GanoRyan Dream Dreams
of Flight

by Lisa Babick

Billy Ryan, Gordon Gano, and Brendan Ryan. Not shown: Lonnie Hillyer and Frank Ferrer

You may not have heard of GanoRyan yet, but you've definitely heard of its members: Gordon Gano of the Violent Femmes, Billy and Brendan Ryan formerly of The Bogmen, Lonnie Hillyer from Maggie's Dream, and Frank Ferrer from Guns 'N' Roses. These five professional and experienced musicians have recently come together to form this incomparable-sounding new band. GanoRyan casts an engaging and distinct glow on alternative rock, and reveals a new layer to Gordon Gano's powerful and passionate voice. Their music is energetic, at times haunting and emotionally raw, and instantly addictive. We talked with keyboardist, accordianist, horn player, and all-around nice guy, Brendan Ryan, to find out what GanoRyan is all about. His brother, Billy, guitarist and back-up vocals, chips in for a bit too.

IMR: How did you guys decide to record together?
BR: From what I recall we met in a bar in Greenwich Village called The Blind Tiger Ale House. Billy and I had been fans of the Femmes for years, but I don't think Gordon heard our music until after we met. After The Bogmen broke up, Billy and I would play in a piano bar in the Village, and I remember Gordon coming down once or twice. Oh yeah, one common denominator that the Violent Femmes and The Bogmen have is that we both had a record produced by Jerry Harrison of Talking Heads. That probably triggered some fun conversations which would usually segue into talk about music. In 2001, I played organ on a tune on Gordon's Hitting The Ground. Then, The Bogmen reunited for a Bogmen benefit concert, and we asked Gordon to open for us. He had a lot of material that he was writing at the time, and Billy and I backed him up. While we were preparing for that show, we decided to write some songs as well, and that was when our collaboration began.

How did Frank Ferrer who plays drums and Lonnie Hillyer who plays bass get involved with the band?
I'm pretty sure they were both introduced to Gordon by Warren Bruleigh. Frank played on Gordon's, Hitting The Ground, and Lonnie had some great takes on it as well. My favorite Lonnie performance is on "So It Goes" a track that I think Linda Perry sang. Frank played with the Psychedelic Furs and now plays with Guns-n-Roses. Lonnie played with Bernie Worell and Maggie's Dream. Lonnie's father was an American jazz trumpeter who played with Charles Mingus and Clifford Jarvis, so obviously, the music is in the genes with Lonnie!

According to your MySpace bio, you only recorded 22 songs. Any plans to record more?
We had a hard time narrowing it down to 22. I think there are another 10-20 that we put aside. The twenty-two that we recorded, to me, were the more simple and straight-forward of the bunch. We do plan to finish the rest in which we have talked about getting more adventurous instrumentally. Some were conceived from electronic loops and devices, so we plan on going in that direction as well.

On your site you talk about playing in laundromats, please explain.
We never played in a laundromat, but some ideas were conceived there. Years ago Gordon and I were both doing our girlfriendâs laundry, and I had just burned a CD of instrumental music that Billy and I were working on. When I saw him, I thought, hey why not give it to Gordon, though he probably wonât listen to it. Years later, after we started writing together, he called me and told me he had lyrics for some of them. I was flabbergasted! First, because I didnât think he ever listened to it, and second, because I thought it would be lost by that point.

Did Gordon say why he held on to the CD?
He didn't say, only that he had lyrics for it. Another song we have on deck for recording.

The songs on your site, who wrote the lyrics and how did they come about musically?
Gordon wrote all of the lyrics. Billy and I wrote most of the music, but Gordon collaborated on that as well. The music was inspired by many different sources, depending on the song.

âHired Gunâ is built off of Billâs guitar riff, and I helped him with the B section and a C section. Typically, the C section is treated as a âbridgeâ in the song, but Gordon suggested flipping it around and using it as a vamp. I think it works pretty well that you donât hear those chords until the outro, and that we never return to the chords of the A or B section.

âMan in the Sandâ was originally a slow Garcia-like waltz that Billy wrote with lyrics. I gave Gordon an instrumental demo of it without Billyâs lyrics and kept the working title âMan in the Sandâ. One night I met Gordon at a restaurant and he said he had lyrics for it. I asked to hear it and he rattled off a Ramones-like, â1,2,3,4 Would you likeâ¦â¦..â. I didnât get the correlation between our music and what he was singing until he got to the refrain, âI am the man in the sandâ. I love how Gordon amped it up and transformed it to a punk rock tune. Now there are two completely different versions of the same musical melody.

âWave and Waterâ was originally an orchestral piece that I had written for a French short film called, Jacques. One day Billy and I were practicing with a drummer, and we were trying to make it a rock/funk piece. I put on one of my favorite albums âRemain in Lightâ by Talking Heads which helped Billy come up with that Alex Weir/David Byrne style guitar rhythm, and the song took on a whole new life. Gordon came up with the kids choir on the vamp, and come to think of it, we have a lot of interesting vocal ideas that are not currently in the mix on our MySpace. We plan on utilizing them eventually.

âGone to Prayâ. I think I heard that when Jimmy Page first picked up a mandolin, âBattle of Evermoreâ was the first lick that his fingers played. Thatâs pretty close to what happened to Billy. That mandolin riff is the basis for the song and it is fitting that Gordon played fiddle and I played accordion. The instrumentation moves it into a Gypsy-like, Irish-AmericanâFolk-Bluegrass direction. I donât know what you call it. Gordon came up with those counter vocal lines, which is a challenge for me to deliver live. Iâm not much of a singer.

âUnder the Sunâ. I remember listening to Van Morrisonâs âItâs Too Late to Stop Nowâ which is one of my favorite live records. I paid some attention to the chord progressions, because those tunes had such great energy to them and it wasnât always as simple as a three-chord rock tune. Anyway, once I had the chord progression together, Billy and I carved out some melodies and harmonies. Then I added the musical bridge, âHey I love you, can I call youâ¦â¦â, but I donât know what inspired that musically. Emotionally, it was driven by anger and trying to get out of a somber mood.

A more subtle version of "Under the Sun" can be found on your benefit album Kristy's Smile. Which version do you like better?
I like the new version better. We brought the drums in earlier, and we had more time to develop ideas which I think paid off in the long run.

The bulk of your material was recorded at the Carriage house in Connecticut. Why did you record there, and why do so many musicians like to work there?
We all love the Carriage House! Both Gordon and Warren have spent a lot of time there over the years. We would block out time there and pack our bags, so once we got there, which was a nice drive from NYC, we got to take advantage of the time. Not having to commute to and from a session is really a treat. They have a lot of vintage gear, and what I liked most about recording there is that the sightlines are really great. Billy, Gordon, Frank, and I put most of our basics down together and it was very helpful that we could see each other.

GanoRyan recently played Nokia, opening for The Saw Doctors. How did that go?
It was great to get up in front of a thousand or so people. Considering 99 percent of the audience never heard our songs, I think we did well. Iâm sure Gordon is used to playing Femmes tunes and he gets an immediate reaction, and same goes for us to a lesser extent with The Bogmen. Still, the audience was into it and thatâs a good sign. Those were really our first shows, so I think we were playing more not to forget something than to just have it come out naturally. Iâm sure we will get more comfortable with some more experience, and weâll get to enjoy it more as well.

Any new plans to release a CD or tour outside NYC?
We are not exactly sure what to do next as far as a release is concerned. We still have some mixing to do and mastering, and in some cases we have overdubbing to do. Being that the record industry is in flux, I am guessing that we will probably release some songs online and distribute it ourselves. That does not mean we are opposed to signing with a label. A great label with some enthusiasm for the material could be the way to go, too.

We will be playing some dates on the West Coast. On May 15th we play at The Boom Boom Room in San Francisco. On May 16th we are playing at The Echo in LA with American Music Club, and we will be playing at a private party opening for Huey Lewis and The News in Vegas. We are also doing a show in Long Island at Stephen's Talkhouse on June 13th. Currently we are looking to add a date or two in San Diego. Our show info will be updated on www.ganoryan.com.

Well, i'm jealous of all those West Coast fans that are going to get to see GanoRyan live? Any plans on coming to Chicago?
Not at the moment, but we love Chicago, and when the opportunity arises we will definitely consider it.

At this phase in your musical careers, what do you feel is the most exciting part about making music?
Itâs a tie between making great recordings, scoring a scene that works, learning how to play âDark Side of The Moonâ on accordion.

"Dark Side of the Moon" on accordian, huh? How's that coming along? Going to release that on a solo album?
I went to an accordian seminar last year, and a nice gentleman drove down from upstate New York and he performed the album head to toe. I was blown away with how many parts he covered on the accordian. I hope to get that done one day, but don't hold your breath! It's fun chipping away at it though.

Because you are all experienced musicians coming from well-known bands, how difficult is it to get your music out there? Or is it easier because you have individual followings?
This remains to be seen. We are just starting to do some shows, and we donât have a specific plan at the moment. I suspect it will require a lot of work and some not so stellar shows and reactions. I think it will be especially challenging for Gordon because he has enjoyed success on a much larger scale than Billy and I, and Iâm sure there will be people out there who will want to hear songs from his catalogue. I do think/hope our collaboration will take many fans from both of our pasts by surprise.

Do you find that fans are looking for similar music to what youâve done with your other bands? How do you feel about that?
I would guess they will be and I am comfortable with that. Gordonâs voice is very distinct, and Billy and I have a style that it very identifiable. I donât think we have strayed too much from our roots. In many cases I think we got back to our roots because so many of these songs were inspired and conceived by our favorite artists.

So, Billy, do you like singing or playing guitar better?
Of course I love playing guitar better. But I enjoy singing more and more because itâs hard to find your voice.

Tell me about your involvement with The Hennegan Brothers film, The First Saturday in May, (see trailer at bottom of this page). How did you get involved with that project?
We grew up together. Before The First Saturday in May, Brad (Hennegan) had hired us to do some commercial work when he was a creative director for USA Network and CSTV. I first spotted The First Saturday in May with John (Hennegan) and was immediately drawn into the story of these people and horses trying to win the Kentucky Derby. It is amazing to me how small the eye of the needle is. Forty thousand horses are born each year for the Derby but only twenty make it. The film documents six separate journeys to the big day, one being the story of Barbaro and his trainer, Michael Matz. We all know what happened there, but frankly, the other stories were just as compelling.

One of our goals musically was to give each team, (horse, trainer, jockey, owner), a voice. For example, there was a trainer named Frank, who was a New York guy and he had very NYC blue collar characteristics, so we gave him some Rap and Hip Hop. On the opposite end of the spectrum, there was Bob from Arkansas who was the oldest trainer in the Derby. His voice was that of southern American Folk Stephen Foster-type music.

Another important challenge musically was to emphasize the anxiety and tension these people experience in the moments leading up to and during the race. The Hennegans' did a good job of pointing us into a direction with their guide music. They put up sequenced keyboard music to these scenes that was very transient and repetitive --think of the beginning of "Emminence Front". I love Thomas Newman, a legendary film composer whose music I often listen to. So I tried combining sequenced keyboard music with the Thomas Newmanâlike marimbas, vibes, kalimbas and hand percussion. Then Billy did some nifty guitar work where we muted the decay of the notes, a trick from Brian Eno and David Byrne, and I think we came up with something that worked. This also helped give the music a semi-modern twist, which juxtaposed the classic American acoustic guitar-driven style that was prominent throughout.

The film opens with Gordonâs rendition of âMy Old Kentucky Homeâ. Itâs funny, when he cut it, he wanted to use just one microphone -- meaning that we couldnât separate the vocals from the guitar. He played a guitar that was intentionally out of tune and he wouldnât play to a click track. I jokingly said that this was his way of saying, âyouâre not putting any instruments over this because Iâm in my own tuning, and only this guitar can accompany my voice, anything you add to this will be out of tune and out of timeâ. In the end, Gordon's intimate take is really captivating, and he did a great job with it. I guess one could compare it to a modern day Carter Family Recording with less hiss. Right in his wheel house!

That's kind of funny that Gordon set his guitar out of tune. Sounds like he can be a bit stubborn, but obviously he knew what he was doing. And I have no idea what you mean by "wheel house". Doesn't that have something to do with a boat? So this song was recorded on a boat?
I wouldn't call it stubborn. There have been many times when others have suggested ideas that Gordon came around on. But yes, he had a clear vision on this version, and usually when that's the case, it's best to let him carry it out. He did know what he was doing.

It's funny you say that because Billy brought a book of cliches and meanings to the recording studio, and we talked about "wheel house". The term came from a captain of a boat and the "wheel house" is where the captain steered his ship.....Where he was most effective.....I guess that's why I said it.

Besides GanoRyan, you guys are involved in many different projects. You and Billy with Mad Larry and scoring films through your company Ryan Bros. Music, and Gordon producing and doing performance work, etc. Tell me about these side projects and how do you have time to do it all?
Mad Larry is fun for Billy and I. Billy sings lead vocals which I think he enjoys. We started Mad Larry after The Bogmen broke up. Lately, we have been playing every other week at Bar 9 in Hellâs Kitchen, and we have fun performing some of our favorite songs and also our own songs. They have an upright piano which works great for me!

Scoring films and television is time consuming but for the most part, we enjoy it and it has pushed us into writing and producing styles of music that we otherwise would not approach on our own. Scoring The Heartbreak Kid was a real treat for Billy and I!

Recently I did string arrangements and horns for The New Pornographerâs record Challengers. I dabble in playing the trumpet and French horn, and usually I write the parts on the keyboard, but I often get to the point where I would much rather play the horn than to play a factory made preset, which usually sounds plastic and fake. So when I wrote the parts for Challengers, I decided to play the French horn. Frankly, I donât even know how to play it, so I memorized the fingerings and just got through the parts well enough in the studio. It just so happens that one of the songs I played French horn on was their single, so they asked me to join them when they played the Letterman show. Needless to say I was a little nervous, and my pitch was a little shaky!

Recently, I joined The New Pornographers at Webster Hall in NYC, and they asked Gordon to make a guest appearance. Gordon showed up late into the set and the band backed Gordon on the Femmes tune, âI Held Her in My Armsâ, and it was fantastic. The place went nuts and I got to play some of Steve McKay's parts on trumpet. Gordon did the solo on guitar. That was great!

That's pretty impressive that you played French horn without knowing how to play it? I bet Letterman dug it.
I cringe when I hear how out of tune it was, but the band said it sounded fine. I think they were just being polite. Letterman gave me a wink and that's it. The horn section in Paul Shaffer's band gave me a wave. These days, us horn guys gotta stick together! I waved my horn right back at him.

Speaking of The Heartbreak Kid, I read somewhere that the Farrelly brothers, who directed that film, and which you and Billy scored, said that they wanted to license, âUnder The Sunâ for their film Stuck on You, but the song was too powerful for the film. What are your thoughts about that?
We wrote the song for ourselves and not for the film, but it just so happens that it almost made it into their comedy Stuck On You. After that, I noticed that a lot of comedies actually do have ballads that are about heartbreak. It turns out that at the very last edit they substituted âUnder The Sunâ with a harmonica version of âMoon Riverâ.

Still, I know that the Farrelly brothers liked the song and hopefully it will get licensed for a great scene one day. Actually, it was recently almost licensed for a funeral scene for a tv show, but I canât remember which one.

You have a lot of exciting projects going on with your company Ryan Bros. Music. How did you get involved with scoring films? How long have you been doing this?
About nine or ten years ago we started doing commercial work. Scoring to a picture is a whole different art form than writing 3-5 minute rock songs. After doing commercials we got into film work and I love it. I think Johnny Greenwoodâs recent score for âThere Will Be Bloodâ is incredible. The first 20-30 minutes of the film has very little dialogue and the music really moves the story along in a chilling way. I hope to do that one day.

The Bogmen were very influential in the NY music scene. How does the work youâre doing now compare with The Bogmen, and whatâs your opinion of the indie music scene today?
BILLY: The work Brendan and I are doing is the same thing basically. We just try to interpret all the music we like. Hopefully we have an original sound.

I'm trying to figure out the indie scene today. I like the fact that bands can do it all on their own. Can they make money? Weâre trying to figure that out. I guess itâs all about playing live.

BRENDAN: I agree with Billyâs comments. I also think that The Bogmenâs music had a lot more layers and was packed really tight. Sometimes it worked great, and in retrospect I think sometimes it was too dense and complicated for the average listener. What we are doing with Gordon is more simple and sparse. Iâm sure that is because Gordonâs style and approach to writing is more simple than mine, generally speaking. Hey John Lennon and Neil Young are geat examples of simplicity being genius.

I like the fact that today people can listen to satellite radio, which is commercial free, and has a vast selection of stations that are designated to specific genres of music. It wasnât so long ago that we were limited to a few rock stations that are packed with commercials and have limited playlists. I also like that you can see the artistâs names on satellite radio. I think this is helping people to discover new artists, as is the internet.

The problem with the music industry is that music lovers are getting used to downloading or copying music for free, so in turn, the record business has suffered a great deal.

This is why the 360 deal has become the new business model for labels and artists. In a 360 deal, the label takes a percentage of additional income streams from the artist besides record sales, i.e. publishing, merchandise, licensing, etc. At first, that scared me, but I think I am coming to the understanding that it should be beneficial for the label to have a piece of those income streams so that they have an incentive in the artistâs growth as a complete package.

I remember when The Bogmen did a tour opening for Kiss. We played in front of 15,000 a night - the Kiss Army didnât like us very much - but we were not allowed to sell our CD or merchandise at the venue because those sales wouldnât register on Soundscan. That made no sense to me. Even if 10 percent of the audience liked us, we could have sold some units.

Yeah, when I read on The Bogmen's site about The Bogmen opening for Kiss, I was a little surprised. That had to be a little funny and uncomfortable?
Exactly. Musically we had nothing in common with them. Our singer, Bill Campion, had a ball jawing with the audience and impersonating Paul Stanley. The only cheer we got was when we would announce that, "this is our last song". The rest were just "booo's." As loud as you can imagine! Still, it's fun to talk about.

What kinds of music do you listen to? Any favorite bands or groups?
It depends on what day it is. And I know Billy and Gordon listen to all kinds of music. Lately, I have been listening to a lot of New Orleans pianists. Mostly Doctor Johnâs, âAll By Himselfâ, and James Booker's, âSpiders on the Keysâ, as well as film composers like Eliot Goldental who scored the film Frida, and Luis Bacalov who scored Il Postino.

But, what originally turned Billy and I into music was The Beatles, Stones, Neil Young, The Dead, Elvis Costello, The Doors, etc. Later on, bands like Talking Heads, World Party, Velvet Underground, and The Clash came to the forefront. And of recent bands, I love Wilco, Spoon and Radiohead, The New Pornographers, and Andrew Bird to name a few.

Besides music, what do you guys do for fun?
Gordon likes to read a lot and he probably sees music and art more than Billy and I. Billy and I grew up playing sports, but the older we get the less that seems to be working out for us. A couple years ago I broke a finger playing basketball and that held me up with some projects. And Billy has had more injuries than Super Dave Osbourne.

I bet Super Dave Osbourne is jealous of Billy. Maybe he should get his own stunt gig going.
As long as he has a stunt double. One thing the Ryan brother's are is accident prone! My parents are still paying medical bills!

Whatâs next for GanoRyan?
Right now we are booking some shows and trying to figure out how best to play these songs live. We have a lot to choose from, and although the songs are pretty straight ahead, we did do a good amount of overdubbing on the record. So, making that translate live is a focus for us right now.

Translating studio work to live performance is kind of the opposite of what happened with The Bogmen, so you have experience with that.
That's true, and this is done the exact opposite way. With GanoRyan, the studio came before live performance. I look forward to mixing it up live, and not being too attached to what we did in the studio. I think there is room to let things breathe live, and possibly stretch some stuff out.

Anything you would like to add?
Sure. Check out ganoryan.com, and if you hear a song that you are not crazy about, donât cross us off your list. Thereâs a lot of diversity here. Also, weâre not crazy about our name, so if anyone has any ideas, post them on our MySpace.

And, oh yeah, if anyone wants to sign us, you can send us a message too.