Rings on a Tree (click to listen)
A new album of 15 songs written by Owen Temple and friends – available worldwide on September 29.
It was produced by Gordy Quist and recorded in Austin, Texas at The Finishing School.
VIDEOS OF SINGLES FROM THE NEW ALBUM
Owen Temple’s new record, Rings on A Tree, is a concept album – an examination of family history and the way every interaction we have reverberates for generations.
“It’s clear that our lives are a distillation and expansion of the lives that have come before us,” Temple said. “Every life, every interaction of matter and energy that happens, reverberates through the universe in an ever-expanding field. Waves of behavior that cause other waves of behavior, not just in one life, but in all our lives.
“During the Covid lockdown, I wasn’t writing much on my own, but when a friend would call and say, ‘Let’s go to a park and write a song,’ I’d always go. These meetups resulted in a reexamination of what’s important in life. We wrote songs that looked at the intergenerational interactions that created a certain wisdom, insights that transcend our narrow view of the present.”
As the songs accumulated, Temple saw them taking a spiritual, philosophical tone. “I was haunted by the ideas of our great-grandparents. Shadowy photos and mysterious documents from their eight lives give us clues about how these people have major consequence on our lives, even if we don’t understand exactly how. If you trace the branches of any family tree back far enough, you can see we’re all connected. That inspired the song ‘Rings on a Tree’ and the entire album.”
THE SONGS:
Part 1 – Big Bang
- The Song of Us
- Watch It Shine
- Days
- Beautiful Accidents
- Always Becoming
Part 2 – Pantheon
- Fork in the Road
- Can’t Stop Won’t Stop
- Virginia and Hazel
- Churches and Cantinas
- Are We There Yet?
Part 3 – Tree of Life
- Wild Seeds
- Rings on a Tree
- More Like September
- Gentle James
- Twenty Years
Part 1 – Big Bang
- The Song of Us
- Watch It Shine
- Days
- Beautiful Accidents
- Always Becoming
Part 2 – Pantheon
- Fork in the Road
- Can’t Stop Won’t Stop
- Virginia and Hazel
- Churches and Cantinas
- Are We There Yet?
Part 3 – Tree of Life
- Wild Seeds
- Rings on a Tree
- More Like September
- Gentle James
- Twenty Years
NEWs AND UPDATES

Fork in the Road
https://youtu.be/TAS9DXHAI18 On Saturday mornings when I was a kid, I would watch cartoons for hours. My parents said if you watch too much of those,

Beautiful Accidents
https://youtu.be/PIWPfkzuUK0 I’d like to propose a toast to the people who made this day and every other day possible for us — cheers to our

Dosey Doe
I love seeing the neon sign of a welcoming place in the night. In my experience, all the people at Dosey Doe, from the sound

The Saxon Pub – Album Release Show on November 7
The Saxon Pub holds a special place in my heart. Here’s two drawings I made of it – the front porch of the entrance and

The Post in Fort Worth on Sunday October 15
This Sunday, October 15, Mike Graham and I will be swapping songs at a great listening room in Fort Worth called The Post at River

Color Songwriting Challenge
Escalating songwriting challenge idea: write a song for every Crayola color in the box. (That is, the song lyrics should include the color name. This

Rings on a Tree
8 songwriters, 10 musicians, 15 songs. The new album – Rings on a Tree – is released. You can hear it here. If you trace the

25 Years in the Life of a Record Label
This week, we’re celebrating 25 years of releasing recordings through El Paisano Records. I started this record label as a sophomore at UT after spending

Bull Creek Park
This is a drawing I did of a picnic table at Bull Creek Park in Austin, Texas. The table is surrounded by a crowd of