The Hurtful Tongue

All work and no play makes johnny a dull boy. It's almost midnight somewhere. I enjoy reading and I think the words we read and say and think for that matter live amongst us on this earth. I have many books with many words. I'm hardly bound to one. Without thought I opened to this passage in one of my favorite books.. on a recent snowy afternoon on white mountain... without an audience or time, no cause or why, no reason or rhyme, no things to hide, no purpose or lie.. but just to do or to die.... I read... and now I ponder what I have read that day. I read and write in many strange places, perhaps I'll start to share some other readings... for fun.

Psalm64;

Hear, O God, my voice of complaint;

preserve my life from dread of the enemy.

Hide me from the scheming of the wicked,

from the mob of workers of iniquity,

who sharpen their tongues like swords

and aim their bitter words like arrows,

ambushing the innocent in seclusion,

shooting suddenly, without fear.

They hold fast to their evil purpose;

they speak of hiding their snares.

“Who will see them?” they say.

They devise injustice and say,

“We have perfected a secret plan.”

For the inner man and the heart are mysterious.

But God will shoot them with arrows;

suddenly they will be wounded.

They will be made to stumble,

their own tongues turned against them.

All who see will shake their heads.

Then all mankind will fear

and proclaim the work of God;

so they will ponder what He has done.

Let the righteous rejoice in the LORD

and take refuge in Him;

let all the upright in heart exult.

#diamondshadder #johnevermore #evermore #hadderupdate #words #readings

Low tides.

Tuesday on the heels of Zabbles big turkey extravaganza. I’ve been trying to do 3 updates a week generally as there is a lot going on in the Hadder world. Auditions, new music material, Website, European Press Releases for Stargazer, mountain travels, headless cross covers, book chapters… tour bus… it’s a bit daunting to say the least. Thank heavens it’s all actually enjoyable and rewarding.

Holiday Storms: Real life can be a bit disheartening for me at times it’s true, human natures can be a bit unintentionally destructive… where does lady time go. I’m pondering her today with my gremlin and my ashy relics. The tic and the toc. I wish things were different… I do.. like a drop in the water who’s ripples go on forever, I too seem adrift in the current of circumstances beyond my control at times. And true to it's nature and it's waves that forever gain momentum, at least until they hit the shore again in a splash, I feel helpless at times in its path. Tumbling in the waves. Wishing on shattered dreams. A silly broken coin operated toy left on the floor and thrown out when the battery died. Oh, you can stand in front of the ripples and the fire… but you can’t stop them… a tear can help some nights… but the rock that set it off still sits on the ocean floor. It always will. It takes time… but heavy rocks do move down there… so I’m told… and so I keep walking the beach at sunrise… to see what the tides left. That’s me... and that's what Diamonds Hadder is all about. A tireless hope after every storm.

Speaking of tides..

New Music: I’m a drummer this week. Spent the last few days tracking “Rivers End”, almost done. Should be a real holiday treat. coming soon. Maybe an early stocking stuffer. Me and Ramsay are planning a photoshoot Friday to commemorate all the hard work we’ve done on some of the new material we’ve collaborated on. Should make an interesting snap. I’ll share of course.

Auditions: All I can say is, each week the pictures becomes a little clearer... and the final cast should be together before I take my Christmas tree down. That’s the hope anyway. I’m so humbled by the people I’ve meet during this process, every email, every character. It’s quite the justice league I’m assembling.

The Novel: I have a big Field Note that is an important part of the story, it’s about the waterfall and the dreams Mr Hadder is having. It could be a few days before I complete it.. some chapters take longer than others. Other than that I’m very pleased with the progress so far, it takes a long time to write such a thing in between making a record. I try to honor the moments of creation when they knock on the door, otherwise I’m plotting my tour across the US in my dreams to the crackles of burning fire wood and ocean winds. In a year I think most of this first book will be completed. All things are leaning towards a two book story.. so I imagine I’ll be doing this a while. At least that’s what the wind is saying today.

Hadder Website: A redesign is in process for the music page which suddenly seems rather drab in this meta world we are inching towards. Just something that’s on the radar. I’m happy that it seems to function well on Mobil devices, but I’m looking for something a bit grander on the desktop experience, we’ll see. I’ve outgrown the current page, like a butterfly. So is life. Other than that, quite happy with the Hadder digital space, the front page and the news page are all working rather nicely on all platforms and they are easy to weed and garden. Perhaps comments and the members section will be activated in the near future as the book and the touring plans progress. Tic toc.

The Headless Cross Project: The stargazer crew are recording some additional covers songs in the coming weeks, I plan of filming the process and singing on the tracks… with videos to go along with them, “Headless Cross’ and “Rainbow in the Dark”, from our good friend the king are on the table. I’ll post news from the studio in LA when we start the recording process.

-j

Video Info: A solo I recorded this week for "Rivers End". It was a one taker to help me arrange the transition of parts.. but it's growing on me.

#diamondshadder #johnevermore #evermore #hadderupdate #auditions #riverend #headlesscross #stargazercrew #novel

Update: Ebbs and Flows and where it goes.

A little Friday update as I’m all unpacked and thinking about master Zabbles Turkey gathering. It’s a week of cutting stems for rehearsals, writing guitars for Rivers End, rowing pleasantly down that wonderful river to the falls, revisiting the narrow cut in my heart and ironing out the big “Raven, Coin and Waterfall” field note which is one of the more complex pieces I’ve been pondering as of late for the Hadder story.

The Hadder Story: For some of you new readers and listeners around the world, you may notice that the Hadder site is a mix of music and literature... I’m guessing this literature will be the second full record on the Hadder Front, or at least a part of it. Perhaps it will be written with the new band characters all in place, that is the hope anyway. Funny how puzzle pieces work, every piece does reveal a little more of the picture… and they do get easier to find as the pool of odd little pieces gets smaller and smaller. As I took the last few days to pour some new bricks and get some words to paper from raven whispers and starry night cottonwood ponderings.. I cant tell you how happy I am that the tower I’m building resides on my earth.. and that even when I’m away I can see the fire I left… burning in the distance… and no one can take that away. Something so far away still warms my heart. It’s a thought that helps me sleep at night for sure. Hope you liked “the Bridge” story, it’s been rattling around my head a few weeks… I like lord Skynn, he’s an interesting character… one of those people we all need in our life. A mentor to some degree for little Hadder who is growing up and learning more and more each day about himself. There’s a few twists and turns coming, a Lady Wilhelm, The Coin of course, the truth about his dreams and that Magic Waterfall, The King and the Prison…. The chamber… Oh, it’s all coming together slowly. Stay tuned if you like such a thing, I have nothing better to do.

On the topic of Music: All energy is now on “Rivers End”, aside from planning auditions and rehearsals, which by the way are really starting to ramp up with some great players and prospects as of late tapping on the tower door, and a few minor minor vocal re-sings on “Hell Fall”, I hope to have rivers done before Zabbles grand Turkey gathering. It’s a tall order as the oven is practically warming already. I should note that the Ramsay/Evermore material on this site, including Hell Fall, is mostly demo material, missing solos and little production things and they may frequently be updated behind the scenes.. but I share because I think the process of creation is important and that most honest steps we take in life, the ones that lead anywhere worth a damn… they deserve to be recognized in the process… and not hidden away… to some degree anyway. I’ll try to continue doing such things. The vocal journey of “Rivers End’ was a very fond memory for me, I distinctively remember a giant wall that needed jumping during the process and the frustration of a few failed vocal leaps and bounds over that wall and a walk along the ocean, the day I broke the code on it. Sometimes it brings tears to my eyes… literally... solving the lyrical puzzle of a song. Its ebbs and flows are that important. That’s me. Enjoy the little vocal clip below.

-j

Video Info: Soloed Vocal tracks from Rivers End, Chorus played along to some random video clips.

#diamondshadder #johnevermore #evermore #coin #hadderupdate #zabble #auditions #hellfall #riversend