By Joe Hyde
Publisher
March 17, 2008 Ryan James attracted a large audience at Blaine’s Pub Saturday night, March 15. The Texas country artist has been on a roll over the past several months: His new album, “Directed,” was released last summer, and first single “I Should’ve Broke Your Heart” rose to the top 10 on the Texas country music charts. The second single, “Are You With Me,” has just been released.
“Don’t you dare ask me to play ‘Freebird,’” James teased Blaine’s crowd. Asking any band to play the ancient Lynyrd Skynyrd standard, he said, is the same as telling them that they stink.
“Ladies and gentlemen, I am Ryan James and you’re gonna love us because we are the Ryan James Band,” the frontman explained. After trolling the circuit since last summer for his new album, James has finally come into his own during live shows. And while “Directed” reveals the introspective James, watching this guy work a live crowd is truly fun entertainment.
Ryan James is a veteran of the Texas music scene, and it’s obvious. His show has gotten more rowdy since I saw him last year. But this rowdiness doesn’t detract from the meaningful musical prowess of this artist. In fact, it contributes.
Get a copy of his latest album, “Directed,” and you are treated to a series of songs that are well produced, lyrical, and original. Some are autobiographical. Many are ballads. All of them highlight James’s intense musicianship.
His live shows, however, bring out another side of James that cannot be encapsulated in a studio album. Saturday evening, he was reunited with his former guitar player, Cale Richardson. But Richardson was filling in as the bass player. That gave James the opportunity to crank it up when he traded his guitar for Richardson’s bass, and put both guitar players, Adam Svoboda and Richardson, up front. “There is one thing the chicks dig, and that’s two screamin’ guitars!” James said.
The highlight of the evening was “Gettin’ Close,” which has become James’s fighting song. It is all about the desire for the audience to know (and request) Ryan James songs instead of expecting him to always play covers. This is where he dared the audience to cover “Freebird.” They did “play” the Skynyrd standard. Then James added Led Zeppelin’s “Stairway to Heaven,” just for good measure.
James announced that he will be opening for Pat Green in Austin next week. “I don’t care what you say about Pat Green being a sell out. I am opening for him and to me that is a big deal,” he said. James’s touring schedule is getting full, and this weekend’s large audience shows he is winning over more fans.
More on Ryan James is at www.ryanjames.com and www.myspace.com/ryanjamesmusic.
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