Ryan Anthony

Me + acoustic guitar + lazy drum loop = "What I'm Not".

I'm not a fan of posting "ruff" demos anymore, but this one is just so darned infectious I thought I'd seek opinions.

The guys (Modern Day Chicane) are very excited about adding this to our growing set-list, but for now I'm posting it as Ryan Anthony.

Comments/critique very welcome.

Ryan

What I'm Not

Ryan Anthony (MDC)

SOMETHING IS MISSING IN MY LIFE.....

Dude... Where's my guitar...?!

For the first time since 1995, I am without my prized Alpine White Gibson USA Les Paul 'Studio'.... How the hell am I gonna pretend to be James Dean Bradfield now.....?!

It is getting serviced/tuned/cleaned/setup by some people that know a lot more about guitars than I do.

Problem was, I actually felt a bit emotional handing it over and walking out of the shop. Is this post getting too guitar-geek now....?

Y'see, I'm assembling a 3 (maybe 4) piece rock outfit which I'm gonna front. Enough of this acoustic singer/songwriter malarky - I'm dusting off the Marshall Valvestate and aiming for a much over-done '11'. When you're that loud, you don't want your pots crackling. Ok, I am now officially a resident of Guitar Geeksville.

So, no new audio posts at the moment I'm afraid - I've been busy actually doing my day job (boo/hiss), and lining up other like-minded musicians to join my little venture (they have day jobs too). I have a name for the band which my fellow bandmates either aren't aware of, or aren't keen on. I've 'bagged' the My Space page for it just in case.

Also, I've got the basics down of a really nice rock ballad about my little girl Sophia, which I have entitled "Don't Stop Seeing the Pretty's.." (which is what she's nominated to call Christmas decorations).

I've got a good feeling about it. It's the first one I've written from scratch with this new outfit in mind. Mystery Bassist has a daughter the same(ish) age - so hopefully my prideful fatherly whinings will find sympathetic ears...!

York's Fastest Texter

So - I've got an acoustic run-through with Mystery Bassist on Tuesday. It's a good job we're aiming for acoustic seeing as my electric is out of commission. Then another one t'week after which Mystery Drummer will be sitting in on, hopefully so he can see that he's signed up to a worthwhile and musically expressive act. Either that or he'll be back in his car by the 2nd verse - sometimes you can't predict these things....!

Once we've got a couple of practises/run-thru's under our belts, these mystery musicians can be named-and-shamed and I'll start a new VOX page dedicated to blogging for the band.

Right then, I'm signing off - it's not like anyone reads this anyway - but with 600 (ish) hits to my VOX page since 1st Nov, maybe someone does read this......? 

How crap was the last episode of Heroes.......?!!!! Grrrrrrr....!

Nearlyalwaysnever re-work

Ryan Anthony

2 comments

Another slight re-work here, of nearlyalwaysnever.

Changed some lyrics, moved some bits round.

It's starting to take direction and firm up. I'm not sure how I hear this being 'produced', whether it's 'band material' or 'sit on a stool and swing yer pants' material - but as for music/lyrics etc I'm pretty happy.

There's a video of the previous version elsewhere on my blog, I do think this one is an improvement.

Excelsior.

====================

nearlyalwaysnever by Ryan Anthony

If you are everything you want to be
Maybe you could be more friendly
If you don't need no-one and know forever don't
Know there's someone somewhere
Who knows they never won't

The pieces come together, nearlyalwaysnever
To each their own, but when you're here - here is home

If every answer you struggle to find
Puts twenty questions back into your mind
If everyday you don't enjoy yourself
Feels near another year left on the shelf

The pieces come together, nearlyalwaysnever
To each their own, but when you're here - here is home

If nothing seems to get through, and nothing else is fair
And no-one seems to get you, to each their own, you're not alone
When something has to give, it's knowing what it is
You touch my heart instead of playing with my head

It's hard to know just what the message is
Is there a formula behind all this?
You're thinking "it ain't easy" just because
Everyone else would do it if it was

The pieces come together, nearlyalwaysnever
To each their own, but when you're here - here is home

====================

Domino-231107

Ryan Anthony

An "oldie but goodie" here - Domino.

Anyhoot, it's a nice tune that stands up well live, and lends itself to some "Gomez-esque" harmonies, when properly applied.

Again, a quick acoustic demo - really this is for the benefit of my prospective band-mates (are you listening Duncan and Thom..?! Are ya'..?!) but I still think even as stripped down as this, it is worth a listen.

"Be there" collab clip

1 comment

Hello (again) fellow Vox'ers and Columbia/RCA A&R.

I've had some collaboration on my "Be There" track. My friend Jay Schankman, from Kingston, Ohio in the USA has been kind enough to give some of his time to fill this out a little with some keyboards/organ.

He's done a great job, kept within the envelope of the song - I think it really shows the potential in this track.

I've posted a snippet of what I feel is the best part "all round"...

Thanks again to Jay.

Ryan

nearlyalwaysnever - Ryan Anthony

Greetings again from the corner of my studio...!

This is a one-take video clip of "nearlyalwaysnever".

Making/posting video's is a shedload more tricky than just audio. The upshot is you actually get to see a performance, visually. (Old Fast Show joke there...)

I'm hoping the good people at Columbia/RCA see the potential in this track. I hear strings everywhere when I play this, especially on the descending "pieces fall together" line - maybe one day I'll hear them for real!

Ryan

Be there - Video

Golden rule: Film yourself sober, watch it back drunk. As a tee-totaller I struggled with that a little.

So.......... It's been a crazy couple o' weeks since I originally uploaded "Be There" on my blog. Lots of people have been in touch to let me know their thoughts.....From Scotland to LA. So I've listed a few below.

As for an update on my work...: I've spent a little bit o' time re-working "Be There", but as the bones of it are ok I'm not going to any great lengths to try to improve it - I'd rather get 'more' out there. 

So tracks to appear next on Vox will be "nearlyalwaysnever" and "Domino", both 'oldies' that I've re-worked recently. I'm also working on some photos so the good people at Columbia/RCA can see what I actually look like.

My ol' friend Thom Craigen (ex Colour of Fire) is coming round later in the week to maybe ponder some collaboration/gigging in the New Year. Or at the very least to drink shed-loads of tea. Either way it's gonna be awesome to "meet him in battle" again.

"Be There" is listed as a favourite on Columbia Demo's profile. Which is nice.

So, more 9pm to 2am recording sessions this week...... Who needs sleep..?

Anyhoot, here are some of those comments.... Mostly from the States. Seems I've got a mild following over there..!

Ryan

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Critique for "Be There" by Ryan Anthony:

...excellent songwriting and song construction. Very nice. Great recording. Great vocal delivery...
Bill Davies

I really like the groove and how you stay in the pocket thru out the song.
Daryl Coy - Cleaveland, Ohio

Nice clean recording, Ryan. Good vox delivery.
Paul Glaser - Florida, US

Nice emotive performance
Carl Jensen - Indianapolis, US

Nicely constructed song Ryan, great recording too.
James Griffiths - Challoch, Scotland

...nice vox work...
Bruce Morris

Nice song with good lyrics... I'm impressed. Good mix as well.... Very talented!
Larry Hansen - CT, US

This is a really nice song, mix and I like the lyrics as well.
John Kennedy - Kissimmee, Florida

Nice sounding acoustic guitar... Vox are really good, clean and clear throughout. Strong song structure, good chord progression. Well done.
Mark Courter - Los Angeles, US

Very nicely done! I like the way the song develops and the instrumental balance is great.
Gary Price

Nice tune... ...overall this is great effort.
Daryl Crowley - Ludington, Michigan

A very very polished mix here. Great song...
Mike McGinty

...this song is 100% listenable in every respect as is. The vocal performance is as strong as most anything on the radio today.
Matt Taylor

...the vocal is excellent and the mix is very crisp. I also really like the song!
Ben J Hayes

Ryan, that's a really solid song. Really nice mix.
Ed McGlaughlin - Minneapolis, US

Be There

Wow. I'd love "British Acoustic" to be an official musical genre. Think of all the cups of tea, warm beer, and bad soap operas that would go into the making of it.

"Build a wall and I'll crash right through it; sit back n' laugh 'til the grass grows through it....."

Recorded last month in my lil' garage studio, this is my first humble effort of recording/producing my own songwriting demo. I think I'd really like to hear a female vocalist tackle this one.

Originally penned in late 1997 with some questionable lyrics since removed...... (it's better not to sing about the Devil....), many have commented on the cheese value of the line 'be there or be square' which has always managed to stay in the song. I've always felt it worked.

This was a live favourite for "Several Federal Men" back in the early 00's, and again for "FED23" a little later in those dark Monday night open mic nights in the Lendal Cellars.....

This demo is an early version, I'm soon hoping to add some strings/pads and fill out the drum track with some more varied rolls/fills (courtesy of Drums On Demand), and I'm even considering a key change. Imagine that.