His voice is raw and soulful, his lyrics personal and captivating,
but Joey Ryan might be among the brightest singer-songwriter's on the
scene to expose his soul through lyrics. Unlike many in his field, Joey was on the way to becoming a neuroscientist : fascinated with the workings of the brain, he was a student at the University of California, Berkley, about to begin a neuroscience Ph.D. program. More often than not, he found himself playing music at parties and bars, and realised that he couldn't live with himself if he didn't take the chance to pursue music.

12 months later, after a tough year trying to crack the code of the Los Angeles music scene, Joey was ready to re-apply to graduate school to research addiction and dependence. This time though he got a call from Mophonics Music in Venice, CA with an opportunity for one of his songs to be placed in a television show. Quickly following they would land several more opportunities in film, t.v., and a few choice ads. Joey never went to that first day of class.

A year and a half later, he's become well known up and down the West
Coast in singer/songwriter circles, toured both coasts of the US and performed with the likes of Sara Bareilles, Beth Rowley, Jay Nash and Meiko. All the while, successes in media placements are piling up. Amazingly, he's done this independently.

According to Joey, he's proud of the successes he's had so far but he says, "I've put my everything into this and I'm thrilled that people are beginning to take notice".

Description

It's a funny feeling sometimes to be a solo act - the perennial singer/songwriter. When people get interested in my music they also get interested in my life. For a solo artist, everything is fair game for fans and industry types... they want to know where you grew up, what your parents do and what they made you do, what schools you went to and what books you read. Obviously all of those things influence the music, but when your own name is the name of your act, these questions are asked before people even listen to a song. I'm guilty of it as well, and I'm not complaining. Not really. But don't we ask fewer personal questions about our favorite bands than about our favorite singer/songwriters? At least I do. I know a lot less about the lives of the guys in The Shins than I do about Ray Lamontagne. I would even say I know less and ask less about the life of singer/songwriter Conor Oberst, maybe only because he goes by the Bright Eyes moniker, than about, say, Brett Dennen. I don't mind the intrusions of people's curiosity, but it does make me a little uneasy that part of the art I'm trying to create (and part of the product that is inevitably marketed) is just me, as a person - it feels like I myself am up for sale when I put a song on iTunes. One day I think I'm gonna have a band name, just for myself, maybe it'll be The Glory. Until then, I hope you'll take a listen to my music.

Album Notes

Produced by Stephan Altman
Executive Producer Michael Frick
Recorded by Stephan Altman and Danny Kalb in Venice, CA
Mixed by Seth Horan at Phantom Vox in Hollywood, CA
'As It Must Be' Mixed by Bryan Cook
'Like A Cloak' Mixed by Seth Horan and Bryan Cook
Mastered by Gavin Lurssen at Lurssen Mastering in Hollywood, CA

This album was born of the creative partnership between Stephan Altman and myself. I was lucky to work with him. We recorded these songs in the Mophonics warehouse in Venice Beach, Ca, as well as in our friend's barbershop/house because he had an old piano. We chose unique sounding places, instruments, and musicians to record in the hopes of creating music that sounds like something new. We sacrificed proper sound isolation. If you listen closely you can hear buses driving by and someone getting a haircut.

My sincerest thanks to all the musicians who lent their incredible talents to this effort: Stephan Altman (pianos, guitars, cellos, everything), Gavin Salmon (drums), J.D. Lipscomb (bass), Brian Green (electric guitar), Drew Manne (pedal steel), Eric Wuest (violin), Alisha Bauer (cello)

Cover design by Tim Garrett
Cover photography by Kate Romero

All songs written by Joey Ryan

www.joeyryan.net
www.mophonics.com

Recording Location

Mophonics, Venice CA