*

Leinenkugel beer-branded painting

2011-12-22T14:02:00.000-08:00

I just finished this branded painting of a local Wisconsin beer logo. It is a christmas present for my brother-in-law. The name of the beer is "Leinenkugel".

Ukes on parade!! (a RED on RED! instrumental)

2011-11-25T21:46:00.001-08:00

Lately, Nicole and I have been trying to challenge ourselves to write more music, not just songs with lyrics....sometimes there is a marked difference in our lives between the two.

In this song (some things happening in the backdrop):

* Nicole and I are teaching our kids to tune the ukelele by singing "my dog has fleas"....just strumming the uke open like that makes a beautiful sound.

* We also have had many discussions about musical theory--especially in the context of classical music. The latest hot topic in our conversations is how classical composers will find a melody and repeat it/explore it consistently throughout the symphony.

* My kids are teasing my Mother's bijon frise during the recording (which often reminds of a circus act, with both of them circling and taunting the dog, jetting their hands in quickly for a pet or poke and out again before she can growl or bite their tiny little fingers....needless to say, my mothers bijon frise is not good with children.)

Enjoy!

Ukes on parade by ryan kennelly

PS. I think I have come up with a title for this song: "the amazing, flying trapeze act of Baby Coda (the name of my mothers' dog)"

RED on RED! is back! (we promise)

2011-11-07T14:06:00.000-08:00

Shewwww!! Its been a distracted and disheveled year. But Nicole and I are committed to finishing this project! So committed, in fact, we have begun to rearrange our work schedules to fit in more creative work time, as well as hiring someone to help us produce the RED on RED! album. The producers (wow that sounds professional??) name is David Atchata, he is a friend of ours, and he's holding us accountable on a short leash to get our RED on RED! goals accomplished. Sooooooo, here is another song I wrote for the project. I was thinking of who I was and where I was before I met and married Nicole when I wrote this....Enjoy! RED on RED! : She'll brake your fall. by ryan kennelly

Carving pumpkins and negative space......

2011-10-17T14:20:00.000-07:00

The kids and I took advantage of the sunny weather this afternoon to make jack-o-lanterns. While I carved out their drawings on the surface of the pumpkin, I told them about negative space and how it sits around the subject matter. It was a tangible lesson and they seemed to pick up on it (especially my daughter, who drew these elaborate scenes on her pumpkin-leaving me no carving room except in the negative space surrounding them).

FLEET FOXES helplessness blues

2011-10-11T11:54:00.000-07:00

('http://www.youtube.com/p/ECBBB4F52B9B189C?version=3&hl=en_US',)

This too...

florence and the machine

2011-10-11T11:52:00.000-07:00

('http://www.youtube.com/p/B47BEAD8358FE62C?version=3&hl=en_US',)listening to this list often....

2011-10-05T11:18:00.000-07:00

This ones been a "slow-roller", but for some reason I've found it really therapeutic to get geeky about minute details such as skin tones and shades and the way the water reflects off the sand.....

and, what I've been listening to lately........

2011-09-20T22:26:00.000-07:00

I HIGHLY recommend it.......

2011-09-20T22:19:00.000-07:00

art show at THE SPACE.

2011-08-29T15:13:00.000-07:00

So Im having an exhibit (in a group show) of the "branded" paintings I did over the winter. The exhibit will be in a cute store called THE SPACE (1030 NW 12th Ave. TH1) with a reception this Thursday, September 1st ( 6? to 8?--who knows, partys and party people are such elusive things....).

What I've been reading.....

2011-08-16T10:53:00.000-07:00

What I just finished..........

What Im into now.....(so dang good)

Whats next on the list....(Im going to try and read Merton in chronological order starting with this one--book 1)

2011-08-11T17:20:00.001-07:00

2011-08-05T13:23:00.001-07:00

Also, I found two pieces of wood from the local lumber scrap yard that have these awesome stains on them! (I think they were used as the bottoms of industrial pallets that carried some sort of tar paper rolls.) Im going to do some charcoal drawings on them.

why drawing is so d#*m important!

2011-08-03T10:31:00.000-07:00

Ok, so I just spent 2 to 3 hours drawing my friend Liz's 3/4 profile (the background landscape/seascape was done in the last 15 minutes or so), and while it was frustrating to wipe down and rework the drawing so much, I know it will make the final product (and process) so much more enjoyable.

You see, I have been developing a thought lately that I believe to be universally true of any visual artform: ITS ALL ABOUT DRAWING. Essentially, Im drawing with the paint, but, even if I was using clay or metals or a design program, the basic fundamentals are the same: Im working with lines, contour, composition, and ultimately, subject matter. These are all the basics of any good drawing--in fact, they are more exposed and raw in the drawing process.

So heres what it comes down to for me.....Drawing is key. If I can find life and vibrancy in my initial drawings, then adding color, shapes, planes, etc. will be a cake walk....in fact, it will do best when it builds upon the solid foundation of drawing I've already set in motion.

Often, I will find myself working and re-working the paint over an area until Im completely frustrated and confused as to why it doesnt seem to be coming out "right". When I step back and ask myself if the initial drawing of the subject is right (questions like, "are the proportions right?", or "are the angles on or off?", "is the whole composition falling flat or is it dynamic?", etc. etc.), the answer is almost infallibly "no". Its only then that I realize I have been approaching my work ass-backwards and that I need to restructure some foundational issues before I strive anymore with mixing colors or shades or any other esoteric procedure.

So here is my nugget of advice: draw ALL the time. In fact, look at your work as one giant drawing. Because ultimately, if you find yourself drawing all the time in your work, you'll begin to connect with some solid creative axiom's, making your work deep, rich, and as effective as you want it to be.

fertig.....

2011-08-01T07:15:00.000-07:00

some LITTLE CZAR videos....

2011-07-30T14:20:00.000-07:00

ok, so its been awhile, but my plans for the LITTLE CZAR AND THE PSALMIST musical project aren't over yet! (In fact, I dont think they ever really had a proper/formal beginning--at least in the public eye).

As far as recording new material is concerned, everything should change this fall when the weather turns and I can no longer paint under our carport....

Until then, here are two songs we recorded on the fly this spring.....enjoy.

2011-07-29T07:24:00.000-07:00

2011-07-27T10:59:00.000-07:00

...Not liking how this is going....it just seems too "typical". I glued some newspaper clippings in the background, which is interesting...now to just start hacking and re-working/re-drawing the face....

and, this is the canvas Ill be using for the next painting. My mother painted the original painting (its an old western homestead w someone similar looking to Daniel Boone riding his horse back to the cabin after a long days journey of huntin and trappin)....

2011-07-25T15:41:00.000-07:00

Ya acabé

2011-07-23T12:14:00.000-07:00

Finished! Here are some details.....

New painting..

2011-07-21T09:23:00.000-07:00

Just started this one of my uncle Ron (again, Im painting portraits of the people around us who we know and love......and again, if anyone wants a portrait of themselves please let me know).

This one seems so fun as a minimal line drawing, not sure how much more I will do to it.......

2011-07-19T19:31:00.001-07:00

almost finished......I added a line drawing to the right side of Jessica's face (but the photo is too dark to see it)

2011-07-06T12:23:00.000-07:00

Yeah Summertime!.....and the carport smells like turpentine!

2011-06-29T09:58:00.000-07:00

Now that summer is here, I've been able to move all my oil painting supplies outside and hack at the canvas again!

I've begun painting a series of portraits of friends and family that Im excited about (btw. if you are one of the aforementioned friends or family but have not sent me any portrait pics of yourself ack..hm...*ADAM*... nows the time!).

These portraits serve two purposes: 1. They are great painterly exercises for my atrophied artistic ligaments, and 2. I can immediately give them away to the ones I love- aka. the ones Im painting the portraits of. Which means there is NO lag time between when I finish them and when they find a happy home. Also, this means no filled up closet space, no gallery semantics, no weirdness when/if money exchanges hands, and no pressure for the art to be anything but pure candid honesty. Just a free gift from someone who's grateful to be creating freely.

Here is the first segment of the first painting. It is derived from the wedding pictures of our friends/neighbors/co-workers (yeah, its complicated) Felix and Jessica.

PS. If you have any extra canvases or old paintings (I can reuse almost anything if its made of wood and/or stretched canvas) you'd be willing to donate, please let me know.

PSS. If I have not talked to you about painting your portrait, but you're interested in one, let me know. BE ADVISED-I need specific photos for this project- NOT just everyday photos. I can take them myself or let you know what Im looking for and have you send them to me via email.

kikkoman naturally brewed all-purpose soy sauce......

2011-05-29T23:31:00.000-07:00

top high school albums ....#3

2011-05-05T13:38:00.000-07:00

SONIC YOUTH: Dirty

And thats just what this little sensual tidbit is..."dirty". I was completely unaware of the subject matter running through this album until one of my friends pointed it out to me......There we were, driving down Ohio interstate 42 in a bright red 1980's Toyota Tacoma (my first vehicle, of which I also careemed a deer on the same interstate, bending the front bumper and adjacent, self-installed fog lights under the frame), DIRTY playing in the tape deck, when my friend blushed, covered her mouth, and giggled. When asked why she acted so, she said, "did you hear what she (Kim Gordon, sonic youth's quasi-lead singer) just said?" "Yes!" I replied with forced confidence. Yes of course I new what they were singing about. How silly. What kind of loser would sing along in a mid-pubescent voice while driving down a backwoods Ohio road in a banged up toyota truck--with a self-installed air horn--and WOULDNT know the words? DUH?!

Obviously, not all the material in this album is sex related, but the parts that are, really are, for sure. What makes this album different from other sensual/sexual sonic youth songs (songs like "androgynous mind" from the later release EXPERIMENTAL JET SET TRASH AND NO STAR, which I later found myself consistently fast forwarding through--knowing full well what I was missing), is its ability to handle the sensual in a less confrontational way. The album's smooth guitar slides and low, cool vocal tones give it the ability to "sneek" racy issues in under the radar. Its ethereal feel sends you into a dream state (in which, if you are not careful, you might wake up in another bed, with your shirt off, hugging a sinister looking plush toy with a knife in your hand).

But besides being a sensual album, DIRTY is dirty in another, more important way. Its "dirty" like the blues. If you read up on how Sonic Youth experimented with alternate guitar tunings, you'll find many of their "out of standard" tunings were originally used by blues guitarists a half century earlier, and its evident on this album more than any other Youth album (in my humblest of opinions). The sounds are blues, the beats are blues, the vocals are sly, low and hushed in a bluesish fashion, but most of all the overall vibe of DIRTY is blues. "Dirty" blues, the kind of blues that picks itself up off the bar room floor and rises out of some deep, guteral place within the human soul/psyche.

Interestingly enough, not long after listening to this album, I found myself leafing through the "used" blues tapes at the local record store. I began to devour any and all recordings of blues slide guitarists I could find, and although I couldnt play guitar at the time, I was fascinated by the process of breaking a beer glass (or grabbing a metal socket from your tool set), sliding the neck over your pinky finger, and ripping up and down the neck of a homemade guitar.

There is something of the essence of blues here in DIRTY, the dirty, candid, real-life feel of a bar stool brawl---and I like it (not brawling, of course, Im a wuss. But I dont mind watching and cheering it on....). Strange how this band, known as the progressive cornerstone of indie rock, connected me to a genre of music more than 100 years old, a genre of music which seems to come in many skins, yet one central, continuously, vibrantly pumping heart.

I have to confess, saying the words "the blues" in such a passionate way, makes me feel and sound as old as my parents. But if I attach the words "sonic youth" somewhere in the sentence it just might give me a little more street cred, or at least let you know that Im in on the innuendo...... *wink* *wink*.

show this Thursday!

2011-05-03T10:54:00.000-07:00

My friend Myah Bailey, who owns and operates an art gallery on Lovejoy St. named BENJAMIN BENJAMIN, is having a show in which 20 artists were coupled together and asked to paint each other's portraits. The concept is pretty fun, and the artists are even funner!....should be a good show. Here is the Facebook link.

Myah was kind enough to ask me to participate, so here is my portrait of longtime friend and confidant Kathleen Courian-Sanchez.

Come on out to the show if you are in the neighborhood this Thursday.....if you dont like art or artists, and still need a good reason to come out, then you should know Stone Brewing and the Canvas Art Bar will be on Hand for the show, serving world class wine and beer....

cat food....

2011-04-18T21:31:00.000-07:00

I painted this for my daughter's birthday (she just turned 6). We both saw this bag and its logo in the neighborhood grocery store and she asked me if I could keep it so she could "draw the kitty's face." Its so banal and awkward looking, like cat food you'd find in an army surplus store. I love it.

and cigarettes

2011-03-31T11:10:00.000-07:00

These paintings are becoming more and more minimal....almost turning into drawings. I've really been enjoying working with the grain and cut of the wood with varnish in certain areas, and how that adds a "vintage" feel to them.

Im hoping the colors are....implied.

Stella artois....

2011-03-28T12:03:00.000-07:00

and another.....

2011-03-15T23:03:00.000-07:00

The making of a "branded" painting......

2011-03-13T21:56:00.000-07:00

New "branded" paintings...

2011-02-16T14:01:00.000-08:00

Just started working on the "branded" paintings. Here are the first three in the series of 15 or so. They are painted with acrylic on found wood.

Hopefully the whole series will be done by early-mid spring when the weather warms, and I can begin painting under our car-port with oil paints again. I have some other ideas for portraits using the screen technique (or whatever you call it)........

RED on RED! song number 3.

2011-02-14T12:41:00.000-08:00

Again, we tried to be subtle and simple on this one. Nicole wrote it while we lived in Montana, but we've spent the last week or so re-recording it with a ukulele.

We are proud to have this song featured on a compilation CD. Our friend/acquaintance, Breena Wiederhoeft is releasing her new graphic novel, Picket Line, with an accompanying compilation CD. She asked us to contribute, and we were honored. Find her here. She's pretty talented.

Falling (winter song) by ryan kennelly

FB friends go here- http://snd.sc/i5JZ4A

PS. You can download this track for free if you like, just look to the side toolbar. Thanks and enjoy.

High School Hits # 2 (...an ongoing list of my top 5 favorite high school albums).

2011-02-11T14:02:00.000-08:00

SEAM: THE PROBLEM WITH ME.

I remember sitting next to my relative's pool in the hot summer sun, listening to my newly purchased SEAM CD from a remote disc player leaned against the screen window of the pool house. My aunts, who were sunbathing at the time, told me to "turn that sh##t down!"....and I didnt blame them, because it seemed that everytime this band reached a soft melodious meditative place in their songs, they would blow up like a hand grenade and wreck everything pretty in the world. Exploding drums, cymbals, vocals, and feedback, wreaked havoc on my post-pubescent mind (and also made for a bad sunbathing experience)....my aunts cackled and told me this wasnt music. "Now that 'achey-breakey heart' song, THATS MUSIC!" More cackling.

....I pretended not to hear them, sprang high off the diving board, and landed one of the most biggest and baddest cannonballs recorded in human history.

While I like SEAM's other albums, I always return to this one. There's something timeless about it (as, hopefully, you find all of the albums on the top 5 list). When I first heard it, I felt like Sooyoung Park (the lead singer) had openned my mail, read it, and put music into my inmost thoughts (even though a high school junior/senior man-boy doesnt typically get much mail, journal, or write in many diaries for that matter, but you understand the metaphor...or hyperbole...whatever).

Again, you find just enough self-loathing (if that wasnt already apparent by the title) to appeal to any tween, yet they intertwine it so cleverly with strung out melodies and force, you could find yourself weathering through the first year of college with this album still rotating in your listening equipment. (Im serious. I annoyed the crap out of my freshman dorm-roomate with this one. )

The most attractive quality of this album is it's endearing character. The album is very accessible (maybe not quite "achey-breaky heart" accessible, but accessible still). Its open-armed, and inviting. Not so much aggressive, as confident. Humble, honest and straight-up are some other good adjectives to describe it. The album as a whole moves fluidly within itself and ends with a soft, ambient, volume steady guitar loop. Sooyoung is telling his own personal story, almost in the same way repeatedly, but from different angles, which in turn makes the songs narrative and intertwined.

That summer was a memorable one. It was the summer before I left my parent's nest in mid-Ohio for a college dorm room. The summer I worked blisters onto my fingers from work in a paint roller factory. The same summer I spent that hot August afternoon submerging and resurfacing under the water of my Aunt and Uncles pool....hearing this album go from opaque, muffled underwater garble to crisp audible hooks and swoons in the summer air. That is, until one of my aunts disturbed her sunbathing to shut it off. No matter, I soon bought the cassette and it was traveling with me down the road.

RED on RED song #2

2011-02-06T20:28:00.000-08:00

Most of the songs we recorded are less drawn out and orchestrated as the prior post. Our goal was to keep it as simple as possible and let the lyrics stand in the foreground.

This is good for two reasons: 1. Because it gives me the ability to highlight Nicoles voice, which I believe is way more accessible in its smooth, lucid tones than my scratchy voicebox. and 2. It gives me the chance to highlight Nicole's song writing ability, which, when put into motion, is pretty much infallible. Im constantly amazed by her ability to construct words and narratives and arrange them into intriguing, emotionally packed songs. The girl's a genius at it and it confounds me.

This song is entitled "Look at the sky", recorded a couple of years ago in the giant, spacious community house we lived in at the time. We could re-record it (and still might), but I find myself continually drawn back to this original "on the fly" take. (It might be good to hear some feedback--do you think we should stick to this recording or make another? BE HONEST.) Enjoy.

Look at the sky by ryan kennelly

FB friends go here: http://snd.sc/fGFq6Y

My top 5 favorite high school albums....

2011-02-04T23:23:00.000-08:00

Lately, I've been revisiting some of the albums I listened to religiously back in high school. For some reason, that era of my life currently intrigues me--maybe from working the school bus route and being around a bunch of teens and pre-teens.

To be honest, my memories of high school are not always the fondest. Trapped yet free from parochial school, uncool but yet not a total loser, gray and in the shadows, uneventful identity shifts, changing to a "new" set of old friends....my high school career can best be qualified by a list of paradoxes which seemingly cancel each other out and leave me with a tasteless memory of the time.

To be totally absolutely candid, the only outstanding highlights of my high school days are the girls I dated, the college friends I hung out with, and the music I listened too. Of all those, music stands apart. In physical form--Cd, vinyl, tapes, etc., are fixed objects in your life once you find them (my CD's never physically removed themselves from my presence, whereas MOST --slash that-- ALL of my girlfriends did ---what the heck was I doing wrong??) Consequently, music's become the most stable, thrilling platform of expression and expansion in my life. I craved it like a bad addiction, digging through trenches of plastic jewel cases and glossy magazine articles, looking for the perfect connection with a new band or album.

Dont get me wrong, I still enjoyed much of the classic staple grunge rock of my high school days (soundgarden, pearl jam, mudhoney, nirvana, blind melon ((yes even blind melon--Im publicly declaring that)), etc., etc.). But occasionally I'd run into or get handed an album that seemed to propel me forward into something.. something deeper and more existential then I was maybe willing (or able) to comprehend at the time.

Even though my tastes may have changed, some of those albums are timeless in their approach and canon....and I've been digging them out of the cupboards to again revisit their allure and attractiveness, all the while soaking in my own sentimentality.

So here goes. Number 1:

SMASHING PUMPKINS: siamese dream. Now, if you talk to any hardcore S.M. fan they will infallibly say "GISH (the album before SIAMESE DREAM) was their best album." They will scoff when you mention SIAMESE DREAM or anything thereafter by the Smashing Pumpkins. Dont listen to them. They are the original root of snooty, elite, indie rockism. While you should respect them because they are getting older in age and more senile, you should also remember that with them its personal. They just get pissed off when the few bands they love and hold close to their own personal identity, suddenly blow up and become popular. Back in the day, large corporate record labels were seeking out good bands and finding them--Flaming Lips, the Sundays, Jawbox, Pavement, etc.-- so it was common for indie bands to go from unheard of to international phenomena overnight. SIAMESE DREAM was no exception.

No mistaking it though, GISH was a good album, but SIAMESE DREAM stole everything good from GISH and made it better, with dividends. SIAMESE DREAM is what I call the Smashing Pumpkin's "apex" album, the album in which the artist's peaked in their abilities and talents (their following albums: Melancholy and Infinite Sadness, Adore, and the newest one didn't draw me in the same way Siamese Dream did....oops did I just say that out loud? AAHHH. My elitism is turning in on itself!!).

Billy Corgan (the lead singer) began writing more mature lyrics that fit the maturity of the music itself, and they blend an explosive dynamic with long stretches of drifting ambience.--Plus, there is enough angsty torment mixed with poppy sound in the songs to allow you to sit in your room for hours and sulk yet come out feeling happy and content. Overall, this album is bound together really well, leaving each song somewhat dependent on the other yet able to stand alone.

I wasn't sure I liked this album when I first heard it, but it eventually wrestled itself into my conscious, and, as I've learned over the years, those are the best kind of albums.

ITS ON!....RED on RED....IN ALL CAPS!!!!!

2011-01-31T00:17:00.000-08:00

Its on! Nicole and I are approaching our 10th anniversary (April 22nd) like a freight train and we are more than half way done recording the album....Some old songs, some new. My hope and prayer is that this project and our anniversary rekindle things we lost along the way (the 7 year hump really does exist!).

To stoke the fire under our butts, I've decided to post a song every Monday for the next couple of weeks until we have finished it completely. Im pretty sure we can have this baby bagged and tagged before March rolls around....after that comes mastering and then figuring out how to distribute it. -CDs? -Vinyl? -MP3s?

Here is one of the songs I wrote. Its entitled "feather down" and, of course, its about Nicole (everyone go ahead and say AAAAHHHHHHH in a sappy, nasally way). The song is long, but when we send it to get mastered, we will have them cut it into two tracks. ENJOY> (FB peeps can view it here= http://soundcloud.com/tactilecollective/red-on-red-feather-down).

RED on RED--Feather down by ryan kennelly

Angels we have heard...

2010-12-27T22:19:00.001-08:00

I know its late in the game, but if I still have to put up with Christmas commercials, then why not post one last christmas song dang-it!?

Here are some of our/my creative plans for 2011. Im excited, its going to be a good year....
1. Finish recording with Nicole and have CD's available by our anniversary in April.

2. Work with Nicole on an interior photographic mural for the Downtown pizzicato pizza store. These photos include close ups of different sidewalk textures gridded together.

3. Begin and finish a small series of Branded paintings by early spring so I can.....

4. Move the studio outside when the weather gets warmer, break out the oils and begin work on a series of screen paintings using portraits of friends, family, and loved ones.

5. Finish and blog a diary of my bus driving experiences.

6. Maybe, just maybe start a book I've always dreamed of writing.

7. Write a song every day of lent.

8. Lose 10 pounds and quite smoking (just kidding)

Anyways, here you go. Happy Holidays.
angels we have heard... by ryan kennelly

Ps. While searching vintage pictures of angels, I found some really groovy specimens. For example.....

Christmas: the final installment........for now. (my new title for the next Steven Seagal christmas kung fu special)

2010-12-24T08:36:00.000-08:00

OK. Im done for now. But I've left the redux of Nicole's song to savor for next year.....and the saga of creating LITTLE CZARS final album is not over yet. I have many ideas about the Passover/lent/Easter season.

Overall, Im ecstatic how the Christmas stuff came out. Two of the three major songs were started two years ago and left to sit and collect dust, so it was really hard to crawl back into their skin and connect the dots. But I think we pulled it off....here is a small tidbit near the end, I will post the latest song we finished tomorrow on Christmas day, may you all dream of sugar plum fairies and stockings hung by the fire with care--to all a Merry Christmas and to all a good night!

Wise men wondering.... by ryan kennelly
(FB peeps go here-http://soundcloud.com/tactilecollective/wise-men-wondering)

PS. As I write this, Im listening to Laura from upsidedown cat's christmas album. Its darn good. Listen to it here. (or FB friends go here http://upsidedowncat.bandcamp.com/album/its-winter).

the gingerbread dog poo prank.....

2010-12-21T22:45:00.000-08:00

So if you ever find yourself making gingerbread cookies during the holidays, make sure and leave some extra cookie dough for a classic prank. This is one of my personal favorites and Ive managed to pull it off convincingly every year.

1. Make gingerbread cookie dough.

2. Roll it out in the shape of dog's poo. (the amount of dough determines the size of the dog--personally I love the toy dog sized poo.)

3. Bake it

4. Strategically place it somewhere in the house or yard.

5. Let your inner thespian come out and spare no dramatic length in convincing someone that it is the real deal. A good dramatic end is to put it in your mouth Caddyshack style.

Enjoy and Happy Holidays.

The best christmas song ever! And my wife wrote it! Exclamation point, exclamation point, etc.!

2010-12-17T19:10:00.000-08:00

3 years ago, the label asthmatic kitty held a christmas song competition and put the finalists on a virtual compilation they streamed from their website. Nicole got the itch to enter it and we spent a few days writing and recording her christmas song.

She didnt make it into the final cut, but as far as Im concerned, she wrote one of the best Christmas songs ever, in fact, its one of my personal favorites of hers.....sometimes when she is sitting at the piano tinkering away, I ask her to play it for me.........even if its July.

Anyways, I say all that because Im going to give a try at reduxing it for the LITTLE CZAR stuff Im currently working on.......we'll see. Hopefully the redux version works as well as hers.............

Here you go. Enjoy.
Nicole's christmas song by ryan kennelly
http://soundcloud.com/tactilecollective/nicoles-christmas-song

PS. I havnt put my nose to the grindstone yet concerning the branded paintings, but I plan on using the next two weeks of vacation and at least starting them.....

Christmas from the mouth of the prophetics

2010-12-11T22:55:00.000-08:00

Here is another Christmas song I just finished.....the album is quickly becoming a D.I.Y. rock opera. Move aside Meatloaf, you dont have anything up on baby Jexux!

P.S. added vox thanks to friends Laura from upsidedowncat! and Pete Mason

Little czar christmas--little baby jexux in the mouth of the prophetics by ryan kennelly

Merry X-mas!

RED on RED!

2010-12-04T13:39:00.000-08:00

So Nicole and I have agreed (or at least I thought of the idea and she likes it enough to not say no--which is a good sign) to name the music we are working on together "RED on RED!". "Red room" has been taken (like a million times over!) and apparently the copyright in band names does not cover upper-lower case lettering and punctuation. Thus, while there are many "red on red"'s (still not equal to the vast amount of bands/venues named "red room"), there is no "RED on RED!" as I know it. Turns out the exclamation point is actually really vital this time!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Anyways, if you dont know already, we held a photo shoot for the album this summer while visiting Montana and are delighted to have just received the photos on disc in the mail. The photography was done by our good friend Christina, find more of her work here www.patchworkphotography.com.

Here are some of my favorites.....enjoy.

another little czar christmas song (la magnificat)......

2010-11-25T22:59:00.000-08:00

Here is another song from the LITTLE CZAR album I'm working on this Christmas season. Im SO dang excited about it!!! (you should know that I don't use exclamation points very often, but when I do, I mean it!!!).

This song is straight up scripture. Its traditionally been called "La magnificat" or Mary's song. She sang it right after finding out that God would impregnate her and keep her virginity intact.....crazy. Enjoy

Christmas czar -- la magnificat by ryan kennelly

http://soundcloud.com/tactilecollective/christmas-czar-la-magnificat

New music this Christmas season.......

2010-11-18T12:02:00.001-08:00

Well, I've been a pretty detached blogger these last couple of months. No worries though, after a short hiatus and change of jobs (for those of you who might not know, I've officially become a school bus driver) I again feel the creative juices flowing.
I've drafted up an "achievement list" ("goal lists" are such a 2010 thing!:) for this fall, winter, and spring, here it is:

1. This Christmas season I feel really moved to finish up the final LITTLE CZAR AND THE PSALMIST recording. Except for a redux of "songs of ascent", this is the pieta' of the project, the final culmination of me by myself orchestrating songs late in the night, pouring out my heart and soul in a condenser mic in our basement or linen closet. After this, I will tuck all 6 recordings away until their appointed time and begin work on other projects like......(see number 2)

2. Yeaaah! Nicole and I are getting geared up to finish recording and producing the songs we've written together. We are about half way done, and our goal is to finish it by this spring, so we can celebrate our 10th wedding anniversary by giving all our friends and family a free CD of our music. How egotistic of us, right? No matter, Im really elated over the material and it will be worth every penny....every free penny.

3. Last but not least, I have all next week off for Thanksgiving and my goal is to produce about 15 or 20 more branded paintings.....

Sorry for the lengthy text in this blog, but you've been faithful and barreled on through like a trooper. As a reward, I have posted an excerpt from the current LITTLE CZAR AND THE PSALMIST recording in process. Much of the material is centered around the Christmas season and the God becoming man event--this included. Enjoy (and if you skipped the text to listen to this, shame on you!)

Christmas czar 2010 by ryan kennelly

( FB friends go here http://soundcloud.com/tactilecollective/christmas-czar-2010)

Free paintings....

2010-10-13T07:50:00.000-07:00

These two paintings were in the PDX BRIDGE festival this summer and I just got them back. If anyone would like them, send me a note and you can have them (out of towners need only pay for shipping-which should be between 10 and 20 bucks)!

They are gesso and sharpie on glass, painted over previously framed photographs I found at Good Will. One is a self portrait over the Willamette gorge, and the other a portrait of Miriam over a snowy scene of wizard island. Roughly 12" x 8" each.

OCTOPUSSY!!!

2010-10-05T22:11:00.000-07:00

Soooo I've been a little lax this summer about blogging. What can I say, things have been happening...alot of busy things. Nicole and I are currently shifting our work schedules (for the better!) and I just got a new job as a school bus driver, which I am extremely excited about.

As fall is settling in, Im beginning to rewrite and underscore my creative list and should have more time to work on upcoming projects while both kids are in school all day.

Here are the two major things on my list this fall:

1. Finish recording, mastering, and pressing CD's for the music Nicole and I have been working on (which, by the way, we decided to name Red on Red!)
and
2. Work on a series of "branded" paintings with acrylic and found wood. For example......

I just finished this one today for a show at the BenjaminBenjamin gallery here in Portland (details here: benjaminbenjamin.com/page/2).

The artists reception is this thursday, October 7th, from 5-8pm. Come say hi....

The great bewitcher

2010-09-15T22:42:00.000-07:00

I just read an excerpt from Ben Hogan's book FIVE LESSONS--THE MODERN FUNDAMENTALS OF GOLF which reminds me why I enjoy the game so much....

"And then, suddenly the miracle happens. The despairing man who could do nothing right now can do nothing wrong. He fishes his clubs out of the water and buys the balls back from the caddy. He feels, as the song says, "now at last I know the secret of it all.

The bewitcher [golf] leads him on. Now he becomes arrogant and conceited again. He sees things clearly. He is Murder, Incorporated off the tees, sudden death on his approaches, a veritable Willie Hoppe for accuracy on the greens. In his great joy, he finds he loves all his fellow men, especially those in his own foursome. He wants to share his newly discovered secrets. He gives them freely to his companions. He is a Daddy Warbucks for generosity. He is also a pain in the neck.

But the game, the bewitcher, will take care of him. At the moment when his confidence is highest, his happiness indescribable, she will let him have it. He will slice his drive, he will blunder his way back onto the fairway and into a trap, he will four-putt the green. He will be chastened. He will know humility again."

new drawings and paintings......

2010-08-04T09:29:00.000-07:00

poem from lent # 2

2010-07-25T23:55:00.000-07:00

Pink robe
orange cushions
soft and interwoven
piano keys
and checkered pajamas

Dim light
wicker
straw
bind, unbind
design
knit
dead grass in a vase
frosted milk glass
and the game of memory.

poems from lent...

2010-07-21T11:07:00.000-07:00

Instead of subtracting or giving up something this past lent season, I decided to add a discipline that I might not put into ordinary practice.

As I brainstormed about it, I determined writing poetry was the best option---it seems to always sit on the backburner of my creative goal list, yet I thoroughly enjoy it when I get the chance.

My goal was to discipline myself to write a poem for every day of lent, leaving me with 40 poems overall (coinciding with the 40 days of lent). I didnt quite reach my goal, but it was an interesting experiment. There were some nights when I could not think of anything to write about so I began to make lists of things surrounding me where I sat. Often, the lists began to grow into sentences and subject matter and environments........

Enjoy.

POEM 1

Sleeping bags
and sleeping kids.
Warm buzz of the flickering
television.
beer
and quiet little heads.
laying softly
stuffed in cotton and feather down.

Just below my feet
and the computer's fan
is buzzing
type, type, type,
community.
virtually miles down the
ethernet trail,
and inches from my toes.

Post # 15--pinhole camera pictures for sale for 20$ each

2010-06-04T09:44:00.000-07:00

****All the proceeds from the sale of these pictures will go to our friends at sound ghost recording studios (www.soundghoststudios.com). If you are unaware, they have sacrificed their time and energy to help Nicole and I record some of our songs, and now they are moving here next to us in the Annex building! We are excited not only to have our friends close to us, but to see such a great artistic endeavor make its way to the St. Johns neighborhood.

In order to welcome them and thank them for all the hard work they have donated to us, we have decided to sell these pinhole pics for 20$ each and donate all of it to help them build their new recording studio here in the annex....please consider buying one for the cause, AND THIS SALE ALSO APPLIES TO FRIENDS FROM AFAR. IF YOU ARE INTERESTED, SEND ME A MESSAGE, AND I CAN PUT THEM IN THE MAIL FOR YOU....******

Post # 14 (random landscapes for sale)

2010-06-02T09:24:00.000-07:00

So this is where the 30$ price system is actually reasonable (I have priced these paintings around 30-60$ when I hung them at shows in the past). These black and white landscapes were derived from photos I took while making the move from Ohio to Portland after I graduated. They are made with acrylic and colored pencil on found wood.

Enjoy.

****BY THE WAY, I SUGGEST MAKING A TOP 3 OR TOP 5 LIST BEFORE YOU COME SO YOU WONT WALK AWAY DISSAPOINTED....JUST FYI.++++++++++

Post # 13 (the last and most biggest and baddest of all self portraits)

2010-05-31T21:30:00.000-07:00

Ok, so I modeled myself after Michelangelo's DAVID--is that so far-fetched? Nicole has never stopped reminding me of how I made myself look a little too buff for this one, but one can dream cant he? Why should I try and immortalize myself as I really am--a pasty white bean pole with a squash permanently stuck and shaped in my middle?

I Have to clear this one out of the studio! Its too big too hold on to, and I still like it just enough to not destroy it.....so if you buy it, I will give you a free portrait drawing of your choice...thats right, you choose the subject and I will draw their portrait for free........Yes, Im bribing you to buy this one!

It stands roughly 6 ft. by 6 ft. but is divided into two canvas's.

Post # 12 (subluxation)

2010-05-29T14:09:00.001-07:00

I painted this just after getting my shoulder surgery....by now you might notice the red room had become a staple of these early paintings.

It stands about 2.5 feet tall by 4 feet wide.

Post # 11 (another bathroom self portrait--seriously what is with that?)

2010-05-28T12:34:00.000-07:00

This one comes in four different installments (not sure why the photos are so crappy, sorry) They are each 3 feet by 3 feet, and when put together equal a giant 6 foot by 6 foot square. I've hung them in many different variations....this one is actually a little more impressive when you see it up on the wall.

Post # 10 (Self portrait as a medicine cabinet)

2010-05-27T08:35:00.000-07:00

Done right after Nicole and I married. We spent the summer living in our parents farmhouse as a sort of honey moon.....there are many "newlywed" allusions in this painting (but probably nothing to really blush about). It hinges and opens and closes like a medicine cabinet and stands at roughly 3.5 feet tall by 3 feet wide.

Post # 9 (self-portrait in bathroom mirror)

2010-05-25T20:29:00.000-07:00

Done my Junior year. Roughly 2.5 feet by 2.5 feet.

Post # 8 ---just when you thought you were getting a deal....

2010-05-24T21:14:00.000-07:00

So you think you are getting a deal by paying 30 bucks for each painting? HAH! The reality is that most of the paintings I have left are self portraits! So you might end up walking away with my mug on a canvas, ready to hang on your walls and watch you wherever you stand in the room....talk about intense and creepy....

Also ominous, not only do I have a bunch of paintings clogging up my creative spaces, but most of them are self-portraits, polaroids of myself in spaces of time and stages of life...staring at me non-stop.

Its a "damned if you do, damned if you dont" scenario. If youre the introspective type, you find yourself to be the subject of many of your paintings. The results are usually very intense, dark, and thick as a porter house steak (imagine Van Gogh cutting off his ear), which can make interesting works of art...that nobody wants to buy (Van Gogh sold only a couple paintings in his lifetime).

But dont be disheartened, self-portraits are great investments (owning Van Gogh's paintings now would make you a multi-millionaire, many of the highest appraised are his self portraits). The catch is you might find something too intense to treat simply as wallpaper or decoration...

I will be posting all of my self portraits during the next couple of days. Here is one of the first paintings I did looking out of the Ohio farmhouse window with a vintage mirror.....

Post # 7 (isosceles--the sum of which always equals 45 degrees)

2010-05-23T22:53:00.000-07:00

Ok, last one of the figures placed in compositions with color panels. Done just after I graduated, my good friend posed for it. It is essentially two triangle canvas's joined together to make a square, then tipped on its point.

It stands at 5.5 ft by 5.5 ft.

Post # 6 (vehicle)

2010-05-23T01:04:00.000-07:00

My dad always asked me to help him w mechanical projects, yet never let me do much except watch. As far as he was concerned, working on your car was an exact science without much graceway for messing up and so I was taught more by watching than participating. This meant hours of loitering with a socket wrench in my hand, listening to him curse and spit profanities under the hood of our many vehicles....It was a bittersweet relationship.

(oh yeah, in this painting his middle finger was actually in a stent.)

The painting stands 4 ft. by 4ft.

Post # 5 (everything in its right place)

2010-05-22T08:02:00.000-07:00

This is one of my favorites of the entire series......mainly for the sentimental value. I was living alone in my parents farmhouse and listening to the newly released Radiohead KID A album (as noted by the title---and by the way, was an album that absolutely blew my mind). Every time I look at this one, I think about being huddled around a kerosene heater, with little light, hacking away on the canvas w/ charcoal sticks--the CD player blasting.....

I began to push the figure farther back into the composition and give the environment just as much voice and weight as the person. As with every first approach in something artistic, it is crude yet filled with curiosity and life.....

I also decided to flip the upright rectangle, therefore this one stands at 3.5 feet tall by 7.5 feet wide.

Enjoy.

***ALTHOUGH SOME OF THESE ARE BIG IN SIZE, YOU COULD INVEST (CANT BEAT 30 BUCKS) IN THEM AND GIVE THEM AS GIFTS TO SOMEONE WHO MIGHT HAVE THE WALL SPACE.....OR MAYBE BUY IT AND ASK SOMEONE IF THEY COULD LOAN YOU WALL SPACE FOR YOUR INVESTMENT.....JUST SOME HELPFUL IDEAS TO HELP YOU NOT FEEL INTIMIDATED ABOUT BUYING A LARGER SIZED WORK EVEN THOUGH YOU MIGHT HAVE LIMITED WALL SPACE***

Post # 4 (Hey Orpheus)

2010-05-19T22:02:00.000-07:00

The self portrait included in this one hangs seperately over the top. (as you can see from the photos).

It stands the tallest at 8 ft. by 4 ft.

Post #3 (The woodcutter who kicked against the tomb)

2010-05-18T08:58:00.000-07:00

My father, of course. I derived this from an actual incident in which my Dad was injured felling a tree by himself in the woods on our farm. The tree twisted wrong in its decent and fell on him, leaving him with 11 stitches on the back of his leg.

In this painting, I had him pose in and around the "statues" he was making in the backyard. These statues where made from the trunks of dead trees and handcrafted solely by his chainsaw. They were crudely crafted, but still exhibited character (not too unlike my father himself).

The painting stands around 5 ft. tall by 3 ft. wide and in the top corner, I constructed a small box containing one of my fathers' used chainsaw chains and an oil can.

***DUE TO THE SIZE OF SOME OF THESE, YOU COULD THINK ABOUT PURCHASING THEM AS INVESTMENTS, EVEN THOUGH YOU MAY NOT HAVE THE ROOM TO HANG THEM....WRAP THEM IN A PLASTIC SHEET, PUT THEM IN A DRY PLACE AND THEY WILL KEEP FOR DECADES*****

Post # 2 (maternal)

2010-05-16T22:32:00.000-07:00

The third in the senior thesis/figures in a color panel composition paintings. My mom posed for this one.....she never let me forget that I had her pose in her blue fuzzy bath robe. The subject and technique were modeled after De Koonings' work. Again, this was taken from our farmhouse (which had red shag carpet at the time). Its entitled MATERNAL and stands around 6.5 feet tall by 3.5 feet wide.....

ART LIQUIDATION! (Im having a going out of business sell of all my paintings)

2010-05-14T17:20:00.000-07:00

So...........

Ive been thinking alot lately about what to do with all the paintings I have of mine. Since I graduated in 2000, Ive kept most of what Ive painted, only selling smaller paintings here and there.

As a result, I've acquired a small storage space worth of my own work (it seems Im my biggest collector as well), and Im running out of space to store it.....In fact, all the work has taken up an entire wall in the studio and there is still work hanging everywhere on both floors of the annex building (the building where the studio is located).

It's gotten so overcrowded that its beginning to affect my productivity--how can one keep producing more paintings while a decades worth are sitting on the walls and floor all around you?--its almost ominous at times.

So here's a proposed remedy that Nicole and I have come up with: we decided to have an "art liquidation" sale at the annex building this June (Saturday, June 5th to be exact, so mark it on your calendars!). I think we might run with the furniture liquidation/garage sell theme and make the whole event real ciche'and garage sellesque....

The MAIN point is that I would like all my paintings to find happy homes and someone who'd love them....therefore Im selling everything for 30$. Thats right, everything must go and its ALL marked down to 30 bucks--every piece, any size! (phew, this liquidation salesman stuff is pretty catchy).

So if you have always liked a piece but felt you never had the room....blow up a wall in your home and make room, because you cant beat 30 bucks. THIS IS A ONE DAY ONLY EVENT, so mark it on your calendars.

To promote the event, I will post pictures of the paintings and a little back drop story to them for the next month

Heres the first (and admittedly, this is one of my most favorite paintings)......

Its gone by many titles, but the one Ive stuck to recently is "LIONS' TOOTH":

This was one of the first of a series of figure paintings I did for my senior thesis. The paintings involved clothed figures sitting or standing in environments with color panels placed strategically around them. My sister posed for this one, and since I always love a good story, I included pieces of hers in it. The composition and subject matter are largely based off of Edvard Munchs' PUBERTY painting. It stands at 7 and 1/2 feet tall by 4 feet wide....

Show, show, show

2010-04-29T12:29:00.000-07:00

self portrait as a lumberjack....

2010-04-26T23:36:00.000-07:00

...that is the title of this one...done within a year after graduating college--(which turned out to be a semi-productive year for me as far as art stuff goes. ((No bragging involved in that statement since I've had a fair share of unproductive years...))

I was living alone in my parents farmhouse without any heat except from the wood burning stoves and kerosene lamps. Not much to eat either except oatmeal and butter noodles. Im sure all of that plays into the subject matter.

A portrait of my father

2010-04-20T23:23:00.000-07:00

Since I've been digging them off the shelf....

This is one of the first portraits I did with oils on a larger sized canvas as well as one of the first portraits of my father (all in all, I painted close to 10 paintings of him before he passed on).

My father was diagnosed with cold agglutinin disease, which, simply put, is a disease affecting the body's ability to produce red blood cells. In cold weather, the disease causes the antibodies to bind and coagulate the red blood cells excessively, creating poor circulation and eventual organ failure.

There is no cure, but treatment is simple--stay out of cold weather. Simple enough unless you were my father, who spent most his waking hours on his feet and outside. The disease forced its way into his lifestyle and pushed him to change everything he valued in life: nature, the farm, a soft winter snow. To say it caused major disruption and dischord in the rhythym of his life would be an understatement.

This portrait was painted from pictures I took of him in the corner of a room in our old farm house, a room the family affectionately referred to as "the red room".

a red red room

2010-04-16T22:06:00.000-07:00

As I begin to see the finish line (at least as far as recording is concerned) coming closer for the musical project LITTLE CZAR AND THE PSALMIST, I find myself turning my attention and focus towards other musical endeavors I've always been meaning to get to but never had the chance. One of those projects is red red room.

For the longest time, Nicole and I have wanted to make music together. Whereas in the past, one of us would lend a helping voice or instrument to the other's music (Nicole has made music under the alias i bought a field). This would be a combined effort. More unified and concentric and drawing interplay from each others strengths and weaknesses. I would like to shed some of my experimental tendencies for a "poppier" sound and conversely, she would like to explore making things a bit more noisier and darker.

Almost 3 years ago, as our 7th anniversary rolled around, we treated ourselves to a recording session in which we tried to record 7 songs, all based upon 7 different locations we had lived. 777. The attempt proved less than perfect though; 1. because we hadnt really lived in 7 different locations at that point (unless you count a move accross town which is stretching it). and 2. we had so much other stuff going on in life that it was placed on the back burner, thrown in the sock drawer, put up on the shelf, filed away in the cabinet, --you understand.

Now it seems that our currents of creative life are crossing once again and Nicole and I find ourselves excited to think about creating, writing, and recording together again.

Why the name red red room? That my friends is a story reserved for another time and another place.

Listen here for a rough cut of a song entitled Portland Portland by ryan kennelly

two self portraits I did a long time ago--

2010-04-12T20:54:00.000-07:00

I've been pulling some old paintings out of storage lately, working on them, and even restoring them where needed.

Here are two self portraits I did right after I graduated from Miami.

One was done while I was single and living in my parents empty farm house for the winter. I had just come home from celebrating Thanksgiving with my relatives.....

The other (shirtless with shaving cream) was done a year or so afterwards. It was rendered from a photo I took in the apartment Nicole and I (just married) sublented in Queens, NY.

Enjoy.

Man vs. Beta album cover!

2010-04-05T22:40:00.000-07:00

This is the image/cover for the new ep. MAN VS. BETA that will appear in digital stores...of course, maybe one day I will satisfy all my outdated and outmoded tendencies to make something tangible that you can hold in your hand and leaf through, but alas, it seems the digital age is too impulsive and short tempered for that right now.

No problem, its more efficient I suppose, and honestly I never did like CD's. Still, I lament to see the tactile and visual so easily drift from music.....I remember the days when I'd buy an album and sit listening to it entirely, leafing through it's jacket/book under the smell of newly pressed card stock--black powdered ink on the tips of my fingers.....sighhh...--maybe I listened to too much emo--

Those were the days. Albums mattered more then singles and shuffle was something you did on a mix tape.....on purpose

Anyways, what a depressing way to showcase the digital cover for the new ep.! Believe it or not, Im pretty excited about it. Nicole and I designed it using images from old discarded library books we gathered over the years....I think that I might stick to this theme for future LITTLE CZAR AND THE PSALMIST releases....

how do you kill........

2010-03-30T00:02:00.000-07:00

I know I've seen this before on failblog or something like that, but I forgot about it until the other day when I typed in "how do you kill moles?" (my backyard is littered with them). I was entertained/amused by some of the more popular options the google search engine gave me when I removed the word "moles" from the sentence.....

Here are some of my other favorites.........

....interesting how some have common themes......

new screen paintings of Montana landscapes....

2010-03-25T10:25:00.000-07:00

For those of you who don't know, Ive been experimenting with the process of making paintings with a screen suspended inches from the canvas. I was hoping for an ethereal, supernatural, even holographic effect (which, by the way, is really, really hard to document with photographs).

It seems to be working best with the portraits I've done.....here I tried some landscapes with the same technique...not sure if its conducive to the process.....

new screen painting of Lucian.....

2010-03-22T23:42:00.000-07:00

I just finished this one and have one more to go in the series....I think I might try suspending the screen from the canvas in a different way..........

Grizzly Bear--veckatimest

2010-03-16T21:02:00.000-07:00

Nicole brought this one into the home even though I protested it (not because of the quality of the album, but on the principle of it being a pirated version).

Regardless, its as rich and dark as a good porter and I like it!

while connecting to itunes, we had to submit a bio, here it is............

2010-03-14T00:42:00.000-08:00

For those of you who might not know, we are most likely going to start our own label/collective LITTLE CZAR AND THE PSALMIST's ep. entitled MAN VS. BETA will be the first recording we release. Here is an excerpt from a review of MAN VS. BETA.....thought it might create a back drop to the bigger picture......

Enjoy...

MAN VS. BETA is the 4th in a series of 7 albums spearheaded by Ryan Patrick Kennelly during his 7 year stint in the prairies and mountains of Montana. During his stay, he collected over 1,000 different sound bites and field recordings from the urban and rural settings he lived in, using them in and through the songs he recorded.

"Before I moved to Montana, I didn't know how to play guitar or any other instrument besides drums. A friend lended me their guitar and I found myself in front of the fire on cold winter nights, quickly becoming addicted to it....even the sounds and tones it emitted when I tapped on its neck or body. Some nights I would lull myself to sleep just plucking the open strings of the guitar and listening to its resonance." (taken from an interview with ascribeto press, 2010).

Along with his growing fascination of the guitar (and really all stringed instruments), Ryan began a journey of mysticism and uprooting in his faith. Raised in a non-denominational home and having attended catholic school for 9 years, the precepts and concepts he had been given of God began to unpack themselves during his stay. "A still small voice came quietly up over the mountains, down into the prairies and into my unexpecting ears where I sat unaware but flattened by the magnitude of it all. The God of my existence and destiny had always been calling me, inviting me, wooing me, but I paid no attention until now. It seems the quiet stillness and scenic majesty of Montana created the perfect backdrop to experience the presence of the Almighty's love for me and all mankind. A love so divine and great, I had no choice but to surrender my will to it."

From these experiences came songs and sounds and melodies which Ryan began recording using any and all devices possible. Tape recorders, digital 4 tracks, 1960's mics from his grandfather's hearing-aid business, borrowed and run down computers from friends--all became catalysts to recording and assembling and cataloging the songs. Before his stay was up, Ryan had assembled 4 finished albums and the beginning recordings and concepts for 3 more.

As aforementioned, MAN VS. BETA is the 4th in the series " I thought it might be important to release MAN VS. BETA first because it literally is the missing link in the middle of a major evolution in the LITTLE CZAR AND THE PSALMIST project. The first three albums where done primarily alone with the occasional added help of friends and family, while the last two albums will be more whole and communal in their approach. Also, the technology I was using was extremely primitive in the first three, whereas MAN VS. BETA is a nice bridge into some of the better technology--meaning better sounds and clearer recordings-- used in the last two albums."

To be sure, MAN VS. BETA is stripped down and intimate in its strumming and songwriting, yet not limited to that structure or genre (as the orchestrated intro and outro demonstrate). The lyrics are both hymn-like in their horizontal proclamations yet introspective and vertical in their explorations of the human heart and psyche. Ryan is demonstrating his ability to express strength through restraint.

"When the time came to write MAN VS. BETA, I realized that my songwriting skills were lacking. I had hid myself behind experimental sounds, riffs, and melodies for too long, and none of my previous recordings could be played in a live set without help from other sources. I wanted to simplify my approach to music and create songs that I could play using only my voice and guitar if need be."

Surely he has created something subtle yet full and rich. We hope that you find MAN VS. BETA to be both moving and consoling. Enjoy.

Last installment of Florida pictures....

2010-03-10T17:38:00.001-08:00

These are from the 3rd and last roll...most of these were taken on, near, or around my mother's home in Bokeelia, Florida.
Enjoy.

more pictures from Florida....

2010-03-03T09:41:00.000-08:00

These were taken on our trip to the east side of Florida---the Atlantic ocean, disney, etc. ----and on or around christmas day.

Florida pictures!

2010-03-01T10:45:00.000-08:00

So I finally picked up my pinhole pictures from our Florida vacation.....there are three rolls so I will post the best of each roll this week.....

In this first roll, I tried double exposing everything by first taking the whole roll around the house, flipping it over, and taking them again in the airport and on the way.

Enjoy......

menomena's FRIEND OR FOE

2010-02-26T23:02:00.001-08:00

When my daughter first heard this album, she climbed up on the kitchen counter--where the stereo is located--laid down next to the speakers and listened through it entirely. That seems to speak of its worth better than any words of mine.

It's powerful, eclectic, and eerily prophetic given our current economic scenario. The attention and acclaim it has received is not enough in my opinion, making it an underestimated, unsung album of this past decade.

recycle parachute......

2010-02-22T10:29:00.000-08:00

My son is fascinated with making his own aeronautical toys--every type of paper airplane, space ship, and parachute.

I was brainstorming with him this weekend on how to build a more effective parachute. After a little search engine research and ingenuity of our own, we made this one with two plastic grocery bags, yarn, and a plastic container......it was so dang easy and simple--which I had thought of it before.

RECORDING, RECORDING, RECORDING!

2010-02-18T12:29:00.000-08:00

Why PSA's?

2010-02-16T10:21:00.000-08:00

Ive been examining my fascination with Public Service Announcements and why I was drawn to make my own (even when so many others already exist).

For one, Public Service Announcements (with the exception of Laurie Anderson's) seem so ineffective in their approach and results. Slogans like "Im not a chicken, your a turkey!", "This is your brain on drugs", and "I learned it from watching you dad!" have become the butt of jokes rather than bolstering mantras for the ill-fated youth and his/her peers. Whether Pee-wee Herman, Smokey the Bear, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, He Man, or any other iconic figure of my time, there is something about PSA commercials which makes you feel like turning the whole thing in on itself in a display of youthful revolt--chuckling under your breath the whole time at the absurdity of it all.

Lets face it, when my fellow friends and students in high school donned on their D.A.R.E. shirts and shoe laces after the D.A.R.E. rally , they had'nt exactly "bought in" to the message, but where mocking, sticking their tongue out, proclaiming that their own created world and culture had yet to be penetrated by the outside adult world.

It was folly. They failed in their delivery of values (although admittedly good ones--forest fires, crack, and bullying should be avoided). They failed in a comical way, a way almost as absurd as someone wearing Groucho Marx glasses with accompanying mustache in order to slide all "stealth" through the crowd.

And maybe it really is all in delivery. Im reminded of the story of the two monkeys who wanted bananas from the same tree. In order to resolve the argument, they decided to cut the tree and each take half to their respected homes. Of course, as we all know, the monkey with the top half of the tree enjoyed his fruit for a few weeks until it all rotted and withered away, while the second monkey planted his half with the roots down in good soil, producing a healthy banana tree which bore fruit for many years thereafter.

Its instant gratification verses long lasting, deep rooted change...

...which, frankly, drew me in to making Public Service Announcements based on philosophic and spiritual axioms. Good philosophy and spirituality does exactly that--it digs deep within a person's fiber and root/value system, exposing any rotting tendrils, pruning them, watering them, and tilling the surrounding soil. The effects may not be instant, but over time (and with steady attention), the results become visible and self-sustaining.

So maybe I really am trying to do and say the same things as all the other PSA's and D.A.R.E. programs--only Id like to think I invited myself in for dinner and conversation, as opposed breaking and entering with a "to do" list.

(PS. for all you facebook friends who get the feed from this blog, the embedded videos wont appear on the page for you. Here are the URL's . Enjoy.)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P0YeZDvcMFI
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6FAiULKymCE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EhqJf-g5hA4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7RNwdCdY7iE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rhpafrU-0-Y
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=glePYKhXDyM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=teukbNm5hWs

(FREE, FREE, FREE) Yo la tengo, Slint, and Bob Dylan covers just in time for Valentines day.

2010-02-13T00:51:00.000-08:00

I decided to post 3 of the songs off the album Ive been working on, which is almost finished except for a song or two.....all based on the theme of love (how timely!).

The album is an introspective look back on the love I've gained and lost through past relationships with friends, family, God, and romances.

Ive found that in many relationships I've been in I've shared the common bond of love of music. Consequently, there are some songs, bands, and albums that distinctly remind me of certain people and certain times/events in my life.

To be sure, these songs--Bob Dylan's BOOTS OF SPANISH LEATHER, Slint's WASHER, and Yo La Tengo's DONT SAY A WORD (HOT CHICKEN#2)--are chosen for their intrinsic beauty as well as their nostalgic reminiscence of the people I shared them with.

Find them

HERE

or in the side toolbar of the blog.
Ryan.

Naked breakfast.

2010-02-05T09:38:00.000-08:00

I've been fascinated with the consumer "branding" process lately. The sleek mixed with seedy mixed with consumption mixed with personal identities--all make an interesting petri dish to examine ourselves, culture, and the nature of human thought.

Sooo, I've started to catalog my own consumption of goods and products. I dont know what results Im looking for, but its pretty fascinating.

Most interesting to me is the after shower ritual I go through. I step in the shower as bare and free as the day my momma birthed me and step out already branded. What a juxtaposition!

Here is the list of pre and post shower brands I use:

1. Shampoo

2. body wash

3. Conditioner

4. facial wash (which I use in leu of shaving cream)

5. Toothpaste

6. Baking Soda (this is my deodorant)

7. Ugghhh, so embarrassing.

8. Those who use it KNOW its' addictive qualities.--sometimes a man just needs to strut!

9. Yes, yes, I know, leave me alone....

10. Only on special occasion (like today I noticed that my shirt was pitting out but I still wanted to wear it so I sprayed some of this in the armpits--my baking soda deodorant has no fragrance).

++++Just a side note, I tried to pick the purest pictures of products I could find, but when I came accross this one I had to post it. Its SO disturbing....like this guy is a zombie about to eat a corpse or something.

Love, Destruction, and the Weight of the human heart

2010-02-01T21:53:00.000-08:00

This next week my goal is to finish an "album" I have been working on for the past year, which is centered around the theme of love--its banality, transcendental beauty, its cliches and revelations. There exists no other subject so often expounded upon yet so incomprehensible. So necessary to the human race, yet taken so for granted. Love is a dichotomy, love is a harmony, love just simply is, darn it!

Love (or the lack of) is the driving force for most of our actions yet it itself is an abstract notion or "force". How strange that in these times of scientific enlightenment and discovery, we can not antiquate a biological code for love or narrow it down to a few synapses of the brain. Does anyone else find it odd that the main force behind whats driving us humans to do what we do is an abstract, floating, mystical "energy", universal to ALL men and unpinned by any one singular formula?

Anyways, I think the album is exciting and Im excited to finish it. It will have covers from Bob Dylan, Yo La Tengo, and Slint. Unfortunately, it will not be released until sometime next year (maybe Valentines day 2011?).....stay tuned, maybe Ill stream some audio from it in the upcoming months.

Drawings of the kidzz

2010-01-28T19:10:00.000-08:00

These "drawings" of the kids were the first pieces I worked on when we moved back to Portland. I felt my drawing muscles had atrophied and was again trying to understand the basics of drawing/painting--dimension, planes, color, and composition.

After I cut the pieces of wood, I let the kids paint or drizzle or do whatever they wanted to the raw wood surface using white gesso, then I proceeded to try and find the portrait within their own drawings/markings. It was fun trying to teeter back and forth between the kids work and mine taking visual prominence.

COMMERCIAL JESUS!!

2010-01-26T12:23:00.001-08:00

Somehow and in someway this pick ended up in our house. The kids were playing with it one night when I noticed and promptly snagged it from their tiny grips.

It now rests safely near my bosom until the next show, when I shall reveal it and hold it aloft--causing the clouds to be rolled back like a scroll and a tumult of the heavenly angelic host to come spilling down upon the stage, joining me in one final crescendoing encore of a chorus........but, hmmmmmm, what would that chorus be?

SCI-- FI!!

2010-01-23T22:39:00.000-08:00

Im creating a running list of sci-fi films that I havent seen yet (or only parts of), Im open to suggestions too.
Here they are in chronological order:

Le voyage dans la lune
metropolis
the invisible man
the day the earth stood still (the original)
The Thing
Invasion of the body snatchers
On the beach
Forbidden planet (seen it, but its been a while, and its so darn good)
escape to witch mountain
journey to the center of the earth (original)
2001 : a space odyssey(again for the first time)
westworld and the sequel futureworld
a clockwork orange
dark star
the andromeda strain
Barbarella
Fantastic Voyage
Farenheit 451
soylent green
escape from New York
naked lunch
robocop
the lawnmower man
virtuosity
brazil
gattaca
existenz.

Pictures of the kiddzz.

2010-01-21T11:01:00.000-08:00

For those of you who might not know (including everyone who migrated from myspace to facebook), I have been taking pictures of the kids over the past few years and uploading them on my myspace page (myspace.com/psaltier).....here are some of my faves.
Enjoy.

Oops....how did that get in there?

Again, my apologies, I couldnt help myself.

Im such a simple soul, cant you find it in your heart to forgive me?

THE FLYING CLUB CUP

2010-01-19T10:55:00.000-08:00

Been listening to this album pretty heavily lately.....so good and gritty and gypsy (but smart and sophisticated like a bureaucratic gypsy with a tie).

FREE!

2010-01-15T15:32:00.000-08:00

I've decided to put 5 of the 7 songs (the two excluded songs are instrumental intro and outro tracks anyways--just fluff) of the new EP up online and downloadable in high def fo free!

You can find them here: Download 5 tracks from the EP Man vs. Beta
(or to your right in the side bar).

Enjoy, and spread the good news like you'd spread the flu!
Ryan.

kona beer!

2010-01-09T22:30:00.000-08:00

I love a good beer brewed with coffee, but they are sometimes hard to find unless you make your own. Today my brother in law and I tried making a shot of espresso and mixing it in a glass of stout and it worked like a charm!

" Johnny, do you play baseball?"

2010-01-07T21:45:00.000-08:00

Some updates:

1. We are back from south west Florida! I took 3 rolls of film from our pinhole camera and am excited to get them developed. Tried to experiment a little more with exposure timing and double exposure, (after using one roll, I then flipped it over and took another whole set of pictures on top of the first).........Hopefully they come out.

2. Im going to use money from selling the branded paintings to put the ep. (Little czar and the psalmist) up online and in itunes....all of which should be ready around the first of February.

3. By the end of February---or the first of March, I/we will be painting a giant (at least giant by my standards) mural on an outside wall of a Pizzicato pizza located in SE Portland (Ladds addition).
Have to keep you posted through the whole process....they have given me complete freedom and Im excited about what I've schemed up.

4. Finally, Ive become totally obsessed with Public Service Announcements (PSA's) and am determined to make some of my own..........
here are a few of my favorites
CHEERS!

I HEART Laurie Anderson!

my favorite parody ever--the entire 10 minutes of them:

The San Juan islands

2009-12-10T12:41:00.000-08:00

A couple of weeks ago we visited some friends on Orcas island, located in the San Juan island region. It was a perfect backdrop for our pinhole camera with it's haunting, mysterious, and rich greens and blues.

In fact, Nicole and I decided that we are going to use it for every family trip/vacation (we are leaving for Florida in a couple of days and it will be in tow with us through the airports, beaches, everglades, sunsets, city lights, tinsel, bows and wrapping, and any other strange place we can visually document our human contact.) ---stay posted, I bought 4 or 5 rolls of film.......

This last one is from a previous picture that Nicole took on the roll (no pun intended), I thought it was such a beautiful still life with bread, I had to post it.

...speaking of christmas....

2009-12-06T22:39:00.000-08:00

center

left

right

overall

So around this time of year I've found myself painting "out of sorts" commissioned work in order to bring in a little extra holiday cash. Its usually a win win scenario-- somebody wants to purchase a unique gift for christmas and I need to pay my bills and eat.

In the past Ive painted portraits of houses, pets, children, friends, and spouses. A few have come out sort of interesting, but for the most part they end up looking like they should be hanging in a Wes Anderson film (especially the painting I did of a woman's dead Shitzu--who she asked me to ad lib a halo and wings on).

Anyway, this year I found myself painting a 10 foot rusty saw blade with an Oregon landscape, and I have to admit, I like it a little. Hopefully it pumps its future owner so full of Oregon pride that he throws in some extra dough when writing the check...hopefully.-- Love hate love hate love hate.

PS. the painting of the masked shirtless guys is
A. awesome
and
B. unfortunately not one of mine. It was painted by Miguel Calderon (actually commissioned by him from his own photos) and featured in the movie The Royal Tenenbaums. Its entitled attack.

BRANDED!

2009-12-04T22:53:00.000-08:00

I just finished a bunch of (actually only 20) drawings for the Big 100 benefit art show (portlandcityart.org/2009/10/12/big-100-art-show/)using brands and packaging as subject matter. The kids helped me with them, which added to their "playful" nature. We used gesso, sharpie, and magic markers.

Friday, December 11th, from 6 to 11pm. 30$ a piece (they make great Christmas gifts).

Lucian part deux

2009-12-01T21:25:00.000-08:00

I started the second (of three I think)...but had to put it on hold for now due to other more pressing stuff...