-Paul Canning: Lead Vocals, Rhythm Guitar.|-James Singer: Lead Guitar, Vocals.|-Dan Williams: Keyboards, Vocals.|-Dave Troke: Bass Guitar.|-Mark Pusey: Drums, Percussion, Vocals. Having received recent support from XFM it appears that they could be about to make their breakthrough. They cite The Divine Comedy, Beach Boys, Beatles, Paul Simon, Queen, The Police, Blur and Bowie as influences. The Ryes’ self-proclaimed biography: The Ryes are a band who make pop music like it used to be. With one foot in the past and the other firmly in the present, The Ryes display a pure pop sensibility inspired by classic British bands from The Beatles to The Kinks and the Britpop classics of Blur and Pulp, plus an obvious love of classic British rock from Queen to The Police. Spiced with a dash of Californian harmonies harking back to The Beach Boys, this is a band with the intent to write big classic pop songs. The Ryes first incarnation came when fifteen-year-old Essex boy Dan Williams (keyboards, vocals) met Paul Canning (lead vocals) after a fight kicked off during a five-aside football game. Dan was at the centre of it but he’s pulled away by a stranger called Paul. Quickly bonding over a mutual adoration for The Beatles, Bob Dylan, Simon and Garfunkel, the duo decide to form a musical partnership, holed-up in a local studio together, Paul making the decision to leave his previous Black Sabbath inspired rock band to pursue his first love of unadulterated pop. Together the duo created sixties influenced harmony enthused pop-rock and successfully secured a record deal and had their dream of touring the UK fulfilled. Sadly it wasn’t to last and they were dropped from their label and left disillusioned and convinced that their pop career was over. However, with the encouragement from the legendary Muff Winwood, who convinced Dan to pursue his songwriting talent, the boys picked up their instruments and carried on playing. The main songwriting inspiration for Dan during this dark period came when his mother fell ill with cancer and died in 2006. Dan threw himself wholeheartedly into his songwriting – a fertile creative period that produced many songs including the poignant but hopeful The Other Side, a staple of their live shows today. Following this, Dan moved to the South Coast to work in a residential home for abused children, a tough but rewarding job and soon became another central inspiration for his songwriting, in particular the intensely emotional song You Cannot Be Loved. The next piece of the puzzle was finding guitarist James Singer (guitars, voals), who Dan and Paul bumped into on a friend’s sofa the day Paul helped Dan move flat. James, who spent most of his formative years in Canada before returning to the UK in his teens, spent most of his youth playing electric guitar, discovering Kurt Cobain and trying his luck in a band with the dubious name of Violently Funky. “They were all in their 30s and stank of rock and roll,” he recalls, “in fact two of them had previously been members of the notorious punk band The Anti Nowhere League.” When Violently Funky failed to make waves, James joined a covers band but soon quit when he eventually met his musical matches - Dan and Paul. Next to join the clan was Mark Pusey (drums, vocals), a drum prodigy who took up the instrument at age 12. “I was obsessed. I used to start playing when I came home from school, drum along to CDs and songs on the radio. My parents would have to shout at me to stop when it was bed time,” recalls Mark, who became one of the youngest ever members of The National Youth Orchestra, and was also in the National Youth Jazz Orchestra. “I was gigging seven nights a week when I was 13, and a year later I joined a band whose other members were university students – they used to have to sneak me into pubs so I could play!” After studying Drama and English at university, Mark moved to London and shortly after joined The Ryes. Paul says, “Every band needs a great drummer and Mark was a shoe-in – the guy can really play and he’s a good singer too!” The concluding member to join The Ryes was Dave Troke (bass). Dave played classical piano as a child until, at the age of 12, he was introduced to Sepultura and began to dream of rock stardom. But what to play? “My thought process went like this,” recalls Dave, “piano doesn’t fit with Sepultura, there are too many guitarists in the world and my brother plays drums, so that leaves only one instrument – the bass guitar.” After school Dave took a music degree, immersing himself in all kinds of music from jazz, funk, Latin and pop, and was playing in several different bands when he heard that a new band was searching for a bassist; it wasn’t long before he was the fifth and final member to join The Ryes and the line-up was complete. The Ryes played their first gig on 9th July, 2005 and have toured extensively ever since, including dates at the O2 Wireless festival in Hyde Park and Leeds and major support slots with The Holloways, Scouting For Girls and Ben’s Brother. Energy, melody and anthemic sing-along choruses; The Ryes have that elusive knack of making songs you hear once on the radio and can’t get out of your head. |
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