art

We survived the CRAQ Barn!

Best annual party? The CRAQ Barn Summer Jam! Wow what a good time. CRAQ stands for Carman Road Artist Quarters and these folks know how to entertain! It was an outdoor wonder-filled art and music fest the way it should be done. Not even the rain, which pretty much continued throughout the entire weekend, could dampen the good vibes.

Before and after our set, we caught some great music by Richie Stearns (hands down my all time fav banjo player) and Big Mean Sound Machine (groovy grooveness dancin times). We played in the second stage, which was an eclectic barn decorated from the floor to the ceiling with all sorts of artwork. We love everyone who came and rocked out with us, thank you all!

That was fun 🙂

After our set, we got down with Big Mean Sound Machine!

Music, Uncategorized

Grassroots Festival 2014

‘It’s that time of year again!’ is what I say to myself around mid July every summer when the Trumansburg Fair Grounds transform into a festival.

For the past
..wow I think it’s been 10 years, the Grassroots Festival has been more than a time to party, listen to awesome music and dance for four days straight. For many who once lived in upstate New York, its the time of year they come back to visit, a chance to reunite and let loose with old friends. That’s why I was so happy when Diwas invited me to play guitar during his set. The crowd was filled with so many friends and it felt amazing to share that musical experience with everyone. I’m crossing my fingers that next year The Rungs will get accepted to play!! Even though we weren’t on the schedule this year, we managed to squeeze a few songs in during the Diwas Gurung set 🙂

Music

Greenpoint Gallery

When we first pulled up to the Greenpoint Gallery, we thought we might have made a wrong turn. Sitting across the street from a large overpass and sandwiched in between big warehouses, the address we were looking for did not exactly seem like a venue. It turned out to be super cool! Large rooms with artwork that covered the walls from the floor to the ceiling, people everywhere dancing and having fun, the high stage with motion sensitive lights, and the pet wolves that the property owner called his pets made for a pretty eventful evening.

When we started our set, we realized that we left a piece of our equipment back in Ithaca, but we were able to make do without it. At first it was a real bummer, but the next day I received a text from a friend who found it on the stage right where we left it! How awesome is that?! Major thanks to that dude 🙂

And the host of the event at the Gallery, Carlos, was the nicest guy! I am so glad we were able to be part of the launch party fundraiser for his film, ‘Last Day.’ You can still donate to help fund the making of this film, find more information here: http://www.runningfilmmaker.org/

Here we are getting eaten by some of the awesome art:

Music

May 31st at The Greenpoint Gallery

A launch party will take place this weekend for the filming of a Mexican-American coming of age story, Last Day, and we’ve been invited to perform! The Launch Party is a fundraising event that will feature live entertainment by four bands and three DJs Saturday May 31st at the Greenpoint Gallery. Tickets are only $20, include one drink ticket, and can be purchased here.

To crowd fund the movie, the film makers from 4&1 Sibling Productions and Fox Yew Media hit the streets running! For the past six months, they’ve embarked on daily runs wearing t-shirts that say, ‘I am running to fund Last Day’ to spread the word. They also gave free shirts to anyone who wanted to run with them and the entire journey can be tracked here.

Now, they are ready to begin filming. Hope you’ll come out to the Launch Party!!

https://www.facebook.com/events/272581382921539/

Music

Emerging indie bands

A talented writer and indie music supporter at emerging indie bands music blog reviewed The Rungs EP! It brightened up our day to read such beautiful words about our music, and we’re feeling very thankful for the indie music support that websites like this create.

Check it out the review because it is a good read! http://emergingindiebands.com/the-rungs-synth-dance/

When we started playing our first shows a little over a year ago, I wouldn’t have predicted us evolving into a ‘real band.’ I guess it all depends on what you define as a band, but now we have an EP out, a real music release! And I have stickers now. Band stickers! So based on the music release and sticker scale, I’d say we’re getting pretty close to real band material.

Boy were those first few shows rough. I made silly mistakes, forgot chords, mumbled mixed up lyrics, and the list of goofy errors goes on. Thankfully, Diwas exercised the most amazing patience with my newbie musician growing pains. Because you have to start somewhere right?

Okay lets be real here, I still do all of those things at our live shows, but at least less frequently!

The point is, if any closet musicians are out there reading this, then run out to your nearest open mic! Don’t be afraid of sharing your music because releasing it to the world and letting go of the hesitations is one of the most rewarding feelings! Take it from me and my new EP 🙂 And take it from folks who are supporting indie musicians, like our generous emergingindiebands.com reviewer.

Music

The Debut EP!

Happy New Year everyone! We are kicking off 2014 by self-releasing our debut EP!

Thanks to all of our old and new friends, 2013 was filled with fun live shows, lots of inspiration to create new music, and most importantly, good people to share it with. These songs are for you!

https://soundcloud.com/the-rungs/sets/the-rungs-ep

If you like what you hear, help us share our songs and connect with us via our social media pages here on the left and right menus.

Bloggers – We are looking for bloggers to help review our EP. Feel free to email me at mandy@rungsrungsrungs.com and I will gladly send you song downloads and any information you’d like about the band.

Thank you and best wishes to all 🙂

We are The Rungs. Thanks for supporting our music 🙂

Art

Need band stickers?

We have stickers!

A great friend and highly talented artist designed the perfect visual art for us to use as a logo to represent the band.

Thanks to the good folks at 123stickers.com, that logo can now adhere itself to endless surfaces! The stickers arrived just in time for the new year and I would definitely recommend 123stickers.com to any other musicians out there in need of a sticker. I’m very happy with the quality of the product, simple ordering process and fair prices from these guys.

If you anyone would like a sticker of our newly designed logo, message us your address and we will happily mail one to you in 2014!

-mandy

Lyrics

Ride Lyrics

Ride, by The Rungs

Seems I’m in no hurry yet to get where I’m going so I might as well enjoy the ride

A scene sandwiched in between the same framed window and the always looking over me sky

Even though you’ve been through hell, you can’t quit now you’ve gotta go pick yourself up and get a move on

Tell me what you’re waiting for, a day a week another year another year another year gone

I’ve seen waste arise from haste and so I’m taking my time

Buildings and trees stationary streamed along the way I’m going rolling wheels radio on

(lyrics written by Mandy)

Music

A Halloween Haunting

This will be my most memorable Halloween yet!

When All Hallows’ Eve rolls around, the local rock shows get spooky.

While the Rungs did not have a Halloween show, I did get a chance to be a part of one with The Sutras! They are the only band in town that rocks out with a theremin, the instrument behind the creepy flesh tingling whistling sound featured in countless sci-fi and horror movie soundtracks.

The instrument was invented by Leon Theremin in Russia in the 1920s, after he worked as a radio engineer for the Red Army and developed a specialized antenna to serve as a motion detector. He noticed that when he moved his hand around, the pitch produced by the ‘Radio Watchman’ changed, and it could be used to play songs!

For The Sutras, the theremin’s quivering notes are the perfect addition to their complex, psychedelic arrangements, adding a haunting touch to the high energy jams that the audience gets lost in.

On this particular night, creepy and unexplainable things began to happen when the theremin’s blood chilling sound filled the air. Diwas was in the audience and managed to capture a photo of the madness that ensued…

We also managed to sneak my ipod in for a video, before the creatures came out of the woodwork!

Lyrics

Writing Lyrics: Play a character

With Halloween just around the corner, it is a fun time to think about characters!

Sometimes lyrics can reflect our deepest most personal thoughts and experiences. While I love to draw from my own memories to construct a song, it is equally rewarding, and sometimes even more fun, to put myself in the mind of someone else! Whether a dear friend, an acquaintance, a certain stereotype, or a made up character, playing a role can make for a great song!

Actors go to great lengths to get into a character. Tom Cruise apparently dressed up as a Fed Ex delivery man to sneak through a crowd without getting noticed, just as an assassin would, in preparation for his role villain role in Collateral. Actors might completely change their lifestyles and take on new hobbies for a short period of time while preparing for a difficult role.

For songwriting though, I say sitting quietly and thinking about the character you want to represent is more than enough. Perhaps with a glass of alcohol or some nice warm tea. Decide what and who your story is about.

Who: Depending on if they are strong or frail or troubled or content, etc, completely changes the perception of the experience. Think of someone, anyone, and channel the little nuances that make them so unique. Do they have a short temper? Unreasonable expectations? Unyielding patience?

What: Sit quietly and try to imagine something that you might not have exactly experienced before; a place, certain gains or losses, heartbreaks, historical events like the great depression or the infamous potato famine, a struggle with sexuality, a good day, a bad day, whatever you want to dive into.

Explore yourself! Then let the music and lyrics evolve 🙂

Right now I am imagining being on a beautiful island in Thailand, the song is very sunny!