R. Ring, the acoustic duo project featuring veteran Greater Cincinnati musician/engineer Mike Montgomery (thistle, Ampline, The Light Wires) and Dayton, Ohio's Kelley Deal (The Breeders), is preparing a debut 7-inch single due for release in late spring, according to Tiberius Records (home to thistle, Ampline and many other solid acts from this area and beyond). The vinyl platter is set to be issued on the Misra Records imprint out of Dayton, which is notoriously artist-friendly (founded by artists in 1999) and has put out work by acts like Destroyer, Phosphorescent, Shearwater, Centro-matic, Jenny Toomey, Great Lake Swimmers and Southeast Engine. —-
R. Ring formed when Montgomery booked his own acoustic show and was talking about his nervousness (being used to stacks of amps and bandmates surrounding him) with Deal, who he had met when she was in Cincinnati recording a guest spot with Buffalo Killers (Mike was engineering). She agreed to join him for the show and R. Ring was born.
Though it appeared like it might be just a super-casual project, R. Ring looks to be building up some steam. Besides the single, Deal and Montgomery have done various tour dates, with more coming up soon. From Feb. 16-Feb. 26, they'll perform dates in Tennessee, Alabama, Kentucky, Ohio and Georgia. The jaunt kicks off in Dayton and will wrap up Feb. 26 at MOTR Pub. In March, the group is booked to play the Valley of the Vapors music festival in Hot Springs National Park, Arkansas.
Deal (who's currently rocking the knitting circuit) recently performed with a couple of other Greater Cincinnati natives. Feb. 2-4 she was in London participating in a multimedia concert called The Long Count, put on by The National's Aaron and Bryce Dessner. Check a promo clip for the project (which also featured contributions from co-creator Matthew Ritchie, My Brightest Diamond's Shara Worden and TV on the Radio's Tunde Adebimpe) below and click here for more info on show (which would have been great for this year's MusicNow. Just sayin' …).
