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VENTS Magazine recently interviewed indie-rock musician Ryan Smith about his latest music video, “I’m Slipping.” The interview can be read below.
Tell us about your musical journey, how did you find interest in it and how did you come to be where you are today?
Well, it’s been a long strange trip so far—that’s for sure! The very dawning of my interest in music was as a very young boy sifting through my dad‘s record collection. He had albums from The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Kinks, Bob Dylan, and folk music ranging from Buffy to Leo Kottke. He also had records from vocal groups like the Kingston Trio and the Beach Boys.
I listened obsessively to these records planting myself right next to the speakers. The songs pulled me completely into their universe. I noticed how they panned the stereo imagery and what types of affects used on vocals. I was completely sucked into the world of music and production.
As a young kid I took piano lessons from my aunt, and while I enjoyed that it wasn’t until I started playing trombone in junior high that I realized that this is what I was going to do with the rest of my life. The first time I was making music with a drummer and the rest of our jazz band in sixth grade is when I realized there was no other option for me. I could barely blow the air into my horn because I was grinning from ear to ear. I couldn’t believe that we were making the sound that was filling the room—it was GLORIIOUS!
Then I became determined to learn how to play guitar. I would try to figure out how to play in my head before actually having one. I remember walking around the halls of school playing air guitar and trying to make it feel natural. Then I took a crash course and guitar at a Schmidt music store. The rest for me was history. I devoted whatever free time I had into learning the instrument.
I would play any chance I got for anyone who would listen. That is really the story of how I ended up where I am today. Every positive step forward I took was from playing somewhere where someone else connected with what I was doing. Collaborations would move on from there.
Even in the era of laptop composers, I still think playing music live and organically is the best way to move from point A to point B. I went from playing local venues with my high school band to working with people I looked up to like Grant Hart (Hüsker Dü), Phil Solem (The Rembrandts), and so many others.
For me, it was basically a progression of expanding my network by playing shows and touring. The Melismatics (my post-high-school band) started to do a lot of tour dates and made some national noise in the college radio world. We made a number of albums and signed with a few labels. We made music videos and toured internationally. When that band eventually slowed down, Pony and I started recording the album “Moshi Moshi.” We released that under the name Ryan and Pony via Pravda Records in 2020. Right when we had started recording for that album back in 2016, I had joined the band Soul Asylum. I got to know those cats through The Melismatics as we had opened for them several times, and we both working with producer John Fields. It seemed like a very natural fit.
What are some major lessons you have learned through your music career?
The first thing is that if you love what you do, you will never work a day in your life. That is very important, because going into music, you have to be prepared to work two or three times harder than everyone else. It’s like being an artist, a craftsperson, and entrepreneur all in one. There is so much to learn and do, and that never stops. There is ALWAYS more to know.
Another important thing I’ve learned is to give every single performance you do 110%. Some of the best things that happened to me was from playing very to small crowds. Someone in that tiny audience had influence. I have seen this happen to other bands as well. We were offered a lucrative licensing deal after we played a poorly attended show in Chicago. We also had a song featured in a major motion picture because of another small show in South Dakota— someone at that show later moved to LA and became a film director years later! Producer John Fields caught us playing in a small venue in Austin, TX for SXSW and we’ve been working together ever since.
I also remember being at SXSW with our friends Radkey. At the time, they were a brand new band. I watched them play in a club for about five people in the afternoon. It turns out two of those five people were record executives from the UK. The show Radkey played later that night was jam-packed with European record executives and music industry heavyweights. From there they went onto sign a record deal and tour with bands like The Foo Fighters, Metallica, and so many more.
Above all else do it for the right reasons and be true to yourself. Don’t try to please anybody when you are creating art. That is almost always a surefire way to steer yourself in the wrong direction.
What was the songwriting process for “I’m Slipping”? What was it inspired by?
While Soul Asylum was on the Dead Letter Tour in 2019, I was getting lots of song ideas in my head. I was documenting them on my phone on the Voice Memos app. I had the guitar riff and the title “I’m Slipping” along with several other melodies and guitar parts. Because of the pandemic, the tour was ended two weeks early. I then took that time to put my nose to the grind stone and get these ideas recorded.
The lyrics came quite naturally because I was seeing the structure of the world around me collapse. Not only was I feeling like I was slipping, but I could see it happening to many people around me. The lyrics just flowed.
How did you create the “I’m Slipping” music video concept? How does this video tie into the theme of the song?
I was really aiming for a vibe of early music videos that would have been played on MTV in the early 80’s. I wanted it to be rough-around-the-edges, and even have a Lo Fi appearance like it might have been filmed on Super 8. If it looked too slick, it wouldn’t be right for the song’s meaning. A lot of it was a matter of playing with visuals and experimenting until I was happy with it.
How would you describe your sound? What do you think makes it unique to the music scene?
I would describe it as Indie rock. It is a complete melting pot of all of the music I listened to from childhood until now. There are elements of classic rock, Brit rock, folk, vocal groups, punk rock, underground music, EDM, and of course the amazing music that has come out of the Twin Cities over the last four decades.
What accomplishments do you see yourself achieving in the next five to 10 years?
More records. More tours. Lots of single release. Music videos. Producing artists I love. I’m going to be publishing some books about songwriting and playing guitar via my online teaching site “Secret Chord.” I’m also launching the record label Hygh Tension Records.
But ultimately my goal is to be happy with who I am. That is what I aspire to.
Follow Ryan Smith:
http://Www.RyanSmithSOLO.com
https://www.facebook.com/RyanSmithSOLO
http://twitter.com/melismatics
http://instagram.com/melismatics
