Ryan McMahon brings a fresh take on familiar, honest roots rock and roll. His smooth and powerful voice combined with thoughtful, passionate songwriting is the stuff that makes you feel like he is singing your thoughts. Ryan and his band pull of solid, timeless songs that are as powerful coming through the stereo speakers as they are delivered from the stage.

While finishing up their latest work in the studio, and getting back into the a few live shows, we were able to ask Ryan some questions about the music, the band and what to expect in 2007.

Catch Ryan in Vancouver Jan 23 at Café Montmartre, and Feb 21 at the Backstage Lounge

Tell us a bit about your band: how it started, where you come from, who is involved?

I grew up in Ladysmith on Vancouver Island, near Mike Rogerson, our lead guitar man. Once I approached my early twenties he joined up with me, and we started making music together. He produced a few early demos of mine, and another Ladysmith-er, Dustin Young, joined up soon after. Mike and Dustin are two years ahead of me, so whenever I’d see them play our high school’s battle of the bands, I’d always be enamored with their playing, and, in a way, their ‘coolness’. I was the only child looking for a place to belong, so naturally, once I finally was able to play music with musicians of quality, I belonged to something.

Where did you get your start in the music business? When did you know it was going to be your career?

I started playing in a band called Citizen Strange, mostly in Nanaimo, on Vancouver Island. We played a joint called the Queens, and were able to get opportunities not afforded to most other bands. Pretty much whomever was touring through town during the late 90’s and early 2000’s, we were able to open up for and rub elbows with - the good, the bad, and the ugly. Being able to perform in front of large audiences, whether we had the chops or not at the time, was really valuable to me as a writer and entertainer. I could have done a multitude of things post-high school, but music always called at me the loudest.

Where do you find the inspiration for the songs you write? Do you have a message in the songs?

I find inspiration everywhere; particularly in relationships I have with people. There’s no real message I try to portray to folks in my songs. It’s whatever they can draw from them – even if it’s something completely different than what was intended – then it’s great. If people can relate and identify with anything that I’m saying, then it’s great, because I’m trying to relate and identify with them.

How would you describe your sound? Has it evolved over time? Do you explore different avenues for your creativity?

Jesus. Good question; one that I’ve got to get better at giving answers to.

I like a wide variety of music, and it’s changed over the past few years, as I’ve gotten older. I believe the best way to describe my band and I is roots rock n roll. We write largely on acoustic instruments, and try to record everything in a fairly traditional sense, so that it comes across honestly. We’re not re-inventing the wheel here; just trying to record some good, honest music so that I can at least prove to my future kid(s) that, yes – Dad was cool once.

Do you have a favourite artist whose work and style you admire? Is there anyone you would like to work with if you had the chance?

That’s something that comes in stages, but if you’re asking me today, I’d say Elvis Costello and/or Gordon Downie of the Tragically Hip. In Downie’s case, his lyrics are always interesting and in most cases brilliant, and Costello is someone who can do anything. One moment he’s recording a punk record, the next he’s chilling out with Burt Bacharach.

The music business is nothing if not a learning experience. Is there any wisdom you wish you knew when you were just starting out that you would pass along to those just breaking into the business?

Wisdom. If anyone has wisdom to pass along to me, then I’m all ears. I think that you should play music because you love it – not to get laid, and certainly not to get paid.

There are two important elements to every musician’s life: Playing live and recording in the studio. As an artist, which do you prefer? How do you approach each scenario differently?

A good day in the studio beats anything in life. A day when everything is rolling along smoothly, the vocals are done in under four takes, and the vibe – that creative vibe – is perfect.

However, the live thing is still my favorite. I love the fact that anything can happen. It’s sort of the unknown. You don’t know what kind of audience you’ll have sometimes. Being able to play off them and read them is a lesson in psychology. I love both, really, and it’s hard to decide.

A recording is permanent, but a show is a moment in time. What kind of show do you put on? What can fans expect from seeing you live?

We try our best to put on a dynamic, fun live show. We try our best not to be shoe-gazers and engage folks and invite them into our songs for an hour or however long we’re playing. Its every bit as much for them, as it is for us.

We are planning to tour more this year than any other years previously. We’re venturing into new towns on the west coast of Canada, as well as taking our first trip east to Toronto, and hopefully Montreal if time permits.

For you, what makes a great fan? What do you do to make fans feel special or connected to you as an artist?

A great fan is someone who’ll come up to you and tell you a specific moment during your set that they may have connected with. Someone who’s at the club having a good time, but pays enough attention to what you’re up there trying to put across to pay you a compliment at the end of a show. It makes it all worthwhile when that happens.

The Internet has certainly changed the music business. Would you say you have embraced the opportunities that the Internet offers? In your opinion, has it helped the industry or has it just changed the rules of the game?

I don’t even think we’ve scratched the surface. For example, we’re just getting our music on iTunes right now. The Internet has helping indie musicians obviously more than it has Lars Ulrich and the rest of the already-established. A lot of things can be done by musicians and bands themselves, and with the addition of MySpace, musicians are able to reach out to an audience that just wasn’t there before. It makes a lot more of the world feel local.

What’s next for you and all your projects?

We’re going to be finishing up some demos that will be available at our shows soon, and we’ll be adding our record, “Better Days Gone By” to iTunes. That’s first on the agenda. Beyond that, we’re touring like crazy and working on finding a full-time manager to organize the crew of our ship.

Thanks Ryan.

login or register to post comments | delicious | digg