BOSTON, MA—October 16, 2005 - It’s the same room. It looks different now, but it’s still one and the same. My Ryanhood story and journey began there.

I had just met Ryan Green barely three weeks before at a CD release performance in Boston by his then current band, Iluminada. What a fantastic band they were! Iluminada were the most unique, powerful, and mystical new act I had seen in many years. Their music was accessible yet genre defying all at once, in addition to being performed brilliantly and flawlessly. “The Ethereal Current” and “Transparent Walls,” their two CDs, were my predominant current musical interest with no signs of letting up.

So when I first became aware that something called Ryanhood existed I naturally chalked it up to being some kind of lesser “side project” that kept Ryan occupied outside of Iluminada. After all, every schooled musician engages in a myriad of side projects, don’t they? But only one really matters, doesn’t it? Aren’t the others merely avocations?

Still, I was so impressed with Ryan Green’s musical wizardry that with just four days notice I managed to acquire a copy of this Ryanhood’s “Sad & Happiness” CD and committed to seeing a performance they were going to do at the renowned Paradise Club in Boston on Sunday, March 21—just 22 days after I first witnessed my already beloved Iluminada.

I had to admit that I was very impressed with the Ryanhood CD. Nevertheless, my initial perception was that it was no more than Ryan “unplugging” himself with an old musical acquaintance back home to perform each other’s “other” songs. It was apparent that “the other fellow” also was otherwise fully engaged in a conventional electric band—something called Easyco. It was all there to see in the booklet notes. As great as the songs were, they also sounded serious—in a moody, reflective way. The musicianship was of the highest caliber, and it sounded rather profound to me. I figured that these guys were going to be two immensely intense performers, and I envisioned them both sitting through the whole performance in deep and devoted concentration.

I still wanted to let people know that the CD was really good and informed Ryan of my intentions to promote it on a particular Internet forum. Ryan requested that (or more liked urged that) I withhold any comment on Ryanhood until I saw them live, and not to form an aggregate opinion of the duo on “Sad and Happiness” alone. For once I listened.

The performance that you both see and hear on the magnificent “Live at the Paradise” DVD was taped that day. (See my initial reaction) I certainly didn’t envision the energy and humor intrinsic in their performances just having heard “Sad and Happiness,” and yet the serenest of songs from that CD fit in context better within the framework of the fully charged and energetic new material they performed, including their marvelous cover tunes. It was a whole different Ryanhood I was seeing and hearing. Oh, and they certainly LOOKED a lot different than I expected in performance—surely not the reflective artisans I perceived.

I liked Ryanhood’s unique presentation and their acute grasp of effective audience interaction. That was missing on the CD as well (as I suppose it is for most studio recorded work). Most of all, I liked THEM. I had previously met Ryan, and he remembered me—although given the manner in which I “introduced” myself to the members of Iluminada I would be pretty hard to forget. That, incidentally, is another story in itself. At any rate, Ryan couldn’t have been more gracious with me. I took an immediate liking to Cameron Hood. He was so different in real life than I perceived him to be based solely on his songs from “Sad and Happiness.” His natural energy was contagious, and it worked in a synergetic manner with Ryan’s, combining their individual forces for an exponentially stronger collective force. The same thing applies to their twofold humor and personality.

I was so impressed with Ryanhood’s performance and, perhaps more important, with their presentation. The music was very accessible but very sophisticated as well; and unique. I thought (but didn’t actually yet say) that Ryanhood was a better and more natural context for Ryan’s gifts as a musician than even Iluminada. Of course before too long I began to proudly proclaim this in the company of Iluminada acquaintances (as befits my crude, brainless, and fascist inebriated manner) at a time when Iluminada seemed to be on the rise in Boston but with uncertain long-term future plans. I covertly lobbied for Ryanhood as the best vehicle for Ryan, to some people’s chagrin. I still get looks of bristled indignation from some people to this day over the matter, but I care not a wit. I’m still firm on the option I endorsed and Ryanhood vindicates it more with each subsequent performance. Personally, I think that Ryanhood was always meant to be and would inevitably happen anyway.

Ah… memories indeed! So 19 months later Ryanhood once again performed in the room where for some the Ryanhood experience all began. What a difference just a year and a half has made to this Tucson, Arizona duo. For starters, both levels (floor and balcony) were filled, whereas in March 2004 Ryan’s daunting task was to garner enough people on the floor level to provide adequate applause for the DVD taping. The other differences are very subtle in nature. They’re still the incredible players they were and the energy is still intact but even stronger. Their music, however, becomes more harmonic and confident with each new song, and they blend voices even more flawlessly than ever. The older material is always revamped if ever slightly to make it fresh and vital, and I can declare in confidence that a listener never hears the exact same thing twice whenever they see Ryanhood for a second or subsequent time. It may only be a shift of phrase or tone, or some other slight nuance, but the songs are always presented to you as if for the first time. How they do this astonishes me time and again—and they make it appear to be so easy. But I know it isn’t.

With the sole exception of their remarkable take on The Beatles’ “Dear Prudence,” Ryanhood performed only their own songs (mostly from the “On the Radio” CD) and veered away from the always unique covers they often perform. Other songs included “Stopless,” “Gardens and the Graves,” “Sad and Happiness,” “Welcome You Into My Head,” “Born to Run to You,” “Photographs,” “Ivy,” “Helpless Hopeless,” and “Alright.” The set ended in encore-level applause that perpetuated long after their last note; in fact the audience was still cheering wildly as they were unpacking their gear from the stage area. Ryan and Cameron could have well done several encores, but opted not to. This Ryanhood performance for the benefit of now longing Boston fans was made possible courtesy of New York’s Julian Velard, who included them on the bill. If Ryan and Cameron were anybody else BUT Ryan and Cameron they could have well stolen the entire evening and played several encores to wild applause and enthusiasm. But Ryan and Cameron, being Ryan and Cameron, prudently just packed up and left the stage as planned, proving once again that with rare exceptions they have a keener sense of propriety than most other musical acts. Wallowing triumphantly in a series of multi-encores as non-headliners may have resulted in lowering the tone of an otherwise brilliant performance, even though the audience-in-attendance this evening was clearly Ryanhood's crowd. Oh, and by the way, Ryanhood never mentioned, even once, how they just recently opened for platinum selling artist Jason Mraz to standing ovations and how they’re about to do so again very soon. I think that alone speaks volumes about them.

“Sad and Happiness,” the title to their first CD, personifies perfectly the sentiments I took away from this performance. Happy because they’ve accomplished so much in such a short span of time; sad because it is readily apparent that they’re on the brink of a nationwide breakthrough to much wider acceptance akin to their popularity back home in Tucson, Arizona, which means that the days of being able to see them close up in small, personal venues are severely numbered. But things change and evolve and I must accept it.

I think it’s high time I observed them the next time they perform back in Tucson. Not being in the habit of making threats, I’ll only proclaim here that… I’ll be there.

David D

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