The name actually comes from my friend’s dog. Her name is Rye so I started calling her “mommy ryan” and then when it came time to choose a name for myself it just felt right. It’s objectively a dumb band name but at the end of the day, you’re going to remember it.

It’s sometimes sad, sometimes pop, sometimes grunge, sometimes twang. Classic, Gen Z guitar computer music. It’s not very serious . . . I just try to write melodies and chords that stir something in me. In college when I was studying and listening to a lot of jazz music, I got into bands like Title Fight and Joyce Manor. I became obsessed with how irresistibly singable, unpretentious, and cathartic their sounds were. I always thought, “I’d really like to make music like this” but wrote it off as impossible because I wasn’t a good guitar player, I couldn’t sing, and I didn’t know how to produce music. Slowly, I started writing songs that were less jazz and more indie rock. Writing words was and still is the hardest part of it. I’ve always hated talking about my feelings, so I’m looking for ways to say, “I’m sad and I hate everything” in a way that doesn’t make me physically recoil or get in the way of the music. I treat vocals as another instrument equal in weight to the guitars, synth, or drums.

It was good. I’m still new to playing shows, and this was only our fifth show. I think every time we sound a little better but I’m still figuring out how to translate music that’s produced on a computer to a live band setting. They’re completely different beasts. We played a new song during our last show that I really like the produced version of but it just didn’t work at all on stage. I also get unreasonably nervous to play in front of 20 people, so I like going first so I can enjoy the rest of the night. The ideal indie bill has three bands, with the music starting at 7:30, and your band going second.

I’ve got a double header coming up on April 15th at Francis Kite Club. It’s a duo show with my friend Nat, aka “The Bedroomer.” Very excited for that one – I love his music and we’ve been working on producing his stuff together recently. And then the next day, April 16th, I’m playing with a full band at The Gutter. That’ll be a very fun bill.

I want to keep developing a sound that is uniquely mine, and work with and produce for people because they like my sound. I think my music and my voice are a little too weird to go mainstream, so I don’t have any delusions about blowing up. I’m just trying to get to a place where I’m really proud to show people my songs and I’m an able enough producer to have steady work.

I love how the service industry is a self-sustaining ecosystem of creatives always trying to get out of it. Very few people get their first restaurant job thinking, “I’m gonna make a career out of this,” myself, included. But once you start working in restaurants, they have a way of sucking you in, even if you intend to just make it temporary or a side gig. I’ve been in the industry for five years now, and am coming around to the fact that I may never get out of the industry.
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I think a lot of creatives (especially younger people) working in service treat the work like it’s below them, and not only is that disrespectful to everyone else you’re working with, but it also just makes the work harder. I hate serving sometimes as much as the next server, but I also put in effort and take it seriously because it makes my shift easier. Plus, dining out in this city is prohibitively expensive, and I think we lose sight of that. For most people, dining out is a rare and special occasion, so I try to treat my job like it matters. Working in service is also kind of my escape from my creative pursuits, not the other way around. Music consumes me constantly, and working a busy service shift is the only distraction from that sometimes.

My favorite thing about this city is how dense and walkable it is. Obviously, the train fucks us over sometimes but for how much ground it covers, it’s an impressive system. My least favorite thing about this city is landlords. Plus, the weather is pretty bad most of the time.

The $1.50 slice pizza place right off Jay St/Metrotech station. I’ve been living off dollar-slice since I moved here. I don’t know where I would be without it.

Everyone comes for the burger but I would get the head-on prawns and a martini. Everything is great, though, and I’m not just saying that. I would never lie to you. ∎