Joey Ryan Interview: SXSW 2010

Posted on Mar 2nd 2010 2:52PM by Allison Hussey
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Since beginning his foray into music, Joe Ryan has toured stateside and across the pond multiple times. More recently, he held the position of artist-in-residence at the Hotel Cafe in Los Angeles and Rockwood Music Hall in New York City. Ryan makes his festival debut on Thursday, March 18 at SXSW, and then is heading to the Vail Film Festival in April. He plans to spend a good deal of 2010 touring and recording his new album. Spinner recently spoke to Joey about himself, his music, and what's in his survival kit for SXSW 2010.

How did you get started in music?

Peer pressure. I was in a band with my friends totally just for fun in college and they forced me into doing it, into trying to do it for a living. They just kind of convinced me that I had to.

How would you describe your sound?

I get that question a lot and I don't have a good answer, but hopefully it sounds like some good American music that you haven't heard before.

What are some of your musical influences?

I'm influenced by everything that happens to me, and the songs I write are really personal. But musically speaking, the people who influence me a lot are Conor Oberst and Ray LaMontagne, and I grew up with classic rock like Neil Young, the Band, Bob Dylan. But what I write about is whatever happens to me.

What's your biggest vice?

Well, lately I've been thinking that I might be an alcoholic, just because I've been playing so many shows, and I really enjoy drinking Maker's Mark when I play. Historically, my biggest vice has been laziness.

What's in your festival survival kit?

SXSW is going to be my first music festival that I've ever played, so I don't know what I need. I don't know, I have no idea what the hell I'm going to do there and what to expect. Friends, that's all that's in my survival kit. I'm relying on friends.

Do you have a musical guilty pleasure? What is it?

I always really liked the Britney Spears song 'Toxic,' that's a catchy little number. Oh! Beyonce. I love Beyonce so much. Beyonce is in a league of her own as far as superstars go.

The Beatles or the Rolling Stones?

Beatles. I grew up with The Beatles more so than the Rolling Stones, and I feel like they were more experimental. Every single thing they did changed music at the time, and everything they did was so good and so timeless. The Rolling Stones I've only grown to appreciate later, but they sound a little more like a regular rock band. In a lot of ways they're just totally different and you can't compare them, but that being said, the Beatles.

What has been the craziest thing you've seen or experienced on tour?

I feel like the tours I've been on haven't been all that crazy. One time somewhere in probably the middle of Tennessee, I got off the bus to go get a drink, and the bus left without me, and I totally got to pretend that I was in 'Almost Famous,' trying to catch up with it. I was pretty sure we had already started drinking at that point, but that was awesome.

What is a band/artist with whom you would most like to work?

I don't even know if Bright Eyes considers itself to be together, but I would say Conor Oberst.

Do you prefer writing/recording or touring?

Both. Tie. Equal. I think they're totally different things and playing live is such an exhilarating experience. You make a direct, real-time connection with people. With recording, it's such a labor-intensive, intricate, and complicated process that requires so many different people that requires a lot of people with expertise in so many different areas. It's a whole separate art, but I enjoy it just as much.

Allison Hussey is a contributor from Seed.com. Learn how you can contribute here.