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.

The Philosophy of Music

Music is music. But what is music beyond that? Music itself is natural sounds of beauty through arrangements of harmonies and melodies in certain frequency ranges and timings. Music is used to express what so often, words can not express. But many songs have words that go to them. This is because songs lyrics are essentiall poetry, most times, and poetry is a way of deeply expressing words- perhaps the most powerful way to express words. The words and the music go together to tell a story, support a philosophy, and tell of the deep emotions of life.

And largely, the music can be played to where one can identify with the emotion or philosophy presented. Some of this may be absolute and some may be relatively based on culture. Rap and heavy metal may get someone pumped up and wanting to fight, while classical music may help someone relax and concentrate. There are times we need to fight, and there are times we need to relax. There are times we want spiritual war, times we want physical war, and times we want no war at all. There is a large sense of propriety we are missing in society today. It is not good to so much be against any sort of music, but we should know how to put them in their proper place- and all music, at least as far as Christians go- should be consistent within a Christian worldview.

And most people's music will be consistent within their worldview, and if not, then they contradict themselves, and destroys what is considered to be the dignity of music. When people sing songs or write songs that are against their pressuppositions, or that are not relative to their life, the dignity of music is destroyed. Each person has a pressupposition and philosophy behind their music.

And Reckless Abandon identifies itself with those of the same general philosophy behind the music- both musically and, especiall, lyrically. It is hard to directly quote from our overall pressupposition to this universe in every song- though we can get to the general core of it through songs directly about the pressupposition itself- that is, Christianity. But the general and imidiate philosophy behind the music of Reckless Abandon is that the songs played is songs that fit into the overall worldview of Christianity in songs about our own lives. It is songs about good people who are misrepresented. Songs about the deep emotions that many people feel, but have not heard it due to the disgrace-of-dignity in modern music. We play songs that identify to the line in Lynyrd Skynyrd's song, "Freebird" that says, "If I leave here tommorow, would you still remember me?" It is songs that tell us the haunting fact that "All I can do is think about them times, and ponder on what might have been" (The Absolute of Love- Ryan Hampton). It is about constantly and consistently writing songs, even against the tide.

For this reason, Reckless Abandon considers Ronnie Van Zant, the founder, and once lead-singer of Lynyrd Skynyrd, to be one of its musical, particularly lyrical, icon and inspiration. He wrote of the "concrede slowly creeping," and asked the Lord to "Take me and mine before that comes." Ironically, not long after the song was written, about half of the band, including Van Zant, was killed in a plane crash.

All of this is to say, that behind every song you will hear from Reckless Abandon, has a meaning and philosophy behind it. It may be a simple song, but even yet, it shows support to that life in some form or fashion. Also take heed to remember that the band is filled of sinful people. Writing songs about sin does not mean that the band supports sin- it may show the regret to it, and a plea for grace.

So remember that any song written is written from our philosophy and our view of the dignity of music. "You may not like my music or the words that go to it, but I think you can relate if you start with me" (Calling in Life- Ryan Hampton). The past is important- "For at last I have found the past and thus eternity" (Calling in Life- Ryan Hampton. You will be finding out soon, as our demo CD comes up- hopefully finished before Christmas. For now, I will leave you with this moving song:



"A brief candle- both ends burning, and endless mile, a bus wheel turning. A friend to share a lonesome time, a handshake, and a sip of wine. Say it loud, and let it ring, that we're all apart of everything. The future, the present, and the past- fly on proud bird...You're free at last." -Charlie Daniels