Ryan Hamner

Confident, seductive crooner. Witty pop songsmith. Introspective folk troubadour.

Those are just a few of the many looks that Columbus, GA-based workaholic Ryan

Hamner offers on his latest record, "Between the Lines" coming out June 29th.

Hamner's versatility is the product of a life full of professional and personal

highs and lows. The young perfectionist left a comfortable but unfulfilling

IT gig to pursue his rock 'n' roll dreams full time, and is just now starting

to enjoy the fruits of his labor, crafting a wealth of heartfelt, largely acoustic

pop originals. He's also a lifelong Hodgkin's lymphoma survivor who shrugs off

the obvious obstacles, going so far as to channel one down period into an inspirational

children's book, You'll Be All Right, Buddy. It all comes together on wax, where

he molds his vast array of experiences and influences - including, but not limited

to John Mayer, Edwin McCain and Neil Young-into a fresh new persona all his

own.

Hamner got his start much like any other hungry, modern singer-songwriter,

developing an identity on MySpace and going so far as to offer a limited-edition

free run of his 2006 record, "One Small Giant." "I did a lot

of crazy, weird stuff, a lot of different giveaways," he remembers. "It

was really corny, but it helped spread the word. One of those songs on one of

these internet radio stations, without me telling anybody to go vote or listen,

it made it to the top 10. And was the single on my EP."

That single, "Lay Me Down" is a perfect representation of Hamner's

considered solo work, abundant with melody, hooks and accessibility. Lushly

layered guitars and whistles complement Hamner's aching, earnest chorus, "lay

me down at the water, I'll give it all to the sea / you alone are my cover,

so lay me down and I'll be free." And like every other song he writes,

it's the product of incredible care and hard work. After early recording sessions

in Nashville, Hamner teamed up with modern rock production heavy Jeff Tomei

(Smashing Pumpkins, Matchbox Twenty), tweaked percussion and vocals, rocked

out with session bass and drums to re-cut "Lay Me Down" from scratch

and recorded 4 new songs to complete his new record, "Between the Lines."

"I beat myself up about songs all the time," Hamner shrugs, opining

that the difference between his self-released work and the new material is that

"I just learned how to write. I'm always writing; I'm always listening

to people that know how to do it."

His studies have paid off in spades. The somber "So Soon" is ambiguous

enough to function as the elegy of a relationship or a family member. "That

was the first real song I ever really wrote, after my grandfather died,"

Hamner reveals. "When I was six I didn't go to school a lot, so I stayed

with him and my grandmother. They would take care of me, take me fishing. When

he died, it killed me."

Anything inspires Hamner these days, from the long-distance ex who pops up

in both "Waiting on You" and "All I Need" ("She'll

probably want 50 percent of my publishing," he quips) to the MySpace hater

who claimed that he only writes love songs. Hamner promptly crafted a spirited

defense; he says it probably won't be recorded or released, but still. "Like

I do with everything, I'm gonna work as hard at this as I possibly can and take

it as far as I possibly can," Hamner concludes. "I wanna take it to

the next level."



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I Need - LIVE at Broadstreet Blues