New Year, New Song!

Hey folks!

The recording department has been quiet for a while now.  You know how life gets in the way of your big plans.  With the holidays out of the way and with the canvas that is a shiny new year, I’m hoping to get back into some of the things that have gone by the wayside.

As a New Year’s resolution, I’m planning to have a complete record finished by the end of 2015. And what better way to prove it than by posting a new song!

Exile
In my online life, I’ve posted a lot of things about my frustrations with people generally living with tunnel vision. The whole “ignorance is bliss,” “everybody else is doing it so it must be right” phenomenon.  When people take everything in the news at face value and are oblivious to the bias inherent in any information source, I get frustrated. After many arguments (usually with me getting called a pessimist), I lose the drive to bang my head on these brick walls. I think many people walk away thinking I’ve lost it. The thing is, with my life observations, I know that I’m not the one who’s lost it. At some point it’s easier to just walk away than to try to teach someone how to think critically or consider both sides regardless of which side you’re on. While I’m not really about to give up just yet, it really is an attractive prospect. That’s what this song is about. Turning my back on those who are too ignorant to open their eyes to the world around them.

New songs on the horizon

Hi folks,

I haven’t posted any new songs in a while, but that’s about to change soon. I’ve got a few songs on the go at the moment, in various stages of completion.

The first, “The Resolution,” is based on an instrumental tune I wrote a few years ago on my resonator. The new version features several other instruments and will have lyrics as well. I’m even considering playing spoons for percussion. It should be interesting, to say the least.

The second tune, “Plight,” is another one that was written a few years back, but I was never able to write lyrics. It now has lyrics and what I would consider to be an important message for the world. The song is completely written but I just need to find the time to record it. It shouldn’t be long before this one is released.

Long story short, there’s some good stuff coming up. So, check back often. Better yet, sign up for my mailing list on ReverbNation.com/ryanpotter and I’ll let you know when I post a finished tune.

Until next time,

Ryan

I’ve Fallen

My most recent track, “I’ve Fallen,” came about very suddenly, musically. However, the theme is one that I have been trying to write about for several years now.

Lately, I have been paying much closer attention to world events and reading up on my history. I have always been curious about what makes people do the things they do – what motivates us. What makes us do good things and what makes us do bad things? Eventually I got thinking about what actually defines “good things” vs. “bad things.” Quite quickly it became apparent that it all depends on perspective. What one person considers a good thing, could be a very bad thing for another person. Then I got to thinking about what I considered good and who might consider those things bad. As an example, I used the scenario of finding a house at a very low price and deciding to buy it (ie: foreclosure). While I might be inclined to think this is a good thing, the person who was forced to sell the house would undoubtedly consider it bad. One thought led to another as I applied these questions to more aspects of the way we live. I found it very hard to justify most of what our society has become. Though it may sound cliché, we depend so much on money and things for our happiness. We center our lives on it and no matter how much we obtain, our level of happiness inevitably ends up lower than when we started! On some superficial level, I think many of us get this, but I believe it really is a superficial level. We may make a donation to the food bank or to a humanitarian organization and think that we’ve done our part for the year. We then get right back to living our lives the same way we always have, without thought to the fact that making a few little changes to our lifestyles could do more for the people in need than any cash donation.

The song is a reflection of the moment when I realized that my ignorance and short-sightedness is contributing to the suffering of others. Choices become much clearer when we realize the effect they have on the world, even if it’s only in a small way. Life is not about how much you’ve acquired during your lifetime. As the old saying goes, “you can’t take it with you.” So my version says, “Tell me why we keep searching for the dollar sign thinking there’s a prize at the finish line and not seeing that the prize was life.” I wrote the song hoping it would inspire others to have an honest look at the way they live (even if it hurts, because it really does), how it affects others, and start making some positive changes.  So please head on over to the “songs” section of the site and check it out.  It wouldn’t take that much to turn this world around and make it better for all!

New Site Is Up

Well folks, the new website is up and running. Still some tweaks and content updates left to do, but for the most part, it’s good to go. Enjoy, and feel free to share with your friends and sign up as a fan through the ReverbNation form on the home page.

Ryan

Website Under Construction

Hey everyone,

I’ve been away from the music for a little while but starting to get back to it.  I have a new song out called “I’ve Fallen,” and I figured, what better time than now to re-design the website too!  You will probably notice a lot of changes over the next little while.  With any luck, it will be more intuitive and a more pleasurable visit for all!

Ryan

Inaugural Post

Welcome to the Ryan Potter Music blog.  Those of you who know me, know that I have an obsession with all things music.  I play several instruments and have a bit of an instrument collection going.  I am also slowly developing a home studio and have done a great deal of recording over the past few years.  I hope to chronicle my musical ventures and anything else I find to be of interest.  For more background info, please visit my web site at: http://www.ryanpottermusic.ca/

That’s it for now!  Until next time…

Ryan