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Go to Part 3 of our Interview with GanoRyan
How did Frank Ferrer who plays drums and Lonnie Hillyer who plays bass get involved with the band?
I’m pretty sure they were both introduced to Gordon by Warren Bruleigh. Frank played on Gordon’s, Hitting The Ground, and Lonnie had some great takes on it as well. My favorite Lonnie performance is on “So It Goes” a track that I think Linda Perry sang. Frank played with the Psychedelic Furs and now plays with Guns-n-Roses. Lonnie played with Bernie Worell and Maggie’s Dream. Lonnie’s father was an American jazz trumpeter who played with Charles Mingus and Clifford Jarvis, so obviously, the music is in the genes with Lonnie!We had a hard time narrowing it down to 22. I think there are another 10-20 that we put aside. The twenty-two that we recorded, to me, were the more simple and straight-forward of the bunch. We do plan to finish the rest in which we have talked about getting more adventurous instrumentally. Some were conceived from electronic loops and devices, so we plan on going in that direction as well.According to your MySpace bio, you only recorded 22 songs. Any plans to record more?
On your site you talk about playing in laundromats, please explain.
We never played in a laundromat, but some ideas were conceived there. Years ago Gordon and I were both doing our girlfriend’s laundry, and I had just burned a CD of instrumental music that Billy and I were working on. When I saw him, I thought, hey why not give it to Gordon, though he probably won’t listen to it. Years later, after we started writing together, he called me and told me he had lyrics for some of them. I was flabbergasted! First, because I didn’t think he ever listened to it, and second, because I thought it would be lost by that point.
Did Gordon say why he held on to the CD?
He didn't say, only that he had lyrics for it. Another song we have on deck for recording.
The songs on your site, who wrote the lyrics and how did they come about musically? 
Gordon wrote all of the lyrics. Billy and I wrote most of the music, but Gordon collaborated on that as well. The music was inspired by many different sources, depending on the song.
“Hired Gun” is built off of Bill’s guitar riff, and I helped him with the B section and a C section. Typically, the C section is treated as a “bridge” in the song, but Gordon suggested flipping it around and using it as a vamp. I think it works pretty well that you don’t hear those chords until the outro, and that we never return to the chords of the A or B section.
“Man in the Sand” was originally a slow Garcia-like waltz that Billy wrote with lyrics. I gave Gordon an instrumental demo of it without Billy’s lyrics and kept the working title “Man in the Sand”. One night I met Gordon at a restaurant and he said he had lyrics for it. I asked to hear it and he rattled off a Ramones-like, “1,2,3,4 Would you like……..”. I didn’t get the correlation between our music and what he was singing until he got to the refrain, “I am the man in the sand”. I love how Gordon amped it up and transformed it to a punk rock tune. Now there are two completely different versions of the same musical melody.
“Wave and Water” was originally an orchestral piece that I had written for a French short film called, Jacques. One day Billy and I were practicing with a drummer, and we were trying to make it a rock/funk piece. I put on one of my favorite albums “Remain in Light” by Talking Heads which helped Billy come up with that Alex Weir/David Byrne style guitar rhythm, and the song took on a whole new life. Gordon came up with the kids choir on the vamp, and come to think of it, we have a lot of interesting vocal ideas that are not currently in the mix on our MySpace. We plan on utilizing them eventually.
“Gone to Pray”. I think I heard that when Jimmy Page first picked up a mandolin, “Battle of Evermore” was the first lick that his fingers played. That’s pretty close to what happened to Billy. That mandolin riff is the basis for the song and it is fitting that Gordon played fiddle and I played accordion. The instrumentation moves it into a Gypsy-like, Irish-American–Folk-Bluegrass direction. I don’t know what you call it. Gordon came up with those counter vocal lines, which is a challenge for me to deliver live. I’m not much of a singer.
“Under the Sun”. I remember listening to Van Morrison’s “It’s Too Late to Stop Now” which is one of my favorite live records. I paid some attention to the chord progressions, because those tunes had such great energy to them and it wasn’t always as simple as a three-chord rock tune. Anyway, once I had the chord progression together, Billy and I carved out some melodies and harmonies. Then I added the musical bridge, “Hey I love you, can I call you……”, but I don’t know what inspired that musically. Emotionally, it was driven by anger and trying to get out of a somber mood.
A more subtle version of "Under the Sun" can be found on your benefit album Kristy's Smile. Which version do you like better?
I like the new version better. We brought the drums in earlier, and we had more time to develop ideas which I think paid off in the long run.
The bulk of your material was recorded at the Carriage house in Connecticut. Why did you record there, and why do so many musicians like to work there?
We all love the Carriage House! Both Gordon and Warren have spent a lot of time there over the years. We would block out time there and pack our bags, so once we got there, which was a nice drive from NYC, we got to take advantage of the time. Not having to commute to and from a session is really a treat. They have a lot of vintage gear, and what I liked most about recording there is that the sightlines are really great. Billy, Gordon, Frank, and I put most of our basics down together and it was very helpful that we could see each other.
GanoRyan recently played Nokia, opening for The Saw Doctors. How did that go?
It was great to get up in front of a thousand or so people. Considering 99 percent of the audience never heard our songs, I think we did well. I’m sure Gordon is used to playing Femmes tunes and he gets an immediate reaction, and same goes for us to a lesser extent with The Bogmen. Still, the audience was into it and that’s a good sign. Those were really our first shows, so I think we were playing more not to forget something than to just have it come out naturally. I’m sure we will get more comfortable with some more experience, and we’ll get to enjoy it more as well.
Any new plans to release a CD or tour outside NYC?
We are not exactly sure what to do next as far as a release is concerned. We still have some mixing to do and mastering, and in some cases we have overdubbing to do. Being that the record industry is in flux, I am guessing that we will probably release some songs online and distribute it ourselves. That does not mean we are opposed to signing with a label. A great label with some enthusiasm for the material could be the way to go, too.
We will be playing some dates on the West Coast. On May 15th we play at The Boom Boom Room in San Francisco. On May 16th we are playing at The Echo in LA with American Music Club, and we will be playing at a private party opening for Huey Lewis and The News in Vegas. We are also doing a show in Long Island at Stephen's Talkhouse on June 13th. Currently we are looking to add a date or two in San Diego. Our show info will be updated on www.ganoryan.com.
Well, i'm jealous of all those West Coast fans that are going to get to see GanoRyan live? Any plans on coming to Chicago?
Not at the moment, but we love Chicago, and when the opportunity arises we will definitely consider it.
At this phase in your musical careers, what do you feel is the most exciting part about making music?
It’s a tie between making great recordings, scoring a scene that works, learning how to play “Dark Side of The Moon” on accordion.
"Dark Side of the Moon" on accordian, huh? How's that coming along? Going to release that on a solo album?
I went to an accordian seminar last year, and a nice gentleman drove down from upstate New York and he performed the album head to toe. I was blown away with how many parts he covered on the accordian. I hope to get that done one day, but don't hold your breath! It's fun chipping away at it though.
Because you are all experienced musicians coming from well-known bands, how difficult is it to get your music out there? Or is it easier because you have individual followings?
This remains to be seen. We are just starting to do some shows, and we don’t have a specific plan at the moment. I suspect it will require a lot of work and some not so stellar shows and reactions. I think it will be especially challenging for Gordon because he has enjoyed success on a much larger scale than Billy and I, and I’m sure there will be people out there who will want to hear songs from his catalogue. I do think/hope our collaboration will take many fans from both of our pasts by surprise.
Do you find that fans are looking for similar music to what you’ve done with your other bands? How do you feel about that?
I would guess they will be and I am comfortable with that. Gordon’s voice is very distinct, and Billy and I have a style that it very identifiable. I don’t think we have strayed too much from our roots. In many cases I think we got back to our roots because so many of these songs were inspired and conceived by our favorite artists.
So, Billy, do you like singing or playing guitar better?
Of course I love playing guitar better. But I enjoy singing more and more because it’s hard to find your voice.
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