A?local musician's rise to fame
By: Sonali Lappin
Issue date: 2/4/10 Section: Entertainment
It’s Tuesday night at People’s Pint in Greenfield, MA, and throughout the small space resonates with the soulful sound of Ryan Hommel's voice over the PA system. Tonight he is with his bandmates, drummer Sturgis Cunningham and bassist Alex Chakour. Sitting and watching Hommel is a fantastic experience.
Hommel’s voice is as jarring as it is soothing. The vocal vibrations spread out around him making people’s bodies tense. Hommel’s voice made me feel bizarre yet simultaneously wonderful. Although this led to a sense of discomfort I wanted more. Like his intense jazz riffs, which cross all kinds of musical boundaries for chord progressions and scales, Hommel’s voice projects confidence and creative spontaneity, something that is unlike his humble demeanor. “Ryan can sing with phenomenal strength, range and falsetto. His voice sounds bold and bluesy,” comments Hommel's close friend and critic, Ross “The Hazz” Hazelett. Hazelett says that when Hommel picks up his guitar and starts to play, “You don’t even think about whether the dude can sing or not, and then he opens his mouth.” The best thing about Hommel’s clear, raw voice is that it is refreshing and tugs at social facades, revealing an inner vulnerability towards beauty and art that is inherent in all of us. The Ryan Hommel Trio is in the same mode as The Jimi Hendrix Experience or the John Mayer trio in that all the music they create and perform resides in the coherence of just three very talented members. They combine funk, jazz, rock and country, covering songs as well as creating some of their own original work. What Ryan enjoys the most about his musical life is that it gives him “the opportunity to expand and let loose in a stress free way.”
At an early age, musician/producer Ryan Hommel longed for the tools needed in order to create the music he had developed a passion for. At age two and a half he would sit in front of the TV watching specials covering the life and death of Elvis Presley. He says he remembers that when he heard Presley's music he instantly knew he wanted to be part of the music world. However, he adds, he didn’t want to end up like Presley, who died at age 42 after years of drug and alcohol abuse. He wanted to to be part of music in a way that allowed him to express himself without the distraction of the flashy, party prone lifestyle the music industry tends to promote. Hommel says Presley’s story helps him keep his goals in sight and his life in perspective.
Hommel grew up around musicians. Both his parents fostered his love of music. His father is a jazz guitarist and composer. His mother, who used to write children's music, plays the piano and guitar as well. Hommel took music lessons growing up but his vocals skills are self taught. In addition to singing, Hommel plays guitar, bass and drums.
Hommel mainly seeks to understand what makes a musician—who they are and how various musicians influence each other. Whenever he plans his future, he gravitates towards something new. Instead of overshadowing his future career path with thoughts of what he will do, he thinks of the things he doesn’t want to do. For example he does not want to tie himself down to a particular career path or cater to only one type of audience. Hommel avoids living a dangerous and unhealthy lifestyle and uses his free time for family, practice, friends, music and reading. In essence, he does not want to see himself defined by music. Instead, he is searching for himself outside his passion, trying to seek out what else makes him happy. As he says, “My goal is always happiness. For me, fame and riches do not matter, I just want to do as much as I can for as many people possible and still go grocery shopping. You need time to self reflect, contemplate and re-arrange your life.”
Hommel adds that although it is hard to transition between music and life, setting expectations for yourself and yourself in music helps. This is because being a musician is not always equivalent to being yourself. If music leaves your life, you need to find other things to make you happy and define who you are. "But whatever you do," Hommel states, "it has to be with soul, because no matter what you do, if it doesn't have soul or it doesn't seem worth the energy." This certainly is reflected in his work since his music continues to enchant his audience long after the set ends and the hum of the amp has thinned out.
Ryan Hommel currently has co-produced an album with singer/songwriter Seth Glier entitled, The Trouble With People. The single “Gotta Get Away” has hit the iTunes Top 100 Singer/Song Writer category. Hommel and Glier are about to embark on a tour based around the International Folk Alliance in Memphis Tennessee. The tour goes from Feb. 11 until Feb. 26.
Visit www.myspace.com/ryanhommel for more information.
Hommel’s voice is as jarring as it is soothing. The vocal vibrations spread out around him making people’s bodies tense. Hommel’s voice made me feel bizarre yet simultaneously wonderful. Although this led to a sense of discomfort I wanted more. Like his intense jazz riffs, which cross all kinds of musical boundaries for chord progressions and scales, Hommel’s voice projects confidence and creative spontaneity, something that is unlike his humble demeanor. “Ryan can sing with phenomenal strength, range and falsetto. His voice sounds bold and bluesy,” comments Hommel's close friend and critic, Ross “The Hazz” Hazelett. Hazelett says that when Hommel picks up his guitar and starts to play, “You don’t even think about whether the dude can sing or not, and then he opens his mouth.” The best thing about Hommel’s clear, raw voice is that it is refreshing and tugs at social facades, revealing an inner vulnerability towards beauty and art that is inherent in all of us. The Ryan Hommel Trio is in the same mode as The Jimi Hendrix Experience or the John Mayer trio in that all the music they create and perform resides in the coherence of just three very talented members. They combine funk, jazz, rock and country, covering songs as well as creating some of their own original work. What Ryan enjoys the most about his musical life is that it gives him “the opportunity to expand and let loose in a stress free way.”
At an early age, musician/producer Ryan Hommel longed for the tools needed in order to create the music he had developed a passion for. At age two and a half he would sit in front of the TV watching specials covering the life and death of Elvis Presley. He says he remembers that when he heard Presley's music he instantly knew he wanted to be part of the music world. However, he adds, he didn’t want to end up like Presley, who died at age 42 after years of drug and alcohol abuse. He wanted to to be part of music in a way that allowed him to express himself without the distraction of the flashy, party prone lifestyle the music industry tends to promote. Hommel says Presley’s story helps him keep his goals in sight and his life in perspective.
Hommel grew up around musicians. Both his parents fostered his love of music. His father is a jazz guitarist and composer. His mother, who used to write children's music, plays the piano and guitar as well. Hommel took music lessons growing up but his vocals skills are self taught. In addition to singing, Hommel plays guitar, bass and drums.
Hommel mainly seeks to understand what makes a musician—who they are and how various musicians influence each other. Whenever he plans his future, he gravitates towards something new. Instead of overshadowing his future career path with thoughts of what he will do, he thinks of the things he doesn’t want to do. For example he does not want to tie himself down to a particular career path or cater to only one type of audience. Hommel avoids living a dangerous and unhealthy lifestyle and uses his free time for family, practice, friends, music and reading. In essence, he does not want to see himself defined by music. Instead, he is searching for himself outside his passion, trying to seek out what else makes him happy. As he says, “My goal is always happiness. For me, fame and riches do not matter, I just want to do as much as I can for as many people possible and still go grocery shopping. You need time to self reflect, contemplate and re-arrange your life.”
Hommel adds that although it is hard to transition between music and life, setting expectations for yourself and yourself in music helps. This is because being a musician is not always equivalent to being yourself. If music leaves your life, you need to find other things to make you happy and define who you are. "But whatever you do," Hommel states, "it has to be with soul, because no matter what you do, if it doesn't have soul or it doesn't seem worth the energy." This certainly is reflected in his work since his music continues to enchant his audience long after the set ends and the hum of the amp has thinned out.
Ryan Hommel currently has co-produced an album with singer/songwriter Seth Glier entitled, The Trouble With People. The single “Gotta Get Away” has hit the iTunes Top 100 Singer/Song Writer category. Hommel and Glier are about to embark on a tour based around the International Folk Alliance in Memphis Tennessee. The tour goes from Feb. 11 until Feb. 26.
Visit www.myspace.com/ryanhommel for more information.