4 minute read
Arts & Entertainment
Quirky, Funny, Singer, Songwriter, Performer: Ryan McMahon
BY NADINE WONG
When you sit down to a cup of coffee with Ryan McMahon expect an explosion of colourful, descriptive idioms. I had to stay focused and concentrate to keep up with his energy. It was refreshing to see so much enthusiasm. Ryan was stoked; he had just received a text from Sam Boyd, Tom Cochrane’s manager, confirming that Ryan would be opening for Tom on his upcoming West Coast tour in November. Big shout out to Ryan — our small-town Ladysmith boy continues to entertain on the big stage.
Ryan has been performing since he could walk, enthusiastically vying for the attention of his grandparents and anyone who would watch and listen as he hi-jinxed his way around the family dinner table. Visions of a five-year-old poking his index finger repeatedly into your arm come to mind, but then it doesn’t take long to realize he was poking with words. He wanted to make people laugh, to bring joy. Ryan was extremely close to his grandparents. They only lived a block from his family home, and he was there almost everyday after school. Grandpa encouraged Ryan to be silly, weird and free-spirited, just like him.
Ryan is a storyteller, singer and songwriter. Born in Chemainus, the father of three, he writes and records music in his studio (converted garage), but he will tell you his favourite spot to write a song is at his kitchen table, well-lit and bright with scenes of the neighbourhood alive and breathing.
While living in Vancouver in the early 2000s, Cathleen Lundgren represented Ryan at Mission Management Group. “All professional musicians need a manager for their fi nances to stay on track and to hopefully make a full-time living doing what they love.” In 2008, now married, Cathleen and Ryan moved to Ladysmith, bought and renovated a house, and raised their three children (now ages 20, 17 and 13).
When I asked Ryan how he got started, he told me, “My career began at 17, when I was still in high school. I would borrow my parent’s Mercury Topaz, drive to Nanaimo and sneak into the Queens. This was about 1996. I met Joel Spillette, ‘Uncle Joel,’ who played the piano with me then, and now, in his late 60s, hits the road with me for our lounge act."
McMahon has had a few “ah-ha” moments. When he met Aaron Pritchett at a Ronald MacDonald House fundraiser, they hit it off and Ryan is now co-writing with Aaron. It was Aaron that Ryan went to during the pandemic to discuss how musicians were going to make it through COVID when live music venues were closed and how they were going to stay “in the game,” make money and bring their music to a virtual audience.
Ryan described what it is like to co-write for someone: “Cowriting or writing with another artist in mind to deliver the song is a new challenge that I’ve enjoyed. I try to remember that every lyric should be believably delivered in a voice other than my own, which is a nice shift of focus for me.”
When I asked Ryan what challenges he was experiencing, he said, “During COVID, physical performances were nonexistent. I did monthly online virtual Facebook and Instagram concerts. Probably a total of eight altogether lasting two to three hours. Folks listened from their kitchens, living rooms, bedrooms, closets … wherever they could fi nd a space to have a beverage or meal and relax for a few hours. Along with my own music, I played a lot of cover songs and took requests. It wasn’t unusual to have ‘tips’ sent through e-transfer. After the pandemic, you are not the only musician competing for gigs; there are thousands, and not enough venues to accommodate them all. All of the musicians are vying for your entertainment dollar. There is only so much to go around. You have to hustle.”
Ryan will be 44 this month. His new quip: “Plenty of highway ahead of me but also old enough to know what dropping a sample at the lab feels like.”
Opening for Burton Cummings at the Port Theatre in 2017, again in 2019 for Burton’s four Vancouver Island shows, and again in 2023 on Cummings’s 14-day BC/Alberta tour have been some highlights of his career.
What’s happening now for Ryan McMahon? He has his own album release for Live Now in November and will be opening for Tom Cochrane’s BC Tour. Looking to 2024, Ryan’s own headline tour with his band in March. Pretty exciting stuff coming up for Ryan.
The future? Preparing for two big tours and focusing on his family. See more about Ryan McMahan at https://ryanmcmahon.com/.
