When On The Edge was finished in 2010, it felt like the start of something.
The Ryan Calder Band (RCB) had built a loyal following. The name had found its place on festival lineups, theatre posters, and community events. We were a proper band, not just a guy with a guitar and a dream. And I was intent on making our live shows something memorable — no matter how little time, money, or resources we had to work with. Continue reading The Great Deep and how it happened
Being in a band isn’t just about music.
For me, it was always about people. The kind of people who don’t just make you a better musician, but who inspire you to be a better husband, father, and human being. That was the heartbeat of The Ryan Calder Band.
By the time we got to On The Edge, we had already logged countless hours together — on stages, in studios, and most memorably, in late-night conversations about life, family, and the curious choice of devoting your “free time” to making music when you had, you know… responsibilities. Continue reading On The Edge: The Album, The Brotherhood, and The Madness of Making It
About a year after Better Days hit the local shelves (and my parents’ CD player on repeat), the phone rang.
On the other end was Pedro Carlo — a kind of local music Yoda, minus the lightsaber but with the same knack for cryptic wisdom. Pedro had the final say in the lineup for Splashy Fen, South Africa’s legendary music festival tucked away in the Drakensberg mountains. Every singer-songwriter within a 500km radius dreamed of playing there. Continue reading The Birth of The Ryan Calder Band: How a Festival Lineup and a Stubborn Dream Created RCB
SO you’re new to the RCB… or relatively new… and you’ve probably picked up that we do a lot of our communicating online. There’s two fundamental things you should know.
There’s this website, which you are currently on.
And then there’s this website..
The one you are reading from now (ryancalder.co.za) is about the band and all we do.
The Great Deep (thegreatdeep.ryancalder.co.za) is a sub-domain, as well as the name of our new album.
This sub-domain is a slightly different blog, or stream-of-consciousness, which is intended to give those interested the inside track of the RCB. It’s primarily where we blog seriously.
This is the subject matter we think about, the subject matter which informs our songwriting. It’s the stuff that is on our mind: a more indepth, [mostly] serious look at the world, its inhabitants and the God who created us.
As we blog, we’re also recording and writing. We’re tracking the songs steadily which will, by the end of the year, form the new album called The Great Deep.
So that’s us in a nutshell, outside of our Facebook page, Twitter handle, YouTube channel and e-mail newsletter.
ABOUT 36 months ago, I left the shores of South Africa to attend the Future Music Forum in Barcelona, Spain. Thinking back on it all, I am both humbled and awed. Continue reading Behind the Song: Open Air
Music is brilliant at conveying a `feeling’, creating an atmosphere. It can shape your perception in a powerful way. Imagine a movie without a soundtrack – it just wouldn’t be the same. As a lover of music I continually find myself reminded of the ability that the right kind of music has to put ones thoughts and emotions into perspective. Our recent series of shows at the Hexagon was one of those reminders. Continue reading Reasons for music, shows, and related decisions
Here’s a question: why would you purchase an album of the RCB?
It’s difficult for me to ask that question of myself.
But in the interests of a good question, okay, I will: why would Ryan Calder pay for a copy of On The Edge? Continue reading RCB album: Why pay for music these days?
It’s the start of a new year, a new adventure and a new plan.
Do you make new year resolutions? I do. Some don’t – they say it merely dooms them to failure as soon as they make a resolution. And so they resolve not to resolve…
Strength to them, I’m sure they’ll go far.
For me and my house, Continue reading New year, exciting times
You in a band? Solo artist? Here’s something the RCB thinks is seriously cool, and fits in with our ethos of spreading the love. It’s called Headliner.fm
Check out the video: Continue reading Promoting music online – share the love
