Music
The best kept secret in music
Press
R y a n W a t e r s T his interview is about one of the coolest guys I’ve had the pleasure of meeting, Ryan Waters. Of course, before I ever met Ryan Waters, I knew who Ryan Waters was; he only toured with my idol, the goddess herself, the group that has inspired and influenced me more than anyone else, Sade. If you’ve seen Sade’s Lover’s Live DVD or were blessed enough to make her last concert tour, then you’ve seen him too, shattering his guitar solos on Red Eye and Is it a Crime. But knowing who he was and who he’d toured with, hadn’t really prepared me for Ryan Waters, the really cool, down-to-earth guy I interviewed. First, there’s the talent and vision of his CD. As you can imagine I get a lot of CDs from various artists, some of them better than others, and when Ryan gave me his CD I didn’t know what to expect. I mean, I knew even before I listened to it that it would be technically great, but I didn’t know what to expect artistically. I received the CD on a Thursday and a week and a half later I finally took it out of my computer only because I had to listen to other CDs for the magazine. To really see this man do his thing you must-- and I mean M-U-S-T-- pick up a copy of his self-titled solo effort Ryan Waters. I absolutely love it. It has become one of my all time favorites, right alongside Sade’s Love Deluxe, Sting’s Dream of The Blue Turtles and Steely Dan’s Gaucho. Not only is it technically a tour de force, but artistically, this is someone that has something to say, and is willing to say it, even if some of what he says may sting a little. Take the song Master’s Blood, no it’s not about Jesus or vampires, it’s about the way our nation was formed. Here’s the chorus “You’re living with the history of a nation formed upon brutality, with no regard for morality, it don’t take all that much to see that we still heed the call; history and all its’ pain, stems from a past we’ve gotta change, the master’s blood still in our veins and it still reigns us all”. And that song is just the tip of the iceberg. Every song on this CD has something to say. So does Ryan, read on and find out. Where are you from originally? Originally I’m from Portland, well a little small town right outside Portland, Oregon. When did you move here (Atlanta)? Let me see, I move here in October of 2001 So you’re a new transplant uh? Fairly new. How do you like it? I’m still here I guess its’ been good to you. Yeah, I was in NY for about nine years before I moved here. Oh really? Were you gigging up there? Yeah, trying to make a living. So what made you move down here? I guess I was just kind of ready to be out of NY. I was on a tour, so I kind of had my bags packed already, had a little money, so I said now is the time to do it. Who were you playing with? I’d just finished the Sade tour when I moved down here. I’d kind of left everything in shambles when I left NY anyway. (Laughing) (Laughing) So how’d you get that gig man? Sade gig? Yeah. Stuart (Matthewman) is a friend of mine. I kinda knew him about six or seven years before that. He produced a record for a friend of mine named Olu and I played in his band. Stuart was always around and we were friends. Sade was something he’d done in the past; it didn’t even enter my mind it was for her. Really? You thought he was just doing Sweetback stuff? Yeah, Sweetback, Maxwell, producing people and all that good stuff. I just thought that’s what he was doing now; I mean Sade hadn’t had a record out in forever. Trust me I know. Then, he just kind of called me out of the blue one day and said, “We’re doing some TV shows, and can you do some TV shows with us?” I said “Yeah sure.” I didn’t even think it was Sade then, he didn’t really say he just said “us”. Oh yeah? Yeah, so I went over to his house and he played me... he was busy in the kitchen doing something, he said, “Just listen to the songs, this is what we’re going to be doing.” And uh, and I heard her voice. (Smiling) I gotta tell you man, she is my all time favorite artist in the entire world. I absolutely love her. Yeah, me too. So how’d you feel when you found out it was her? I mean I was shocked. I was trying to play it cool, like “It’s cool, whatever, let me know”. I mean for years I was just like a huge fan. I saw the tour they did in ’93 and just seeing that just literally changed how I played, it changed how I thought about music because I was young, you know, twenty something years old. It was amazing to be part of the concert. Yeah, I’ve got the DVD of Lover’s Live and I watch it all the time. That makes me wanna go back and watch it. I haven’t watched it in a long time. As a matter of fact, I watched it yesterday to prepare for this interview. So, I’m sitting there watching it and Is it a Crime comes on, one of my favorite cuts, and your solo comes up and I’m like “Damn, he’ - Unsigned Magazine
Discography
"Deal With It" LP released 1996
"The Revolution of Everyday Life" LP released 1999
"Ryan Waters" LP released 2004
Photos
Feeling a bit camera shy
Bio
Ryan Waters long list of accomplishments as a musician and performer directly reflects his desire to create music with integrity without regard for convention and genre. Most recently, Ryan played a major role in what Vibe Magazine called the best concert tour of 2001 as lead guitarist for Sade. As the youngest and only American member of Sades legendary band, millions of people were exposed to Ryans talents and with the recent release of the Sade, Lovers Live album and concert film, millions more will be able to appreciate his contributions to Sade for years to come.
Before his work with Sade, Ryan was a familiar face on New York Citys progressive, urban live music scene. As the leader of his own Ryan Waters Band, Ryan wrote, produced and independently released two original albums on which he performed all of the vocal and instrumental tracks himself. He made appearances in many of the citys top live music venues, but chose to put most of his energy toward interacting with other creative minds in various group projects. He wrote, recorded and toured with V2 recording artist Olu, a Harlem based soul singer whos album Soul Catcher won much critical acclaim. Ryan also co-founded a musical collective called Earthdriver that brought together many of New Yorks most progressive underground artists and he produced the groups debut independent release No Ones Slave, which, through the support of legendary producer Bill Laswell, has found a large audience in Japan on the Dogtail label.
Ryan discovered and honed his talents in his hometown of Portland, Oregon where he started on the family piano at the age of five and soon began studying guitar at the local music store. By the time Ryan finished 7th grade, he was already playing guitar in a bar band and had become proficient on keyboards, drums, and bass as well. Through the rest of his school years, Ryan continued to grow as a musician, playing in various rock and blues bands. During this time he also began to write songs, which fueled his desire to sing. At sixteen, he started the first band in which he was both lead vocalist and lead guitarist. It was also with this group that he began producing his own recordings.
Ryan comes from an extremely diverse background, both culturally and musically. His ethnic roots are a mix of African-American, French, Spanish, and Native-American and his musical sensibilities reflect this eclectic heritage. Ryan lists early influences ranging from Ray Charles and Muddy Waters to Public Enemy and Guns n Roses and draws contemporary inspiration from such varied artists as Prince, Rage Against the Machine, and Nine Inch Nails. All distinctly different sounds indeed, yet when one hears Ryans music, a direct line can be drawn to each. Songs infused with elements of hard rock, blues, and hip-hop, that showcase his instrumental prowess; All tied together with insightful, razor-sharp lyrics and by a unique voice that is instantly recognizable.
Through all of his varied projects, Ryan has continued to write and record his music at a prolific pace, compiling albums worth of material and distilling all of his influences into his own signature sound. Armed with the abilities and experience of an artist twice his age and the enthusiasm and energy of one at half, Ryan Waters is ready to present this sound to the world.
Links
