Neil & Prey: Catching up with David Rynhart

David Rynhart wandered up to me in a wine bar in Galway 16 years ago and politely asked whether he could play a song at an open mic that I was hosting. The rest is history. We collaborated. We toured. We had fun. Then he moved back to Colorado and released two full solo albums - A Passing Comet and By the Hollow Tree. For the past decade, he has been part of the hugely popular Denver-based band Chimney Choir. Now, he is back doing his own stuff and has just released two EPs - Long Shadows and Lucid Dream. 

NM: What’s it been like for musicians in Colorado for the last year?

DR: I played a pretty spectacular NYE show at the Mercury Café in Denver. There was wild choreography and huge shadow puppets and acrobats. Shortly before midnight, we began a blissfully ignorant countdown to 2020. (If only we knew what we were counting down to, we would have counted backwards) And I haven’t performed since! I lost a ton of gigs, but was able to continue work in a limited capacity by making scores for some immersive shows that didn’t require performance and a few commercials. Most musicians here recognize that performing gathers crowds… and even though they want to (and have to) perform, it feels irresponsible to gather people right now. So, life is recording projects, practice for the unforeseeable future, and releasing songs to various streaming platforms.

NM: We have seen how Zoom and Facebook live have come in handy... so do you this these are just stopgaps or will musicians integrate these tools into future tours, gigs etc.?

DR: Zoom for music has mainly been for teaching or feeling awkward. FB live though, I think that is a great way to share an event or performance, and it is exciting to see how creative people can be with it.

NM: For the past decade, since your last solo albums, you’ve been part of the band Chimney Choir - are you on a break or ....?

DR: Well, one of us moved to Tucson, Arizona. No doors have been closed, no bridges burned! But, we’ll just need a bigger paycheck in order to make anything happen with Chimney Choir.

NM: Your newest solo EP is out now. How did that come about?

DR: The idea to do this came about when my band was not active anymore and I noticed there was a void. I have to write music. If I don’t write music, the world gets really small and grey and intolerable. So I have resigned to it. Writing music without sharing or releasing it is numbing. The cycle needs to be complete. So this was my solution- to attempt to write and release an EP once a month. Look out- the next one is uploading as we speak! (are we speaking?) Also, it’s pretty marvelous to get reacquainted with my own voice after so many years in the band. I’m looking forward to collaborating and experimenting with people on a project basis.

NM: That’s great. And is that how you plan on spending 2021, or is there anything else you would like see happen?

DR: Right... 2021... I'm doing another soundtrack for an immersive circus arts show with a collective called Rainbow Militia, and it will be a very collaborative effort. I like that, and would welcome more soundtrack work. I'm also interested in learning about creating animation, and in working with Ableton and Arduino to make light and sound installations. I like songwriting, but I am also exploring making more ambient music and would like to release that. Outside of music, I'm in school- and will eventually practice cognitive behavioral therapy (though probably not in 2021!). I have thought about learning cranial sacral therapy as well. There has been a desire to learn about mental health and healing. So for 2021 I see a swirling vision of all of that!

David Rynhart´s music is available on iTunes and Amazon, and his latest singles can be listened to here.

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