boston progress radio

What do singing waiters, a cast member of Broadway’s “Legally Blonde”, a freelance writer and an audio engineer have in common?

They’re in the band Ryness, of course. Originally called the Ahh Sum Band, the band was renamed Ryness last fall. The rock quintet, straight out of Manhattan, New York, is comprised of Bryce Ryness (vocals, guitar), Ben Roseberry (vocals, piano), Jeff Washburn (vocals, guitar), Robin Lai (drums) and Jae Ko (bass). The guys also have a history of other talents, including acting, illustrating, producing, writing and DJing. Ryness has made a local name of themselves by playing gigs throughout the city, blending a hard-hitting message of redemption and hope throughout their rock numbers. So pump up the volume and be prepared to get deep. Ryness is going to take you on a ride of rushing energy.

Ben couldn’t make it, but I sat down and chatted with four of the guys via video-conference to get the scoop on their humble origins, getting signed and why “E! True Hollywood Story” won’t be tailgating them anytime soon.

Sarah Ip: Could you tell us where you’re all from and how you guys met?

Bryce Ryness: We formed as this core unit at the end of last summer’s band, Ahh Sum Band. I’m originally from the San Francisco Bay area, lived in Los Angeles for a few years, and I’ve been here [in New York] for one year.

Jae Ko: I’m the bass player, Jae. Robin hooked me up with this gig. I think we first played with Bryce last March. Robin and I were in another band, Koo Chung. I’m from Philly.

Jeff Washburn: I’m from Florida, been in New York for 2.5 years. I’ve worked with Ben for 2 years now at [Ellen's Stardust] Diner. When he came back from the [RENT National] tour, I went to see their acoustic show the end of January. That was the first time I saw them play. I’ve been in the band since August. I’ve been playing the guitar 17 years.

Robin Lai: I’m Robin, the drummer in the band. I met Jae because of his roommate, Dennis, and ended up subbing for him at the [drum] clinic. That’s how I met him. We ended up in Koo’s band. I met Bryce through a mutual friend from church. I went to check out the show, met them afterwards and got a call.

SI: Please describe yourselves in four words.

(Silence).

Jeff: Who’s got a word?
Bryce: I think one of the things that makes us an interesting band is that our live show is…kinetic.
Jae: Angry?

(More silence)

Jeff: Captivating.
Robin: Charismatic.

SI: This seems pretty straightforward but why did you choose the name “Ryness”? Is it something you kind of all agreed on after exhausting other options?

Jeff: We had a few options with trying to rework Ahh Sum and just “awesome.” Bryce is the front man. He writes most of the songs.
Bryce: I like the idea – it’s different and it’s my last name. It’s not exclusive or overly inclusive. [If] the name of the band was ‘Ryan Cabrera,’ it [would] seem separated and individualistic.
Robin: And we like it.
Bryce: Which helps.

SI: What are your songs about? What kind of message do you want to send to your listeners?

Bryce: It prompts the listener to think not only about good and evil in the world, but the tension in between those. That’s something that’s fascinating to me. Nothing is all bad, nor all good. The overall message is that good will win in the end. We have a song that’s “Love and Hope,” about a married couple that is splitting. The chorus jumps in: love and hope will win in the end. The second verse is about a girl who is a kind of a Paris Hilton type who is all materialistic. Especially living in New York, it seems the job of socialites is to look good to be seen in parties. The crux is: when her rich father dies, she ends up becoming homeless.
Jeff: Themes of redemption.
Bryce: The song “More Than Alive” is about transcendent moments. I wrote it at the Sundance Film Festival in 2004. I wrote the lyrics, then the music in 2007. It’s about moments in your life when, amidst all the chaos in life, you touch into the divine, and it seems like the whole world melts away.

SI: How do you fund yourselves? Do you all have day jobs?

Jeff: This is something on the side.
Bryce: I’m in the Broadway show “Legally Blonde” right now.
Jeff: I’m a singing waiter. That pays the bills.
Jae: Freelance writer.

SI: When was the “this is it” moment that crystallized for you that music was what you were meant to do, if you had one?

Bryce: Music for me is the divine, spiritual language. When I go to Carnegie Hall and hear a concerto, even though the piece was written hundreds of years ago, I get a feel for what the composer is trying to say. I want our songs to be a method of communication. There are rules, and then there aren’t rules. It can be popular in this country and in another country. It doesn’t have to be “re-translated” like a movie. Music doesn’t rely heavily on language. It’s about harmonies and melodic intricacies.
Robin: Music for me has the ability to unify people across the spectrum. Everyone loves music, whatever form it is - Broadway, punk, death metal. Music resonates with every person.
Jeff: My dad is a guitarist. My mom is an opera singer. I’ve been surrounded by music my entire life - Carmen and Mozart mixed in with Sesame Street at four years old. I remember Mom telling me stories. She was a choir director. My sister and I would crawl up in the piano while they were (he demonstrates an opera voice, curling his mouth into an “O”) singing away. It’s in my blood. It’s something I have to do.
Jae: When I was in 8th grade, my family finally got cable. The first thing I saw was Pete Townshend doing “Windmills” to Baba O’Reilly on VH1. Ever since that, I wanted to play guitar. It wasn’t until after college that I saw friends trying to make a living out of it. I was working at the New York Times, but that wasn’t what I wanted.

SI: Who or what inspires you? Not just musically…you can be creative on this one.

Jeff: I love listening to anything that is well-played, of the highest level of musicianship: Mozart, Bach, Led Zeppelin, Van Halen, Aerosmith, Outkast. I love guitarists primarily.
Jae: My friends. I see myself sitting on the couch watching ESPN. It makes me want to practice when I hear about what they’re doing [musically].
Bryce: I’m inspired by people I know, people I don’t know, people who don’t look like heroes and [those who] do hero things and make me want to write something cool [and] worthy of that legacy.
Robin: Definitely watching musicians who are great at their craft and also honest and non-pretentious. I had an experience with a band that’s fairly well-known. They played a show and they were complete assholes. It was just such a turn-off. But then you see someone like Raul Midon, who’s blind, and you hear it –
Jeff: Passion!
Robin: - in his voice. Even with Bryce - when he sings, he puts it all out there.

SI: How did your families react when you decided to choose music as your career path? Do they know you’re all musicians?

Jae: This is a very Asian question.
Bryce: I remember this very specific conversation with my dad. He looked straight across the table and said, “I have no idea what you’re future is gonna be like in this industry. I support you in all you do, but theater - performing - is really hard to do. But whatever you’re gonna do - I am unable to be a resource to you. You are going into an industry beyond my understanding.” It was interesting to hear. (Here, he demonstrates both a thumbs up and thumbs down.)
Jeff: I’m kinda following my parents’ footsteps. They were very supportive about my decision to be an artist.
Robin: I never necessarily saw myself in music per se. My parents were more about engineering, a stable job for me. It helps to pay the bills. But my parents were very supportive. They don’t know anything about the music industry…but they encouraged me to go to music school. That’s definitely not the norm for Asian parents. I’ve been very blessed with that.
Jae: I think in general, my family wasn’t supportive. They thought, stick to writing. I know there are a lot of times I thought about going to a safe job. After awhile, they [my parents] became kind of supportive as well. I’m thankful they didn’t cut me out. (Laughs)

SI: What are the perks of being in a band? Here, you can tell each other how much you love each other…

Jeff: The Brotherhood. (Pumps fist to chest)
Bryce: We’re all really good at our specific instruments but we have the ability to play other instruments. I have an appreciation of what [each member] does. [It’s] mutual admiration and also it creates a healthy respect in that Jae [for example] can play the guitar and knowingly, humbly, say, “No, Jeff, you take it.”
Jeff: But every time I hear Jae play, it’s been like - (Motions “bow down” with his hands)
Bryce: You can create something beautiful, synergy.
Jae: It’s one of the few bands that…people have been easy to play with. You have your fair share of drama, and if that’s it [but it's not], I will cut and run. So far, it’s been good.
Robin: I know I’m not the only one that’s putting myself out there, but everybody gives 150% and the feeling on stage is just incredible.
Jae: We did a show last week. It was an “acoustic” set.
Jeff: The only thing acoustic about that was the guitar I was playing. (Band erupts into laughter)

SI: When is your first album going to be released?

Bryce: We have an EP album right now that has three songs. We’re on myspace. If we got signed…I don’t think we’re going to sell our souls for a recording deal. I spend a lot of time in Los Angeles and some people have been really burned by a bad record deal. One of the great things about where we are as a band is that we have an album of songs, but we’re in the driver’s seat - we’re in no hurry to get signed. We each have diverse interests. And, while Jeff doesn’t necessarily want to work at the diner for the rest of his life, we’d ideally like to tour and have our music played on the radio and film scores. It’ll be a longer journey but we’ll be able to look at ourselves 20 years from now and not say, “You’re terrible. I hate the very essence of who you are.”
Jae: Getting signed is part of the equation but there’s so much more to a career, so many other aspects as to how you want your music to be presented. If we stay on our current path, looking back 10 years from now, I can be happy and not have regrets.
Robin: It [getting signed] doesn’t define who we are. If you let it define who you are, you’re forever chasing it. It becomes a vicious cycle of “we need to create a hit” instead of enjoying playing music with each other.
Bryce: None of us are really excited about having an “E! True Hollywood Story” about us. None of us is looking to go out in a blaze of glory.

SI: What are some of your future plans?

Bryce: Graduate from high school. (Laughs)
Jae: Get signed! (Laughs, he’s kidding)
Jeff: Be on “Dawson’s Creek.” Reunion tour.
Bryce: Be a super amazing opening band…open for Joss Stone.

SI: You guys have been awesome! I want to thank you for taking time out of your day to speak with me and Boston Progress Radio. Good luck with everything.

If you’d like to check out Ryness live, hit up their gig at Connelly’s Pub in New York City on Friday, February 22. The band will be playing a full set. To find out more information, click here.

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Tags: Interview.