Ryan Bonner
Johns Island
You don’t need to meet Ryan Bonner to get a good impression of who he is. Just listen to his music. There is a thoughtful-nuanced attention to detail; even when the goal of those details is to make a song lighthearted. His most serious songs content wise have the most whimsical music attached to it and the songs where the melody is the most relaxed tend to be the most personal and in-depth.
October 3, 2013 Ryan Bonner will release his second full-length record “Only When It’s Burning.” Recorded during most of 2012 this record finds Bonner working with Producer Joe Taylor for the first time; opting to self-produce previously releases, 2010’s “Monsters In The Hallway” EP and 2012’s “Think of England. LP.” Joe Taylor’s expertise can be shadowed by the type of talent he has worked with in the past including Steve Holley, Buddy Miller and Emmylou Harris among many others. Taylor first got excited about Ryan Bonner’s music after listening to a previous release. “I was first made aware of Ryan by my friend, Bryan Compton, who rung me up and said ‘Hey, you really need to listen to this; it’s world-class material.’ So, I listened, and it was like listening to early Steve Earle or John Hiatt. Ryan Bonner has a genuinely distinctive voice, unfettered by popular affectation, and his songs spring from a well of keen observation and sharp wit. This is classic American music.”
The full length record will be available through iTunes, Ryan Bonner’s Website, and in Charleston at Monster Music in Movies. The Lead Single “The Rapture” will going for Americana and Triple A Radio adds in the coming weeks.
Joining Bonner and Taylor on the album are studio and touring veterans Steve Holley, drummer from Paul McCartney and Wings, and bassist Sean O’Bryan Smith, whose credits include Larry Carlton, Keith Urban and Lady Antebellum as well as his touring band Jack Friel, Malin Wagnon, and Whitt Algar.
A staple in South Carolina Music Scene, Bonner has had a strong presence on the radio both in Charleston, SC at WCOO, The Bridge at 1055 and WWNU, The Palm in Columbia, SC. Say’s WWNU Operations Manager, Mike Allen “Ryan Bonner has lyrical and songwriting skills that wring the emotion out of the everyday in our lives. Then his performance brings the words to life.”
Ryan Bonner and The Dearly Beloved look forward to being road warriors in 2014 and bringing the new album to life. Regional Talent Buyer Hunter Dawson describes working with Ryan Bonner at his venues: “Having known and worked with Ryan Bonner for many years, I’ve been able to come to some conclusions. First and foremost, Ryan is dedicated to his craft. You can hear it in his soul-filled songs, and see it as he perfectly sound checks a room before every show. He is an easy going perfectionist with a quick wit and a warm handshake. More than anything else, he is a consummate professional. I’ve booked hundreds of artists during my career that spans nearly a decade, and Ryan is by far one of the best. He shows up ready to work, seamlessly performs a custom tailored concert for the patrons, and always bestows a lot of respect for the venue, its customers, and employees.”
This is Ryan Bonner:
“I'm from James Island. My dad bought me my first guitar for $50 from some hippie downtown whose apartment had tapestry-darkened windows and smelled like pot. I suppose he needed more pot.”
This is Ryan Bonner:
“Went to college and had to live in a dorm so I could only take an acoustic, and that’s when I really got into songwriters and writing songs. I wrote a lot of really bad ones. Really bad. Started a band. Played cover songs. Sucked. Got a little better.”
This is Ryan Bonner:
“Started making recordings and fell in love with the process. Put together a home studio and made a couple of records there. They sound pretty good. Traveled some. Got some radio stations that liked me. Shared bills with Shovels & Rope, Jason Isbell, Gloriana, Junior Brown, Unknown Hinson, Cowboy Mouth and some others that I can't really remember. Have had the opportunity to do a lot of cool things like producing, engineering, and film scoring. “
This is Ryan Bonner:
“Made new record with acclaimed producer and guitarist Joe Taylor at a studio in the woods by the marsh where cell phones don't work. Kept it simple. Had some guys from Wings, Joe Cocker's Band and Keith Urban's Band come play on the record. Got a cool band called The Dearly Beloved. Great players, terrible haircuts. My aspirations are to write some good songs and keep playing with people who are good at music. I also think I would be a pretty good NASCAR driver.”
Ryan Bonner can be found on The World Wide Web at:
http://www.ryanbonnermusic.com
Questions, Interview, Media, and Booking requests: Joel Frank Brand Frankus Bonnermgmt@gmail.com 843-607-3025