the hope theory

The day has finally come! I’ve been working on this song for several months now and I am thrilled to have it all behind me. This one has been plagued with problems but I managed to work past them all and get everything sorted out. A lot of people were telling me I was spending too much time on it but they just didn’t understand. You can’t rush a great thing. Haha!
I originally got the idea to do this song when my brother gave me a ukelele he had acquired at some point and had no use for so he offered it to me. As a musician who has many instruments but never owned a ukelele, of course, I accepted. Not knowing how to tune it, I turned to YouTube and got the info I needed. The fella in the video then went on to demonstrate some simple songs to get started. Up pops “You Are My Sunshine” and BAM! I was ready to go. I took the C chord he was strumming but instead of strumming, I picked the strings individually in the order that became the riff near the beginning and end of the final version.
I had originally intended to just have some fun singing it with my daughter but after looking into the song further and discovering how truly depressing the lyrics were, I decided I needed to record it. We started by recording the waves at the beginning and end of the track while at the beach on vacation. Then I added some basic synth tracks and programmed a quick drum track so that I could record her vocal before she had to head back home and prepare for her upcoming 4th grade year. My aunt was in town briefly so I decided to see if she would add some vocals from some ideas I had as well. After everyone had left and returned to their homes, I began my process. Adding the ukelele tracks, building on the synth and drum tracks and adding a scratch vocal. My friend Michael Jones heard it and said he thought it could use some tribal drums mixed in with my programmed drums and so we recorded some floor tom, brushed snare and cymbal flourishes and threw that in there as well. What I ended up with was a pretty solid demo that had grown men crying (I will not give names). A lot of people said thats it! It’s done. Naaaahhh. Not me. I was only getting started.
I kind of went crazy for about a week, recording tons of shit to see what fit. Just looking for whatever it was I was hearing. I won’t bore you with the rest but I finally managed to find what I was looking for.
The video or “short film” was done by dear friend Mr. Michael Hunt and is up on The Hope Theory’s official YouTube channel https://youtube.com/@thehopetheorymusic now. So check it out. Be prepared though, it’s quite a musical journey and comes in at just under 10 minutes. I suggest tuning in, turning on, etc. I also suggest some nice headphones cranked as loud as they can go. Stick around til the end as well for a little behind the scenes nugget.

Take care folks and Keep Hope Alive!

-RD

Greetings everyone. Just a quick note to let you know the video for “All Around” is now streaming on YouTube. The single will follow on April 28th, along with a couple of remixes. I plan on releasing more in the coming months but for now I have to make it through surgery. Believe me when I say that I want to get back to work as soon as I possibly can. This year has brought nothing but misery for me thus far with the exception of releasing the video and single, so please check em out and hang in there with me. Much love.

-RD

I will be releasing something soon. I was making good progress writing and recording during the end of 2022 and beginning of 2023. Unfortunately, I was involved in a nearly fatal automobile accident and was hospitalized for over a month. My voice isn’t quite what it used to be but hopefully with some practice it will return. Anyway, I am back to writing and recording now but I feel like I should release some of the stuff that is basically done already. I will try to get everything mixed and mastered for a release sometime in the coming weeks. Thanks for being there, if you are, and thanks for listening.

-RD

Howdy folks. Haven’t checked in for a minute. I guess it’s about that time.
Still writing new songs and trying to finish up some that I’m close to being done with.
I’ve debated releasing a new single but I’m just thinking about saving everything for a proper album. There might be one or two songs that don’t go with the flow of everything else, in which case I will go ahead and release those in advance. Until then I will continue to mix, edit and re-record things as I see fit. Hang in there.

-RD

The Hope Theory officially released 2 new singles a few weeks ago.

1. “Demons” with a b-side entitled “Hold On”
2. “Montlimar”

They are available on Spotify, Apple Music/iTunes, YouTube and Bandcamp. Links have been added to the Music page. I will also be releasing another new song in the coming weeks. Stay tuned!

I’ve been staying up late writing, recording and mixing a new tune. It’s called “Demons” and is about the demons from my past that I am constantly dealing with. It is available on Bandcamp now at https://thehopetheory.bandcamp.com

What a month this has been.