| Singer and Songwriter Keith Ryan lurches on
the stage with acoustic guitar tucked under his arm and a wry grin. "Hello,
strangers," he mumbles in a half-whisper while adjusting the microphone stand. The
standingroom-only crowd at the small cozy candle-lit bar in New Haven is at attention.
Many of the listeners have heard Ryan many, many times before and begin shouting out
requests. "Hey, hold it down," he growls. He breaks into one of the songs from
his new recording called, "I Have Faith," and as he does, the room is reduced to
the sound of bottle caps being popped by the gorgeous bartender, who as it turns out, is
in love with her boyfriend. Well anyway, the lucky ones who got a seat near the stage
could be seen humming along with Ryan as he strums out the chords. By the time the song
has finished, there is a kind of indescribable energy, best measured in emotional
intensity, that Keith Ryan has once again swayed the audience over to his side of the
story. It's no mystery to where Ryan's road
has wandered these last few years. Beginning with a chance meeting with Bono, of U2 fame,
and a few years, later talking with Karl Wallinger, of The Waterboys and World Party,
helped channel his musical ambitions.
Ryan began auditioning with musicians for his first original
band, Pale Ocean, in 1991 in and around New Haven. "Some of my first songs are some
of my favorite melodies," Ryan recalls. "Ocean's Apart was one of the very first
songs I wrote and is still one I enjoy playing almost ten years gone."
Playing live with Pale Ocean was a tremendous growing
experience. "It was amazing to me to have the power to move people not only
physically but emotionally. One of our greatest strengths was our ability to get the crowd
up and on their feet by the second song."
After and extensive one year tour around the East coast in
1992, Pale Ocean cut an album's worth of songs, entitled "Here," and easily won
1st place in area band competitions, most notably, The New Haven Advocate Readers Poll.
The single, "Sister Winter," a solid rock tune with overtones of tense ethereal
dreamscapes that drudges the soul for understanding garnered wide acceptance receiving
medium/heavy rotation on N ew England college radio stations.
In 1994, he packed up what would fit in his '83 Mazda 626
and drove as far west as dry land would allow.
After landing in San Francisco, Ryan was convinced that the
best songs could be performed and delivered on an acoustic guitar without the aide of
contemporary electronics, something he admired in the likes of Dylan and Cash. With this
new philosophy firmly in hand, Ryan began to write a series of songs which he then took
with him when he returned to Connecticut. Instead of re-forming Pale Ocean, he started
working as a solo artist. His new songs were perfect for intimate coffeehouses and clubs
alike, which were just emerging throughout New England in 1997.
Keith began reaching out to musician friends
to expand on his songs. His club dates for the next two years were formidable: CBGB's, The
Bitter End, The Spiral, Bill's Bar, The Living Room, Toad's Place, Brownies and
Aerosmith's, Mama Kin's, just to name a few. He has also had live on the air performances
in and around Connecticut like: WYBC and WNHU. Since then Keith continues enlisting the
talents of people around him and performs as both Hi Fi Automatic and Keith Ryan.
The ultimate clincher, however, will always be the
fanbase. Keith's hard work and zeal have won him a legion of admirers around the tri-state
area. These fans, who are willing to travel to hear his new songs, staples, and stories,
are amply rewarded.
Keith's recently released recording of original
songs, dubbed "Hi Fi Automatic: Venus & Mars," is greatly influenced by
people and events in his life. Songs like "Butterflies", (a relationship that
never seems to align the two),"It's the Rain"(a memoir on the open road) and
"Home Again"(just think of that story that takes place in Kansas.....) are
rooted in a realism and spiritual uncertainty that many people feel. James Joyce
once wrote that beauty lies in the vision, and Ryan's thoughts are clearly shaking with
love's mortal coil. "You can talk about the passion, but until you've been thrown
overboard you'll never know how deep your heartaches really are," Ryan explains.
Completed over the course of two years and four
studios, "Venus & Mars" grabs your attention and pulls you in. These twelve
new songs with Ryan at the helm and a myriad of studio musicians that help his vision
shine and shine it does, "I want my music to reflect what is close to my soul, how
people interpret it is up to them. The more intense and personal, the better."
This recording closes with "You Choose,"
an outright intimate testament to the power of optimism. These well-crafted songs could,
and should rock your world into the fifth, or possibly the sixth, dimension. Be
forewarned!
-Cotter Ames
  
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