I grew up in a quiet, beautiful forest in Oregon and my writing has naturally leaned towards a reverence and searching in those landscapes, probably as a way to stay connected to them. For a long time I’ve had a subconscious assumption that the land here is not beautiful enough to impact the way I see myself and others. Some of that dismissal comes from the fact that the natural landscape here is so different from the tall evergreens and deep rivers of the wilderness I grew up loving, but my real challenge in understanding and appreciating the landscape of Southern California as a newcomer has been learning to see past the artificial landscapes that overshadow what is naturally here. Spending time in surrounding areas that have not been “improved” has helped me visualize the sea-bound hills of San Diego as they might have been before we littered them with sprinklers and palm trees. I’ve started to find and appreciate a drama and power in the land here that is similar to what I knew in Oregon, but I’ve learned that it requires the same long-term study that I did unintentionally in my youth.

Mount Laguna, where we did our Hike-In Show (photo above by Shane Wilson), has been a good starting place for me because it has a beautifully lush pine forest that gets color in the fall, snow in the winter, and flowers and wildlife in the spring. It’s refreshing to be reminded of the deep importance of seeing a landscape change day to day and month to month, and to naturally fluctuate and grow alongside it. I was delighted to visit a few weeks ago after a snow storm and have the crunch of my footsteps seem so loud across the same fields that were filled with sunlight and the sounds of birds a few months ago. This photo was taken two weeks ago at the same spot we played we played for the hike-in show:

We are thrilled to announce that we’re writing for our second record, which will be released at the end of this year. The project is being made possible by an Artist Fellowship from The San Diego Foundation, who are generously piloting a program this year to support the work and careers of individual artists. We are partnered with a chamber music group called Camarada for the record who will not only help with ideas and development with the classically-influenced aspect of the songs, but will perform with us on the recording and at our release show. I’m really excited about working with an expanded palette and grateful for the opportunity to compose new music under their seasoned guidance.

For the new batch of songs, I am looking for inspiration and starting places in the landscapes that are accessible to our city. From here on out, I’ll be keeping a journal about some of those places and the writing/record-making process that will run through our recording session late this summer. We will publish journal entries on this website every couple of weeks and also link to each post on Facebook.

To celebrate the new project, we are releasing this video of us playing a draft of a new song in the Laguna Mountain area, which has become one of my favorite local places over the past couple of years. The video was made by Destin Cretton and his amazing crew (special thanks to Brett Pawlak and Ron Najor) and was shot during what we called a Hike-In Show last November. We had a great time in the woods with everyone who came out and are hoping to do it again sometime this spring once the leaves come back.

Thank you for being a part of what we do, we are feeling so encouraged to work hard towards new music that will hopefully find a place in your homes and memories.

Joel / The Tree Ring

On November 12th we’ll be packing our instruments up the Big Laguna Trail for a day of hiking, picnicking, and music. More information here.

We are looking for any photos from our release show at the San Diego Woman’s Club a few weeks back.  If you snapped any (even on your phone) and don’t mind passing them along, send them to thetreering@gmail.com. This one was taken by our jolly friend Chadwick.