I am pleased to announce that my brand-new song “Masquerade” is NOW available on iTunes!!
“Masquerade” is a bit different for me… it’s a Halloween love song! It was SO fun to write and turned out to be my most lighthearted song ever – a fun departure from the more serious tone of most of my songs. Could it be the next “Monster Mash” or “Werewolf Bar Mitzvah“? Who knows! But it was written for the upcoming Paramount/Nickelodeon Film, “FUN SIZE,” a Halloween teen-comedy, releasing in theaters this Friday! If you check out the film, be sure to keep your ears open towards the end.
throughout most of our lives, words do a fine job articulating our feelings and ideas. but then there are times, when words fall so short of anything more than empty sounds. unfortunately last week was one of those times. my very close friend and one of my favorite people in the world, jim alleman lost his wonderful and loving sister, sarah joann alleman in a tragic and senseless accident. our hearts have been so heavy for jim, his wife, cherie and the alleman family this week, who are piecing their world together in this time of unspeakable sorrow.
i’ve had the privilege of crossing paths with sarah several times over the years. she was kind enough to let my songs be a small part of her world and would take moments to send very sweet encouragement to me over the years. in her emails she also often expressed her heart for helping those in need in uganda and her excitement to be working alongside invisible children as a roadie. (read about sarah on invisible children’s post here.) to which, she gave countless hours, immeasurable heart and so very much life helping people in need. in my book, that is truly the definition of a life lived well. our world is sincerely a better place because sarah lived in it.
our hearts are so heavy with the thought of sarah’s family and friends, who are now working so hard to find light in such darkness. please hold them tightly in your prayers and thoughts.
to jim, the alleman family, sarah’s loving boyfriend, don and all of her friends, we are so so very sorry for your loss. we love you and will continue praying for strength and comfort. we are so inspired and touched by the love that you and sarah shared, and especially by the life sarah lead, as a result of your love and support.
dearest sarah, if each of us live a life with even a fraction of the compassion and love that you did, our world will be brighter place than it ever was before. thank you for being you.
in the memory of such a special girl, daughter, sister, girlfriend and friend, her family and loved ones have asked those interested in honoring her, to please donate to invisible children in lieu of flowers. we too, ask that you would consider helping invisible children continue the work that sarah alleman lived so passionately for.
please consider honoring sarah, by donating to invisible children in her name here.
NEW SONG, “FUN SIZE” FILM Pleased to announce that I have a new song in the upcoming Paramount/Nickelodeon movie, “Fun Size” which hits theaters Oct. 26th. The song is a bit different for me, it’s called “Masquerade” and like the movie, it’s a Halloween love story. It was so fun to write – in fact I’d call it the most lighthearted, fun song I’ve ever written. It releases on iTunes on Oct. 23rd. The film is a teen comedy starring Victoria Justice, Directed by Josh Schwartz (Gossip Girl, The OC, Chuck.) Learn more about the film, here.
JON FOREMAN COLLABORATION Excited to pull the cover off of another one of the “secret projects” I’ve been working away on this year. Privileged to have contributed to 4 songs on the upcoming Jon Foreman (Switchfoot) solo record. The release date has yet to be announced, but I am so thrilled to have contributed to these gorgeous songs. Read a bit more about the project here.
Thanks for reading!! Hope to see you at one of the remaining Fall Tour dates!
Much love, Ryan – Sleeping At Last P.S.
here’s a list of stuff i love right now…
1. my amazing tour family! (love, love, love the folks on this tour!)
2. facebomb app (providing endless enjoyment on tour by swapping people’s faces in photos.)
3. releasing brand-new music! (“we’re still here” has been so fun to play live on this tour!)
Thrilled to announce My brand-new song, “We’re Still Here,” which has officially been released into the wild TODAY!
Grab it now on iTunes, or Amazon MP3, or any of your favorite digital music stores!
In the process of writing and recording my next large-scale project (to be announced SOON), this song came about, and with the Fall Tour starting this week, it felt like the perfect time to release it! (Also, I’m super impatient and didn’t want to wait..) For those of you planning on coming out to any of the Fall shows, I’ll be debuting “We’re Still Here” live for the first time!
This single is sporting a brand-new painting by the incredibly talented, Geoff Benzing (the artist responsible for just about all of my album art!) – another beautiful job, entirely embodying the lyrics and imagery of this song! Love Geoff’s work. Support him, your walls deserve his art!
I sincerely hope you enjoy “We’re Still Here“! It’s a small precursor to what’s to come… a LOT of new music soon.
If you’d like, I would be so privileged to have your help in letting folks know about it! Tweets, iTunes Reviews, Facebook posts.. any and all helps so much to spread the word in this busy digital age we’re living in.
Thank you so much for reading and for listening to my songs. Lots more news and music on the horizon… !!!
PS here’s a list of some things i love right now…
1. New Apple Earbuds (i’ve read mixed reviews, but i think they sound fan-tastic)
2. Sour Patch Kids Berries (mmm… new sour-y goodness)
3. TOMS Shoes (just got my first pair, and i love ‘em)
If you’ve followed the Sleeping At Last Twitter or Facebook over the last several months, you might have seen me mention that I’ve been working on a few “secret projects”… well one of those secret projects is with my pal, Jon Foreman (Switchfoot). Earlier this year, Jon asked if I’d be interested in contributing to his upcoming solo record (release date tba)… So he sent me a song that he had just finished writing and asked if I’d care to add some things… anything I’d like, really. So I spent a bit of time with it (adding anything that popped into my mind… drums, bass, strings, pianos, background videos, etc!) and had an incredible time layering ideas onto his gorgeous song. Soon after, he was kind enough to invite me to contribute to a few more songs. It’s been such an honor to say the least… Jon is one of my favorite songwriters (and people) ever, so to be invited to be a part of his music is just a wonderful privilege!
Although I have no clue as to when these songs will meet the world, I can say that they are some of Jon’s very finest work and I cannot wait for you to hear!
I can’t believe that Fall is so nearly upon us! I hope your Summer has wrapped up beautifully!
I spent much of this year working on projects that I couldn’t talk much about! (no fun.) As fate would have it though, most of these projects will be announced and/or rolled out every week from now through October! So much fun stuff to tell you about each week… let the wild rumpus start!
Just a few weeks ago I was invited to score 20+ minutes of new music for Global Festival!! What is Global Festival, you ask? It’s a massive advocacy event in Central Park, NYC on Sept. 29th, feat. Neil Young, Foo Fighters, The Black Keys & more. The festival’s sole purpose is to raise funds, awareness and to urge our leaders and fellow citizens to do more to help end extreme poverty
I had the amazing privilege of being invited to write an original score for 11 short films by the incredibly talented filmmakers at DTJ. Each short film is centered around an issue intrinsic to poverty and will be screened in between the acts at the festival, as well as streamed live online, in what will be the largest syndicated charity concert in online and broadcast TV history!
I can’t wait for you to hear it all! Click here for more information about Global Festival, how to stream it and my involvement!
In other “Global” news, I just found out that my music will also play a part in this week’s Clinton Global Initiative 2012 in NYC as well, where world leaders (incl. Governor Romney and President Obama!) and change-makers gather for the sole purpose of turning ideas into action. Bipartisanship at its finest! Videos will be posted soon, as they become available.
Last week, my song “Turning Page” (iTunes) was featured again on So You Think You Can Dance on FOX! I was rather privileged to hear that they chose Sonya Tayeh’s beautifully choreographed dance, set to my song, as a season highlight, feat. an encore performance in last week’s finale episode! So honored to have my song be a part of the show again! If you missed it, check out the clip of it here.
Pssst… I have a BRAND-NEW SONG releasing on iTunesOctober 2nd!!! Can’t wait for you to hear! More on that next week!
Thanks for reading!
Much love, Ryan – Sleeping At Last
P.S. here’s a list of some things i love right now…
1. DTJ (incredible filmmakers, change-makers and best of all, wonderful people!)
2. my new iphone 5 (mmm… electronic miracle)
3. autoharps (they take an hour to tune, but i sure do love that sound)
Just a few weeks ago I was invited to score 20+ minutes of brand-new music for Global Festival!! But, what is Global Festival you ask? It’s a massive advocacy event being held in Central Park, NYC on Sept. 29th, feat. concerts by Neil Young, Foo Fighters, The Black Keys & more. The festival’s sole purpose is to raise funds, awareness and to urge our leaders and fellow citizens to do more to help end extreme poverty. In a nutshell, it’s a pretty rad event.
I had the incredible privilege of being invited to write an original score for 11 short films by the insanely talented filmmakers, DTJ. Each short film is centered around poverty-related issues, shining light on the problems and more importantly, on the solutions. The films will be screened in between the acts at the festival, as well as streamed live online, in what will be the largest syndicated charity concert in online and broadcast TV history!
There will be 3 exclusive online screenings:
4:30pm EDT September 29th 12:30am EDT September 30th 8:30am EDT September 30th
Working with my friends at DTJ on this has been such a privilege – they are some of the most talented folks I know, so it was wonderful to come together on this project. I spent just about all of September writing these new pieces of music and had such a lovely time. The visuals and emotional impact that DTJ put into each film is beyond beautiful, so to have the opportunity to write music to something so awe-inspiring was truly a treat. I can’t wait for you to see/hear!
I’ll be flying out to NYC to attend the festival and I’m just so excited to see how the final films all turned out and to experience the event in person!
In addition to all of that newly scored music, I’m told that some of my previously released music (songs from “Yearbook,” etc.) will play a roll in the festival as well.
PLUS… In other “Global” news, I just found out that my music will also play a part in this week’s Clinton Global Initiative 2012 in NYC as well, where world leaders (incl. Governor Romney and President Obama!) and change-makers gather for the sole purpose of turning ideas into action. Bipartisanship at its finest! Videos will be posted soon, as they become available.
Thanks for reading! Hope you’ll tune in on Sept. 29th for Global Festival!!!
got some rad news last night! my song “turning page” was featured again on the season finale of so you think you can dance on FOX! i was rather privileged to hear that they chose sonya tayah’s beautifully choreographed routine set to my song as a season highlight, with an encore performance! tiffany (season finalist) and george did a wonderful job. i am so honored to have my song be a part of the show again! huge thanks to sonya tayah and all at sytycd! what an honor!
watch it here:
as a result, i was also so blessed to see that “turning page” found its way onto the itunes “top songs” charts, as well as in the top 20 songs in the “alternative” charts! huge thanks to everyone for downloading!!
Hope your Summer is wrapping up beautifully! It’s been a busy time ’round here (read an update here!) A few brief announcements to make on this fine September day…
Pleased to announce that my 2006 album, “Keep No Score” is NOW available on 1st edition double-vinyl! Orders are shipping out starting today! It’s my first vinyl release ever and I’m so thrilled with how it turned out. (Stock is limited, first come first serve!) Grab your copy here!
Last month I played at Calvin College in Grand Rapids, MI… They were kind enough to invite me back this month! September 21st, I’ll be performing another intimate, “evening with” type of evening (feat. a String Quartet!) at the Ladies Literary Club in Grand Rapids, MI for Calvin Students and for general public! Hope to see you!! Can’t wait. Details here.
This is my final mention of this- I wanted to let you know one last time about that my charity: water birthday campaign. It’s ending in just a couple days… I would be absolutely thrilled, honored and privileged for you to check it out, learn more and consider helping me reach my goal for this cause! Learn more/Donate here!
Thanks for reading! Hope to see you at one of the upcoming Fall Tour dates! Check out the dates here.
Much love, Ryan – Sleeping At Last
PS Here’s a list of stuff i love right now…
1. Welch’s Strawberry Fruit Snacks (mmm.. so good.)
2. Warby Parkers (just got my first pair of warby parker glasses.. they are such a rad co. for each pair of glasses purchased, they give away a pair to someone in need.)
3. iPhone 5 (oh it’s time again for me to open up my wallet to apple with high hopes of beautiful gadgetry. mmm.)
4. Kiwis (the fuzzy fruit. yum.)
oh, blog. there, there. i’m sorry i’ve been ignoring you lately. i’ll be better, i promise.
thankfully my blog-neglect has been due to being very busy making lots of music! it’s been a very busy few weeks around here, so i thought i’d write up am update…
i recently returned from a lovely trip to los angeles. the trip actually started in north carolina where i had the honor of joining some friends in an off-the-grid, getaway type of trip that involved lots of great food, amazing company and a gorgeous landscape. a recalibrating time in a lot of ways. loved it. from north carolina, i flew to los angeles to begin an entirely different kind of trip.
while in LA i had the incredible honor of playing some songs for the kind folks at walt disney pictures and abc studios! i asked my pals, emi, lydia and susanna to play strings with me and we all went to the abc studios in burbank and played for the disney/abc offices. it was really fun! the girls played amazingly (as usual!) and i really enjoyed the opportunity to play songs for and meet some folks i admire. (been a disney fan all my life.)
throughout the trip i had a few meetings with some of my team out in LA. really great to catch up and dream up the future.
this year i’ve had several opportunities to write music with some friends of mine. it’s something i’ve never really done before, actually. “sleeping at last” has always functioned as my journal of sorts, so it when it came to songwriting, i’ve always approached it as a very private, personal, introverted thing and have only written songs by myself. “sleeping at last” will always be exclusively my songs (in order to keep things personal and journal-y!) but, the idea of writing with friends i admire for other projects had me excited to explore.. so this year i’ve written a few songs with some pals of mine. this particular visit to LA, i got to write with 3 amazing folks: one of my fav. people ever, david hodges. was such a treat to write with someone so gifted in their craft. we’ve been trying to write together for a little while now.. so glad it finally worked out. i’m really excited about the song we unearthed. then i wrote a song with my upcoming tour-mate, mariah mcmanus. although we’ve got lots of mutual pals, we hadn’t met until the day we wrote together and it was so, so fun! i really love the song we wrote and can’t wait for it to see the light of day soon. working on the recording of that soon. perhaps we’ll play it on the upcoming tour. then, on the last day of my trip, i wrote with my pal mia maestro. we had tons of fun too and i’m really pleased with the song that came as a result! mia’s passion for music is inspiring!
in between all of those super fun adventures, i got to spend time with a bunch of my los angeles pals, whom i’ve missed a ton lately. was amazing.. always so encouraging to be among such wonderful people.
as soon as i got home, i hit the ground running on projects. i can’t say what any of those projects are directly just yet, but here are a few general clues… a couple upcoming projects involve a bit of film scoring for the first time. (can’t. wait.) most of my time though has and will continue to be spent on the next sleeping at last music project… cannot wait to announce that soon!! lots and lots of new music coming out in the near future. aside from those projects, i’m gearing up for the fall tour with jars of clay and mariah mcmanus! can’t wait to be out on the road again!
