I was searching around our old practice space and I stumbled across some old recordings. These songs showcase the roots of Rain the Shining, including 4-track demos that brought me on board, practice sessions of Ryan S, Ryan N, and myself, as well as some 8-track demos that we recorded on our own…. Give them a listen and enjoy a trip down memory lane.

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We’ve been pretty bad with updating this site. So I decided to preview another new song acoustic style. We’ve made great progress in finishing this tune in just one practice, so we may have a full band version very soon. Until then, enjoy.

Shotgun Eyes:

Thanks to my buddy Tim’s trustee new sidekick, his iPhone 3Gs, we now have video footage from our Artscape set. Although it doesn’t capture the true live rock sound of RtS, it’s footage no less. Take a peep and tell us what you think. And, thanks again for all of those who came out to support us after a year on hiatus.

Sudden Burst of Red

Celebrate

Here’s the skinny:

Saturday, July 18, 7:00pm. Metro Gallery, Baltimore (I know, it isn’t listed). Artscape, so leave plenty of travel time.

RTS almost made it a year without playing a show. Help break the cycle.

No more than just two days after posting an acoustic version of our new song, The Good Mourning Sun, do I have a fantastic gem for ya’ll. Our Sunday practice proved to be more productive than most, and we have officially finished the full band version of this new tune. On top of that, we videotaped ourselves rehearsing the song, so I threw together a little music video. It’s very dramatic. My hope was to make it feel like a movie trailer since I think it sounds like it could be used as the closing credits of a movie. Enjoy.

Here is the acoustic version of a new song called “The Good Mourning Sun.” We can not wait to finish the full band version of this. We’ve already begun to translate it into an official RtS song, and it’s already taken on a new form that is totally rad. Although this video has a very folk-y feel, the full band version is very dark and ominous…which in my mind equals great. Enjoy.

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Hey everyone, Mike here— Even though this post may have nothing to do with what’s going on with the band, I thought I’d spread the word about some artists who I’ve been keeping my eye on for a while now. If you’ve got a few minutes, go and check them out.

Here’s the list, in no specific order:

1. Blaine Fontana
2. Sylvia Ji
3. Jeff Soto
4. Mike Giant
5. Kurt Halsey

PS: I created a Flickr page with some of my own artwork on it. Go and check it out. Leave comments. http://www.flickr.com/photos/mikevanmeter/

So when we were practicing/recording last time Ryan Lee Roth was dressed as an old HC sXe singer and we were both reminiscing about Earth Crisis’ Firestorm lyrics.  This, in turn, made me think about great music paramount I had had throughout my life and I thought I may share some of them with you, well the three I can recall immediately.

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There is a lot to discuss from the RtS camp. New song, new practice space and recording has officially begun. For the sake of this entry, let’s limit the talking points to the former. We have a new song to premiere. It’s called “One of Two.” A song which started as just an acoustic song, then piano ballad, has turned into a two organ, guitar, bass and drums opus. Though it’s not a video that we will likely see gracing the primetime slot of MTV, it will certainly give you a sense of what “One of Two” sounds like as a full band. We hope you enjoy.

We have a song called “Future Listeners.” In short, the song is centered around the idea that many people (including myself) have strong opinions about the horrible course of the nation/war, but are too lazy to change said course (including myself), thusly making us no better than the people that we negatively critique. We’re a bunch of listeners, and not do’ers. And our complacency will unfortunately continue on like a broken record long into the future. Just kickin’ back and listening to Bob Dylan records doesn’t make us activists. By no means are we a political band, or freedom writers, the song was written purely based on observation.

With that said, since we don’t have a live video of this song, nor a good version recorded, I thought I would post an “acoustified” video of it. It’s got a different feel and groove to it, but have a listen anyway. Look out for a good “electrified” recording of it soon.