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By Jared F. Cranke
Publisher
If you are a fan of the live music scene in Stillwater, or just music in general, I challenge you to find a musician who embodies a more positive, uplifting and friendly personality in everything he does more than Ryan Reid. Reid bows his head in respect to all who have come before him by blending the classic rock and blues styles of the 60s and 70s greats with the spirit of the legendary soul singers; delivering it with a smooth grit and passion. The end result is a combination of passion, truth and power not often seen in solo performers.
The soulful rocker recently released his sophomore CD, “The Angels Collection”. This five-song EP is a stripped-down acoustic masterpiece which perfectly reflects the simple majesty that you can expect from one of Reid’s live acoustic performances. From the beginning note sincerely sung to start the first track, “Angel of Mine,” to the deeply personal final track, “Picture Me Smiling,” where Reid unleashes a wailing memory of a gone-but-not-forgotten family member, “The Angels Collection” is about love.
“That’s all this record is – love,” Reid says. “I hope that’s what people get from it. Take from it what you want, but a lot of love went into it. There’s love in everything that we do. Look at the song titles. It’s not about a physical or spiritual love, but it may be about that perfect love that embodies it all.”
Reid’s positive outlook that he incorporates into most of his songwriting isn’t just smooth lyrics and bluesy riffs, it’s a part of his daily philosophy.
“There’s a spiritual side to everything that I do because I think that we’re the same being – your soul and your body,” Reid explains. “They’re intertwined. There’s no religious implications in this, but I think there’s a definite spiritual connection. That just goes with my outlook on life. The things that I feel on a daily basis. I’m so thankful for this love. I can feel this love every single day. You want that to radiate from you. You want to walk by someone and catch their breath for a second because something different just happened. Not only did you connect without saying a word, but you shared something. I think that’s spiritual in and of itself.”
Those who buy the new CD will get a glimpse of the love Reid has for his songs, and his fans, as soon as they receive it. The packaging alone is a unique presentation – a brown paper bag, stamped with the song list on the front and personal message to fans on the back, sealed with a simple sticker.
“First, it’s in a brown paper sack for a reason,” Reid says. “Usually, when you make a record, you outsource everything to different companies. They package it for you, they cellophane it for you and they send it back. I have to hand stamp every single one of those, the front and the back. I have to put the actual CD in the wrapper and put that in the bag, seal the bag with the seal that I have and I have to do all that on my day off. Literally, I’ll sit at my kitchen table with my stamps, my CDs and my stickers and go through all these. It takes a long time, but it’s worth the extra effort. Not only is my heart and soul in this record but I touch every record that goes out. I want everyone to know that I’m touching every single one of these. I’m giving this to you. These are philosophies that I live by. This is the way that I feel every single day. This love and this light – that’s my focus and that’s exactly what I reflect.”
The message on the back is another of Reid’s philosophies that encourages fans to pay it forward.
“The message on the back is the way we should treat each other everyday,” he says. “It’s the way things should be. If we would take a second to get out of our own way and out of our own heads, we’ll notice that there’s this whole life that’s worth living right in front of our eyes. There’s something to be said about giving to somebody else before yourself or treating someone the way you want to be treated – the golden rule. Come on. How perfect it that? It’s true and it’s stood the test of time because it’s true. It’s not about being nice. It’s not about being good. It’s about being the way we’re supposed to be. Being alive.”
Reid truly does love and care for his fans. He’s one of the few acts that constantly tells his fans through social media to “come up and say hi.” The way he packaged “The Angels Collection,” with the care and attention of touching each individual piece, is another way of saying that.
“I hope it gives them a glimpse of ‘I really do care about you,’” he adds. “We may not know each other. We may not have anything in common. But we’ve got this moment and this music. Music is a bridge. You and I have no other reason to be in this room right now except to be talking about this music. We weren’t friends before I started playing. That’s when we got to know each other. It’s a bridge; that’s all it is. It gives us a reason to have a conversation and this moment. This moment is never going to be here again. I hope it makes me appear more approachable. Even on my bad days, I’m here for you. I do this because I feel like I have something to say. I feel like there is a message coming out of me and I’ll keep writing and making records until I don’t. This packaging is just another way for me to reiterate the fact that it is about the love, the light and the brilliance.”
In support of “The Angels Collection,” Reid has embarked on an ambitious tour across the country to promote it. The first leg of the Halos for Headlights Tour covered a majority of September with dates in Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia and Florida with supporting act Carter Hulsey.
“It was amazing,” Reid says of the first part of the tour. “Carter Hulsey – I’m a fan. We’ve been friends for a while now, but I got to see him every single night and I got lost in every song every night. There’s not a lot of people I’ll go on the road with like that but we’ll do it again. He is phenomenal.”
During the first part of the tour, Reid experienced a variety of audiences who were mostly able to hear him live for the very first time and most venues are already anxious to have him return.
“Every single city was different,” Reid explains. “I got a different response every single night. There was one city in Mississippi where we played a bar that became a listening room. They didn’t talk. They didn’t move. They barely breathed. They were hanging on every single word. That was amazing. Then we turn around and play Columbus, Georgia, and it was a bike rally. They were not digging on it whatsoever at the beginning of the night. I played on and thought ‘You guys are going to go on whatever ride I take you. I hope you’re ready because it’s going to be a great one.’ We won over the whole crowd that night. It was more because I don’t care. There’s no judgment as to what your job is or what your lifestyle’s like. We get to be together. This is the moment. You’re never going to get this back. If you want to spend it doggin’ on me because I’m singing pretty and I’m not manly enough, that’s great. Dog on me and have a great time because I’m going to have a great time doing what I love. If you want to spend this time hanging on every word and getting lost in the song, do that. Be here right now because you’re never going to get this moment back. I try to treat every single show like that. I made fans in every city. I made friends in every city. All these markets, they’re ready for us to come back already. When I go back, they’re going to be there and they’re going to bring their friends and we’re going to have a whole different experience than we had in the past.”
The second leg of the Halos for Headlights Tour kicks off in Oklahoma City on November 5th and then Reid makes his way back to Stillwater November 6th at George’s Stables. The remainder of the tour will take him through Kansas, Colorado, Wyoming, Utah, California, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas before wrapping up at the end of November.
“I’m not doing a whole lot of three-day runs anymore because I found myself really spinning my wheels,” Reid says. “You’re playing the same market over and over. Everyone has already heard all that you can do. The best you can do is bring another shirt they can buy to support you that way. You’re bringing in new songs and they’re really digging on the old ones, but that’s not enough to give them in that small of an area. Whenever I come back through next time, I will not only have another record but I’ll also have all these new songs, stories and experiences to share.”
“The Angels Collection” was recorded at El Rancho Studios in Oklahoma City. A abandoned Del Rancho restaurant which was converted into a recording studio by Doug Jones (Taddy Porter) and Derek Knowlton (Pretty Black Chains).
“It was one of the best recording processes I’ve ever been through,” says Reid. “They gave me exactly what it was that I wanted to capture. I’ll demo my next record at El Rancho Studios. That’s how amazing they were. There was never a chance to look at the clock because the creative process was happening all the time. There was never a chance to worry about how much money you had left because they just didn’t care. They were going to go until it was right. In fact, when we recorded it the first time, it wasn’t right and we scrapped it. They called me back in and we did it again.”
When Reid says they “scrapped” the first recording sessions, he’s not kidding.
“It was gone,” he adds. “Let’s not let any proof that this existed before. It wasn’t bad, it just wasn’t what I was wanting to do. It wasn’t true to the acoustic show that I had done. It wasn’t true to the raw spirit that I wanted this record to be. It became a little more polished. To put it into Doug’s words, ‘Sometimes you just have to do things right.’”
Reid continues by saying “The Angels Collection” took on a life of its own in the recording studio; but while there, he was able to record possibly his most personal song to date – a song which he thought he would never record. “Picture Me Smiling” is one of Reid’s favorite songs on the album, which has been written for many years, but only recently made it into his regular set list.
“I was having a conversation with my Mom and her brother had died a year before,” he says. “She was in a great mood and then she just turned to me and her mood changes completely. She says, ‘Autumn’s getting closer’ and she just gets up and walks away. I knew exactly what she was talking about. Her brother was a hunter and he loved every single time the weather started to change. She walked away, I walked inside and wrote down that first line – ‘Autumn’s getting closer.’ Then, the only thing that came to my mind was his smile. He had the very best smile. When he would walk into a room, it would just light up if he was happy. It was contagious. I think I sat down and wrote that song in one sitting. The first line came out and everything else just spilled onto the page. It was so personal, I said I’d never record it; but it was too perfect not to put on this record. One of my favorite lines from that song is ‘When you feel like crying, picture me with wings.’ He wasn’t a saint, by any means, so it’s him saying ‘Picture me with wings.’ I can’t help but smile every time I get to that line. Every time I get to that part of the song, all I see is his smile.”
After this tour wraps, Reid is planning to get back into the studio to start working on his third CD. Again, don’t expect it to be anything like your run of the mill musical experiences. Reid already has different plans for the release and marketing of his third album.
“It’s a singles market,” he explains. “Why put money into a full record unless it’s a concept record that you have to listen to front to back? The plan, right now, is to record an A and a B-side – the single and another track – and get those songs out there. By the time the whole record is waiting to be released, there’s people out there waiting for it. You either create or you mimic. I’m not mimicking the business model that I am supposed to. I’m not doing things the way that I am ‘supposed to’ do them. That way doesn’t work for me. People say ‘There’s nothing new anymore.’ I believe there can be new things. There can be new ideas on old ways. I’m going a different route, not only from this record and how it’s packaged, but even the next record and the way it is performed, the band is with me, the way it is recorded, the amount of time that is spent on it. A record is a moment in time. That’s it. It’s a way for you to take me with you wherever you go. It’s a chapter in a book made of music. Read it and move on. It’s not going to be a perfect record. I’m not perfect. Why would I try to do something that I’m not?”
For more information on Ryan Reid or to purchase “The Angels Collection,” please visit www.ryanreidmusic.com.