Defining Ren as a band is certainly a misnomer. A solo artist, the bulk of work currently in the stream consists of a 5 song christian-gothic EP with another musician under the band name of "Sons of Thunder" entitled Where Heaven and Hell Meet; a solo album under the eponymous band name "Boanerges" called Mirrors on Their Souls, and a 13-track CD under his own name called Obsidian Bridges.

He also appeared under the mis-printed name of "Ron Cummins" on the Ultimate Collection of native american flute player Spotted Eagle for a live rendition of the song "Daddy's Arms."

He plays a variety of instruments, although he focuses his songwriting around the piano, using technology to build up the additional instruments around that core structure. In addition, he has studied a variety of world music styles, incorporating that into his recent compositions.

Ren spent the first five years of his professional music career working as an engineer and sound designer in a privately-run studio in Salt Lake City, Utah, called Aida House records. The studio changed its name to MI-6 Cyberphonic Studios, and later moved to Seattle, Washington. By trading hours of work on other artist's projects, Ren acquired free studio time for himself and was able to produce the full-length CD Obsidian Bridges for a little more than a thousand dollars, or one dollar per unit. Tracks from the CD have appeared in commercials and local television shows, and is also available through Amazon.com and mperia.com in mp3 format. (sorry, blatant plug, but, hell, this IS my band page, after all)

Ren continues to write and play, but his recording and performing schedule are currently on hiatus following the birth of he and his wife's daughter. He still develops new material, focusing on a more digital approach to songwriting, including soundtrack development and sound design.

In his own words, "the end of a chapter is not the end of the story." It is unlikely that we have heard the end of him.

What makes the entire effort to categorize this modern renaissancian gentleman is his inability to keep himself restrained to any one category or medium. Although his early works were mostly a tribute to his teenage influences, the new additions of an expanded musical library and modern technology have branched him off in many directions.

As of early 2006, the present directions lean towards a more instrumental bent, with an emphasis on soundtracking and tone poetry. But just because his words don't find their way into his music does not imply they've disappeared - merely that they find themselves now in his writings on philosophy and fiction.

More of that to come. Until then, take an audible gander at some of his more recent works in the media section, or choose the merchandise option to track down a copy of "Obsidian Bridges" itself.