"I'm not trying to save the world I'm just trying to put some ideas into song"
Ryan: I think I got it, I think this will work.
Claire: Okay.. That was weird. I can hear myself! Oh well, haha lets do this.
How would you describe the sound of your music to people who don't know you?
Oh man, honest. There's not a lot of electronic sounds, it's just me. All the things that are playing, all the instruments are me, the singing's me. I'm not trying to save the world I'm just trying to put some ideas into song.
I like that! So you go to Lesley University in Massachusetts, have you decided music is what you want to do with your life or do you have a different game plan?
Ideally, I would love to be a musician but I feel like I'm not, you know, good enough for that. I'm an artist actually I go to arts school, I'm a graphic designer. So I have a couple of jobs there that I have already. Music is kind of a hobby, I just like doing it.
When did you start writing your own songs?
Probably as a teenager, I was like the agnsty, rebellious teenager that I thought I was. So when I was 13 or 14. I started writing stuff, secret stuff, on paper. A couple of songs on the album are like when I was 14 or 15 and I didn't tell anybody about them. So that's why I named the album what I did because they're kind of like a bunch of secret songs that I didn't tell anybody about.
What kind of music do you listen to and does it influence your songs?
Right now I really like indie-pop or indie-electric-pop. Like passion pit, stuff like that. But I'll go through phases. I'll go through 90's alternative, I'll do 80's pop for a little bit, never county. And it does influence my writing because if I'm listening to it a lot I'll draw influences and ideas from it. So whatever I'm listening to at the time is probably what I'll be writing about.
For your songs "Love Letters and Dirty Talks/There'll Be A Day" and "Mirrorred Sunglasses" where did you find the inspiration to write those?
Hmm! Lets see, the first one, I wrote that and it was kinda one of the things that started the album. I played that song and was like "I kinda like this, this is cool, lets do an album on that sound." And that ones about... I'm going through the lyrics in my head right now 'cause I haven't sang it in awhile. It's about somebody who would do anything for somebody else. You know, I think everybody has a person like that in their life. At the time, I did, so I wrote that about her. Eh thats what I was feelin' at the time. "Mirrored Sunglasses" is probably the opposite. *laughter* It's like when that went to crap, like most things do, and that was actually about the same person. So thats kinda interesting. But yeah I guess it's just the opposite of wanting to be with somebody. I hope that wasn't too heavy. *laughter*
Nah, haha umm lets see, is there a certain instrument you lean towards?
I've been playing piano since I was 3. My mom used to drag me to church and I would watch the organ player play and I would just go home and learn. 'Cause I didnt really care about the words the guy was saying, I just wanted to listen to the music. That's how I learned piano. I didn't start guitar until high school actually. I'm pretty new to guitar, I think I'm only about 6 years into it. I like it but I feel like im limited. I feel like I can do more with the piano than I can with the guitar.
Alright I'm done with the heavy stuff. *laughter* Now just random questions. How many songs do you think you've actually written?
Oh man, how many songs I've actually written? Probably more that 50 at least. Whether they're good or not is a completely different thing. But I think I've written about 50 songs.
That's insane.
They're not all good, they're mostly shit.
*laughter* I doubt that.
Haha thank you.
Whats the best piece of advice you've received?
Hmm, play with other people. Like, you can't write music sitting in a room by yourself with the lights off. At least I can't, I need to talk to people and get their outlooks on things. It's the creative process, as an artist I have to be doing something else other than art to at least get some influence.
That's great advice! Okay, super random questions.
Love it.
What's the craziest/scariest thing you've ever done?
Oh no, honestly, I know we're talking about music but it's true, performing live in front of a large audience. It's terrifying to me, well it was, probably not anymore. I had the opportunity to play at my high school graduation. Instead of the valedictorian doing her speech. They wanted to do a song that set what she wanted to say. So they wanted me and a couple of other people to perform a song in front of thousands of people. I was terrified. I'm glad I did it, but I was terrified. It's on YouTube somewhere.
I might go find it. *laughter*
What are the bracelets that you're always wearing in your videos?
Wow, that's such a good question! Ugh, this is embarrassing. So this one (yellow) used to say "Boston Strong". They had the marathon bombings a couple years ago and I was in Boston at the time and that was super scary for everybody. So that's the yellow, and the purple is a gym I don't actually go to. *laughter* I don't know, I just like the purple. They're complimentary colors and it grabs attention.
Well, I noticed haha
Well yeah, now you're the only one who knows the truth. Haha
Alright well thats all I have!
Perfect, well that was fun! Thank you for doing this, this was awesome.
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Be sure to check out Ryan's music!
YouTube channel: rmcquade19 | Instagram: @rmcquade19 | Facebook: rmcquade19 | Online EP: http://ryanmcquade.bandcamp.com/releases