Meet Ryan McCurry

We had the good fortune of connecting with Ryan McCurry and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Ryan, do you disagree with some advice that is more or less universally accepted?
Growing up most folks would say “get a real job” or “music should be a hobby.” Not bad advice in general, but we should trust our hearts and that little voice inside that says what we need to hear. As Allen Watts once said-“Better to have a short life that is full of what you like doing, than a long life spent in a miserable way.”

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I mentioned my teacher Paul before. One piece of advice I remember was two fold, he said: “If you want to do music as your career you probably won’t be a millionaire but you’ll have wealth in many other ways.” and “if you do want to use music as a career path, be sure to be versatile.” That last part really held true over the years as I’ve learned to play music in many capacities. Multiple styles-Jazz, Classical, Rock, Blues, Country, Reggae, Funk, Jamband, Metal, Hip/Hop, and Musical Theater. If not for being willing to branch out and play “all the things,” who knows if music would’ve been my life? Going on tour throughout Europe, playing cruise ship gigs…I have this tendency to say YES to just about anything musical which has been (mostly) a good thing.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
A week? Damn! I wish I had a week off or time enough to hang out with someone that much! Been working 6-7 days a week for almost 20 years now to do that music hustle. But hypothetically I would take them out to some live jazz and funk jams early in the week. The Meadowlark on Mondays, Herbs Mondays and Tuesdays, Bar 120 Grille in Loveland…the list goes on. Midweek hit up Rocky Mountain National Park/find a nice hike somewhere or if it’s warm weather find a lake somewhere to chill out at and have a BBQ. Weeks end come see me perform or if I’m not booked bring the fam and them out to a show in Foco or Denver somewhere-so many great live events to check out on the front range.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I had some amazing teachers growing up from Elementary School all the way through College. The moment that being a teacher came in 4th at Bear Creek Elementary School in Boulder Colorado with Mr Dennler (Mr D for short) and his TA (Can’t remember her except she wore super hip clothes and made learning fun). These two instructors showed a great capacity to listen, teach, and interact with the class in a way that made it all seem easy, approachable, and fun! Didn’t know it would be music at the time but that was when the “what do you want to be when you grow up?” hit true for me. I feel the list is too long for all the other amazing instructors and mentors I had along the way but one more was my piano instructor in high school-Paul Cotugno who still teaches in Broomfield CO. Pushed me to where was needed in music and also not letting me slack off-he threatened to fire me as a student more than once if I didn’t get my shit together. Learned a ton of music theory, songs, and intensive ear training that is still helpful to this day.

Other: www,twitch,tv/honeyryerye

Image Credits
Ryan and Zach-Credit to The Durango Herald and John Peel