Episode 017 : Jimmy Ryan
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Jimmy Ryan just released his second solo release, an EP that goes by the name of Gospel Shirt and released by Hi-n-Dry Records. A singer, songwriter, and mandolin player, Ryan is an artist who clearly loves both the traditional bluegrass music of Bill Monroe as well as classic rock and roll like Creedence Clearwater Revival and The Rolling Stones.
As a founding member of the Blood Oranges, who released three records (Corn River, Lone Green Valley, and Crying Tree) in the early 90s, and a gifted mandolin player who has performed and toured with dozens of other artists, Ryan has amassed an impressive amount of experience that translates easily into his melding of bluegrass and rock and roll.
Since the 90s, Ryan has regularly added his skilled mandolin playing to other artist's work both on the road and in the studio, including Morphine, Catie Curtis, Dumptruck, Gerald Collier, Brooks Williams, Warren Zevon, William Ackerman, Sarah Borges, Jake Brennan and fellow Hi-N-Dry artists including Christian McNeill, Caged Heat, and Maybe Baby.
In 2002, Ryan released, his first solo effort, Lost Diamond Angel, produced by Billy Conway (drummer for Morphine and Twinemen) and Trina Shoemaker (two-time Grammy Award-winner for Sheryl Crow's The Globe Sessions). Conway and Shoemaker also co-produced the new Gospel Shirt CD.
Ryan's band on the new CD includes guitar by Duke Levine and Kevin Barry, drums by Billy Beard, bass by Andrew Mazzone, backing vocals from Christian McNeill and Laurie Sargent and keyboards by Jabe Beyer.
I recently spoke with Ryan in Boston before he headed to Austin's South by Southwest music festival. We discussed:
* how playing a left-handed mandolin makes his musical life more interesting?and a bit about the specifics of playing a mandolin
* how the various bands he's played in have contributed to the unique mix of his solo music
* what makes the rich musical community around Hi-N-Dry Records so dynamic
Photo Credit: Megan Summers, Cellardoor Productions
Samples from Jimmy Ryan's CDs featured in the Well-Rounded Radio Interview include:
IN PREVIEW: Santa Fe : "Gospel Shirt"
1) Breaks My Hears : "Lost Diamond Angel"
2) Titantic (with The Blood Oranges) : "Crying Tree"
3) Hell's Half Acre (with The Blood Oranges) : "Crying Tree"
4) Shadow of You (with The Blood Oranges) : "Crying Tree"
5) I Am Lost : "Lost Diamond Angel"
6) Happy Couple : "Lost Diamond Angel"
7) Drunker's Lament #7 or #8 : "Lost Diamond Angel"
8) Gospel Shirt : "Gospel Shirt"
9) Only Ever : "Gospel Shirt"
10) Turnaround : "Gospel Shirt"
11) Hardest Time : "Lost Diamond Angel"
If you like Jimmy Ryan, give a listen to the Well-Rounded Radio Interviews with Twinemen and Kossoy Sisters.
Jimmy Ryan available from Hi-N-Dry Records or Miles of Music.
Jimmy Ryan recommends: Paul Bryan
Well-Rounded Radio recommends: Club Passim celebrates 47 years of music.
