Song List
Click titles to stream
Real Audio files.
Free MP3 files
at end of list.
Liner notes
after downloads.
  1. West Coast Highway
  2. Trash
  3. Flatland
  4. Back in the Mountains
  5. Tiger in Rags
  6. Riverboat
  7. I Don't Do That
  8. Settling Down
  9. Whaler's Dream
  10. If You Need a Love Song
  11. My Own Subtle Way
  12. Love in a Jar
  13. La Belle Dame Sans Merci
  14. Heaven Somewhere
  15. Spice Ship
  16. Wheel of Fortune
  17. Lost and Found
  18. No Use For It


Downloads

  1. West Coast Highway
  2. I Don't Do That
  3. If You Need a Love Song


Liner Notes

 Performers:

 Jeff Barnes-Percussion
 Bonnie Burns-Vocal,
 Flute
 Pete Fand-Bass
 Buddy Grecco-Harp
 Rod Horowitz-Vocal
 Marc Landesberg-Bass
 Bob Lepre-Percussion
 Ross Owens-Harp
 Peter Pasco-Banjo,
 Guitar
 Bob Ross-Bass
 David Ruderman-Bass
 Abrahm Stuart-Fiddle,
 Mandolin,Percussion
 Constance Taylor,Vocal
 Bill Ring-Vocal,Guitar
 Harmonium,Dulcimer,
 Harp

 Notes:

 Songs 1-3 from "Cool
 Dolphin" w/Constance
 Taylor. Other songs
 from that tape are on
 her CD "Ten Years
 Before"
  Songs 4-10 from
 "Ironwood" tape
 Songs 11,12 recorded
 live at Sun Mt Cafe
 Jan 21, 1989.
 Songs 13-18 From
 "Heaven Somewhere"

 Engineering by Bill
 Ring

 © 2002 William G. Ring

Song List
Click titles to stream
Real Audio files.
Free MP3 files
at end of list.
Liner notes
after downloads.
  1. Whirl
  2. Tonight in the
    Alehouse
  3. Card Games
  4. Sand
  5. Dancers at the End
    of Time
  6. Sounds of the
    Venusian Rain Forest

    Downloads
  1. Card Games

Liner Notes

Whirl -Newage complaint rock (is this a genre?) Featuring vocals by Constance Taylor, drum programing by Jay Byrd, bass by Bob Ross, and a truly demented clavinet lead by John Pendley.

Tonight in the Alehouse - Apparently a comment
on the head-in-sand approach to dealing with disaster. (Even I am not sure just what some of
these songs are about.)

Card Games - A meditation on mortality.

Sand - Like the two previous songs, a solo effort. Polyrhythmic instrumentals with lyrics reflecting on duality. (Yang, Yin, and company)

Dancers at the End of Time - Named after the books by Michael Moorcock. Vocals by Constance Taylor, bass by Bob Ross.

Sounds of the Venusian Rain Forest - Sound sculpture featuring rain stick, friction drums, and other small percussion instruments. Just over thirty minutes long with no loops or samples.

All songs written, arranged, and engineered by Bill Ring
All vocals, guitars, and midi programming by Bill Ring except as noted above.


© 2004 William G. Ring

 

Performance Videos
Biography, etc.

   Just after Christmas 2002, Bill Ring moved from New York City, his life-long home, to a renovated barn in the Catskills, where he set up his new recording studio. Since then he has been compiling and remastering his earlier recordings and working on a new album called Still On My Mind.
    "The barn has the most incredible sound - better than any studio I've ever worked in. The high ceiling and oddly angled walls give it a natural ambience like nothing I've ever heard. The first time I walked into the place I clapped my hands, listened to the reverberation, and just about knocked the landlady down and forced-fed her my deposit check.
    "The completion of Still On My Mind is the end of a creative and technical Odyssey that began with buying my first guitar at age 16 and getting my first sound-mixing gig as roadie for the Elephant's Memory in 1969. I've been writing songs, performing, and engineering ever since."
     Bill Ring began playing in New York City in 1968. His first band, Another Country, was a folk-rock group that played mostly at the appropriately named Cafe Bizzare on Third St. in Greenwich Village. That club, along with pretty much every other venue they ever played (including the old Sterns department store across 42nd St from Bryant Park!) has long since been torn down and plowed under.
    After 15 years of solo performing, Bill joined with Sally Eaton and Peter Pasco to form a new version of Another Country, featuring assorted acoustic instruments, three-part harmonies, and the considerable songwriting talents of all three. The acoustic edition of Another Country appeared frequently at Speakeasy and Folk City, both of which no longer exist. (Anyone notice a trend here?)
    Along the way he mixed live sound for performers including Herbie Mann, Aretha Franklin, Paul Butterfield, Kiss, and many others. He has also been an electronics designer and chief tech at a major New York studio.
     After Another Country, Bill began working with his backup band, Ironwood, which at one time or another has included most of the musicians listed in the notes of the CD Bill Ring and Friends. There was also a short-lived collaboration known as Sixteen Wheeler, which featured Bonnie Burns, Jaki D'accardi, and David Ruderman for one gig at Wetlands, and Rod Horowitz in place of David at the Eagle Tavern.
    In 1991 Bill teamed with Constance Taylor to front Ironwood. They also appeared as a duo under the name Cool Dolphin. (Constance now lives and performs in San Francisco. Check out her page on this website.)
    Besides the clubs mentioned above, Bill Ring has been heard live and recorded on many NY area radio stations, including WBAI and WQXR, and on college and community stations around the USA.
    Now that Still On My Mind is completed, he intends to resume performing again, primarily upstate where he lives. His recordings include:

  • Still On My Mind: Latest and best. Beautifully recorded in the sweetest-sounding barn in the Catskill Mountains, Still On My Mind features drums and percussion by Bob Lepre, acoustic and electric bass by Rusty Boris, fiddle by Brahm Stuart of Shaman, sax by Chuck Hancock, harmonies by Bibi Farber and Constance Taylor, and acoustic and electric guitars, harmonica, and vocals by Bill Ring. A bakers dozen original songs performed, arranged and engineered by the writer.
         "I think all my albums have a lot to offer, but this is the best-sounding by far. It features several old friends and a couple of new ones, and all their performances are very special. You'll find some humor here, and a dash of social comment, but the prevailing theme is memory, particularly bittersweet recollections of love."
        If you buy only one album by this artist, this is the one you must have. Available from CDBABY.com.

  • You Are Here: The fourth and final album compiling Bill Ring's pre-millenium recordings, which were previously available only on private release cassettes. The first seven songs are similar to the material on Bill Ring and Friends: Old-time country sounding instrumentals featuring fiddle, banjo, guitar, and harmonica, but with less than traditional lyrics. The next three songs are electric productions that might have been included in Invisible Fingers. The next four songs are solo folk numbers, including a tribute(?) to the guru of deconstruction, Jaques Derrida, and the title song, whose gist can be gathered from a quick glance at the cover art. The album concludes with a pair of instrumentals: one an acoustic improvisation in 10/8 time based on a diminished scale, and the other a dreamy meditative piece featuring harmonium and whirling gong. Available from CDBABY.com.

  • Beneath a Violet Sun: Dark, death-obsessed Newage wierdness beginning with a Quicksilver-esque rock number and ending with a 30+ minute sound sculpture featuring rain stick and assorted small percussion instruments. In between lurk four Goth-folk pieces that many afficianados consider among Bill Ring's best-written songs. Some very cool, dreamy instrumental work here as well, particularly the electric guitar lead on Sand. Only six songs, but an hour's worth of highly unusual music. Very different from his other albums, and well worth repeated listening. Available from CDBABY.com.

  • Invisible Fingers: "Except for the Mehndi hand illustration by Loretta Roome, this CD is an exercise in solipsism. What I could play myself (guitars, harmonicas, vocals) I did; the rest (drums, keyboards, wind instruments) I programed in midi. This is probably as close to a rock album as I'm likely to come." All of the mixes on this CD were previously available only on limited edition cassettes Don't Worry, It's Only Me; The Fall of the House of Escher; and Invisible Fingers. They have been remastered for improved sound quality.
    Available from CDBABY.com.

  • Bill Ring and Friends: Digitally remastered cuts from early cassette releases Heaven Somewhere, Ironwood, and Cool Dolphin. Also includes two songs recorded live at the SunMountain Cafe. All original songs. Lots of acoustic instruments, including 6- and 12-string guitars, fiddle, mandolin, banjo, flute, harmonica, harmonium, and percussion, with some electric bass and even an electric guitar thrown in. Backup vocals by Bonnie Burns and Constance Taylor. Folk/blues/country. Available from CDBABY.com.

  • Another Country: With Sally Eaton and Peter Pasco. Many covers with some originals. A few CD's exist, but very much a rarity. If you REALLY have to have one, email Folksmith. Virtually all acoustic, including a couple of a capella numbers. Folk style.

                                 

 
Buy Music
See? It pays to read the whole page! You never know what you might be missing.

 


Song List
Click titles to stream
Real Audio files.
Free MP3 files
at end of list.
Liner notes
after downloads.
  1. Adam Smith
  2. Love in a Jar
  3. Peacoat
  4. Believe it or Not
  5. Probably
  6. Stuck Again
  7. I Hope You Don't Mind
  8. People All Over the World
  9. Gypsy Lady
  10. Little Dog
  11. I'm Your Man
  12. Always Tomorrow
  13. Goodbye
  14. In the Eye

    Downloads
  1. Adam Smith
  2. Believe it or Not
  3. Stuck Again
  4. I'm Your Man

Liner Notes


Mehndi hand - Loretta
Roome
Everything else - Bill Ring

Song Notes:
Adam Smith - I was hoping
this song about reduced
economic expectations
would seem out of date by
now. Silly me.
Love in a Jar - Complaint
rock with sex and drug
references - something
for everyone.
Peacoat - This song started
out to be about a particular
lover, but wound up being
about several different
ones. Anybody know the
feeling?
Believe it or Not - Sort of
jazzy with a cheesy “sax”
lead.  (Or is this so out-of-
date that it is now “vintage”
and therefor cool?)
Probably -  My dubious
attempt at a Buddy Holly
style.
Stuck Again For the First
Time -  Fast, funky.  I like
the synth bass line.
I Hope You Don’t Mind - 
By far the nastiest song I’ve
ever released (though not
the worst I’ve written). No
apologies, but it did present
a challenge figuring out
what song to put after it.
Since anything I selected
would have been a drastic
change of mood, I decided
to go for broke and follow up
with my most positive song:
People All Over the World -
This children’s song was
written for a play about the
man in the moon that was
supposed to star Roger
Daltrey. In the story,
children’s dreams and
wishes come to the man in
the moon like letters.  This
song is his response.
Gypsy Lady - It’s only rock
and roll, but I like it.
Little Dog - My take on an
old blues lyric.
I’m Your Man - No relation
to the Leonard Cohen song.
The only country song on
this CD.
Always Tomorrow - I will
probably do this over in a
different style eventually,
but I like the feel of this
version.
Goodbye- The arrangement
is a bit too happy for some
people’s taste, considering
the lyric, but one person’s
contrast is another’s
conflict.
In the Eye - By far the
folkiest song on this disc.
The “flute” is another
cheesy synth classic.
© 2004 William G. Ring

Song List
Click titles to stream
Real Audio files.
Free MP3 files
at end of list.
Liner notes
after downloads.
  1. Every Kind of Song
  2. Two Million Miles
  3. Down the Line
  4. Gamblin' Man
  5. Worried Soon
  6. Ain't Gonna Ride
    on Your Railroad
  7. Turpentine and
    Wine
  8. Better Get Gone
  9. Ballad of a Singles'
    Bar
  10. Bowery Bums
  11. I Wish I Were a
    Sailor
  12. Nothing But a Song
  13. Derrida
  14. You Are Here
  15. John Donne it
    Again
  16. Mental Floss

    Download
  1. Every Kind of Song
  2. You Are Here

Liner Notes

This is the last of my
pre-millenium remix/
remaster CD's. The
songs cover a hotch-
potch of styles, from
acoustic ensemble to
midi-produced
pseudo-jazz to solo
folk to wierd instru-
mentals. If you don't
like the genre, wait 5
minutes.

Credits

Songs 1-6:
Background Vocals -
  Bonnie Burns
  Rod Horowitz
  Constance Taylor
Banjo - Peter Pasco
Bass - Bob Ross
Fiddle - Abrahm
  Stuart
Harp - Buddy Grecco
  Ross Owens
Percussion - Bob
  Lepre

Lead vocal and guitar
on all songs plus all instuments and midi
on songs 7-16 - Bill
  Ring

All songs written,
arranged and pro-
duced by Bill Ring.

© 2004 William G. Ring

 Read Big Bill's Bitchin' Blog: A Journal of the Plagued Years

    
 Play songs:
     Beautifully recorded in the sweetest-sounding barn in the Catskill Mountains, Still On My Mind features drums and percussion by Bob Lepre, bass by Rusty Boris of Barely Lace, fiddle by Brahm Stuart of Shaman, sax by Chuck Hancock, harmonies by Bibi Farber and Constance Taylor, and acoustic and electric guitars, harmonica, and vocals by Bill Ring.
     A baker's dozen original songs performed, arranged and engineered by the writer .

    Buy it at CDbaby