Ryan Maier

About

Ryan Maier is a singer-songwriter from Winnipeg, MB, Canada. Taking himself in a new musical direction and away from the usual amplified domains, Ryan now finds himself writing as a solo musician with just an acoustic guitar. Rooted in an intentionally interdisciplinary approach, Ryan fuses elements of fingerstyle folk, blues, jazz, soul, and rock while using the slide to forge bits of each into a unique musical vocabulary. If you listen on a quiet night, you will notice distinct or obscure stylistic reflections of The Allman Brothers, Leon Russell, Jason Isbell, Warren Zevon, Ray Davies, and Sonny Landreth (plus many more) among Ryan’s ongoing obsessions influences.

As a performing and recording musician, Ryan has played the electric guitar for many years - and he still plays loudly at times in a misfit musical collective called The Black Lodge. Years ago, for example, Ryan had been an on-call leadman for Winnipeg blues legend Big Dave McLean and a sideman for a time in roots-rockers Chris Goertzen & the Hazy Pilgrims (with whom Ryan played at festivals such as Trout Forest Music Festival - 2008). About Ryan’s work in the latter, note the patterned descriptions found in various reviews:

          “Ripping slide guitars […] Ryan’s sliding sounds sometimes rough and raw, at other times controlled and subdued.” – Rootstime Magazine, Belgium

          “Wailing slide guitars” – Bruce Leperre, Winnipeg Free Press

          “Moaning slide guitars” – Winnipeg Sun

Recently, Ryan began a new phase of songwriting, with much of it focused exclusively on exploring the possibilities of the acoustic guitar - effectively turning the acoustic into a shovel with which to dig out of a long-term mental hell-hole. Inspiration and a spate of new songs followed quickly, resulting in his first collection of songs as a solo musician. Honouring the dictum ‘write what you want to hear,’ Ryan enjoys a well-crafted song that recombines traditional elements, highlights emotive melodies, and plays games with dynamics and words. Ryan’s slide-work then plies the limbic system. Ryan’s first demo EP of songs (Sturm und Drang) was recorded in his austere home studio (The Fretwerx) using one Shure 58 microphone and was mastered by JP Peters at Private Ear Recording in Winnipeg. As of March 18, 2024, Sturm und Drang [i.e. Storm and Stress] is now being distributed via digital distribution services (links below).

During the fall season of 2024, following the sage advice of Jimmy Webb, Ryan has been playing at numerous open mic nights in and around Winnipeg, Manitoba. While performing at places like the Listening Room in Lac du Bonnet, MB, Gordie's Coffee House, and Songwriter's Night at the Royal George Hotel, a common theme is heard unprompted across various audiences: the songs are like “musical theatre” and a style that is unlike what people have heard before. These initial responses reflect the textured nature of the songs and the dynamics of the delivery, which Ryan has refined and sculpted into an exciting and entertaining experience - one that has unique appeal also to those who enjoy skilled guitarwork and well-crafted original songs.

Ryan is quickly following up the first EP with a second. Currently in the final stages of recording and soon to be sent to JP Peters at Private Ear for his Mastering mastery, the next EP will be released in early 2025. It's gonna be a good one, showcasing more folk-blues-jazz integration, theatrical texture, plenty of slide, even a mandolin, and an introduction to ‘death jazz.’