Backstage Pass with... Ryan Cabrera
Ryan Cabrera is far from On the Way Down,
but that doesn't mean you can't hit him with pie!
By: Nicole Roberge
Ryan Cabrera honed his musical talents in Texas, spending his teen years playing in various bands and creating a name for himself in the Dallas music scene. Beginning with the band Rubix Groove, Cabrera then went on to perform as a solo artist, and would travel around the country, just him and his acoustic guitar. His independent release, “Elm St.,” was extremely successful, and Cabrera grabbed opening slots for artists such as Sister Hazel, Howie Day, Ben Harper, Third Eye Blind and the Pat McGee Band. He was soon after signed to Atlantic Records, and after touring with folk-songstress Jewel, and pop icon Jessica Simpson, he will release his major label debut: “Take It All Away.” The charismatic singer-songwriter shines on this album, filled with sparkling melodies, vibrant instrumentation, and breezy vocals. Cabrera has a clever style to his music, with a crafty blend of instrumentation, causing his first single, “On The Way Down,” to already be marked as a hit. I caught up with this burgeoning young musician via phone from Canada, where he enlightened me on his dream show, his musical aspirations, and of course, food fights.
Nicole Roberge: How is Canada?
Ryan Cabrera: Oh, Canada is unbelievable! It’s so hot though; I’ve been in the sun all day doing performances. Have you ever been up here?
NR: No, I haven’t. Just to Quebec.
RC: This place is awesome. Vancouver, this place is cool. Yeah, I’m a fan.
NR: Is this your first time being there?
RC: Yeah, it’s my first time. So it’s very cool. We have a show here tonight, did some TV shows, getting the stage setup for the show tonight, about to do sound check in a little bit.
NR: Well, I guess let’s start with touring, since you’ve been doing a lot of that. How was the solo tour with Jewel?
RC: Awesome. It was fun because that was what I was used to doing. I’m used to playing by myself and then I got to go on a bigger scale tour than I was used to so it got me used to playing some really cool places in front of a lot of people so it was an awesome opportunity to do. Then I just put a band together for this Jessica (Simpson) tour. It’s so much fun playing with a band, I’m like, “I don’t want to do another solo show again!” But I’m going to do another tour after this, solo, just with a guitar. Either way, I like playing live so much, I don’t care how it is.
NR: How is the tour going with Jessica Simpson?
RC: It’s insane. It’s very, very overwhelming because it’s huge, huge places. It’s cool because I’m going to the places where I used to go see bands. Places where Dave Matthews played, I’m like, “I’m on Dave’s stage!” So it’s exciting for me. It’s fun to be on tour with one of your friends, you don’t have to worry about anything—it’s such an easy tour to be on. It’s like you’re at home.
NR: So you’re happy to be out with the band again, and that is how started—with your band Rubix Groove. After that you went solo, but now you’re back with the band. Do you think that will always be a thing where you can flop back and forth between them?
RC: Yeah, it’s one of those things where you never really know. I can go either way. It’s kind of cool in that way where you can have the full band and rock out and stuff, and sometimes people like to chill and have acoustic guitar and vocals. So that’s kind of cool. I can still perform without having anyone else. With the band, it’s like what’s on the record, how it sounds on the album, and you get that feeling. I love it because I can jump around and be an idiot. So I’ve got the full band and when it’s solo guitar, I just stand there. I can’t do much. It’s fun with different guys up there. Jam time.
NR: So after this, you already have a solo tour lined up—will it be headlining?
RC: I’m doing a Coca-Cola sponsored tour. Playing at malls and stuff, it’ll just be me. I think there’s like twelve dates. We’re gonna be doing a bunch of radio shows, mainly the northeast, kind of all other the place…New York, New Hampshire, Atlanta, we’ll have the routing stuff pretty soon. That’ll take us through September.
NR: Any plans for after that?
RC: I think the plan is to jump on tour with somebody else probably. Then it’s going, it’s non-stop.
NR: Are you excited for the release of “Take It All Away?”
RC: Oh yeah, with the album coming out in August. I’ll just be excited for it to finally come out. We recorded it a year ago, and I wanted the setup where you play a lot live before your album comes out. You’re patient that way. If not, it’s a hit or miss thing. You don’t really need anything else. You’ve been playing life in front of so many people…word of mouth has really helped. You know, the John Mayer approach, and that’s what we’ve been trying to do with the setup of this album. We’ve hired Aware Records as well to help out with promotional stuff, because they’re the best at he underground grassroots campaign. All their people, they love music, and they know good music, so we’re happy to have them on board too. That helped a lot, obviously.
NR: Is it weird then, now, to see yourself on TV and hear your song on the radio?
RC: So, so weird. When I first heard my song on the radio, I was just going crazy. I made everyone else pull down their windows and they thought I was insane but I was like, “Put it on KISS right now!” And they put it on and I was like, “That’s me! What’s up!” It’s like, have you ever seen that movie, “That Thing You Do?” You know when they’re running down the street? It really is that feeling. What’s cool is that it never really dies down. I’ve heard it a bunch and every time it’s awesome, it’s like you hear it the first time. So it’s cool, it’s fun. And then seeing your life on MTV is interesting. But it’s a TV show…it’s not like real, real life. There’s no such thing as real reality TV, but it’s still you living.
NR: There are obviously a lot of changes going from a solo indie artist to signing with a label and adding a band. What was the biggest adjustment for you?
RC: It was all a change and adjustment for the good. I signed with Atlantic, and nobody there was thinking when they signed me like, “I see him going this way, I can make him do this.” It was always, “We love what you’re doing, so go with it.” They let me co-produce my own album and I had a direction I wanted to go in and an image that’s just myself. I’m a dorky, goofy kid that likes to have fun and hang out. They let me be that. I wouldn’t wear anything they wanted me to wear or do anything of that stuff. They really pushed me over to the next level. If you want to really get out there, you need that to kind of push it over the edge to get the distribution that you need. It’s weird. It’s all crazy. The hardest adjustment is that you’re not doing everything yourself. You kind of have to let go. My manager, Joe, used to get mad at me because I’d try and do all the business and he was like, “Leave that to me!” I was like, “I’m sorry Joe, I’m just so used to doing everything by myself.” I did it two or three years on my own. I wanted to be involved in every phone call or anything that was going on. It’s weird to let it go and it be in someone else’s hands. You have to trust the people you’re with.
NR: The new CD, “Take It All Away,” definitely has a different sound than your indie release, “Elm St,” which is more acoustic and has a lot of saxophone features. Did you want to try and create a new sound with the new album?
RC: I was just a wee little puppy when I made “Elm St.” I was seventeen, I think. I can’t even remember. Now I’m old and I can’t remember what happened when. I think I was seventeen though. It has a different sound. I grew up a lot as a songwriter. Just from working with different people, I’ve learned so much. “Elm St.” was just a collection of quick ideas and what I learned between that was that songwriting is personal to you, it’s your life and it’s what you believe but you want people to understand it and be able to take something away from it. What I did on Elm St. is I made everything so personal, nobody knows what the heck I’m talking about. If they like the song, it’s just cause it’s a nice melody or whatever. Every lyric on this album (Take It All Away) is there for a reason. If it doesn’t make sense, it doesn’t make sense for a reason. Every line, I try to make go back to something or be there for a reason, whereas the first album I was just kind of like, “Oh that sounds good, I’ll put that there, that’ll be fine.” On this album I really focused on the lyrics and wanted people to relate to the songs. It’s a little edgier cause you grow and you change and stuff. There’s more flavor on there.
NR: What was the recording process like for you this time,
especially since you had a label backing you?
RC: Very, very, very, very different. It was different from most because once I decided that me and John Rzeznik were gonna do it together, we had one month to do the album because he had to go on tour. So from when we started, somehow we had to make a whole album in a month, and there’s no choice. There was no, “No it can’t be done!” It was, “We’re doing it, and that’s it.” We had to crunch. It gets so much ideas out so fast. We were working so hard and it was really intense. We just put out heads together. You have to give and take. It was a learning process. I wouldn’t let him get away with anything and he wouldn’t let me get away with anything. At night we’d be like, “This sucks!” And in the morning and go, “I love you, I’m sorry!” It was cool but that’s the way it should be. It was this tension that kind of came out in the music and I think that made for a better album instead of so much time to sit and dwell on stuff. A lot of people over-think their album, and you’ve just gotta let the music speak for itself to come out. A good song should be a great song whether it’s just with an acoustic guitar or all produced up. I didn’t want some fancy-shmancy over-produced album. That’s why I went with Rzeznik because he’s an artist. He thinks like an artist, which is the way I think. I wanted that, so it was cool.
NR: What are your expectations for “Take It All Away?”
RC: You know, I try to not have any. I think that’s the best way. I just want people to hear it and I think if they hear it all the way through, they’ll get it. I try not be be, “Oh I’m gonna sell this many albums.” I hope to, obviously, but I don’t ever set myself up for anything.
NR: You’ve been involved in music since your teen years. What has been the driving force behind your musical endeavors?
RC: I don’t know. When I was fifteen and I started this little punk-rock band, I just decided that I was gonna make it, even though I sucked. I was awful. I don’t care, you admit it, and I worked my butt off. Having that kind of mindset got me where I am today. Cause everyone will tell you “no,” and everyone will have their own opinions of you and you’re gonna hear all the negative stuff all the time. If you ever let that effect you, then you won’t make it. You do your thing, and people will like it. You try not to let anyone’s opinions influence you. People always told me no, and that I sucked, and that I’d never make it but I decided that I was, and I went for it and…so far it’s working out okay! It’s going well, I’m happy to be playing still.
NR: What about your first band then, was that Rubix Groove?
RC: That was my first real band. The first little punk band that I started, Cain, we lasted a day. Yeah we had one show and I pretty much got laughed off stage. That didn’t work out too well. And then I heard Dave Matthews for the first time and that was when I put down the electric and I picked up an acoustic and then I never put the acoustic down. I started playing every day. I went to the Dave Matthews School of Acoustic Guitar and I learned every single Dave song that there was, and then I was ready. At the time I was like, Dave’s stuff is impossible so if I can figure out every Dave song, I can pretty much play anything, so I was ready. That’s what I did.
NR: Who was the first person in music that you looked up to, who you had played a show with?
RC: Ooohhh…who I played a show with? Probably…I’m a big fan of Sister Hazel. Back in the day, and I still am and I finally got to play with them. They’re nice guys and it was a really special moment for me. That’s the coolest thing, when you get to play with bands that you love. It’s awesome. So Sister Hazel’s awesome to play with. Yeah, that got me all excited. Pat McGee Band too, with Rubix Groove we got to open for them. I love them.
NR: Then if you could pick one person in music to sit down with and listen to your CD, who would it be?
RC: Oh! One! I can only pick one?
NR: Two if you’re lucky, but go with one.
RC: Two if I’m lucky? Um…umm…ummm…Dave Matthews, Sting and Paul Simon.
NR: That’s three!
RC: Sorry! No, it has to be three. I want all three, I want all three. I want Sting here, and I want Paul Simon definitely here, and I want Dave here.
NR: Okay, that’s fair enough. So then…all separately, or all together?
RC: Together, that would be awesome. We’d have a listening party with just me and those three. And then after, we would go into a delicious jam, all together.
NR: It could happen.
RC: It could happen! It happened! Last night in my dreams…
NR: Maybe they’ll read this and call you up.
RC: That’s right. I was watching this TRL thing the other day and they were like premiering a video and down in the corner it said: Ryan’s celebrity crush is Charlize Theron. I was like, “Oh! Man! Maybe she’s watching!” I was going crazy. “Maybe someone she knows is watching and they’ll tell her! And now it’s out there and she knows and maybe she’ll call me.” Maybe. Someone who knows her had to have been watching TRL that day. I got all excited.
NR: Well out of your top three singers that you picked, which of those would you like to perform with? You can only pick one this time!
RC: It’s always been the dream to tour with Dave. Never let it go, you know…since you were young, everybody wants to tour with Dave, play with Dave, and have him guest in on a song with you. That’s the big dream. I would cry, poop in my pants, if I could play with any of them.
NR: Is there any tour going on right now that you’d like to jump on?
RC: I think that the Maroon 5/John Mayer tour would be fun to go on. I can imagine that tour getting out of hand, all those kids together. That would be a fun tour.
NR: Well you’ve been touring a lot…what is your funniest story from being out on the road?
RC: (laughs) My life…in general, is a funny story. I don’t know, I mean, you find stupid little things to amuse yourself. Ooh! Last night. It’s fun having a band because you get to be with a bunch of guys and they’re your friends, a lot better than me going out by myself. We were in Seattle, at like the nicest club in Seattle and somehow I started a huge ice fight in the middle of the club. We had huge cups of ice and we just started chucking it, the whole band. You have to be there. Can you just imagine being in the nicest, ritzy or whatever club and we’re just chucking ice and pouring buckets of ice on each other and we’re like, “Oh crap, we’re gonna get kicked out of this place.” Then the waitress comes and she joins in and pours a bucket of ice on my head. It was so much fun.
NR: I can imagine. So you didn’t get kicked out?
RC: I did. I was actually the only one who got kicked out eventually. I took it too far, I guess. I started hitting everyone else in the club.(laughs) We were just having fun, throwing ice at each other. Who cares? You can’t take yourself too seriously. We were just having fun. They were fine with it, they were like, let them do whatever they want. But eventually, I did indeed get kicked out. I hit a bouncer with a piece of ice. I missed, I was going for my bass player, Casey, and he ducked and it hit one of the guys who stands there all statuesque. So I had to leave. I wasn’t kicked out-kicked out. But I was definitely asked to leave. It was awesome! I was doing it until I got kicked out. That was the point. It last a good forty-five minutes.
NR: Is every night like that?
RC: Not really. I’m pretty calm. I just like to hang out after the show. I usually just stay and watch the show. I’ll go down and watch the show, then go to bed, and wake up in the next city. You’ve gotta take care of yourself. Like, we had the day off. We’ll go out like once or twice on the whole tour. I’m not a big go-outer.
NR: What would you say has been the biggest lesson you’ve learned so far through your musical endeavors…whether it be recording, performing, etc?
RC: I don’t know what the biggest lesson is. I guess, if I could say anything, it would be, don’t ever base what you’re doing on somebody else’s opinion. Because everyone has an opinion. Not everyone’s gonna like you, not everyone’s gonna like your music or whatever else you’re doing. You’ve gotta keep going and realize you’re not doing it for them. If they don’t like it, they don’t like it. Who cares? It’s up to you.
NR: Anything you want to let people know?
RC: Yes. Don’t go to a club with me, because I’ll pelt you with ice. Or, don’t go to dinner with me because I’ll start a food fight with you. I’m a big fan of those.
NR: Now people will want to go to dinner with you.
RC: Yeah, let’s go to dinner and I’ll throw food in your face!
NR: Or you’ll just be sitting there and people will just start chucking things at you.
RC: Yeah, I know. That’s gonna be funny, I’m gonna be sitting in a restaurant someday and someone’s gonna come up and pelt a pie in my face. My own medicine. I knew I should never have told people that.
NR: It’ll be the headline: Ryan Cabrera Like Food Fights—Throw Stuff At Him.
RC: Hit him with pie!
Disclaimer—Do not really throw things at Ryan Cabrera. Unless he asks you to. But do pick up his new CD, “Take It All Away.” For tourdates and more information on Cabrera, visit www.RyanCabrera.com.