Ryan Shearing
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Music
Press
This band has no press
Discography
"By The Stairs" - full-length album available now at www.cdbaby.com/cd/shearingryan
Tracklist:
1. Georgia Rae
2. Blood In The Water
3. Broken Side Of Town
4. Daily News
5. Don't Leave Your Jacket
6. By The Stairs
7. New Orleans
8. Porchlight
9. I'll See You Around
10. One Good Eye
11. The Chill
Photos
Bio
While doubling as lead guitarist for Montreal/Toronto indie rock band The Dress Whites, Ryan Shearing has been gaining praise and recognition as a songwriter and solo artist in his own right. He seems to thrive within a stripped-down setting, with his subtle guitar playing complementing his evocative lyrics. Many of his songs move with the feel of short stories, as in “Broken Side Of Town” – in which the isolation of an old man and his pet dogs is lamented with the line “lonely things they die without a sound”.
Musically, Ryan draws on various folk traditions – sometimes a fingerpicked ballad, sometimes a bluegrass stomp. Treading a kind of “alternative-folk” area, Shearing’s music has drawn comparisons to contemporary artists such as Iron & Wine and M. Ward. Still, one could describe his voice as being somewhere in between Nebraska-era Bruce Springsteen and early Tom Waits. His ragged vocal delivery ties each song together with heartbreaking melodies.
Ryan's debut album “By The Stairs” is an original 11 track collection of travelling songs and drinking ballads produced by Gern f. of The United Steel Workers of Montreal and recorded at UrbanHanded Works Studio. The album features Ryan on vocals, guitars, mandolin and piano;as well as vocal harmonies from Gern f. & Felicity Hamer (of the United Steel Workers of Montreal); and Scott LeBlanc & Denis Woods (of The Dress Whites). The raw and subtle textures of the record carry the listener through scenes of dusty highways and afterhours alleyways.
"By The Stairs" is currently available online at CD Baby and at Indigo in Montreal.
As he has recently relocated to Toronto, Ryan is now performing at various venues in Toronto and Montreal - both solo and with his backing band The Ghost of Belle Starr.
#5 BEST SINGER/SONGWRITER - Montreal Mirror's Best of Montreal 2007
#9 BEST OVERALL MUSICAL ACT - Montreal Mirror's Best of Montreal 2007
“Songwriting like Townes Van Zandt and a voice like Tom Waits.”
Steve Meyers - Radiofreemontreal
"Every time I hear Ryan's music I stop what I'm doing and just wanna do what he's doing."
Gern f. - The United Steel Workers of Montreal
"A compelling voice and a talented storyteller."
Two Way Monologues
Links
