Reckless Abandon Welcomes a New Member

It seems that whenever you are about ready to give up on Reckless Abandon's chances of making it big, the band keeps coming back with more surprises. First coming out with a couple of gigs, then a few half-way decent recordings, and then the birth of future Abandon Carter Park, Jef's baby brother, now the band welcomes another member.

Virginia Baggley is a musician from Pell City who can sing, play piano, and write incredible music. Her music fits well with the style that Reckless Abandon has been playing, while also providing a wider variety of music that has become much abandoned in our reckless culture.

With religious and real life influences, the band is sure to touch the heart of the typical American who so often feels reckless and abanded. It gives hope for the hopeless, emotion to the stubborn, power to the weak, peace for the reckless, and a home for the abanded.




And there is now a new burst of energy to the Abandoned family. Viriginia has given the news that there is a possible recording opportunity with her brother, who has been a lifelong musician and music lover, who is so perceptible to music that he can spot mistakes in the greatest bands of today. "We are greatful for the cooperation of the Baggley family" said Jef Park. "We know it is hard to trust upcoming rockstars these days."

But even yet another possibility for the band is that new member Viriginia may provide the sound to bring Timothy back to the band. "I don't like hard rock" says Timothy the Stud Winstead. "I prefer more mellow sounds than the abandon music. I wish my buds well, but I don't want apart in stuff that loud." Now with the mellow sound of Viriginia, Timothy is considering rejoining the band to provide his talented violin harmonies. "We love our friend Timothy, and if Viriginia can pull Tim back with us, then it will be great for Abandons everywhere" says Ryan. Viriginia herself even specially requested for Timothy's practice at the next Reckless Abandon practice, set for Monday at 3:30 in the afternoon. "Just tell Timothy that there's a cute girl in the band" says Jef, "And he'll be in!"




All members are very busy these days, making get togethers harder for them. Ryan is working about 40 hours a week, and getting ready for Samford University in the Fall. Jef Park is also busy working at a lawn and garden shop near his house. Virginia is job searching as well as staying busy with her church and other variuos activities. Even yet, the three are doing there best to keep Reckless Abandon music going, especially with the new hope that Viriginia brings.




To sum it all up, there is still great hope for Reckless Abandon. Viringia and Jef's sister Torrie Park have become known as the "Reckletts," for their nice female background vocals. Torrie is not yet a converted Abandon, but she does enjoy singing songs such as "Will You Be There" which is now set to be used as a duet between Jef and Viriginia. "Duets are yet another great aspect that Viriginia adds to the band" says Ryan. "Some songs only she will sing; some songs only Jef will sing; and some can be a duet between the two of them. We always wanted 'Will You Be There' to be a duet, and it is already sounding great!"

Viriginia herself has said that she is "really excited!" about joining the band. She was impressed by the Reckless Abandon music, loving the lyrics to "Will You Be There" and "If Only They Knew" and loving the song "Forever And A Day." We will keep you updated with the life of Reckless Abandon.

Reckless Abandon working on a CD

Reckless Abandon has been working hard on upcoming CD Mile 58. Mile 58 features songs

Do You Remember
Understanding
Forever And A Day
If Only They Knew
Will You Be There
Everything And More
Calling in Life
Eyes Said Otherwise.

It should be great, and should be out by the end of the summer, Lord willing.

Also, Reckless Abandon welcomes a new member to the Abandoned family. Carter Mcechain Park was born at approximately 1:00 Saturday morning. Mother and baby are back home and doing great! Lead singer and older brother Jef said, "We are going to make Carter our life project. He is going to grow up and become a great musician and a great man!"

Thanks for all the support!

Reckless Abandon Improves Sound Quality

Reckless Abandon called up a spur of the moment practice on Monday afternoon, but that practice time was spent buying a microphone and recording system that costed about $100. But later on that evening, Ryan & Jef recorded their song "If Only They Knew," receiving their best quality ever. "The better microphone really helped" said Jef Park. Many people were impressed with the improved quality.

Timothy Winstead, a local violinist who has practiced with the group some, said he heard improvement. "I even heard improvement in Jef's voice" said Timothy, who had previously been critical of Jef's "off-key singing."

"This was certainly not perfect" said Ryan, "But it does show that we are on the right track." The band is now hoping to be recording about a song a week, or every two weeks to get it perfect, and eventually releasing their first demo cd. "Just to think that a year and a half ago, I was exited about a half way decent cassette tape recording, makes this fairly exiting for me" says Ryan. "The next recording, at least I hope, will be even better. Hopefully we can soon have a bass and a violin included, and perhaps a piano for some of our songs." The band also has a nasty and awesome guitar solo added toward the end of the song.

Jef Park recorded the guitar chords, and sang. The drumming is preformed by Ryan Hampton, as is the lead guitar solo. The song was co-written by the two in September & October of last year, and was played at both of their gigs. The chorus of the can also be found YouTube.com, as is shown in the previous blog. Also, feel free to ask for a ringtone of this or any of the band's songs.

The band says thank you for all of your support.

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.

Back To Practicing!

Just when you thought that Reckless Abandon had abandoned their music, the band is back to practicing, and is sounding better than ever. The band has devoted their off time to work, school, and writing more songs. The new songs, just as the old ones, fit right to the heart of the band's philosophy and influences.

Lead singer Jef Park has been working on his song, "Everything and More," which tells the story of his relationship with his significant other. The smooth chord progressions and touching lyrics fit right into the soul of Jef's relationship. Some say that this song even beats the previous love song wrote by Jef, "Forever And A Day."

Along this way, though, Jef has seen many relationships fall with other couples, and this has inspired him to right yet another song. "Eyes Say Otherwise" is a sad and yet catchy song, fitting well with the band's musical roots. "I wanted to write a song that shows how strong the eyes can be, yet how easy it is to overlook the eyes of someone when you think that you are in love with them" Jef said in a recent interview. "This song still has work to do, but I'm liking the way it is going right now."



But Jef is not the only person to be writing music. Ryan Hampton, as seen on the left, even in his time working, doing school, and trying to keep a clean house, has also been writing music. "Just when I think I can not write anymore songs," says Ryan, "I come back and continue writing. I just can't help it."

Ryan has been working on "Calling in Life" for a while now, a songs that portrays his outlook to life, and how his songwriting allows him to see the world better. "I was just in bed thinking one night," says Ryan, "About all of my mistakes and how my faith in God seems to die away so easily, and I come to realize that this is what my songs are about. They help me put things in perspective, and at least make an attempt at telling others what I see through my eyes." As Ryan continues, "Sometimes these things I attempt at explaining are unexplainable, but yet somehow, whether you call it magic, power, love, or whatever, the unexplainable seems to make a little more sense through music, at least that is how it is with me." This is where the line of the song in the chorus, "Oh, can't you see this is my calling in life: to explain the unexplainable" comes in at. This poetic, literary, and emotional song reminds many of the poetic style of Ronnie Van Zant, lead singer of Lynyrd Skynyrd.


Ryan has also been working on his song "Drink to Remember" which has been called a "Presbyte-rian drinking song." "I don't want people to get the wrong idea of this song, though," says Ryan. "The song is funny, but it does have a driving point to it. I do not glorify drinking, much less getting drunk. I simply am saying that instead of drinking to forget about the past, as many do, we should remember the past when we drink." Ryan even quotes from Scripture at the beginning of the second verse, where it says "Jesus said 'Do this in rememberence of me,'" which was Jesus' words at the Last Supper where He took bread and wine. "I am simply wanting us to drink with joy to the blessings God has given us. Along the way in the song, particulary in the first verse, I show forth many facts of life that just make things seem unfair. But I turn them around in the chorus by basically saying, instead of drinking away the past in guilt, remember the past with joy. It puts things of today in perspective. One day you will probably miss these very times today. Life is a grand ole story, who's story book rests in Heaven."



Finally, Ryan has been working on the song "Why Does It Have To Be?" This songs, similar to Jef's song "Understanding," deals with a man who only wants to do what is right in helping somebody or some people. But in this case, it seems that his good intentions only go so far. In the first verse, a literary approach shows how someone tried saving someone and made thigns worse. The second verse deals with how this person gets out of the way, only to be cursed by the family of a fatal victim. "There is a fine in how we should help others, and just step back and let God take care of things. Certainly we want to be missional and get ivolved in someone's life, showing them the good news. But sometimes we have our own problems to work out, and rushing into something may make things worse," says Ryan. "That is what this song deals with. Where is that line? Why do our good intentions only go so far? Why would God give us wisdom to see when someone is in bad condition in need help, but not go ahead and give us the wisdom to be able to help them?"

There are more songs the band could be working on, but for now, they will stop with these. Ryan has in the back of his head songs "But Then Again (I could go home)," Finsish What I Started," and "One Philosophy." The first two songs have been songs that have already been written by Ryan in complete form, but the duo wants to wait a while before the finishing touches are added, and Jef takes over the vocals to the songs.


"We are in great shape" says Jef. "Just give us time and any attention you can, great or small, and you will find the lyrics relative to your life." The band looks to begin recording again perhaps sometime in the summer when school dies down, either by CGStudios Inc., or perhaps by purchasing their own recording studio.

Actors Please?

Reckless Abandon is in need of any of their friends who would be interested in acting slots for music videos produced by the group. We shouldn't need to many, but if you are a good actor and would like to get your acting carreer started on a good note, feel free to comment on this blog or let me know (if you know how to reach me). You do not have to be a member of blogspot to comment on this blog.

Merry Christmas from Reckless Abandon!!!

The Advancement of "Will You Be There?"

Will You Be There is advancing as one of Reckless Abandon's greatest songs. The poetic literature, outpouring of emotion, romantic irony, all topped with a moving guitar solo is sure to make this a great song. The original lyrics to the song were written about two and a half years ago by Ryan Hampton. While working on a cassette tape in his private studio at his home in Alabama, Ryan changed the chord progression, and advanced the words.

Since, he has been performing the song with Jef and Timothy, and once even by himself as the singer at a local gig. "They encouraged me not to sing, and they were probably right, but I felt that this is the one song I could pull off" said Ryan, who is not really known for his singing talents. Since then, Jef has been working on more advancements for the song as well. Both him and Ryan have developed guitar solos, and it is only a matter of which one would be the best. The irony is held by doing a duet with Jef's girlfriend Abbie. When doing the chorus the final time, the words change to the affirmative, "You Will Be There," only to show these as optomistic hopings and not a definate proof, by ending with the main "Will You Be There" at the last line of the chorus the final time through.

The setting of the song is of a man leaving to go somewhere he goes to from time to time. He is looking foward to seeing a particular person there. He feels things just aren't the same, but is reminded of what happened one year ago. He is anxious to see if this person will be there, not as true love, but as a true friendship he does not want to die. Little does he know, the girl is feeling the same way, as capped off by the duet. The music video to come to this will make the song all the more moving and revealing.

This song is moving as one of the most powerful songs produced by Reckless Abandon. It is only a matter of time until people all accross America are in love with it.

Merry Christmas from Reckless Abandon!!!