Audrey Ryan profile picture

Audrey Ryan

educated with a banana & an intertube...

About Me

I grew up on an island off the coast of Maine called Mount Desert Island. My home was very musical one and my dad played guitar and my mom sang and played piano in the living room and the organ at church. My dad was into the Beatles, Bob Dylan, and John Fahey, but the songs he played were more of a country-western nature and I remember him singing "hey good lookin' whatcha got cookin'" in our kitchen as my mom made dinner. Mom would play ragtime Scott Joplin tunes and sing ballads like "Blue Boyou" by Roy Orbison. Reluctantly at first, I learned to play guitar starting around age ten and through middle and high school learned a lot of folk tunes to the likes of Joni Mitchell, Neil Young, John Fahey, and Dylan. In college I discovered jazz and became immersed in Miles Davis, Coltrane, Bill Evans, Herbie Hancock and all those greats. My main college gig was playing fiddle in bluegrass, celtic, and jazz bands and trying to be like Stephen Grapelli in jazz ensemble (never got quite that good). I also managed to spend a few years living and traveling abroad in Africa, Asia, and Australia. All the while I was writing songs and building up to a point where I might play them with other people in front of other people. When I graduated college I moved to Boston and started a band, that was four years ago...for more info on my "career stats" keep reading...///... Since releasing my debut record, "Passing Thru", in 2004 I've been touring a good deal with a band and solo. I self-released two EPs in 2005 and 2006 sold exclusively at shows and then started recording my second full-length with help from Stephen Brodsky (better known for his work in "Octave Museum" and "Cave In"). We recorded 14 songs in my rehearsal space and his during the course of 2006 and 2007. It was mixed by Andrew Schneider at Translator Audio in Brooklyn, NY in January and was mastered by Nick Zampiello in May at New Alliance East. The name of the record is "Dishes & Pills" and it was released in the UK this fall by Folkwit Records, and we're still trying to nail down a US label to release it. In case you're wondering more about what kind of music this is, it started out in the jazz/pop vein and has evolved into an eclectic form of experimental folk, singer-songwriter indie rock of some alien breed using backwards loops, finger pianos, and other unique instrmentation. Overall this music blends together my early influences of Neil Young, Joni Mitchell, and Bob Dylan with contemporaries such as Robert Wyatt, Radiohead, the Flaming Lips, Wilco, Steroelab, Beck, and Arcade Fire. "Ryan is like Joni Mitchell and Radiohead playing some kind of hybrid indie music that- and this is why her stuff is so good - just doesnt exist anywhere else." (Leo Weekly). I perform nationally and internationally and live on the east coast...
Get this video and more at MySpace.comTo buy "Passing Thru" go to :.. -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- CDBABY LINK for AUDREY RYAN: Passing Thru --

Myspace Layouts by Pimp-My-Profile.com

My Interests

Music:

Member Since: 6/7/2004
Band Website: audreyryan.org
Band Members: Audrey Ryan (guitar/accordion/banjo/violin/keys/vocals). Currently performing solo, duo, trio, and beyond with James Borchers (drums/percussion/glockenspeil), Alec Spiegelman (clarinet), and Steve Malone (pedal steel).
Influences: Robert Wyatt, Radiohead, Dungen, My Morning Jacket, the Flaming Lips, Wilco, Arcade Fire, Stereolab, My Bloody Valentine, Led Zepplin, Dylan, Joni Mitchel, Cash, Neil Young, Leonard Cohen, Nick Drake, Cat Stevens, Miles Davis, Coltrane, Bill Evans, Bach, Jobim, Nina Simone, Aretha Franklin, James Brown, Billie Holiday, John Fahey, Bert Jansch, Pentangle...
Sounds Like: baby-making music...
Record Label: Folkwit Records (UK)
Type of Label: Indie

My Blog

Info on the LOFT SHOWS and why I no longer post them...

Hey folks, As you may or may not know there have been some issues in my building regarding the having of DIY shows. Most notably a larger show (much larger than my loft shows) was busted on the first...
Posted by Audrey Ryan on Sun, 27 Apr 2008 09:05:00 PST

Opening for Suzanne Vega; online Interviews...happy new year!!

Hey folks, Happy New Year 2008!!! I'm still up in Maine taking it easy trying to recover from some back pain and hanging out with the family trying to prolong the holidays and time off from the ci...
Posted by Audrey Ryan on Tue, 01 Jan 2008 09:54:00 PST

Paddy & Swan (Ireland), Toast & Tea (UK), Red Wine & Baguett (Paris), Weed & Clogs (Holland)...

yup, i'm home, after 7 weeks on the road, it was the endurance test of my career, it was like the enigizer bunny it just kept going and going and going...but looking back it was a blast. i met great p...
Posted by Audrey Ryan on Wed, 28 Nov 2007 10:32:00 PST

Hey ho after 3 weeks touring in the UK, Robin Hood, Peter Pan, bring it...

Well, I've been here now for over three weeks and I have a little more than three weeks left. So far I've just been doing shows in the UK although tomorrow I go to Ireland and after that France a...
Posted by Audrey Ryan on Wed, 24 Oct 2007 05:44:00 PST

the Post- Summer Blog...

Hey whoever reads these things, thought i'd give an update on my life since my last blog which must have been a while ago. i went to Europe in June/July, oh yeah, i think i did write a blog about tha...
Posted by Audrey Ryan on Sat, 22 Sep 2007 01:05:00 PST

London, Norway, France, Switzerland Oh My!!

I've spent the last 2-3 weeks in Europe for a tour/vacation of sorts. I first rolled into London which is quickly becoming my euro base since the label I'm on is in the UK and that is where I know som...
Posted by Audrey Ryan on Mon, 09 Jul 2007 08:56:00 PST

Sheboygan is fun to say! Blog on our Midwest tour...

James Borchers & I ventured in his Toyota 4runner about 3,500 miles all over the midwest, our furthest point being somewhere in Minnesota, overall it was a tour with a few awesome shows, a number ...
Posted by Audrey Ryan on Tue, 01 May 2007 09:45:00 PST

SXSW shows, insite from a month on the road...

So James and I rolled back into Somerville last night after a thirty hour drive from Austin, TX back to Boston. Our only stop was for a four hour nap at a friends in Nashville, otherwise we drove stra...
Posted by Audrey Ryan on Mon, 19 Mar 2007 11:19:00 PST

Week 2 & 3 in the South, a birthday in Baton Rouge...

Hello blog readers, Yesterday was my birthday and I spent it in Baton Rouge at the house of a promoter here (Green Frog Music) who put on a great house show last night for us, but for some reason I'm...
Posted by Audrey Ryan on Sun, 11 Mar 2007 12:18:00 PST

Week 1 of winter tour, I'm in Nashville...

So a few people seem curious enough to know, so here it is, I'm in Nashville, I've been here a few days, before that I was in New Hope PA, Frederick MD, Charleston WV, Louisville KY, here, and Murfree...
Posted by Audrey Ryan on Wed, 28 Feb 2007 11:10:00 PST