Psst ... he’s the latest buzz
Psst ... he’s the latest buzz
Steve Somerville
Thornhill-born and bred Family Channel star Bret Ryan releases his debut CD, The Outcast, Aug. 26. He also filmed a cameo on the station’s popular series, The Latest Buzz, this week.
Thornhill
August 09, 2008 10:30 PM
Rising star comes by sudden fame honestly
Chris Traber
Rocker prodigy and budding singing star Bret Ryan’s show business stock is heading stratospheric.
Yet, the Thornhill-born and bred young man’s sneakered feet are firmly planted on the ground.
He of the perfect lion-mane coiff, blond beach boy glam and musical and mystical tattoos, regales tales of his recent Family Channel concert tour.
“It was amazing going across Canada and seeing the different fan bases,” the 21-year old said, seated amidst the piano, guitar and saxophone he has mastered. “Hearing hundreds of screaming girls before you go on stage is a total adrenaline rush.”
Add to his artistic repertoire the drums, harmonica, music and lyric writing and acting chops, and it’s no wonder the multi-talented former Thornhill and Vaughan Secondary School student is causing minor riots in malls and music halls.
“Yeah, I’m recognized,” he said with a shy smile. “I lined up for ice cream last night. It caused a bit of a scene. It seems to happen just about everywhere.
“I taped a Breakfast Television show out west and the host said they hadn’t heard so many screaming fans since the Beatles. That’s quite a compliment.”
The performer, whose original music augments the soundtrack of feature film Bambam and Celeste, starring Margaret Cho, and who this week filmed a cameo on Family Channel’s The Latest Buzz, is taking celebrity in stride.
“My demographic seems to be from five to 25-year old young adults,” he said. “Even the moms. It’s all cool. Funny thing is that it’s starting to feel normal. But, I keep it all in perspective.”
The adulation for his silky song stylings and soulful delivery has netted more than 30,000 viewings of his performances on YouTube and the avalanche of fan mail and e-mails has required him to solicit help with responses.
On Aug. 26, the day before his birthday, Mr. Ryan’s debut CD, The Outcast, launches.
For a neophyte, the album, written expressly by Mr. Ryan, has some musical heavyweight collaborations. Released through GrayRose/Universal Music Canada, it includes David Campbell (My Chemical Romance, Avril Lavigne), Grammy-winning mixer Chris Lord-Alge (Sum 41, Green Day) and Toronto producer Justin Gray (Emma Bunton, Joss Stone).
Though the limelight’s been laser bright for only about six months, he’s come by fame honestly.
He began playing piano at age two and guitar at 13.
“I was playing Billy Joel when I was four,” he said. “I was writing ballads on the piano, but the guitar brought out the rock ‘n roll side of me.”
Studious and spiritual, Mr. Ryan said his music comes from the heart and his experiences.
“I began writing The Outcast when I was 15,” he said. “I was always a little different. I’d be practicing the piano while the other guys were playing hockey. The messages in my music are positive and personal. It’s about embracing your differences.”
His song, Crawling Inside Myself, is a metaphor for how he felt during a family tragedy.
“It’s dark, but there’s nothing dirty,” he said. “And, people seem to be getting my message. That’s the most amazing thing. Fans come up and tell me how my music helped them and, in some cases, how it changed their lives.”
He quips about religion, but speaks seriously about his spirituality.
“I believe in karma,” he said. “You know, what goes around, comes around.”
His take on the human spirit and soul is indelibly inked on his shoulder, he said, in the form of the hamesh hand, an ancient apotropaic amulet for magical protection from the envious or evil eye.
Still, Mr. Ryan is quite adroit at manufacturing his own luck.
After high school, he attended a Seneca/York University independent music program until he was signed by Capitol Records in Los Angeles. A merger last year saw all their contract players canned. His album languished briefly until Universal partnered with the Family Channel. The entertainment conglomerate sought a bright new talent and selected to showcase Mr. Ryan in his recently completed summer tour.
Besides the big league accoutrements, including his own tour bus with his face emblazoned on the side and chumming with superstars Chris Cornell, the Jonas Brothers and rapper Ice Cube, the experience was invaluable and addictive.
Mr. Ryan is assembling his own band and will be holding auditions soon.
By 30, he wants to own 10 Grammys, he said with a chortle.
“I’d like to make good pop music with an eclectic feel, each album being a bit more mature than the last, but always in the popular vein.”
Grounded with a vision on the horizon, his advice to aspiring musicians is sage.
“Write losts of songs, write what suits you, work hard, make contacts and above all, be yourself.”
For more on Mr. Ryan, go to
www.musicremedy.com and search his name or check out
www.familychannel.ca/familyjams/tour.php on line.
Bret Ryan finishes our sentences
• If I could have dinner with any historical figure, living or dead, it would be ... Billy Joel.
• The three things I’d take to a desert island are ...my guitar, a pillow and some cologne.
• If I wasn’t in my current position, I’d be ... homeless.
• The animal that best describes my spirit is ... a puppy. Although, in high school my nickname was lion head.
• If they made a biographical film of my life, the actor I’d want to portray me is ... Leif Garrett, if he was still young.
• My autobiography would be entitled ... Turn On The Stars.
• My favourite film is ... The Godfather.
• What the world needs now is ... peace.
• Few people know that I ... love animals.
• My strongest characteristic is ... my musicianship.
• I could stand to work on my ... abs.
• The thing I’d most like to do before the end of my days is ... write Billy Joel’s last record.
• The possession I’d never part with is ... my family.
• My guilty pleasure is ... The Backstreet Boys.
• My hidden talent is ... juggling.
• My favourite karaoke song is ..... Sexual Healing by Marvin Gaye.