RandyAndLinda.com

Posted under: User Interface

Randy Smith has been writing and singing music since his teenage years in southern California. With a knack for expressive, poetic lyrics and a self-taught fingerpicking guitar style his songs have been stirring listeners emotions for over forty years. However, it wasn’t until he met his wife, Linda, a farmer’s daughter from North Dakota, with her ability to instinctively pick out unique harmonies, that Randy’s music became whole. Together the duo has played shows ranging from Polynesian luaus to canonization cerimonies of Catholic saints, as well as private parties and folk jam sessions.

With strong ties to Hawai’i and Polynesian culture, Randy was eager to have a website that reflected his interest in the Pacific islands… as well as his ethnic heritage of Ireland and the religious aspects of his music. Out of that desire, Hulagram Studios was born, with which they released their second full length CD. While the Hulagram name may not completely encompass the various musical styles and themes that Randy and Linda sing about, it certainly embodies their spirit of “Aloha” which is what carries their music regardless of the song’s subject.

Originally inhabiting the domain name, hulagram.net, the site was moved to randyandlinda.com in an effort to avoid pigeon-holing the couple and to give them a more recognizable domain name. The layout was expanded and prior restrictive elements (such as small scrolling windows) were removed in order to make the content more usable. The entire site was also moved to WordPress to give Randy and Linda complete control over the content and enable them to upload photos and music samples as they pleased. It also gave them the ability to write more backstory to the songs themselves as a way of explaining their origins and meaning — an option that has become of vital importance to Randy.