Jeff Ramer

Just a Dream

2010-09-08T13:08:00.001-07:00

Who hasn't wanted a time machine at some point in their life? That's what this song is about.

My childhood friend, Robyn Deckert, passed away at the young age of 24 last year, and it inspired me to write this song.

The lyrics may seem odd at first, but once you listen to the entire song, they'll make more sense. Because of this, I created a lyrics video for it. Check out the video/song here:

You can also download it for free here. You can also give an optional donation through PayPal:

RIP Robyn

Memphis

2010-08-22T21:48:00.000-07:00

This weekend I went to Memphis with 2 of my friends. It'd never been high on my list of places I wanted to go, but I'm really glad I went. It's an awesome town.

One of our first stops was the birthplace of rock and roll, Sun Studio. The guy who owned it, Sam Phillips, accidentally distorted the guitars on multiple recordings. He was also known for discovering/recording artists such as Elvis, Johnny Cash, and Jerry Lee Lewis. The tour was really cool, and it lasted about an hour.

Memphis is known for it's BBQ, so we stopped at Corky's for brisket sandwiches for lunch. I ate at the one in Little Rock a few times when I lived there. It's really good.

Later, we drove by Graceland, but we didn't do the tour because tickets were $30 apiece.

For dinner we went to another BBQ restaurant on Beale Street called Rendezvous for their world-famous ribs. It was a huge place, and we had to wait more than an hour. It was worth the wait, though.

Beale Street was the highlight of the visit for me. If you're a blues fan, you'll love it at night. There were blues bands set up all over the streets in addition to the bars. I did find it interesting that cops block the road off at night to perform bag-checks and use metal detectors. I also thought it was cool that a lot of the places had windows where you could walk up and order a drink to carry around on the streets. I was at the less-crowded end of the street when I took this picture:

Where else can you find a guitar toilet seat?

Another tour we did was at the Gibson factory. I was kind of disappointed because the Luthiers do not work on the weekends, so we didn't get to see anyone building the guitars. It was still a neat tour. Pictures weren't allowed in the factory, so this is all I got:

Overall I really enjoyed Memphis, and I wouldn't mind living there for a year or two. It's not at the top of my list, but the housing market is really cheap, and it has a great music scene. Maybe the pyramid runs the housing market prices down...

Prism

2010-05-31T19:31:00.000-07:00

Here's my newest song called "Prism." It's a different style, and I can't decide what to call it. I wrote it when I was thinking about the theory that different colors can invoke different emotions in you. Hope you like it!

You can listen to the song in the player on the right or download it for free here. You can also give an optional $1 donation through PayPal:

Two New Videos

2010-05-04T22:51:00.000-07:00

I love the lyrics of this song:

"Pills" - The Perishers

"Hey Soul Sister" - Train

FREE download of my new song: "Sorry"

2010-04-18T03:02:00.000-07:00

I finished a new song today called "Sorry." It's another acoustic song, but this time I added some strings and even a harp.

You can get this song for free here. You can also give an optional $1 donation through PayPal:

Please share it with your friends if you like it...through torrent, Limewire, e-mail...anyway you'd like.

Also, be sure to check out my EP on iTunes

Let me know what you think!

Please utilize the share buttons below to share this on Facebook, Twitter, Myspace, etc.

The Fad

2010-04-18T00:10:00.000-07:00

I recently did a photo-shoot with Sergio Garcia for a blog that he writes called "The Fad." It showcases artistic people located in the Dallas area. You can check it out here. Also, be sure to check out his photography work. Also, if you're interested in the jeans I'm wearing, you can buy them at BriStudio. Tell them Jeff sent you.

Coffee and free live music

2010-04-03T22:25:00.000-07:00

This upcoming Friday, April 9, at 9:30 PM, I'll be doing an acoustic performance at White Rock Coffee in Dallas, TX. Also playing that night is Angie Parker from San Marcos, TX. Check out her music here.

Please RSVP on Facebook if you are attending by clicking here!

Click here for a map of White Rock Coffee

New York

2009-05-05T20:55:00.000-07:00

Overall Impression:
I had been looking forward to this trip all my
life, but I think I over-hyped it in my head too much. It was still
really impressive, but honestly it's not my favorite place I've been.
I had always imagined that once I visited, I'd want to live there
forever. I could see myself living there maybe for a couple of years,
but the job offer would have to be really good.

Day 1 (Thursday, April 30):
Two of my friends and I arrived at
LaGuardia airport a little after lunch. Just like I'd heard many
people say, the view of the city from the plane is something everyone
should see and cannot be described. We took a cab to our hotel on the
upper east side. On a sidenote: All of the cabs we took had
touchscreen internet info, GPS, and TV broadcasts where you swiped your
credit card. I thought that was cool. Anyway, I wish we hadn't gotten
a hotel so far from the subway. It seemed like a good idea at the
time, but when you're heading back to the hotel at 3:00 in the morning,
that extra 10-15 minutes of walking lasts forever. We checked into the
hotel (Courtyard Marriott at 92nd and 1st Ave.) and headed to the
subway that took us into Times Square. My first reaction when stepping
out of the subway in Times Square was very similar to stepping out of
the subway at Prague in Old Town or Rome at the Coliseum. I couldn't
help but smile when I finally saw in person what I'd seen on TV and
movies all my life.

We walked around Times Square a bit where we settled on a Thai
restaurant for lunch called Pongsri, which I highly recommend. Then we
walked around Broadway to decide on a show to see. We had originally
planned on seeing "The Lion King," but we settled on tickets that were
half that price for "Mary Poppins" for Saturday night. Obviously this
was my first Broadway show, so I didn't feel like shelling out $120 in
case it wasn't enjoyable.

We wandered around shops in Times Square including Hershey's and
M&M World. I honestly didn't think they made enough M&M stuff
to fill 3 floors of a store.

From New York City

After strike number
1 at the Empire State Building observation deck (they told us it was
too cloudy to see anything), we had dinner at Lombardi's Pizzeria, the
oldest pizzeria in America. It got better with every slice, but
honestly it wasn't the best pizza I'd had. The atmosphere was great,
though.

From New York City

After that we walked by NYU and
Washington Square Park on our way to check out some nightlife.

From New York City

I
wasn't impressed with the nightlife so far (especially the tiny,
expensive drinks), but we gave several other places a shot the
following days. Overall I only really enjoyed one place, but even
then, I enjoy Dallas nightlife better.

Day 2 (Friday, May 1st)
For lunch, we ate at an Irish pub &
restaurant called Connolly's, which was nothing special. Then we
headed over to the Museum of Modern Art, walked around the Trump Tower,
and picked up some chocolate at the Lindt store.

From New York City

Dinner
was definitely the highlight of this day. We ate at Mario Batali's
Italian restaurant called Babbo. We each did the pasta tasting + wine
pairing, so they brought out 5 courses of pasta, 3 courses of dessert,
and 8 wines to go with each course. It was the most I've ever paid for
a dinner, and it was worth every penny. I highly recommend it.

From New York City

We checked out more nightlife and then headed to the Empire State Building for strike number 2.

Day 3 (Saturday, May 2nd)
We
got up early and ate in the Empire State Building at Heartland Brewery
for lunch, a place I do NOT recommend. Finally, we purchased our
tickets to go up to the top of the Empire State Building. It's $20 to
go to the 86th floor and $35 to go to the 102nd floor. We probably
waited in line for about an hour, but it was definitely worth it all.
This was my favorite part of the entire trip (I love a good view).

From New York City

After spending an hour or so at the top, we headed over to Chelsea
Market (where Nabisco was founded and where Food Network headquarters
are). Then we had dinner at a Cuban restaurant called Son Cubano. It
was pretty good.

"Mary Poppins" was actually pretty cool. I'd seen the movie as a
kid, so I remembered most of it. The thing I liked the most was the
stage effects and the way they changed sets. I guess I never really
thought about how they did it, but on some sets they would lower them
down with cables, some would pop out of the ground, and the main set
was on a conveyer that brought it backstage.

For a late night snack, we ate at Max Brenner, Chocolate By the
Bald Man. It's a really cool place, and their selection of chocolate
snacks is huge.

Day 4 (Sunday, May 3rd)
We took the subway to
Yankees Stadium, where we were packed together like sardines. That was
our most crowded subway trip (and what a great time for it, right in
the middle of the Swine Flu/H1N1 scare). At Yankees Stadium, we waited
around for about an hour and a half for a rain delay, had an overpriced
lunch and ice cream, and then the game was cancelled. At least we got
to see the stadium...

Then we checked into our new hotel (long story short: hotels.com
sucks) at the Westin in Times Square. I loved the location and the
view of this place. For 1.5x the price of the Marriott, it was 10x
more enjoyable.

From New York City

For dinner we had the best sushi I've had so far at Bamboo 52.
After our final and best nightlife experience, we called it a night.

Day 5 (Monday, May 4th)
We
only had time for a fast-food lunch on this day, and it was a horrible
way to end a NYC experience. Don't ever eat at Chicken Bar.

Photo Album:

New York City