Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About The nugget. (Sisters, Or.) 1994-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 13, 2021)
Wednesday, January 13, 2021 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon 5 Doc Ryan serves up new music By Jodi Schneider Correspondent For Central Oregon gui- tarist-singer-songwriter and orthopedic surgeon Michael <Doc= Ryan, it9s American Roots music, pure and simple. Ryan has a passion for playing that <alternative country= sound 4 the wide- ranging genre that includes bluegrass, folk, and traditional country, sometimes mixed up with blues, rock, and jazz. Ryan, playing acoustic guitar and harmonica, set up a livestream event and record- ing session with the DiRT Trio Band at The Belfry in Sisters in early June. The Belfry in Sisters has been closed to live perfor- mances because of COVID- 19 and has morphed into a recording studio for a few art- ists since June 2020. Ryan told The Nugget, <Our Belfry experience became a marathon record- ing session July 22-26 where most of my third album was completed.= David Jacob-Strain pro- duced Ryan9s album, <Stories, Tales, Truth,= while Keith Banning at Grange Recorders was the engineer for all sessions. Ryan noted, <I was extremely fortuitous to have David 8off9 tour and Keith9s schedule open. Local art- ist Dennis McGregor and singer-songwriter Beth Wood added backup vocals to sev- eral tracks and came into the studio together. Beth had recorded a session at The Belfry earlier in June, before my livestream. We were able to talk her into coming back in.= Ry a n m e t J a c o b s - Strain at the 2012 Sisters Folk Festival Songwriters Academy. Jacobs-Strain was one of the performing artists and song academy instructors. <We met and played one of my original songs at the song academy,= Ryan said. <I was recording my first album at the time and I asked David if he wouldn9t mind playing on a few of my songs on it and he agreed.= All the performances at the Belfry were fully masked unless performing and all vocal stations were spaced well apart. Ryan noted, <We were not able to do any gang vocals together because we needed to maintain social distanc- ing guidelines. We set up JP Garau and his keyboards in an airplane hangar next to Sisters Airport. We would record when the fire service helicopters weren9t landing or taking off.= Originally from Texas, Ryan moved to Bend in 1995 to work as an ortho- pedic surgeon. He9s been a key member of the Central Oregon music scene since the mid-2000s. <My uncle inspired me to play guitar when I was young. Back in the 1960s in a sub- urb of Dallas my uncle came to live with us in our spare room,= Ryan said. <He had ridden his homebuilt motorcy- cle and had a Harmony acous- tic guitar. He would play folk songs of that era. I later got my own acoustic guitar, play- ing for hours at a time. When I entered high school, I was drawn back to some of the acoustic music of Neil Young and Stephen Stills. Also, John Denver. What has defined my songwriting later in my life was having the exposure to the Texas singer-songwriters who have inspired me the most. They are not always great musicians or accom- plished vocalists, but they tell an honest story from the heart. I would try to see Ray Wylie Hubbard, Jimmy and Stevie Vaughn, Jerry Jeff Walker in smaller clubs then later Robert Earl Keen, Joe Ely and others.= Ryan has travelled with an old acoustic Guild guitar and played more campfires than stages. He draws inspiration from years of spending time outdoors on the rivers and in the mountains of Colorado and Utah. In 2004, Ryan and other doctor friends formed the band <One Night Only.= They began the musical event known as <Church of Neil= which celebrates the life and music of Neil Young. This event was in its 16th year and united a large part of Bend9s music community. <One Night Only= became the <Docs of Rock= and for sev- eral years they played fund- raisers for nonprofit and char- ity events in Central Oregon. In 2014, Ryan took a sab- batical with his family to travel the world. He intensi- fied his musical experience by busking with street musicians in Fiji and New Zealand, per- forming in cafés by invitation, and recording in deep canyons in the Australian Outback. Doc and his family eventu- ally traveled to Thimphu, Bhutan, where he discovered and played a weekly gig at the Mojo Park Bar, Bhutan9s only blues bar and venue for west- ern music. Ryan played with The Wychus Creek Band for eight years, performing and record- ing together before the DiRT Trio band was established in 2019. PHOTO PROVIDED Doc Ryan’s latest album, “Stories, Tales, Truth,” was produced by David Jacob-Strain. Keith Banning at Grange Recorders was the engineer. <I was working on getting back to a simpler setup. It was great because we could still perform, practice and record in a socially distanced setup, so the summer of 2020 was weirdly busy!= Pre-COVID, Ryan had gigs in Sisters, Terrebonne, Bend and events in Madras, Redmond, and Tumalo, He brought his unique and origi- nal take on American music to fundraisers, ranch hoe- downs, deck parties, house concerts and weddings. The DiRT Trio band and The Wychus Creek Band have performed regular shows and events at The Volcanic Theatre Pub, The Les Schwab Amphitheater, The Old Stone Church, The Belfry in Sisters and the Faith, Hope, and Charity Events Center in Terrebonne. Ryan is now playing regionally with his band bringing original and selected covers to folks virtually. Sustaining the arts... PHOTO PROVIDED Ivette Tijerino, the Sisters community engagement and philanthropy coordinator for St. Charles Health System, recently presented a check for their 2021 sponsorship to Sisters Folk Festival staff members Crista Munro, Brad Tisdel, Teresa Mills and Dave Ehle. SISTERS LES SCHWAB REDMOND PRINEVILLE 600 W. HOOD AVE. • 541-549-1560 541-548-4011 541-447-5686 845 NW 6th 1250 East 3rd MADRAS La PINE BEND-SOUTH BEND-FRANKLIN BEND-NORTH 1412 SW Hwy. 97 52596 N. Hwy. 97 61085 S. Hwy. 97 541-475-3834 541-536-3009 541-385-4702 105 NE Franklin 63590 Hunnell Rd. 541-382-3551 541-318-0281
