Ryan Renteria

Hong Kong

2011-12-13T13:44:00.000-08:00

Chiang Mai, Thailand

2011-11-14T10:19:00.001-08:00

Photos taken in the Chiang Mai marketplace during my last visit to Thailand.

Marrakech, Morocco

2011-10-26T18:32:00.000-07:00

Lyon, France

2011-10-17T23:30:00.001-07:00

LONDON

2011-10-05T07:29:00.000-07:00

2011-07-28T14:58:00.000-07:00

San Antonio, TX

WU LYF - your new favorite band

2011-07-26T14:29:00.001-07:00

WU LYF - DIRT from LUCIFER YOUTH FOUNDATION on Vimeo.

30 years and a skateboard

2011-07-05T14:45:00.000-07:00

2011, Downtown Los Angeles. Pushing my skateboard down the middle of 3rd Street. Somewhere between Central and San Pedro. Sometimes referred to as Little Tokyo, Otherwise known as the safe version of skid row, which is roughly 3 blocks to the south. It’s warm… 62 degrees at 1 a.m. A “to-go” coffee cup disguises an IPA as I roll through an intersection. Relative calm inside the downtown streets offers solace to a reluctant visitor. The Los Angeles skyline is impressive. The buildings absorb me the closer I get. Rolling along, looking up at the 1,037 ft. US Bank tower, it occurs to me….

… I envisioned this once. When I was 17 years old. A swell of warm comfort washes over me.

Age 17. Being a skateboarder in eastern Washington State was not easy in 1997. The magazines mostly showed photos from the skateboarding holy land of southern California. Los Angeles was THE destination. I want to be there. I want to be skateboarding when I am 30 years old.

Well… here I am. 30 years old and skateboarding toward the buildings I saw in the magazines. Is it what I expected? No. But nothing in life ends up as expected. But it’s nice once in a while to have that feeling in your gut. The feeling that you are in some way fulfilling your teenage dreams. Even if that feeling only lasts a few seconds.

2011-05-10T16:43:00.001-07:00

found in Tulsa, OK

Chuck Ragan

2011-05-09T15:33:00.000-07:00

Recently I had the pleasure of watching Chuck Ragan (Hot Water Music) perform two shows in Austin and Dallas. He's not only an amazing musician, but an amazing person. Chuck and his boys sent me on my way with some free vinyl. Can't wait to get home to Portland and check it out. Thanks guys.

2011-04-14T16:44:00.001-07:00

self abuse and good times w/ The Drowning Men

2011-04-14T15:03:00.000-07:00

map courtesy of Gabe Messer

35 states. 14,000 miles. 29 major US cities. 30 cases of Busweiser*. 4,560 cigarettes**. One dozen Cracker Barrels. 6 Waffle Houses. And of course, countless roadside attractions.

This is a shortlist of life on the road with a band for 40 days.

There’s no time to relax. No time to think. No time alone. Instead, we filled our brains and bodies with experiences and substances. Enough to last a lifetime. The Drowning Men played music (every night) and I took photos and shot video… 30 times.

It didn’t take long to realize that this world is very strange (at least for newbies like ourselves). The outside world did not exist, yet we were traveling through it at a break neck speed… well, at least as fast as the van would go towing a trailer. Which is right around 60-70mph. A new city, a new venue, a new set of fans to chat and drink with every night. Pretty soon you forget what city you’re actually in. Confined to the dank innards of a well worn, booze soaked music venue, there’s about 5 questions that cross your mind:

1) Does this place have a shower?

2) Is the shower clean?

3) When are they going to deliver the case of Budweiser to the dressing room?

4) Where do we set up the merch booth?

5) What’s the quickest route to facilitate the smoking of a cigarette?

*the 30 cases of Bud were at the venues only. We supplemented with at least 3 times that amount of beer… and whiskey.

**this is based on a an average of a pack per day, per 6 people.

Explorations along the road

2011-03-05T20:41:00.000-08:00

We're just over half way through the Green 17 tour with Flogging Molly. There's no question I've been slacking on my posts. Here's a few pics I've managed to snap between shows.

Atlantic City, NJ

Detroit, MI

Fenway Park - Boston, MA

Boston

2011-02-22T20:25:00.000-08:00

We're making our way up the eastern seaboard!!

Green 17 Tour with The Drowning Men

2011-02-12T20:18:00.000-08:00

28 degrees – The temperature in Dallas when we awoke on the thinly covered concrete floor of a south Dallas warehouse. The previous night, The Drowning Men opened their first show on the Flogging Molly Green 17 Tour. It went well.

1300 miles, 5 cases of Budweiser, and a couple hundred cigarettes earlier - an eastbound departure from Oceanside, CA. A quick show stop in Phoenix… megh. Goodbye Arizona. See you on St. Paddy’s Day.

Now the real driving begins. Phoenix to Dallas in a single over night shot. The scratching hiss of an AM radio broadcast spit out inaudible portions of the Super Bowl as we passed through New Mexico and into the vacant plains of west Texas. It’s a big state. The sun rose behind downtown Dallas as the sleepless wheel man pressed on. The sleeping tallied their kinked and aching muscles. This marked our arrival to said warehouse and its impending floor. After an 800 mile push through the night, groggy contemplation led to questions like “what are we doing?” and “do we have to do that again?” After a cigarette reload, skateboarding, and a game of HORSE on a disintegrating basketball hoop, all seemed to be right again. Seemingly, muscles ached less and the eye crust was shaking loose. In 36 hours the Green 17 tour would officially begin, here in Dallas.

The venue was larger. The stage was larger. The crowd was at capacity. For The Drowning Men, the anticipation and uneasy excitement was also larger than ever. Their performance – flawless. The notoriously raucous Flogging Molly crowd embraced the new sound that flooded over them. A good first show. Our new friends, Moneybrother followed, and without doubt, Flogging Molly demonstrated why the house was sold out. Amazing.

Then we drank. Inevitably, crash landing all of us back on the warehouse floor, some harder than others. While our minds tried to sleep and our bodies processed booze, snow and ice was blanketing the ground outside. Houston in the morning? This is going to be tricky. We’ll see how that pans out in the next one.

A big thanks to our warehouse floor sponsors, Slim and Anthony. Check out Slim’s band, True Widow. They’re really good.

2011-02-01T17:28:00.001-08:00

Seattle

2011-01-31T19:37:00.001-08:00

New Providence Island, The Bahamas

2011-01-26T06:02:00.000-08:00

2011-01-12T09:43:00.001-08:00

The Drowning Men - Hurley studios, Costa Mesa, CA

2010-12-30T14:36:00.001-08:00

Mogwai "How to Be a Werewolf" (in Thirty Century Man)

2010-12-16T17:10:00.001-08:00

unknown - Portland, OR

2010-12-14T13:51:00.001-08:00

Chinatown, San Francisco

2010-12-12T16:52:00.000-08:00

2010-12-01T20:21:00.001-08:00

Cool video. Cool band. Shot in Portland.

2010-11-24T18:05:00.000-08:00

Took The Drowning Men out into the desert a few weeks back to shoot some photos. The boys are planning a trip back into the studio early next year. Can't wait for some new stuff from these guys. Keep your eye out!

2010-11-20T12:08:00.001-08:00

Insane Wayne - RIP

2010-11-16T19:20:00.000-08:00

I met Insane Wayne for the first time about 7 years ago. I saw him a handful of times after that. He was a staple in the Slab City community outside of Niland, CA. He was trouble, and that's why people liked him. It was easy to deem him a great guy from the few short interactions I had with him. The last time I visited with him, he played his famous song "Slab City" for a small crowd of myself, my brother Kyle, and an older couple who happened upon the doom-laden, yet autonomous community. It was incredible... and it was about 110 degrees.
Last weekend I went out to Slab City for the first time in a couple years. After a visit with Builder Bill (also a Slab City staple) It was revealed to me that Insane Wayne had passed away in 07'. This memorial was erected at The Range in his honor. The passage that's cut in the steel is a verse from "Slab City."

2010-11-16T00:38:00.001-08:00

Unknown artist - Los Angeles

Railay, Thailand

2010-11-01T13:58:00.001-07:00

2010-10-28T15:44:00.001-07:00

2010-10-26T23:47:00.003-07:00

2010-10-21T15:54:00.001-07:00

Pissed Jeans - False Jesii Part 2 from Sub Pop Records on Vimeo.

2010-10-20T21:39:00.000-07:00

Drove back to CA last week, right before the Blazers season started. I guess that I'm just sort of, here. No plan to stay, no plan to leave. Anyway... on the way down I took a little break in Crescent City, CA. Not a fancy yacht in sight. Probably the last place along the coast (heading south) to see only "practical purpose" boats lining the docks of the harbors. Figured I'd better soak up the opportunity while I could... and that's what I did.

2010-09-28T14:19:00.000-07:00

Most photos I've ever seen of the Hamptons, look like this. What happened when I got to the Hamptons... took this photo. The place was much cooler than anticipated.

2010-09-09T11:51:00.001-07:00

Exploring

2010-09-08T15:17:00.000-07:00

This rail line is north Portland... the "far" north Portland. Every other month or so, I'll ride a bike out to "far" north Portland. Every time I come to the bridges that cross this rail line, a search begins. The first thing I search for is a good way to get down to those tracks. See this rail gully is bigger than it seems. It's almost a a half tunnel. Most routes are guarded by blackberry thickets and abandoned shopping carts. The second thing I look for is a good escape route. The last thing an explorer wants is to get trapped in an inescapable railroad ravine. This is when you become a sitting duck for pissed off railroad men, concerned citizens, or the fuzz. Nobody wants to go home with punished pride for being "caught"... or even worse, a trespassing ticket.

So far I've only climbed around underneath the bridges that hover above these tracks. That's pretty cool though. It's fairly sketchy and not without consequence... but i really just want to be down there, on those tracks. There's a certain rationalization that accompanies a decision NOT to embark on a certain journey. It usually involves visions of a stabbey death, tetanus, tickets, or the idea that all you're going to find is a shitty pair of bum undies. Or maybe you're just waiting for the right time to make your move... Maybe it's time to make a move

2010-08-29T23:09:00.000-07:00

Goat Rocks Wilderness, WA

2010-08-17T11:47:00.000-07:00

Dong Hoi ----> Hanoi

2010-08-11T14:03:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago I was in Vietnam. This is a train I rode from Dong Hoi to Hanoi. The thing I loved about Vietnam is that a person can pretty much do whatever the hell they want. The interesting thing to consider is that Vietnam is Communist. People generally associate communism with loads and loads of government imposed rules. Nope. Not here. *Note that I'm hanging out the window of this train taking photos... most likely with a cigarette in my mouth and a beer in my free hand. One might ask what type of chaos this sort of lawlessness creates? It isn't lawless, people just aren't stupid (me and my head hanging out of the train window being the exception). I survived, and I consider myself to be a responsible passenger. Now if that tunnel ripped my head off what do I think they should do? Well, they should drop my carcass off at the next stop and then talk about how much of an idiot I was for hanging my brain out the window of a moving train. Next stop! So what does it all mean. I don't know, I just hate being told what to do all the time. In that sense, it was a very refreshing train ride.

FLASH FORWARD--------->

Portland to Pasco via Amtrak... United States of America. The conductor must have spent the first hour and a half of the 4 hour ride intermittently laying out a shitload of rules for each passenger to obey. Now I ride Amtrak a lot, and it seems they've re-written their rules and regulations handbook. Tons of rules!! --Put your cell phones on vibrate - don't talk loud - sit here - don't sit there - don't come to the cafe car until we tell you to - don't smoke - don't drink alcohol unless we sold it to you for an outrageously inflated price - don't sit in the viewing car too long - etc. etc. etc...... These aren't rules. Most of the rules I heard were basically telling passengers to not be assholes. Maybe they should just have one rule DON"T BE AN ASSHOLE, ENJOY THE RIDE... BUT NOT TOO MUCH. WE WANT ALL OUR PASSENGERS TO DISEMBARK WITH THEIR HEADS -Amtrak Management

I don't know what the point of all this is. No point. Maybe the point is that Amtrak is hauling around a bunch of sissies. Maybe we live in a country full of sissies that happen to ride Amtrak occasionally. Whichever, I prefer the Communist train.

Capitol Hill Block Party - Seattle, WA

2010-08-08T13:47:00.000-07:00

Ferry ride to Quan Lan Island, Vietnam

2010-08-02T13:37:00.000-07:00

Saigon, Vietnam

2010-06-20T22:44:00.000-07:00

I have found myself in Saigon, Vietnam. Amazing city. Motorbike taxis are definitely the way to travel... so fun (this is not my photo)

99¢ Glider

2010-06-07T14:18:00.000-07:00

The Black Keys "Tighten Up"

2010-05-25T12:12:00.000-07:00

2010-05-19T16:10:00.000-07:00

DC

2010-05-03T21:30:00.000-07:00

Canoeing on the Potomac River - Washington, DC

2010-04-26T21:47:00.000-07:00

Edric Reynolds

Baltimore, MD

2010-04-15T22:23:00.000-07:00

2010-04-05T12:56:00.001-07:00

2010-04-04T22:39:00.001-07:00

Las Penitas, Nicaragua

2010-04-02T14:51:00.000-07:00

Julia Haggstrom

Nicaragua

2010-04-01T14:02:00.000-07:00

Just got back from a 3 week trip to Nicaragua... amazing!

2010-03-04T23:37:00.000-08:00

post show burrito

2010-03-02T22:15:00.000-08:00

Timberline

2010-03-02T00:14:00.000-08:00

2010-02-25T16:35:00.000-08:00

LOOKBOOK @ Mississippi Studios - Portland, ORE.

2010-02-25T16:32:00.000-08:00

Florence + The Machine

2010-02-23T15:04:00.001-08:00

6 miles in, 6 miles out

2010-02-21T23:39:00.000-08:00

Kyle Cassidy, checking out the 130 ft. Tunnel Falls.

2010-02-19T20:08:00.000-08:00

Rory practicing his technique in... Manteca?

Well?

2010-02-17T09:14:00.000-08:00

2010-02-15T14:40:00.000-08:00

Champagne Champagne @ Rotture - Portland, OR

2010-02-08T23:08:00.000-08:00

Pearl

Snapped a few pics of Thomas and Pearl aka. Champagne Champagne from SEA @ Rotture in Portland, OR

Guidance Counselor f. Champagne Champagne

2010-02-06T20:05:00.001-08:00

Drowning Men photo shoot - Oceanside, CA

2010-02-04T18:31:00.000-08:00

2010-02-03T19:32:00.001-08:00

James Smith, Bar Pink in San Diego

2010-01-26T21:58:00.000-08:00

Spent the first part of this week shooting a time lapse of JEFF PROCTOR painting this mural for Gatorade. Click on his name to see his blog. He does great work. Stay tuned for the actual video of the finished time lapse.

2010-01-17T19:40:00.001-08:00

2010-01-12T13:51:00.000-08:00

2010-01-10T17:28:00.000-08:00

NW Portland

Rainy Hands Dream Boat

2010-01-03T23:52:00.001-08:00

2010-01-03T13:40:00.000-08:00

2009-12-30T15:25:00.001-08:00

Ryan Neely - Portland, OR

This is why...

2009-12-20T02:03:00.000-08:00

My Saturday night... 2am

2009-12-14T18:36:00.000-08:00

My friend Adam's bathroom... we've been re-modeling it all week. Those are his feet dangling between the ceiling joists.

2009-12-07T00:00:00.000-08:00

Fremont Bridge

Portland

Room With A View - Mt. Shasta, CA

2009-11-29T19:14:00.000-08:00

2009-11-16T22:16:00.000-08:00

2009-11-12T13:48:00.001-08:00

Los Angeles, CA

Cap'n Kenos

2009-11-03T09:46:00.000-08:00

Napa Valley Wine Train

2009-10-27T14:18:00.000-07:00

A rainy day train ride through the Napa Valley.

2009-10-21T12:44:00.000-07:00

Denver, CO

2009-10-16T00:12:00.000-07:00

Frontier Tavern - Tacoma, WA

2009-10-07T22:35:00.000-07:00

The Northwest

2009-10-05T21:09:00.000-07:00

Nato Bardeen, The Drowning Men - Sacramento, CA

DOMINATED...

2009-09-30T11:59:00.000-07:00

After 3200 miles, the wheels finally came off... Literally.

The Drowning Men "Oracle Meets Obstacle"

2009-09-28T23:36:00.000-07:00

More footage from the Drowning Men tour.

song - "Oracle Meets Obstacle"

Sacramento

2009-09-22T10:33:00.000-07:00

Luigi's Slice and Fungarden - Sacramento, CA

THE DROWNING MEN - West Coast Tour

2009-09-20T16:01:00.000-07:00

THE DROWNING MEN are touring the west coast with REPEATER from Long Beach, CA and I'm lucky enough to ride along and document the adventure. Check back regularly to see what's happening while we're out on the road.

Last night the guys played The Caravan Club in downtown San Jose. It was a nice little dive bar with a lot of friendly people. It was a good first stop on the tour and hopefully there will be more nights like it up the road. Huge thanks to Rob Wallace from Repeater and his family out in Manteca, CA. They were nice enough to let 11 stinky and possibly drunk dudes sleep at their house last night. Then we had a pool party in their backyard today. Thanks Mr. and Mrs. Wallace!

Tonight is Sacramento and then we're headed to Tacoma, Portland, Seattle and San Francisco. Check back for video and photo updates.

San Jose, CA

2009-09-18T17:13:00.000-07:00

Embarking on the Way

2009-09-10T23:41:00.000-07:00

Big Pink - Looking down N. Mississippi Ave. Portland, OR

2009-09-08T22:52:00.000-07:00

2009-09-07T13:28:00.001-07:00

The loneliest golf cart in all of Oregon

2009-09-06T15:14:00.000-07:00

Wyoming

2009-08-17T08:51:00.000-07:00

Just got back from visiting relatives in Wyoming. Spent most of my time in Cheyenne, which is an interesting town with an interesting history. If you're ever in this amazing part of the country, you should check it out.

2009-08-09T10:36:00.000-07:00

Go see the new Majid Majidi film - The Song Of Sparrows (trailer)

Olympic Peninsula

2009-07-28T15:19:00.000-07:00

2009-07-20T23:42:00.001-07:00

2009-07-09T14:37:00.001-07:00

The Edmonds-Kingston ferry. Puget Sound, WA

2009-07-06T13:01:00.000-07:00

West of Wilbur, WA