WHAT’S NEWS

Greetings to all of our friends and fans! We are pleased to announce the release of our latest CD project, "Under The Influence". We truly believe it is our best effort to date and our finest hour. We feel we succeeded in synergizing the following elements – our conceptual vision, our creative collaboration with each other and our band mates, the incorporation of our musical influences into the compositions and arrangements, our commitment to excellence in performance and a reverent respect for the process – into a cohesive whole. It has been a true labor of love, and now that it's complete we hope you enjoy listening to it as much as we enjoyed creating it.

There is more dual harmony lead interplay and guitar solos than any of our previous releases to date. The title "Under The Influence" says it all, as every track was inspired by either a specific influence or a combination of several at one time. That said, even with the wide range of influences and musical styles embodied in this release, we maintain the classic Ryan Brothers sound and delivery.

Once again we call on our musical brothers and dear friends, monster drummer and percussionist Johnny Mrozek and bassist extraordinaire William Kopecky, to complete and amplify our musical vision. In addition, we also tap into the extreme talent of drummer Dan Van Schindel, who was the drummer in the original Ryan Brothers Band in the late '70s.

Profound thanks are in order to Johnny, William and Dan…without their incredible talents (both musical and collaborative), our music and signature sound would not be possible – period. We also must extend our sincere thanks to Chris Wisco at Belle City Sound for his mixing and mastering prowess. His input was invaluable, and he was, without a doubt, the "fifth Beatle" on this project.

We also regret to announce with a very heavy heart the untimely passing of our long time drummer, Johnny Mrozek. He was not only the greatest of musicians, but the dearest of friends, the deepest of musical brothers and a true kindred spirit. Things will never be the same without him. He will be greatly missed. We were blessed to know him, privileged to play with him and proud to be "under his influence."

We are so thankful and fortunate that we were able to record these tracks and capture Johnny's immeasurable talent before his condition would have made it impossible. "Under The Influence" is reverently dedicated to his memory and we believe it contains his best performances to date. Johnny, we love you, we honor you, we miss you and we will never forget you. You saved your best for last.

Back in mid 2009, we appeared on “Guitar Masters Vol. 2”, compiled by GRAMMY winning producer Brian Tarquin. On the strength of our song “Gaza” (which also appeared on or 2005 release “Blue Marble”), Brian commissioned us to write and perform an extended solo section on one of his songs, entitled “Chopper Mania”. That song appears on the just-released “Guitar Masters Vol. 3 & 4” (featuring guitar greats Jeff Beck, Steve Vai, Leslie West, Gary Hoey, Chris Poland and Allan Holdsworth, among many others), which is dedicated to the memory of the legendary Les Paul. A verbal quote dedicating our work to Les even appears in the liner notes! John Heidt of Vintage Guitar magazine has this to say:

“A listen to the couple dozen cuts will lead you to the conclusion that these guitarists have one very important trait with Mr. Paul. And that would be they are an adventurous lot. While Les was never afraid to try new things and step outside the norm, these guitarists, led by Tarquin, show the same penchant to take roads that they might not be expected to.”

That spirit is ultimately what makes this a very fitting musical tribute to the late, great Les Paul. We are elated and very humbled to be hand-picked by Brian to appear on not one, but two of his compilation releases showcasing “the best of the best.” We’re proud to have made the cut. Thank you, Brian, for sharing our work with the world!

We thank you for visiting. Keep on rockin'!

Grammy Nominations