My long awaited and procrastinated, self-titled, solo debut is due out this June. I have been blessed to work along side Mike Manning, the owner and engineer at MEKA Studios, in Belle Fountain, Alabama. (www.mekastudios.com)
We have been working on the project since July of last year! I am honored to have an all-star group of the best singers, and instrumentalists in Mobile, along the Gulf Coast, and, well. anywhere really!
There are 14 tracks on the album, lyrically spanning "from the day to day, to across the way". Each song transitions into the next thematically, and sonically.
So far: the artists that have shared time and talents on the record are:
John Milham ~ drums
Greg Deluca ~ drums
Winter Baynes ~ drums
Tommy Sciple ~ upright bass
Brett Twilley ~ electric bass
Marc Hendrix ~ electric bass
RIcky Chancey ~ harmonica, pedal steel
Chris Spies ~ piano, organ, rhodes, wurlitzer, melodica
Rebecca Barry ~ alto, and soprano sax
Daniel Coker ~ trombone
Jimmy Smith ~ trumpet
James Kurisco ~ acoustic guitar
Beau Berman ~ electric guitar
Keith Williams Jr. ~ electric / slide guitar
Brett LaGrave ~ electric guitar
Tait Thompson ~ electric guitar
Hank Becker ~ steel guitar
Mitch Rencher ~ stell drum / congas
Brooks Hubbert ~ violin, viola, resonator ukelele, mandolin, long neck banjo
Gabriel Willis ~ cello
Backing Vocalists in alphebetical order:
Angele Balthrop, Erin Balthrop, Lauen Balthrop, Pascal Balthrop, Hank Becker, Melissa Bowman, Eric Erdman, Justin Fobes, Donna Hall, Kristy Lee, Wes Loper,
John Keuler, Corey Rezner, Gabriel Willis
I was born March 19, 1974 in Albany, Ga. Moved to Jonesboro, just south of Atlanta for my first five years, and then to Mobile, Alabama. I began singing in Catholic school choir at St. Pius X in Mobile under the guidance of Deacon Bill "Coach" Tew. I was a Soprano until puberty, at which time I became an Alto. (I am now a bass in the Faulkner State Choir)
I finished highschool at McGill-Toolen where I made the All-State tennis team and had long forgotten a career in voice. Tennis was "it" at the time and nothing was going to stand in the way of becoming a touring professional-- until I lost my virginity.
Appeasing my high school girlfriend, I turned down several out of state scholarships to attend college locally at The University of South Alabama. The team there is made up of mostly foreignors, and not to sell my self short- they were just too damn good. Nonetheless, I stayed on the team and trained with them through my freshman year, until realizing that they weren't just too damn good- But that sorority girls and drinking beer were too damn easy.
In the Spring of my freshman year I joined some of my high school buddies in pledging Kappa Sigma, at which time, needless to say tennis took a back seat- (more like in the trunk.) One of our pledges, John Milham, was drumming in a new band and I tried out as lead singer, and got the job! From then on I can't really remember anything else. The End
Seriously though, that first band, A "New South Roots Rock" outfit, Slow Moses grew to become one of the hottest touring college acts in the Southeast selling out 1,000 capacity venues. Members included: Phillip Stein, Molly Thomas, Ben Tenhundfeld, John Milham, Eddie Moore, Tracey Duarte, Bill Hamby, Davis Zunk, Kenny Lewis. Other guest musicians were:Chris Spies, Steven Jacobs, Jeff Fiddler, Damon Garcia, Grant Dunaway, Mike Arata, and many more. We also shared the stage with several national acts: The Neville Brothers, Leftover Salmon, Widespread Panic, Wet Willie, Better than Ezra, Creed, Seven Mary Three. I also began hosting an impromptu jam night and songwriters night at a local Mobile bar called The Garage. It became one of the bars best nights of the week and featured a hodge podge of local and regional performers. On any given Monday night there would be several drummers, bassists trading in and out Organ, and xylophone, were not unusual. Horn players would arrive out of nowhere and accompany the band on some very special nights. Some of the members of the All-Star Garage band were: Bo Roberts, Beau Berman, "Little" Steven Martin, Isaac Vasquez, Brian "Goatboy" Mattee, Andy Green, George Kennedy, Brad Leppick, Robert Murray, Albert Robinson, Jacob Meador, Bucky Hicks, Glenn Siggers, Rob Willmann, Shane Palmer, Dale Drinkard, Eric Erdman, Brandon Whigham, Tim Stanton, Damon Garcia, Marcus Elizonda, Ebony, Roland Cobb, to name a couple. The tradition continues still today, every Monday at The Garage The ONLY thing goin on Monday night!
In 1998, after burning up the roads in a crappy van for four years, Slow Moses, disbanded and I moved to Orange Beach, Al and rekindled the flame of an old calling- "waiter". I waited tables for a year until making the big move down to the small island of St John in The USVI. Once there I continued waiting tables and bartending until meeting up with a local reggae/rock/hiphop trio, Hatch and becoming their frontman. The reggae vibe came from bassist/singer Ernie Clendinen, who was born and raised in the St. John. Drummer/singer Mat Vacherat, hailing from Philadelphia, gave the band its hard edge and hip/hop flavor, while guitarist Greg Kinslowfrom Philly/New York, could duplicate pretty much any style of music, and any kind of guitar tone. I brought the Southern fried nuances to the group. We sold over 3,000 copies of our cd release US Virgins and were voted Best Band In the VI Three consecutive years from '00 to '02 by the Virgin Islands Daily News readers poll. Keeping my job bartending at The Stone Terrace, and Island Blues, I was also voted Best Bartender on St. John in 2000! (okay. runner-up bartender next to Mean Jean from Skinny Legs. I run a booking agency called SoonCome! Entertainment thru which I book stateside bands on short tours in the islands. Among the acts that have made the journey down island are: The Lowdown ThrowDown (Mobile, AL) Kung Fu Mama (Mobile, AL), STRUT(Asheville, NC), Wes Loper, and Lee Yankie (Mobile, AL) Maria y el Sol (Oxford , MS)Roots Down Below (Cape Cod, MA) The Running (Nashville, TN) John Lisi and Delta Funk (New Orleans, LA) FreeWorld ( Memphis, TN)Green Hit (Walton Co. FL) The Burnin' Smyrnans (New Smyrna Beach, FL) Josh Phillips Folk Festival (Asheville, NC) Zach Deputy (Columbia, SC) Sol Driven Train (Charlseton, SC).
My recording catalogue also include a 5 song EP The St. John Sessions produced at Gregg Jones' Horrible Weasle Studios on St. John.
After three fun years in the Caribbean I discovered that "Island Fever" is not just an urban legend. Three days in St. Thomas Federal Prison taught me that (public nudity- it's a long story with a short ending). My brother and mother flew down and bailed me out, and I was able to enjoy the last couple of weeks in paradise until gathering my things and flying back home.
Once back in Mobile, I continued to meet musicians in hopes of setting them up in the islands; the first of which was guitarist/singer Keith Williams Jr. who, at the time was playing with blues act Luther Wilson. We quickly became friends and formed the Acoustic duo/ Loose Cannons and have been performing over 300 shows a year since. We perform mostly around the southeast focusing on the Gulf coast. Our four piece band the LowDown ThrowDown (along with Shane Palmer (drums) and Marc Hendrix(bass) broke up after a nice three year run. I auditioned for a scholarship to Faulkner State Comnity College and have been earkning my Associates in music since Spring of '10.
Once the cd is available, I plan on shopping it around to labels, and publishers. I am also in search of a booking agency that will get behind what we are doing and help us get out of town more extensively. We have toured the USVI several times since I moved back from St. John. I also booked an acoustic tour of the VI with Justin Fobes in June/July '06 under the name Burning Sensations and most recently attended the 1st Annual St. John SongFest and collaborated with other professionial songwriters from all over. Presented by Allan Mcphee and Cat Braaten the owners of "The Beach Bar" there will be an album (maybe a volume series of tunes that were written on the beach and at The St. John Inn and recorded at Steve Simons studio on St. John.
Songwriters in Paradise has reopened my eyes and ears to sheer simplicity and joy of writing songs. The next on eis coming in July of this year CAN'T WAIT !
Well,thank ya for your time!
Sincerely,
Ryan B.
