Ryan Harris & Co

I’ve been writing songs and playing in bands for close to a decade now. Reading that back, it sounds like it has been a long time, but I can assure you like most things in life, it has flown past. Sincere thanks to all the people who I’ve had the opportunity to share a couch, fire, or stage. Musically, I’m the product of all those moments.

Currently, my primary musical focus is on Ryan Harris & Co. The origins of this band lie in an off the cuff conversation I had with Jonathan Alcon. I was going on and on about how I always wanted to be in a band with horns. He listened to me, like so many others had, but rather than respond with the typical “yeah, I’d like to see that,” he asked me if I was serious. I was.

Alcon put the band together and found us a place to start making noise.

There was a certain amount of nervous energy going into that first practice. I’m not sure to what extent the other guys felt it but I know I did. I remember before we started playing Darin asked me “How’s this going to work?” I answered him honestly. I had no idea.

There was definitely a spark after that first practice, and after a few more, we could all feel the songs really starting to take on their own life. This crazy experiment was working! Now we needed a show, but not before we added a trombone. I asked Ben Herrington if he would like to join. He did, and we took it to Chelsea’s to see how things would work.

Apparently, a room full of folks sharing in the good time was all we were missing. Cheers to everyone that was at that first show. The reception we got that night was all the encouragement we needed to see how far this thing would go.

I still see myself as a typical blues based southern rock junky guitarist that happens to write songs, but with the current line up and what they bring to the table, we have something else entirely. I’m still not exactly sure what genre we are, and honestly, I’m ok with that. I actually kind of like it this way.

Due to family obligations, Duane is no longer with us. Luckily, Dave Melancon was eager to jump in the mix. He’s who you’ll hear on our debut record, Cheers to the Wind.