Take a Step forward with Ryanhood

The sound of Ryanhood (Cameron Hood and Ryan Green) is somewhat confusing. Their live performance is even more of a conundrum. The overall sound of their newest recorded effort, forward is clean, compressed, sometimes familiar, sometimes on key and always nuzzling up to pop. For a group not yet backed by a label, they have put out a great product. On stage in the Fireplace Lounge on Monday March 7, 2005, sponsored by PACE, their sound was less pop and more folksong via Jack Black. Green played lead on guitar, while Hood filled in the rhythms with an acoustic guitar. For vocals, they reversed roles, with Hood singing the songs, and Green stepping up for backup. The harmonies were a bit too sharp live, and were smoothed out greatly on the CD. It is true that some bands are great live and others are great in a studio, and neither cancels out quality if the musicians are of solid talent and craft. But, since forward is full band, and live it is an acoustic duo, I wonder about the true level of musicianship at play. There is good song writing in there somewhere, it’s just holding its breath under the surface. Within every song on forward, there is solid 30 seconds where I relax and expect to enjoy what comes next. With a little more work on their songwriting stamina the boys could put together some great tunes. Others have compared the sound of Ryanhood to Dave Matthews, Tim Reynolds, or a Christian rock version of Guster. Even though I would consider going to see these guys again, I liken them to Nicklecreek without the violin player or the talent. The acoustic duo thing can really work, it’s a great schtick, and the girls dig it. The crowd at the Fireplace lounge had a male to female ratio of 1:12. Great odds for the guys. Looking at the audience and listening to the fellas’ strum and sing, I was surprised not to hear an Irish accent when they spoke. My biggest concern when listening to Ryanhood lies with the lyrics. They seem to teeter on the edges of easy formula pop, beat poetry, a folk tune, and the party flirtations of Tenacious D humor. Mostly, the downfall of forward is that these tunes just weren’t ready for the studio. A song sparse in layering or even in lyrics, can get by onstage because it is live, and the performers, as these boys often did, can make up for shortcomings through self-interruption and nice smiles. To take a step forward in the music scene Ryanhood needs to take the musical bull by the horns and make a decision. It’s a big one, but they need to ask themselves; who are we? What kind of music do we make? Do we have something to say? Answer those questions and their enthusiasm and experience may produce something really worth listening to. For now I think the best home for Ryanhood is on the stage. Tell me to shut up and go to www.ryanhoodmusic.com