ORYAN A few words with Ryan Megan, lead singer and rhythm guitarist with ORYAN. Leicester Bangs: Tell us a little about yourself, and your band. Ryan: I was born and raised in Iowa City, Iowa. I fled Iowa to escape Corn Farming Head Hunters. Moved to New York, where I got a job working on shows for the Food Network. The band formed two years ago with Ryan Schoonmaker. We found another Ryan, Ryan McCann to play bass. We're trying to convince our lead guitarist Adam to change his name to Ryan. LB: How did you start out making music? Ryan: I wrote a song when I was five about eating Weenies. My mother was deranged enough to not only encourage me, but she wrote a piano accompaniment to it. It's not a song about hot dogs. LB: Who did you grow up listening to and how do they influence what you’re doing now? Ryan: I grew up listening to a wide range of bad country music, 50's standards and disco. It really taught me what not to play. My biggest musical influence is Roger Miller. But you wouldn't be able to tell that by listening to our latest songs. LB: Tell us about your latest release. Ryan: It's a five song EP recorded at Millbrook Sound Studios. It's only a small snap shot of the songs and vibe we have in our roster. But we needed some kind of product to give to people. It's somber, but we feel it gets across the idea of where we're going and that we have something different to bring to the table. LB: Do you get out and play your music live, and if so, what can an audience expect at one of your shows? Ryan: Our lives shows are a lot of fun. We try to provide an experience, and songs that run the emotional gamut. We also try our best to see how many people in the room we can offend. Disgust them with off color banter, bring them back with a beautiful song and then right when they least except it, melt their faces with rock. Rinse and repeat. LB: What aspects of playing and recording music do you most enjoy? Ryan: It helps me to keep all homicidal tendencies at bay. LB: Where can people find (and buy) your music? Ryan: Check out our website, our Facebook and MySpace pages (links below). http://oryantheband.com www.myspace.com/oryantheband www.facebook.com/oryantheband www.cdbaby.com/cd/ORYAN