Staring at Kirkjufell

Staring off into the sea I see a silky wide abyss. My mouth was watering for I had nothing else but myself I thought to give. Was it me that felt I couldn’t see another gazing soul? I had thought I’d be far off before I’d grow too old. Where hath been whence I sure came for longing forever more? I stopped to think a mountain here was lonely in the cold…

Interesting or nah? I conjured a space inside my mind somehow tonight. As I was laying in bed the above image was literally mirrored in shape and color from my actual mirror and soft orange-pinkish light. Actually, I’ve been thinking about this image for quite some time. This trip to Iceland has showed me a path that I’m continually discovering with more purpose.

Kirkjufell (Icelandic: Church Mountain – kirk-you-fet-l) 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. Wikipedia Elevation: 1,519′ Did you know: Scenes from Game of Thrones Season 6 and 7 were filmed near Kirkjufell, featuring as the “arrowhead mountain” that the Hound and the company north of the Wall see when capturing a wight. mountainjourney.com

When we first traveled to this site to camp we drove past this location (to the left) toward the coast. As we reached a fork in the road, we saw that we could either go left to continue on this narrowing road, or go right and enter an otherwise normal looking area adjacent to this volcano and out toward the Arctic sea. Upon further review, the road was blocked by a small, unassuming gate with a compact red sign that said, “Prison.”

@ Tractor lyfe

So we went left, but not for long as a tractor started quickly approaching. Alrighty then… we backed up a few hundred feet to reach a small pasture with enough space to park just before the fork.

After we got situated, and took “our vitamins” so to speak, Patrick warmed up some hot dogs… and then… the horses started to arrive…

May 15, 2019 0

Our Story: Chapter One

I took this photo during a thrilling trek through the eastern region of Iceland. We had bounced and slid all morning while navigating the island’s rocky terrain toward the coast. The night before we had seen the aurorae among an otherwise pitch-black starry sky. As we emerged from the experience we were focused, and we felt good. This is our story.

Courage: let me know your thoughts on courage . . . your stories, experiences, feelings, miscellaneous ideas, beliefs . . .

Format: send me topics, character ideas, storylines, or anything you think might help format these posts into a cohesive narrative.

“As more distant stars are revealed in this animation depicting an infinite, homogeneous and static universe, they fill the gaps between closer stars. Olbers’s paradox argues that as the night sky is dark, at least one of these three assumptions about the nature of the universe must be false.”

click to view this on my website

May 9, 2019 1

“Street Walker” New_Music_Release

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?

© Riley Hodges 2019

April 5, 2019 0

New Music: Life on Mars

Riley Hodges is a musician from Long Beach, CA.

Hi Friends, Family and seekers of truth,

Life on Mars represents our collective ability to CREATE an ideal world.

My musical virtues focus on empathy, courage and love.

The album is set for release on vinyl later this year.

Here is a sneak peak:

My first release will be the opening track, Street Walker, on Friday, April 12, 2019
I will ask fans to reply and comment what Life on Mars means to them
I will tag & use fan comments to determine the next single release in May 2019
I will include fan comments in a live blog I’ll be writing named Our Story

Thank you for reading!

For more information:

rileyhodges.com

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Bio

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.

April 3, 2019 1