Ryan Hamilton

Remaining tickets here: www.camdenrocksfestival.com

Long-ish post... but I felt the need to share 🙂 So, I've been in this hyper creative, uber productive ... "full speed ahead" ... SUPER manic state for about a week now. Drawing, painting, writing songs etc... I feel like I'm on drugs, but I'm totally not. Haha. A few days ago I watched a documentary about artist Ralph Steadman. It's called For No Good Reason. I found it incredibly inspiring. I also had this light bulb "idea" moment while watching it. Back in the day he would manipulate polaroid photos while they were developing. The crazy cool results ended up in his "Paranoids" book. (totally worth checking out... awesomely weird stuff) ANYWAY ... when he was working on the Paranoids, he would sometimes have people hold things up next to their faces while he was photographing them. It was seeing THAT that gave me my light bulb moment. I could TOTALLY print out photos of musical heroes, historical figures... whoever, really... print them out, fold the photo in half... hold it in front of a face... line it up... take a NEW photo ... and end up with this weirdly cool "two face" style photo. THEN use the photo as a reference for a new painting. I experimented with it on myself first (see the Warhol/me two face). Then I decided to see if I could replicate the idea/photo/painting with my wife, Holly (see the Bowie/Holly two face). I know I'm not the greatest artist ever... but I am SO PROUD of this idea/concept... and the process I figured out... and the finished product. In fact, I've never been more proud of anything I've ever drawn or painted. I feel like I took everything I've learned up till now, and put all those elements into new paintings. It feels amazing to have an original idea... see it through to the end... and feel super proud of what you created. Ya know? 😀 Also gotta say... I freakin LOVE how inspirational a documentary like "For No Good Reason" can be. Much like when I hear an incredible song, and it inspires me to sit down and write something new... Ralph Steadman inspired me to draw/paint something new. I love that. Art and music inspiring more art and music.

I love art... and the making of it. Feeling excited to make more. If you made it to the end of this post... THANK YOU. Appreciate you taking the time to read this. I hope wherever you are in the world, you're doing great.

Oh my God... guys... I'M FREAKING OUT RIGHT NOW!!! ... and now that I'm done crying on my laptop...😳, I'll share. Haha. Seriously though. Not to be all dramatic... or "emo" (I'm still not sure what "emo" really is 😉) about this... but the CRAZIEST, most unexpected, thing just happened. My computer was running out of space, so I was transferring some old files to my portable hard drive. I found the photos I got to take of Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers a few years ago. I couldn't help myself and decided to look through them. I had NO IDEA I took so many! Almost 400 photos... sheesh. I must have been excited. Haha. Anyway... as you may know, he was/is a hero of mine... and his passing affected me greatly. It still hurts my heart. I was scrolling through the photos and I found THIS ONE. He is looking RIGHT AT ME. To have a moment like I just had... where you're scrolling through photos of a hero who passed away... and then see him looking right back at you... in a photo you took... I mean... I can't even.... It moved me to tears. At the time it was, of course, SO special to get to photograph one of my heroes... but now, stumbling onto this after he's passed... it means more than I could ever accurately describe here in this post. Man... I knew photos could be powerful... but I wasn't quite aware a photo could be THIS powerful. Forever grateful for this man, and the opportunity to take, and stumble upon, this photo. Wow. ❤️❤️❤️

Introducing ART for CREW. Long-ish post, but I REALLY hope you'll read this. We're introducing something new on the tour dates this year. We're calling it, ART for CREW. We are extremely lucky to have amazing folks (lookin' at YOU Pam & Steve!) who go above and beyond for this band. I always find myself wanting to do MORE for these people who do SO MUCH for us. We, of course, pay them what we can... but it just never feels like it's enough. I know they do it because they care about us, they believe in our band, and they love being a part of it all. Here's what we wanna do for our amazing crew. I drew/painted 8 new pieces of original art, 1 for each show (show date & venue included on the art) ... and we will be selling ONE PER SHOW. Pricing will be left to Pam & Steve's discretion at the merch table. Just make 'em an offer! Whether they sell the art for £5 or £50, EVERY POUND GOES TO THE CREW. I thought this would be a fun and unique way to make these folks some extra cash, and show them that we love 'em. Not only can you potentially snag some original art for super cheap.. My hope is that everyone will embrace this for the fun and supportive thing that it's meant to be. We love our crew. Here's a sneak peek at the art I did for these upcoming UK dates. See you soooooon. Love -Ryan, Mickey & Rob

Ok, SO... After our showcase at the end of last year, & the conversations that followed... We've decided (for now) to keep going on our own, as an independent band. We started this new FB group page & I REALLY hope you'll join. WE'RE GONNA NEED YOU! ❤️ https://www.facebook.com/groups/390937601378170/

Hey guys. I need to share. Yesterday, something changed. Truth is, the past month or so has been REALLY difficult. As some of you have noticed and pointed out, there have been several "poor me" posts, posted then deleted. Mostly because I know others have had it much worse than I. I try and keep things pretty positive here, but I don't wanna be fake. Ya know? A little after Christmas, I got a really bad cold/flu. I had this super intense coughing fit and broke 2 of my ribs. Which is a TERRIBLE thing to break when you have a cough that won't stop. About a week later, it froze and iced over here in Texas. I slipped on the icy back steps at home... fell... and landed on the freshly broken ribs. Cracking them even more. Can't tell you how painful that was. So, there I was. Twice broken ribs and a cold/flu/cough that wasn't getting better. I was feeling pretty sorry for myself. I'll save you the extra long post about how my mental health jumped all over the situation... but, damn. I was ready to start this year off with a BANG! I guess I did. It just wasn't the "bang" I was hoping for. Haha. EVERYTHING got delayed. Singing the Country tunes for the album with Tony. Prepping the new release for the Traitors. Emails, phone calls, meetings etc... I am NOT good at sitting around doing nothing. It really does a number on my mental state. Ok, so fast forward a couple of weeks. After some hard core prescription drugs, home remedies for stopping a cough, and A LOT of rest. I was finally starting to feel better. I'm almost there now. I'm still not 100%, but my voice is back and I can sing again! THANK THE LORD. The ribs are still healing, but it's only a slight annoyance now. I'm getting caught up on all the emails and delayed projects. The Country album with Tony, the new Traitors EP, and prepping the new Traitors studio album later this year. For whatever reason, I felt this overwhelming sense of relief, happiness and excitement yesterday. Not really sure what it was... but I can't tell you how wonderful it is to feel so happy and excited about the future. Holly took this picture yesterday. Next to the steps I slipped and fell on. I really like this photo. I look happy. Ok... I'm ready to start 2018 now. Love you guys. -Ryan

Young, Dumb & Full of Rum UK Tour 2018! Tickets ON SALE NOW! 15 March - Huddersfield - Parish 16 March - Liverpool - The Shipping Forecast 17 March - Newcastle - Think Tank 18 March - Glasgow - Stereo 20 March - Nottingham - Bodega 21 March - Cardiff - Fuel 22 March - Southampton - Joiners 23 March - London - Surya For tickets & info CLICK HERE! Photo by Stephen Curry

US iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/episode-5-dont-drink-the-kool-aid-with-amanda-palmer/id1287202888?i=1000395351586&mt=2

Happy Holidays! 

New Music Video! Happy Thanksgiving! and SURPRISE! Here's a brand new music video for Strength In Numbers! This year we're extra thankful for the folks (fans, friends & crew) featured in this video, and all of YOU wonderful people who support us. BIG THANKS to the Idiovid crew for capturing the footage in Nottingham during our stop at The Bodega on the last tour. They did an amazing job putting this together. Check it out and PLEASE SHARE! We love you! Click HERE to watch

Cheers! -R

From the incredible stories of Brandin Lea and Tim Palmer... To this latest episode with Kay Hanley (which I found super uplifting)... I wanna say how rewarding doing this podcast has been so far. I am SUPER proud of these first 3 episodes. I went into this new podcasting adventure with zero expectations. I had a vision though. I knew what I hoped it would/could be. A peek behind the curtain of the insanity of the music business.... and an opportunity to share unbelievable and/or inspiring stories from musicians, artists, producers etc... So, again, whether it's been the heartbreaking story of Flickerstick... the insightful look at a super successful producer's point of view... or the super fun peek into the world of Kay Hanley & Letters To Cleo, I'm SO HAPPY people are enjoying it. I know I'm just getting started. But we're 3 episodes in... and I'm hooked! Luke (the guy who produces the show) says there's something "captivating" about it... he also says I'm "great" at this whole podcast thing. That's nice to hear, considering I'm clueless when it comes to podcasts! Haha. 😂 So far, every time a new episode launches, the Podcast sneaks back up into the Top 10 on iTunes. Gotta say, that's pretty much the best feeling ever. To have no expectations, and then have success, feels amazing! I think we're onto something with this podcast. Whether it's the "angle" or just the accidental way it all comes together... there's something here... and I can't wait to share MORE ❤️ Big love to you all. Sincerely appreciate all the listens, reviews etc... If you haven't heard this latest episode (out today), I highly recommend it. Kay is a welcomed ray of sunshine.

Peace, Love, Pod & Roll x

As some of you have noticed by now, Mickey & Rob are not with me/us on this tour. Long story short, we had some "issues" getting my British band mates over here to "work" these US dates with Bob Schneider. We had to scramble, pretty last minute, and my cousin Hunter Cannon (who is a GREAT drummer) jumped in the van and hit the road with me and Holly. I am SO THANKFUL. He pretty much saved the day. Here's what I'd like to say: Can I just say that I have the best bandmates in the world? I hope so, because I'm sayin' it! Haha. I know they're bummed they aren't here with me. Truth is, it feels a little strange being on stage without them. But they have been so wonderful, and supportive considering the circumstances. Messages of support from those dudes means more than they realize. This tour is a big opportunity for us on this side of the pond. So, I know I gotta go out there and do my best. Having the support from my band and people like Steve, Pam, Dave & Carol, from the UK, is giving me the extra boost I need. Super thankful. Love -Ryan

ryanhamiltonandthetraitors.com

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