One of our biggest "discoveries" this summer was San Antonio, Texas native Mike Ryan. Signed to Sea Gayle Publishing for writing, Ryan has been spending the past couple of years living in Fort Worth, Texas. While still a young artist cultivating his artistry, Ryan admits that as a guitar playing singer/songwriter, he was drawn to Texas icon Stevie Ray Vaughn, even if he’s not exactly emulating the late icon.
“I don’t play guitar like him, but he definitely got my attention and kept it for a long time,” says Ryan.
As a big fan of multiple kinds of genres in addition to Country music, Ryan’s influences range towards Stevie Wonder and Elton John along with the typical Texas music range of artists and it’s that broad set of influences that has helped Mike Ryan shape into the artist he is, an artist that drew the attention of Sea Gayle’s Chris DuBois, who has in turn, helped Mike Ryan develop what became Bad Reputation, his latest album.
“I was thrilled to have the opportunity as a songwriter from Texas to come up to Nashville and get a publishing deal,” Mike Ryan said. “To have Sea Gayle’s support it’s just been amazing to have their support and to work with them on my record."
That record, Bad Reputation, was released on August 19, 2014 and was written with Chris Dubois and Sea Gayle artist/writer Brent Anderson. Anderson ended up co-producing the project with Ben Phillips. The 10 tracks on the project showcase a diverse artist, an artist who has a pliable vocal that is like a mixture of equal parts Blake Shelton, Mike Eli and Randy Rogers. His voice is as smooth as the whiskey he sings on “Wasting No More Whiskey” while the lyrics are typically on point, particularly on tracks like “Red Eye Flight” and “Girls I Date.”
The writing chemistry is evident on each of the tracks and it speaks to the comfort Mike Ryan has developed with his co-writers, especially, Chris DuBois and Brent Anderson.
“The three of us have developed pretty strong chemistry,” Mike Ryan said. “They’re both just incredible guys and we’ve developed friendships outside of just writing, too. We’ve got some songs I’m really proud of. They’re some really strong musical minds.”
You can order Mike Ryan’s Bad Reputation now on his website or iTunes or you can find it at your favorite local retailer. The album’s lead single “Dancing All Around It” is currently rising the radio charts.
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