Reckless Abandon on YouTube - Offering Ringtones - Upcoming Shows

Reckless Abandon has now made it to the world of youtube. That's right - as you can see in the videos below, Ryan Hampton & Jef Park put a video of the band practicing on youtube. The video is not high-quality, nor is it the full capability of the band, but it is enough for you to get a general idea of what the band is like.

Also, Reckless Abandon is now offering ringtones. You can get them very easily - so long as you have texting. Contact Jef or Ryan and they will be glad to assist you receiving your free and legal Reckless Abandon ringtone.

Ryan Hampton said "I have the 'Will You Be There' ringtone, and I must say, I miss phone calls sometimes because I get sucked into the ringtone that I do not answer the call in time."

Reckless Abandon is currently practicing for a possible benefit concert for children in Africa, and the band is also practicing for recording their first full length CD hopefully sometime in the summer. "We do not know for sure that the concert will work out, but we would like for it to" says Jef in a recent interview.

"Right now" says Ryan, "We still have a long way to go. Getting on youtube is just a small step in a long journey. Next for us is some sort of gig, a CD, and possibly a music video of some sort. When we get these done, I will be happy."

Only time will tell how this goes. Please enjoy the video of the practices below. One is of the song "If Only They Knew" written by Ryan and Jef in September and October of last year. The other song is "We don't need no more Dr. Grant," a song written by Jef out of humor and love toward Christian lecturer Dr. George Grant. "We watch his videos for school, and although I love him dearly, his lectures are boring. I hope he can see this himself on youtube, and laugh, wondering who in the heck I am!" says Jef.

Nontheless, although this is great for Reckless Abandon, they realize they have a long way to go.

A Week off for Thanksgiving and Back to Work

Reckless Abandon took the week of Thanksgiving off of practicing to be with their family. Also, Ryan needed to catch up on school. "The band had drug me behind in school some, and I felt the need to catch up" said Ryan. The band went back to practicing Monday, one week after their first recording session, hoping that they would not miss a beat (no pun intended). "We could tell we had our week off, but it didn't take long before we felt right back and ready in the music" said Ryan. "We had another good practice session" said Jef.

Ryan is now anxious for future recording. "Last time, we got a little nervous, had to rig the drums due to temporarily-misplaced mic cables, and was a little unsure exactly how our recording would work best. Next time, we will now more of what system works best for us, have a few wrinkles ironed out, and should have the mic cables. It should go faster and easier." Until next recording session, the band is simply desiring to iron out these wrinkles. "We have our songs down pat as far as the general gist of it goes, but we just want to 'iron out our wrinkles' so to speak" said Ryan.

The band has been wanting to begin working on more songs as well, but feels that for now, it is best to work primarily on the stuff ready to record. "We have more stuff - almost too much stuff - we can work on, but we focus on the stuff we have the best now" said Ryan. Jef added, "I have a lot of lyrics Ryan has given me, some good chord proggression ideas that we just need to fit to the lyrics. We also have some already written songs we just aren't really doing much now. I am trying to get the hand of Ryan's song 'Calling in Life' but am primarily working on the main stuff." There are five songs the band is working on now. The band is also supposed to be playing at a friends Christmas party this December.

As one fan said, "This could be one big move in the music industry. Ryan can do anything he puts his mind to. He's even an Eagle Scout for crying out loud! Jef is pretty dang serious about his music as well. Timothy is one of the best violinists around. The lyrics sung are touching to the common American. 'One thing that keeps me going is the fact of knowing, I can express myself in the songs that I write,' 'Do you remember the day Satan seemed so close,' 'Let me finish what I started,' 'I want to love you forever and a day,' 'Lord please help me to do what is right,' 'All I can do is think about them times, and ponder on what might have been,' 'If only they knew the prays I pray at night,' and so on. You get the point. These are songs about real life, real stories, real feelings, and are played by real people. They touched me, and they can touch you. Ryan adds, "We play American music. We play people music. We play Reckless Abandon music."

Yes, it really is that simple. And with the winning attitude, beatiful music, and touching lyrics the band provides, it is only a matter of time before they heavily influence the music industry, whether they are popular or not. Some things happen despite inpopularity. After a week off, the band is ready and exited for any more possible opportunities.

Pictures of Reckless Abandon's Second Performance

Reckless Abandon has now had two performances. Below is some pictures from the second performance, and I hope to add more pictures later - of either performance. Sunday, to celebrate Reformation Day, both Reckless Abandon and Fair Harbor played. Lead singer for Fair Harbor, Ben Smolin, introduced and opened up for Reckless Abandon as the next "great band." Still, Ryan says that "We have some work to do." The second song did not reach it's full potential due to technical acoustic mal-function. "The distortion did not work properly, and the sound took the guitar way out of tune" says Jef Park. Timothy Winstead was supposed to have a violin solo on this song, but opted to stay out because of the tuning issue. "I heard how the tuning was off, and said to myself, 'This song does not need a violin'" says violinist Timothy Winstead. "This violin solo would have been the kind that would have let people know that Reckless Abandon was for real. Sadly it didn't work," says drummer Ryan Hampton. But perhaps the biggest cheer came when the band began with "Sweet Home Alabama." "You could hear that cheer, and feel like we are on the right track," said lead singer for Reckless Abandon, Jef Park. The band now looks to feature a concert for either Veterens Day, Thanksgiving, or Christmas. The band also looks to soon record a demo CD. We will keep you updated as the time goes. {To enlarge the pictures, simply right double click on them}.


The set-up

A look at the audience

Ryan Hampton upclose after switching from drums to guitar

Getting set up for the next song


Ryan and Timothy after playing.

Thanks to all who attended. We appreciated your support a lot. God bless, and happy Reformation Day!

Ryan

The First Gig of Reckless Abandon

Reckless Abandon had its debut on Friday (pictures to come soon), October 20, 2007. On the thirtieth anniversary of the Lynyrd Skynyrd plane crash, the band did the songs "Sweet Home Alabama," "Freebird," and "Simpleman." But the focus of the songs were on the originals of the group. "Do You Remember" which was co-written by Ryan Hampton and Jef Park, was the first and the last songs played. "Do You Remember" was written in tribute to the horrible attacks of September 11, 2001, asking American's the haunting question "Do You Remember" the day, when "Satan seemed so close" but yet the President would talk about God and "Many people accross the nation would applaud."

The band also did songs "Understanding," "If Only They Knew," and "Forever And A Day." Some say that the gig went sour when lead drummer, Ryan, got up to sing and play guitar for "Will You Be There." But nonetheless, says Ryan, "It was a good start."

Brian McLain says that the band showed great potential, being that they were out the violinist and the bass. McLain has been in several local bands over the years, before becoming a supervisor in a lumberyard. After giving the band some constructive criticism, McLain said that the drummer Ryan would stay on beat, and that singer Jef shows great potential. "It's all a matter of finding your voice, and finding your 'thing'" says McLain. Jef is well on his way to finding that voice, and the band is well on their way to finding their 'thing.'

The band also has a gig this coming Sunday as Trinity Presbyterian Church (see links), celebrates Reformation Day. "We are looking foward to coming in behind When We Were New (Another local band), and putting on a good and improved show." This showing may be more simple, but according to Jerry Hampton, sometimes "Less is more."

If you are interested in making this gig, as well as celebrating God's work in His church over history, please let me know in a comment or the like. You do not have to be a member to leave a comment on this blog. Thank you all,

Reckless Abandon