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Ryan Kuehner, well known St. Charles guitarist and session player as well as guitarist of the band “Deacon Stone”, has performed alongside many different acts. As a session guitarist Ryan Kuehner has played with some of the best know local jazz and blues bands and has played alongside a plethora of other genres such as shock rockers Gwar, heavy metal bands such as Shadows Fall and rapper/MC Shadrach Bishop .
Ryan Kuehner, is well known in the St. Charles music community for his versatile and creative approach to guitar. Kuehner started playing guitar at 12 years old taking lessons from his father. Kuehner was later taught by guitar legend Jim Comparato and studied classical guitar under the guidance of world renowned classical guitarist John McClellan.
Ryan Kuehner has now joined forces with the multi nominated Christian gospel and blues band “Deacon Stone”, and they’re ready to win Nashville’s 2025 Josie Music Award with their new album, “The Pilgrim’s Songs”.
I had an opportunity to sit down with Ryan Kuehner about the upcoming album with Deacon Stone.
How did you feel when you were invited to join Deacon Stone and help create their new album, The Pilgrim’s Songs?
Kuehner- “I was extremely excited Rick, Dean and Boomer really shot it out of the park with this album. They were looking for a guitarist, I came in and tried out, and later got a phone call from Deacon Stone’s manager and he said Mr. Kuehner, you got the job.”
I’ve listened to some of the songs on the new Deacon Stone album and the guitars on the album really are amazing.
How did you did you approach these songs when you were developing the guitar parts?
Kuehner- “The new single of the track has some very intricate guitar work, I got a lot of inspiration from Andy Summers of the Police. I love how Andy picked the notes out of the chords and really focused on not just the 3rd and the 5th but colors his rhythm parts with different notes and inversions.”
The album is Christian themed and has a great message. One of my favorite songs on the album is ,“Every Step of the Way,” which has an almost stadium anthem vibe to it and the solo is killer.
Kuehner- “Yeah, I think Dean wrote the majority of that song. The solo for “Every Step of the Way” has a somewhat 80’s ballad vibe where I really focused on what Rick and Dean were doing on the piano and guitar. It’s all about finding the right fit with the rest of the band.”
I’ve seen a lot of your live shows and you were always using Marshall Amplifiers and Music Man guitars, are you still using the same combination?
Kuehner- “Yeah, as far as my live sound, I’m still using a vintage Marshal 50watt plexi. It’s the perfect pedal platform. My guitar is still a Music Man Cutlass. I love the feel of the neck and the sound of the pickups.”
I remember you were using Boss effects pedals with your old band the Sheriff’s and had switched to DOD pedals when you joined Motherhead. Are you still using the same effects pedals?
Kuehner- “I’m still using primarily Boss pedals but my guitar tech has modified them with what we call “The Kuehner Mod”. It’s basically changing a few caps and transistors which really opens these Boss pedals up. I’m also using a clone Klone pedal which I created called, “The Kuehner Klone” and it definitely has its own character. We may start producing these Kuehner Klone pedals and selling them online so they may be on the market soon.”
I loved your guitar sound on the new album, it has that Ryan Kuehner tone a lot of your fans are familiar with. I especially love your tone on the song, “Preachin to the Devil”?
Kuehner- “The guitar sounds on the new Deacon Stone album was mostly done using my Music Man Cutlass, which has a noiseless pickup system that keeps the single coil pickups from getting too loud on the recording track. As far as the amps, I used a Fender Twin along side a Kuehner modded Marshall 800, which is a mod that increases the gain setting to the amp. The Kuehner modded Marshall 800 was the one I used on “Preachin to the Devil” to get that hot rodded Billy Gibbons sound. I also modified a G&L telecaster with dog ear style pickups that were custom wound to sound like 1958 Gibson PAF’s.”
Deacon Stone is looking to become nominated at the 2025 Nashville Josie awards, what songs do you think will be nominated?
Kuehner- “Hopefully all of them, were shooting for the stars here. I think everyone really did great on this album and I’m happy just to be nominated. Deacon Stone is a killer band and as I said they really shot it out of the park on this one.”
With your guitar work on the album, it has also been mentioned we could see the name Ryan Kuehner nominated for top guitarist?
Kuehner- “I think I’ve got a good shot at it but there are a lot of great guitarists. I just enjoy creating music and sending a positive message to people. Besides creating music, one of my main focuses is helping implement more music programs in public school system. I am also currently working on getting more funding for music therapy for children with autism and people with developmental disabilities especially those living in mental health facilities. I think music has a lot of benefits and helping to promote positive change through music is the answer.”
Check out Ryan Kuehner and his guitar work with the award nominated band Deacon Stone and their new album, “The Pilgrim’s Songs,” on Spotify. Check out Ryan Kuehner’s new website at Ryankuehner.com
