:: Ryan McCalmon -Pop/Soul from Boston, MA ::

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MTV & ESPN Placements, Mixing New Tunes... Been laying low lately, getting some of these new tracks in shape for my first mixing date with Jon Wyman, on tap for next week! All the while I've had some nice TV placements coming through from the Come Home album, in particular a spot in Real World XX - Hollywood and one just yesterday on ESPN U's "Inside The Big East." My stuff is not exactly high energy, slam dunk music you'd expect on a sports channel. But even ESPN can't escape the rare tender moments. Here's a clip of the ESPN spot.

Feb 2nd was a SOLD OUT show at the Lizard Lounge! Thanks for coming if you were one of the many who made it out. Everyone there was really impressed with Maria DeMaio and her band. If you didn't get a chance to check her out, please visit her online @ www.myspace.com/mariademaio. As for me, I'm still plugging away at this new album of mine. It's coming along nicely... it will definitely be worth the wait.

FREE DOWNLOAD! As promised, we recorded some tracks during our August residency at the The Big Easy, Portland ME. It's a rainy, crappy November day and I thought everyone could use a nice summer jam right about now.
The other talented musicians are:
Matt Lydon - drums
Chris Tilden - bass
Steve Morell - keys
Cj Azubine - backing vocals / cabasa
Pete Kilpatrick - special guest drunk backup vocals / tambo!
Enjoy! -ryan

Work on New Album is beginning! Matt Lydon and I will be visiting our good friend Jon Wyman to start recording the studio tracks for my sophomore album. I'll be holding off shows for a little while but look for an occasional surfacing as it will be tough to keep this all to ourselves. There will also be some live cuts from the Big Easy residency that we just wrapped up. Thanks to everyone who came out for that. And thanks again to Meika Pauley, The Resonance, Jen Murdza, Stepanian, The Brightwings, Chad Perrone, Tim Blane, Todd Martin. Special thank you to my old pal Tony McNaboe for filling in on drums 8/16. After touring with Ray LaMontagne he told me I "couldn't afford him." Luckily, I know Tony and the power of a few free beers.

- The Meeting of the Ryans was a huge success! I haven't seen the Big Easy that packed in a long time. Thanks to Ryan Montbleau and his band...they were terrific. Tons of great tunes. I'm really looking forward to the new album they're working on. Most of all thank you to everyone who showed up 3/29 to support original music. It's really important... more and more clubs are opting to book cover bands. You guys sent the message that original music is still important to you... Pretty hard to ignore when that many people show up, especially on a Thursday night!! So thanks again. Keep spreading the word, see you next time!

Huge thanks to all the people who were at Club Passim Sunday night to see Todd Martin, Tim Blane, Shwa Losben and myself. It was one of those special nights when everything really clicked. It was a pleasure to trade lead and supporting duties with those guys. Hoping we can pull something similar off in the not too distant future, complete with gratutious mom jokes and an even more shameless Boyz II Men cover. I didn't really believe that Shwa was going to do that spoken word part. But he did...and it was classic.

- Happy New Year! Just wanted to take a second to thank everyone who made it out The Big Easy 12/22 & 12/23. I said it was going to be the biggest year yet for the Inside Straight Reunion and I wasn't disappointed, in part because so many people turned out to support the "Angels On The Ground" debut to benefit the Travis Roy Foundation. If you haven't checked it out yet, please do... it's a holiday single recorded by some of Portland's best musicians being sold to raise money for people with spinal chord injuries.
Read the Article in The Phoenix ("We Are The World of Portland...?") and check out the Angels On The Ground Myspace and WCYY splash page.

- I'm getting back to my roots this weekend, playing a show at Acoustic Coffee in Portland -that's Portland, Maine- ...a west coast friend of mine got really excited from a myspace bulletin that read "Portland People!" until his hopes were dashed by the realization that I'd moved back east and I didn't mean Portland, Oregon. Guess I need to give him an update more often. Anyways, Acoustic Coffee this Friday. Get down there if you're anywhere near Portland (Maine). It's an early show, Megan Jo Wilson opens at 8pm and I'm on at 9pm with my trusty bass player Chris Tilden. It should be a great way to warm up before going out in the Old Port, or whatever you choose to do with your Friday night. Maybe you just go to sleep afterwards. I respect that.
I'm also planning a little stop-over the night before -that's Thursday 11/9- at The Big Easy to support my friend Nigel Hall, the best soul singer/keys player around. He's got a killer band that includes my old friends and ridiculously talented musicians Eddie D, Ryan Zoidis, and John "Little Ashton Kutcher" Notto. I'll definitely be sitting in with them so make an appearance at that, you'll be glad you did.
And speaking of Eddie and Zoidis, the Inside Straight Christmas Reunion is on! For those of you who don't know, this is an annual thing where we put our 10-piece soul/R&B sideproject back together and tear the roof off Portland. More info to follow, things are still shifting around a little, but it looks like Dec 22nd or 23rd. This band is notoriously good, but infamously disorganized. It seems only right that we don't quite know when we're playing yet. I'll let you know. Seriously, I promise.
And one more thing... a lot has happened since the last post, most notably a nomination for Best Singer/songwriter in the 2006 Boston Music Awards! Just want to say THANK YOU to everyone who cast their votes. The outpouring of support was incredible. Will Dailey ended up taking the award home... (make sure you check him out, he's great) but hopefully we'll do it all again next year. Sounds lame, but it truly was an honor to be nominated.

Summer's in full swing and shows are lining up through the fall. Latest news is I'll be opening for one of my earliest acoustic/soul songwriting influences...
Jeffrey Gaines

Back in the day we used to play his tunes at parties...so it's pretty cool that I'll be sharing the stage with him. I actually saw him play a few months ago when he came through Boston and I can honsetly say that I have never seen someone sing with more raw power and conviction than this guy. It's something to behold, so if you can make it up to Milly's 8/17, do it! You can thank me later.
In other news, a string of Boston shows starts tomorrow night (Thursday 7/13) at FELT as I take part in excitement of The Brightwings CD Release Party. Hope to see you all there!

First Things First. iTunes is finally up so all you iPod types can finally do your thing and download the album. I admit, I don't own an iPod so I can't give you much help beyond telling you where to go: click the logo below and you'll be directed to my page in the iTunes music store.
Please make sure you pass the word along to friends!

In other news, my band and I are coming off a few fantastic shows. If you made it out to the Big Easy or FELT (and there were a lot of you) - THANK YOU! There are some pictures coming shortly as well as a live track or two that will be posted for download...including the new tune "Same Old Story." There are a few more dates coming up then a short break this summer as my wife and I will be heading to Italy for some well-deserved rest & relaxation. That's right, we're gonna sit on parkbenches, sip coffee (or Chianti) and not do much else. It's what we were born to do... :) Ciao!

Pictures from the Lizard Lounge show now up! It was a huge turnout...thanks again to everyone who made it down. Hope you had as much fun as Chris and I did. Be sure to check out the multimedia section, who knows... you might even get a glimpse of yourself! Lots of familiar faces made the photos this time around. Plus, pictures from the night are starting to roll in, so cough yours up already! Send the original (uncropped) files to management@ryanmccalmon.com and I'll try to get them up here or on myspace. See you soon!

Lizard Lounge This Friday 3/31! Come hang out in one of Boston's premier spots to see live music. If you're not familiar with the place, here are some reviews:

"Where it's at: Lizard Lounge - intimate, eclectic hot spot." -Rolling Stone

"Best of Boston 2005" -Boston Magazine

"Everyone knows that the Lizard Lounge, with its low lighting, plush Persian rugs, quality live music, and laid-back vibe is one of the most soul-nourishing hangs in town." -Boston Globe

SOLD OUT! Yup... the first big shipment of cd's to CDbaby and Amazon has sold out. Hang tight, another one is in transit...keep checking back, it should be there in a few days.
Thanks to everyone who made this inconvenience possible. :)
I'll post something out when the new order is in... or if you'd prefer, type your email into the field at CDbaby and they'll send you something the moment they get the shipment. Thanks again for your patience...
-Ryan

Boston CD release was a great time... Florez and Chris Canty were both terrific. FELT, as expected, was jammed. Thank you to everyone who made it out on a school night. If you couldn't get to either the Portland or Boston show, you've got another chance to catch the band this upcoming Friday, Feb 3rd. Matt Lydon, Chris Tilden and Jesse Ciarmataro will be backing me up again as we hit Milly's Tavern in Manchester, NH. The show is with Pete Francis (of DISPATCH), my good friend and fellow Mainer Pete Kilpatrick, and Portsmouth-based trio The WhatNot. A link to tickets is available here on the site.

Happy New Year! Thank you to all the people who made the Portland CD Release party a huge success. If anyone has photos of that night, send them to us! (email pictures to: management@ryanmccalmon.com — We might post some here on the site) Next big event is the Boston CD Release at FELT January 26th. This will no doubt be a fantastic night of soulful acoustic-driven music with Florez and Chris Canty. Make sure you check them both out. Florez is doing extremely well as evidenced by their place on The Rock Boat, a Caribbean cruise showcasing the best up-and-coming talent of the year. And for those of you who can't make either release, not to worry! "Come Home" is literally days away from being available on CDbaby.com and Amazon.com. The CD's have arrived at both merchants - we'll let you know once they're up and running. Thank you for your patience, it will be worth the wait...

Welcome to the new home of Ryan McCalmon. Here you can get all the latest info on where to see Ryan performing, listen to songs from "Come Home", and view and download photos and extras exclusive to this website. The site was designed by designer and friend of Ryan, Ray Burgett. Make sure to keep checking back to this site since there will be many more updates on the way.