Play 2 B by Adam Ryan

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Adam Ryan is a stubborn bugger when it comes to music and has continued to write and perform his own songs for the past 20 or so odd years even though he knew the whole time that its wasn’t the sensible thing to do.

At the age of 22, he went to Thailand and ended up getting a job in a refugee camp, then being seconded into the camp’s punk/clash cover band called “The Suspects”. Adam wrote all the original tracks on the band’s second EP “The Suspects 2” recorded in 1995.

Playing in Bangkok he was then approached to work for an independent record company (Hitso Records) first as a session guitarist, then in-house composer and vocal coach, and finally chief cook and bottle washer. Hitso’s first and only release ‘Sue Fun’ came out in time for the economic crash of July 1997 and the company went bust in August. In 2000 He recorded “Soul Forge”, a 10 track EP with fellow ex-Hitso writer Seri G.

After getting a ‘real job’, going halves with his wife in a baby, and an intense period of navel gazing, Adam went back to performing in public in 2002.

This time around Adam was playing solo and acoustic, and refused to play any covers: a decision which had him playing for free to indifferent or sometimes abusive audiences at the worst days and times possible and averaging three hours a night sleep to keep the day job. He also found the time to write and record “Blue Joey”, an album of songs to help young Thai students learn English, in 2004. Blue Joey was later released through a Thai publishing company in 2005.

After six months or so, Adam found the only two venues in Bangkok (first AD HERE the 13th, then TOKYO JOE’S) that would employ a crazy foreigner who would only play his own songs. The next three and a half years was spent writing, performing, and holding down a day job. A live album, “Live at Tokyo Joe’s” was recorded and released in March of 2004, and “Play 2 b”, a 14 track acoustic album, was recorded in October of 2005, and released in January 2006.

From Play 2 b to the present, Adam has further developed his solo live show to include foot and guitar percussion, throat singing, open tuned guitar, slide mandolin, a loop machine and a bag of great new songs. A DVD of his last gig at Tokyo Joes in Bangkok is currently in production.

Adam moved himself and his family from Bangkok to Darwin in December of 2006, and is currently engaged living the next paragraph of the story.

Releases:

THE SUSPECTS - ‘The Suspects 2’ (independent, 1995): songwriting credits, all guitars, backing vocals.

THANACHAT NA AYUDHAYA (GOOK) – ‘Sue Fun’ (Hitso Records, 1997): composed music for all songs, violin, all guitars, bass, backing vocals, some programming.

ADAM RYAN – ‘Soul Forge’ (independent, 2000): all songs, all guitars, all vocals.

ADAM RYAN – ‘Live at Tokyo Joe’s’ (independent, 2004): all songs, all guitars, all vocals.

ADAM RYAN – ‘Blue Joey’ (FTC, 2005): all songs, all instruments, all programming.

ADAM RYAN – ‘Play 2 B’ (Independent, 2006): all songs, vocals, acoustic guitar, mandolin, violin.

Thank you,

Adam Ryan

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