Flowers a’bloomin’ under the moon and will you shape me now? For summer is rising and petals have fallen here on this cool ground …
The Life of a Night Bloomer
C’est La Vie En Sevilla
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 🙂
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.
//
Rose petals are divine
Ancient
Eternal
Divine
//
Flamenco
Rumba
//
When the sangria and gazpacho becomes confused, it’s a good thing…
Learning Piano, Overcoming Fear
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…
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!
Check out the original compared to Zeppelin’s version.
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 . . .
Hodges Hodeown 2018 
Hodges Hoedown 2019 
Black Hole comparison 
Recording Shoot the Root @ 3 Pt Studios LBC 2015 
Viento y Agua 2012 
Viento y Agua 2012 
Mark’s guitar 
Hoedown 2012 
Hoedown 2012 
Hoedown 2012
Songwriting feels like…
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?
Maybelline – New Music Single
Listen to my new music single on Spotify, Soundcloud, Apple, iTunes
Visit my website for bonus content – rileyhodges.com
Instagram – Facebook – FB Messenger
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 ✌️☘️
“She wanted to go real far, like Alabama won’t you take me home to Mars where I can sleep among the stars at night? She never cared for darkness. If we come apart at the seams, will we still share these old jeans? If we can’t stop fueling the fight, will we walk together tomorrow, or will we wash away? Will we wash away? Maybelline, Maybelline… maybe, maybe… never thought I’d fly without ya… Walkin’ alone again I’ve seen your face before and look at your eyes so blue, dressed to chill another Friday night. Why can’t it be just like this?” © 2019 Riley Hodges
Riley Hodges: Lyrics, Piano, Hammond B3, Guitar, Vocals
Rebecca Gurnee: Backing Vocals
Robbie Allen: Bass
Antoine Arvizu: Drums
rileyhodges.com – visit my website for bonus content
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. WikipediaElevation: 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.”
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…
“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
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:
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?
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 Hodges 2019
Perspective In Sound – Making Music with Riley Hodges
RILEY HODGES·THURSDAY, MARCH 14, 2019
Riley Hodges is 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.
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?
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.
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.”
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.
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.”
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.”
Check out the promotional release of Live One, and full album release in May 2019.
If you like my writing, please check out more where that came from.
Special thanks to Antoine Arvizu at The Compound Studio, and to Eric Stoner for use of the album artwork, APOCALYPTICUS ROMANTICUS.
The Christening
I awoke in a daze as usually is the case to the sound of a whine from my little feline today. He would not relent as I hopped out of bed in a fury as I hurried to say no to his request. You cannot go outside because I’m taking a stand for waking me so early and I will not give in. What was I thinking as I surely am mad, but why not let him out so he could squat I should have said. I had it in mind that I would control his mind too, like a clockwork cat that follows my command. Boy, was I wrong, as I went back to sleep for just an hour more and I awoke to Jeep’s pee. Jeep is his name, the name of my cat, what the fuck did he do? He pissed on my brand new expensive leather couch! Ouch, ouch, ouch! Fucking shit! What the fuck happened to my plan that’s gone shit! I rushed to the store to find a proper stain-cleaner, and just as I finished my efforts I noticed more shit! This time, not just pee that I cleaned, but actual shit wrapped in a godforsaken lil blanket for me. Thank god it was all wrapped up, but I wish it were reversed. I’d rather clean bits of shit off this couch than puddles of kitty juice. Fuckkkkkkkkk.
Seriously, this all happened today. It threw off my day, kinda. I was pissed (pun intended). I canceled an appointment I had at 9AM. But it actually propelled me to get some work done earlier than I probably would have today. I spent a few hours preparing for a series of phone interviews I was conducting for hiring a Restaurant Manager for the opening of our new business, The Carvery.
I will be visiting my cousin tomorrow to go over my recently recorded music. I need to make some final decisions on the song mixes. This includes most likely wanting to record new vox for 1 or 2 tracks. My cousin is a full time musician and also has a business that he can help me with releasing my songs. In fact, he suggested I do this alongside the release of his new album. How cool!
Tomorrow night is Friday and I have tentative plans to rehearse with friends. Just like last weekend. If you haven’t read my previous post about this, the last rehearsal went okay. I will be looking to go into this next one with a few adjustments. Namely, I will bring my own amp, microphone, and cables. I will also recommend starting with a couple of cover songs.
The location of the rehearsal is at my friend John’s studio on 2nd Street. It’s not a recording studio, but a music school for teaching lessons. Although, I think John has always wanted to do recordings there, particularly for students, as part of a business plan. In fact, last weekend he had an engineer and new equipment for recording our rehearsal. But it was not ready in time. Maybe tomorrow he’ll have that ready to go.
I spoke to Antoine at The Compound regarding some final adjustments on the tracks I recorded with him. As mentioned above, I most likely will record some new vocals. But I want to make sure I have the vocal parts down and ready to go. This means I need to be in my right frame of mind as I prepare for this. I think the best thing I can do is just play every day. Unfortunately, because of how this day started, I did not make time to do that.
I am also in the process of reorganizing my house with new furniture so I spent most of the day on my newly christened couch that I would have otherwise avoided if it weren’t brand new and awesome for the comfort of my piano bench. Also, my guitars have been moved around and are either packed in cases or are in the next room.
In other news, I thought of a new harmony idea for the song Coming Home. The idea is a background choral harmony. Kinda psychedelic pseudo-gospel paving the way for some soulful vocal runs during the chorus and outdo. Did I mention this in a previous entry? I don’t think so. Anyway, Antoine recommended I test it out with a strings patch on keys, meaning I should play the notes as on a keyboard so it sounds like a orchestral strings, assuming like a cello. So yeah, I will do that. That sounds fun.
Also, I read an article on best times to release an album. I saved it for when I have time to read it thoroughly. Hm. Basically it said not in March (because SXSW) and not in October (because CMA). But this brings me to my next thought, which is that I have been considering recording more songs. I would love to do 10 or 12 songs so that I can release a full length album. But at the moment it’s not looking like that’s the best thing to do. The additional songs will take some time to develop, and I will want to nail them the next time I do a vocal session. I also don’t have a budget for more song material at the moment. So my release at this point is looking like it’s going to be an E.p. Although, as the article suggested, it is best to start promoting 3 months in advance of a release. So it’s possible I could add material during that time. I would like to set a release date in the next couple of weeks. It also said the best day to do release, somewhat officially, is on a Friday!
I could aim for February release, with the consideration that I’ve been promoting for the past month, or in May as that seems like a good time of year just before summertime. It’s also the month of my birthday! Happy birthday to me.
If you’ve read this far, thank you for reading. I’m glad we have survived the inferno that is wrecking Southern California these past few days. Wildfires have made our beautiful region look like hell on earth. I am thankful for what I have. But part of me is like, damn I kinda wanna go make some art. Maybe film the blaze. Another part of me is like, yeah, the world is suffering all the time. We should pay attention more.
I never know how to end these things… Goodbye is probably the best way.
Goodbye.
Perspective In Sound 