly on a living face. a face that’s alive, however far away or near you feel to it, can be detected by the viewer and in relation makes them feel alive, however far away or near you feel to it.
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Rose petals are divine
Ancient
Eternal
Divine
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Flamenco
Rumba
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When the sangria and gazpacho becomes confused, it’s a good thing…
I remember first hearing The Beatles through my parent’s early 90’s Panasonic stereo. The basic speakers of the day were quite large and ours eventually got blown out. Removing the foam grill would reveal a soft and torn fabric cone. This gave it quite a breathy sound. Puhhh!
When I was 4 or 5 years old, my sisters and cousin and I started piano lessons with Karen. She was a psychic that worked on the Queen Mary. One day Karen showed me a bent key from trying to enter a door on the ship, but the spirits would not let her in. After our lesson I switched places with my sisters who were at our next door neighbor’s playing Ouija board. Karen did not approve…
Organ lyfe
When I turned 12 I became interested in drums. I’m sure this was because my much older half brother was a drummer. He bought me a CD of Led Zeppelin IV and thrashed my drum heads while demonstrating When the Levee Breaks. Thanks, bro!
My brother Darren at his hillside retreat in Hemet
I played drums till I was 18, and then picked up a guitar though I did not make it a priority for many years because I was too caught up in silly social activities. Eventually, I managed to find time by playing late into the night as often as I could, sometimes drunk or half asleep. A friend of mine once told me to play every day for 1 year, regardless if it was 5 minutes or an hour and I would be surprised by the results. I was, and still am! Practice makes ppppppppuhhhhh… erfect?
The first songs I learned on guitar were Blackbird by The Beatles and Over the Hills and Far Away by Led Zeppelin. Why did I choose these not-so-beginner songs to learn? Simple answer: my friend, Mark, shared his Tab music with me and I studied it with intention and focus like nothing before… and so my love for guitar quickly grew from there… I started printing music and for many years kept my songs in a 3-ring binder. Technology or nah?
Nowadays, I play mostly guitar and focus on improving my vocals. Yet I still fall back on piano as a useful guide for learning chord structure and theory as well as songwriting. It’s nice to be able to see the keys visually compared to using fingers on strings facing away from you. Generally, the more instruments you play the more you will learn the relationship of parts that make up the whole shebang of music as sonic energy! Or something like that…
Last year I learned Your Song by Elton John and performed it as the best man at my friend’s Kyle and Molly’s wedding!
Overcoming fear feels like love. Love feels like vulnerability and acceptance. Vulnerability takes courage and acceptance takes empathy. I love, therefore I am…
Annnnddddd here’s some cool pics of general music stuff . . .
Songwriting feels like a cozy couch with nowhere else to be. You are here and nothing else matters. Stories live forever and dreams do come true.
Often times I find myself jotting down notes when an idea strikes. Yet ideas don’t always strike first. To start off I like to go by feeling and touch alone…
I’ll grab a guitar and start strumming and humming. I let my senses guide me toward the discovery of something that sounds good.
Songwriting feels like the first bite of an excellent meal. Tasty, and there’s more to come! Where shall we go from here?
Having grown up in the bar business, Riley operates Shannon’s bars, restaurant and entertainment venue with his family.
Over the past few years as the Shannon’s businesses have grown, Riley has endeavored to focus more on creating and playing music. His latest project is Life on Mars. Check out new music single releases every month!
Life on Mars is an Americana Music Album with eclectic elements that was inspired by a journey through Iceland in 2016. The song Live One writes about this experience, asking, “What’s it like to be a stone shot into magma bursting out?” From there the album took shape as a metaphor for life on Earth, what we’ve done here, how we’ve grown, our follies… and if we went to Mars, what would we want to bring and do differently?
Maybelline is about strength, diversity, equality and empathy for others.
News out of #Alabama is troubling… my new song “Maybelline” was written with #WomensRights in mind… the idea was inspired when my mom, sister and others attended the march in Washington 2 years ago! 💪 In the opening lyric I sing, “She wanted to go real far, like Alabama won’t you take me home to Mars…” 🎶 I did not expect the example would be so poignant and coincidental during the week of this song release… Fuk those idiots who try to regulate bodies other than their own! Choose #LoveoverFear ✌️☘️
T-minus 7 days . . . New Single: Street Walker . . . Friday, 4.12.19
I am thinking of a color across the spectrum and through the eyes of a child’s inflection of viewpoint of innocence for minds shut off to the world with happiness and lollipops for all the boys and girls because our streets are paved of gold for bigger interests than the walkers who labor and beg for some business but health in consequence limits their potential whereas our assistance can make or break their survival.
The new single, Street Walker, is from my upcoming album, Life On Mars. I wrote this song after an experience I saw on the streets of Long Beach. A guy walks by and grabs a drink from a bar table that we put in place for guests, not the dirty street-walkers. But this guy grabbed and sipped a Vodka Soda and set off a chain reaction. I intervened to tone down the ensuing battle and a regular named Wild Bill was there just in time to hand the streetwalker a cigarette to keep his moving and grooving on down the line.
I’m listening to the song now with earbuds at home. I just walked over to pet my black cat, Jeep, and as the song was playing I thought it would be cool to shoot a video that has a kind of first person POV of me getting up in the morning, petting Jeep, do a little this and a little that and I’m out the door off to the streets. I guess I’d have to hit the bar for this one.
Will explore further. Until then, I’ll quote the first verse:
Coming up like a shadow in the night. Gotta get high before the dawn. The morning sun don’t care about me. Where’s my next opportunity?
Having grown up in the bar business, Riley operates Shannon’s bars, restaurant and entertainment venue with his family.
Over the past few years as the Shannon’s businesses have grown, Riley has endeavored to focus more on creating and playing music. His latest project is Life on Mars.
Life on Mars is an alt-rock album with eclectic elements that was inspired by a journey through Iceland in 2016. The song Live One writes about this experience, asking, “What’s it like to be a stone shot into magma bursting out?” From there the album took shape as a metaphor for life on Earth, what we’ve done here, how we’ve grown, our follies… and if we went to Mars, what would we want to bring and do differently?
LIFE ON MARS ALBUM ARTWORK BY ERIC STONER – ERICSTONERMIXEDMEDIA.COM
The album conjures a utopian dream where virtues like Empathy and Courage are held in high regard. The songs chat an earthly tone with the opening track, Street Walker, reciting the exclaims of pedestrian life through bouncy beats, clean guitar riffs and a padded saxophone, while Maybelline, a dreamer for equal rights wanting to sleep among the stars, follows a laid-back funk-rhythm that is supported by uplifting vocals and a Hammond B3.
Riley Hodgesis a musician from Long Beach, CA. Having grown up in the bar business, Riley operates Shannon’s bars, restaurant and entertainment venue with his family.
Over the past few years as the Shannon’s businesses have grown, Riley has endeavored to focus more on creating and playing music. His latest project is Life on Mars.
Friday, October 13, 2017 at The Compound Studio, Long Beach, CA – Photo by @hey_andrewg
Life on Mars is an eclectic-rock album that was inspired by a journey through Iceland in 2016. The song Live One writes about this experience, asking, “What’s it like to be a stone shot into magma bursting out?” From there the album took shape as a metaphor for life on Earth, what we’ve done here, how we’ve grown, our follies… and if we went to Mars, what would we want to bring and do differently?
Life on Mars album artwork by Eric Stoner – ericstonermixedmedia.com
The album conjures a utopian dream where virtues like Empathy and Courage are held in high regard. The songs chat an earthly tone with the opening track, Streetwalker, reciting the exclaims of pedestrian life through bouncy beats, clean guitar riffs and a padded saxophone, while Maybelline, a dreamer for equal rights wanting to sleep among the stars, follows a laid-back funk-rhythm that is supported by uplifting vocals and a Hammond B3.
September 2016 photo by RH – “As you drive along Víðidalur, you will come to Kolugil Farm which stands beside the Víðidalsá river. Just below the farm, the waters flow peacefully downwards to plunge into the deep, rugged gorge called Kolugljúfur. Their journey then sends them cascading over many waterfalls which bear the name Kolufossar Falls in honour of the giantess, Kola. It is a breathtaking sight to drive across the bridge and watch the calm waters of the river suddenly leap and tumble onwards over so many impressive falls – a sight which will leave no one unmoved.” – northiceland.is
C’est La Vie reminds us that such is life while drawing the listener into a world of psychedelic and bouncy rhythms whereas Coming Home brings us back to solid ground by expressing the simplicities of passionate love with a pedal-steel, rocking solos and female backing vocals to support words like, “That old house feels just like a smile sittin’ on a summer night, and maybe we’ll smile while we’re rockin’ on a ‘lil baby porch swing.”
September 2016 photo by RH – “Iceland is a country in the North Atlantic Ocean that is aptly known as the “Land of Fire and Ice”. It is an island born out of volcanic eruptions over millions of years. Up until 8000 years ago, the entire island was buried under ice.” – youngzine.org
Next up, Live One takes aim at the god within us all, rooted in the evolving chaos of actual rocks and forms of matter underlying the processes behind life on earth: “If One is a gift to the many, God is manifest in contemplating. Between this and that are those that seek nought in the shackles breaking. Stillness in your mind, it feels just like a loving kiss. I wonder if it’s known that we can be the nothingness…” Expect 2 minutes of soaking and frantic saxophone to convey the messages further sonically as the song finales.
September 2016 photo by RH – “Kirkjufell (Icelandic: Church Mountain) is a 463 m high mountain on the north coast of Iceland’s Snæfellsnes peninsula, near the town of Grundarfjörður. It is claimed to be the most photographed mountain in the country. Kirkjufell was one of the filming locations for Game of Thrones season 6 and 7, featuring as the “arrowhead mountain” that the Hound and the company north of the Wall see when capturing a wight.” – wiki.org
If the first half of the album is dreamlike, the second half shows that reality has finally set in. Let It Go stories the simple wisdoms of attachment as jangly strings quickly turn to screaming guitars, wet vocals and apoplectic lyrics, and Long Couple of Days follows a more balanced path using folk elements and a classic line, “Shoo fly outta my way.”
September 2016 photo by RH – “ancestors of the Icelandic horse were probably taken to Iceland by Viking Age Scandinavians between 860 and 935 AD. The Norse settlers were followed by immigrants from Norse colonies in Ireland, the Isle of Man and the Western Isles of Scotland.” – wiki.org
Finally, High Low culminates in energetic fashion with heavy drums and heavy distortion to make a statement anthemically that given a choice of high or low, “we can go high” and “when you’re ready to come we can light sparks.”
September 2016 photo by RH: SVÖRTULOFT AT SNÆFELLSNES PENINSULA – “Sailing in the Faxaflói bay and the Breiðafjörður bay in the western part of Iceland might be secure and calm, but traveling from one to the other can be quite tricky. The sailing by the tip of Snæfellsnes peninsula, past Svörtuloft is still a serious business. Throughout the centuries there have been drastic incidents and casualties. Ships have stranded, and as anyone can imagine looking at the sharp and black lava cliffs, this is not a good place to strand a ship. Most of them are quickly blown to pieces by the shore. The formation of the cliff is quite spectacular as they are dark and black lava cliffs.” – hiticeland.com
Sunday, October 15, 2017 at The Compound Studio, Long Beach, CA – Photo by @hey_andrewgSunday, October 15, 2017 at The Compound Studio, Long Beach, CA – Photo by @hey_andrewgPhoto by Andrew @ The Compound Studio while recording album, “Life on Mars” with Riley Hodges (left), Tim Bullock on bass (center), Antoine Arvizu on drums (right)
A whole lotta lotta has happened lately that all my happenings are filled to the brim of a cup with luck and whiskey to share. I’m not sure where to start… probably where I’m least likely to care… like, for instance, people are stupid. What is happening currently with that I’m sure you can easily find out. Look around! I also happen to have news to share. Feel me out.
I’m recording 6 additional songs! And I think they’re coming out better than the first bunch of songs from October and November. Maybe? Truly.
Street Walker
Here We Are
C’est La Vie
Maybelline
Forget Her
A Live One
Your Love
Can You Feel It Softly Go
Picture
High Low
Shoot The Root
Coming Home
*Above pic from October 2017 with Tim Bullock on bass at The Compound Studio in Long Beach, CA.
As I was having lunch today in the quiet of my home, I thought to ask my Echo, “Play 89.9 FM.” Whether question or command, my Echo always does what I say. So I wondered how lucky I am, to casually command, while others fight for their lives half a world away. What does this mean for me?
I think the best thing is to remind ourselves how fortunate we are. Relatively speaking, we are all fortunate to be alive, to be breathing. Actually, many may not agree with that. But this is my blog, and perhaps we’ll touch more on that topic later (being and non-being). So as I was saying, because of the challenges that life can present to each of us, I should be wary in saying that I am as fortunate as the next person. Of course I am not! But what I find interesting is that I think having gratitude can bring joy despite one’s circumstances. In other words, finding positivity in life just feels good. Of course, we all know this! At least we should…
Taking it a step further, I am making moves toward living a life of minimalism. We’ll see how that goes! What I’m really after is a form of decluttering that I hope will bring more appreciation for the things I cherish and use most often. In other words, I’m going to get rid of the shit that gets in the way of shit I like more! Hmm… I will be keeping my Echo.
With that said… I’ll be rehearsing with friends tonight!!! The goal is to rehearse the songs I have recorded and also to develop more tracks that will complete my upcoming album. I’ve been meeting with my friend, Tim Bullock, on Fridays for the past couple of weeks. He plays bass on the newly recorded songs. It’s been really fun! We’ve been meeting at my place, but tonight we’ll meet at my friend John Capito’s studio. Our friend, Dallas, will join us on drums.
Rebecca Gurnee will join us as well. She’s been working on songs of her own and playing gigs recently, so we’ll probably mix up the content. But! I want to try out an idea for a vocal duet with her on my song, Maybelline. We’ve already recorded this track with her singing backing vocals during the chorus, but I think taking it a step further will be worth it in the end. She has such a nice voice!
Also, as I was winding down to sleep last night, an idea struck me for another song that I recorded, Coming Home. First off, I’m not totally satisfied with how I sang vocals on that song. When I recorded them, I wasn’t feeling my best. So part of the pondering here comes with the territory. But also, I’ve always thought the song lacked something. It has kind of a rootsy-rock vibe with pedal steel. The idea that I have is to add choral Oooh’s and Ahhh’s, blended with Gospel choir gusto and Rock psychedelia that brings to mind elements similar to The Beatles’ Because.
Yes, that sounds easier said than done. But what I am hearing in my head feels attainable.
If you’re reading this, thank you for reading. Please feel free to comment and interact with me. I like interacting!
Perspective In Sound 