It’s been a long time coming to put out both this song (first written in 2016) and the footage taken from last year’s surf trip to Indonesia.  All my music is surf music, not because of instrumentation or lyrics, but because the ocean represents my greatest inspiriation.  Surfing is not a sport, its a way of life. It’s choosing a formidable opponent to challenge & grapple with through life.  An opponent that teaches you life lessons, a mentor that eventually becomes a friend and guide. Sometimes you win and are rewarded, other times you are beaten within an inch of your life.

Left shaken to the core, happy to be alive.

Countless times my lungs burst with what little oxygen I had in my lungs, my mind & spirit kicked in to stop the ensuing panic. In this place all things happen. Respect is given, respect is taken. There is an awesome presence of mind when harness a force of nature like a wave. Time stands still and you feel everything around you. Balance fear & exhilaration.  For a moment in time, the surfer becomes omnipotent.

There is nothing like it. Fuck Yeah!

The guitar licks and chord progressions were played on a 2012 Gibson SG with a Bigsby setup. The guitar went straight into a Vox AC30 CCH with a Celestion Greenback speaker. The call and response of high register licks on the neck countered by low register licks on the bass strings is a nod to Jerry Garcia, the former frontman of the Grateful Dead. The second I picked up the SG, a few people come to mind.

Jerry Garcia

Angus Young

Pete Townsend

Neal Casal

I had lyrics to the song but decided to let the guitar tone live alone. In the future, I will release a version with Tenor Sax playing in tandem with the guitar, but for now, it’s going to remain a guitar & drum instrumental.

About

The Ram is a North County, San Diego artist, filmmaker, designer, producer, & composer. He’s been an active musician and visual artist since the late 80s exhibiting work and performing in & around the East Coast Tri-State area (Philadelphia, New Jersey, and NYC). In 1999 he relocated to San Diego to embrace surf culture, the desert, and the culture of the Sierra Nevadas. Over the years he has performed with different instrumentation, arrangements, and personel across a wide range of band formats.  His comfort zone is the unknown, improvisation, flying by the seat of his pants without adhering to rules governing any specific genre of music.  Rules are meant to be broken.

The Creative Process

All of the music created by the Ram is a celebration of the freedoms available in the “DIY: Do It Yourself” age we are living in today. All aspects of recording, creative direction, film, social media, website front end, website backend, writing & communications are from the Ram’s desk. The reason this is important is to provide a unique picture of the creative process and evolution of his artistic voice. All of the Ram’s collective work is independent, registered through ASCAP, and managed via his record, media & production company OD Soul Inc.

What Does “the Ram” Even Mean?

“I’ve always been a black sheep.  My brothers and siters in the water mean the world to me.  Sometimes you’re given a nickname and it sticks, I’ll take it ’cause it’s street cred.”, the Ram says about his given name.  The subject matter of his songs are biographical in nature and inspired by life experience. Good music & improvisation has always been about acting without hesitation, moving fearlessly, empathy, and being hyper-aware & in-the-moment to listen to your surroundings. With a little work, the music achieves this. 

Wild Fire, a new album coming out on January 10, 2020.

Link to Media for use in publications

Pictures

Songs