Ryan Calder Band » On The Edge

RCB album: Why pay for music these days?

Ryan — Wed, 23 Feb 2011 07:57:15 +0000

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?

"The album cover alone is worth something."

Firstly, and most obviously, I’d be helping to pay off my own debt from making the album in the first place! Once that’s out the way, I’d be helping to pay for my kids’ school fees.

But that’s just me. I have my own assumptions about why YOU would pay for this music, either a physical CD or on iTunes.

Here are my reasons:

1. You like the album cover.

Michael Griffiths and Kelly Daniels are to thank for that. It’s a cool cover. Plus there’s just something unique about a bruin ou, a Benoni ou, a Cape Town student, a mother and a hat-loving Saffa standing in the middle of a soaking wet meadow. That alone is worth something.

2. You need to spice up your sex life.

This is not something most people would necessarily associate the RCB with, but it is something I think people consider when buying an album. You think about when you will listen to this music and how it can be used – in your car, your hi-fi around dinner time, at a party… or when you need some external assistance in the bedroom. This album caters for all scenarios – there’s the upbeat, the mellow, the laid-back… need I say more?

3. You support SA music.

This is my favourite reason. You buy it because it’s a locally-made, quality SA product, mastered by Brent Quinton – one of South Africa’s top engineers. It’s proudly South African.

We’ve heard of a white Afrikaans ouma buying a young coloured R ‘n B artist’s album simply because he’s South African. We love that. Viva Mzansi viva!

4. You want your children to be clever.

You’ve heard it before – playing classical music to children in their sleep enhances brain functionality. Well, you’ll be pleased to learn that the RCB’s album maintains a tempo rate which is optimal and chord progressions in major keys to ensure a happy mood, as well as deep and interesting lyrics… all of which encourage cerebral neuron-firing and boost brain activity.

Yes, listening to the RCB makes you clever. Very clever. Like a dolphin.

5. You’re buying a lotto ticket.

One day, when we’re the best in the world, you’ll be able to cite the beginnings – the fact that you were there from the start, at the genesis… before all the paparazzi and MTV and Grammys and magazine covers… you bought the RCB album. Before fame and all that other celebrity nonsense (which Jon is banking on), you can say that you were supporting the RCB in little venues around the beloved country.

I asked Berto why he would buy an RCB album. “Because the songs speak positively into my life and the sound is fresh yet easy listening.” What more can one say?

Wanna listen to the music or buy an album? Click here.

Have I left any other reasons out? Why would you buy the RCB’s album?

Behind the Song: Leave It Behind

Ryan — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 08:00:01 +0000

This was a song which was birthed out of the music. The songwriting process is a strange one, because there’s never any true way of knowing when and where inspiration will come from. I’ve resolved to follow Bob Dylan’s advice and make a conscientious effort to hang around the ink well.

When I penned this song, it came out of a picture of what the music made me feel and visualize. So literally, I played the guitar eyes closed, and let my imagination go wherever.

It wasn’t a short process. The song took months of thinking and re-thinking, driving in the car and milling over the ideas.

I would take perhaps a week considering each line, and up to a month considering each verse. Then scrapping it and starting again. It was a frustrating and confusing time… normally I would just shelve a song idea and come back to it at a later stage with fresh ears and clear thoughts.

But I just couldn’t leave this song alone (behind?)… it was haunting me on my way to work, coming home from work… whenever I had a spare moment in my day, I would be preoccupied with trying to get this song into some kind of form that made sense.

[Audio clip: view full post to listen]

In the end it became a kind of graphical story in my mind rather than any related life experience, and I think the song speaks for itself.

Behind the Song: Let It Rise

Ryan — Thu, 10 Jun 2010 09:55:14 +0000

It was around-about August 2009, I think, when the band had just finished a practice and we were talking about that thing that makes some bands so special. After going through all our various likes and dislikes, Roberto pointed out that the common denominator in all of our favourite songs and bands was that they had groove.

I remember milling over this for quite some time, because it suddenly clarified much of what I had intuitively gravitated towards my whole life. Songs that get stuck in your head – songs that move you, songs that get a party started – are all about groove.

Having said said all that, I would classify this song as groove… truth be told, I just needed to vent.

I’d been listening to Maroon5 after their concert in Durban. Musically, it was some of their riffs and elements that influenced Let It Rise, along with rap-rock Gospel superstar tobyMac and one of my favourite local bands, rock ‘n roll act the Southern Gypsey Queen. Musically, all of those elements came together in one form or another. There’s a lot of rhythmical changes in this song, and when we were recording it, I could feel, listening to Rudi’s drum tracks, that it had something very different about it compared to the kind of music we have always made.

[Audio clip: view full post to listen]

The song was birthed out of a similar mindset to the first track on the album, On The Edge. I found myself looking at the state of the world and had to ask some hard questions about me, my family and those around me. The opening line “Stop the commotion” is in response to the seemingly relentless onslaught of bad news we’re subjected to as normal South Africans.

In response to this idea that “bad news sells”, I penned this song with the intention of it being an encouragement, to spur all of us on to bring some good news to the world around us, and to get up and give to those in need. The whole song hinges on this inherent idea, in essence a deep-seated sense of altruism. Once the music fades, I hope that this idea pesters you as much as it pesters me.

Behind the Song: On The Edge

Ryan — Tue, 01 Jun 2010 08:35:01 +0000

The last song to be written ended up as the first song on the album.

I enjoy some of the chords in Jim Croche songs, and for this song the inspiration was the same sequence from the chorus of Time In A Bottle, which runs down the D scale. Except for On The Edge, the rhythm is more upbeat.

I remember it so clearly, sitting on my bed in my room with pen and paper on my lap, trying to finish the song by putting words that matched the mood of the rhythm and the chords. I knew what I wanted the song to be about, but just couldn’t find an opening line.

My daughter, all of 13 months at the time, walked into the room carrying one of her toy balls and a teddy bear. Unaware that I was in the room, she immediately spotted the guitar out of its case and on the stand in the corner of the room.

“Oh!” she exclaimed from behind the dummy, her little pot belly hanging over her trousers, and the clear excitement in her eyes at the endless possibilities of what lay before her: yet another noise-making device to accompany the talking book, talking rocking horse and toy frog, all of which go through batteries like my car goes through fuel. (Rapidly.)

She stood for a minute, breathing heavily, and then in a moment in which she must have been battling her conscience, looked around the room to see whether the coast was clear. The instant she saw me watching her, we both burst into laughter.

...

This inspired the opening line, “You make me smile”.

[Audio clip: view full post to listen]

From there, the song rolled on easily. It is really a reflection on my life and our life as the RCB. Five years on from the first album Better Days, I’d considered recording a new album, but in between a full-time job, a growing young family and a very full schedule outside of those, the challenge was always going to be finding time. I decided, probably foolishly, that the best time would be December when things were “quiet”. It turned out to be chaotic – with my folks getting ready to move to Cape Town from PMB where they had lived for 28 years, as well as the usual festivities that came earlier during that period around Christmas time. I was not popular with my wife.

In hindsight, I was probably very unwise. But the whole episode highlighted the underlying value in the song.

Around the same time, our long-standing editor at The Witness, John Conyngham, announced an early retirement. A product of the baby boomer generation, he said that having worked long and hard and provided for his family, he was now going to pursue his own passion of writing novels once again. I could appreciate how, even though he was pursuing his passion later in life rather than at the start, he still did it.

It’s easy to see how dreams fade so quickly. It’s easy to see why so many musicians, across genres, come and go so quickly. It’s hard work keeping a group together, committed and passionate about the music, when life is throwing everything at each of you. It’s easy, and often realistic, to say, “I just don’t have the time”.

I’ve chatted to Tam about this often. When we’re older, I want to look back without regretting that we didn’t try something that we really wanted to and that would have benefited others. There must be nothing worse than the “if only I had tried that when I was younger” idea. Even worse than that, in my mind, is getting to the end of my life and realising that I leave no meaningful, inspirational legacy.

And so, coupled with the reality of being on the edge of taking that step of faith into doing something meaningful with my life, is the challenge of actually doing it, so that one day, when I’m dead and gone, my daughter and the generations after her will be looking at my life and singing “You make me smile”.

The Ryan Calder Band’s latest album

admin — Tue, 20 Apr 2010 09:31:28 +0000

On The Edge - the RCB's new album

For those who have bought a physical album and read the panel insert, check out the “On The Edge Giveaway” at the bottom of this page.

If you’d like to buy the album you can get it from one of these online stores:

The RCB Cape Town tour memoirs

Ryan — Mon, 19 Apr 2010 11:55:23 +0000

So at last, our issues with web service providers seem to have been solved and we’re back up and running. Many apologies to all those who were trying to get on the website and couldn’t… it was beyond our control and incredibly frustrating, but we’re glad to be up and running again!

The band’s first soiree into Cape Town was an unbelievable time. For a band, there is nothing like being on the road. Especially a road where you make so many friends and meet so many awesome people.

It’s far too much to recount all-in-all, but herewith my brief take on the shows:

Sunday 4 April, House of Grace (near Paarl):

Swinging it with one of the kids.

The gig was organised by the good people at Citta, a small but vibrant community of people who are looking to impact Cape Town through music.

Our man Kenn Gibson and his wife Tracy met us and took us out to where some 20-odd children are looked after and cared for. We enjoyed some cricket and kicked a ball around, and had lunch with the kids, after which the RCB took the stage (verandah).

Our set was very well received, and for me it’s always great having children in the audience, their inhibition and joy create a vibe in the crowd which is different to other shows. They particularly enjoyed uncle Berto’s improvised bass and vox solo.

CD Sales: 5
Attendance: 40
Quote of the day: “Maritzburg!? Is that near Bloemfontein?” – one of the dudes at Citta.

Tuesday 6 April, Pinelands Presbyterian Church (Pinelands):
After Monday’s gig at the Barleycorn was cancelled by the organisers, it was good to get back into business. The venue is the new home of my folks, Rob and Pam, who are now ministering to a maturer congregation in the Cape. The hall at PPC was laid out in supper theatre format (just the way we like it) and the show was well attended by 60-odd people. In all honesty, we had to work some plans for this particular crowd, where the average age was… well, let’s just say they are not accustomed to drums. The show, however, was an absolute cracker, and had one of the noisiest renditions of Chin Up Young Heart (Stand Up) during the whole tour. Thanks to Andre who provided the sound rig… all we can say is we hope we play on that system again!

CD Sales: 7
Attendance: 60
Quote of the day: “I’m a classical musician, but I really, really enjoyed your music.” – a senior choir lady at Pinelands.

Wednesday 7 April, Alma Road Cafe (Rosebank):

In the corner.

Venue owner Richard Tait was kind enough to let us pull in and play at one of the best jols we had all week. Rich himself is an accomplished muso and has worked and performed for many years in the industry. Alma Road Cafe is a small little spot in Rosebank, which seats about 30 people (max) and operates mainly on Sunday nights.

Wednesday is the famous burger night, with the occasional live act. Tam opted out of this one, feeling the effects of travelling and 12 weeks of pregnancy, and also factoring in that the venue is small.

When I say small, the stage holds two people. So we innovated a bit, Rudi went down on the side next to the stage and Jon on the other end, with Berto and I doing our thing on the platform.

The opening act was Zimbabwean Immanuel and boeremusiek instrumentalist Heine, whose music was diverse and really entertaining. Our set went well, despite not having Tam with us, and the audience – about 25 or so – gave us an unbelievable reception at the end.

CD Sales: 1 (thanks Emma Cook!)
Attendance: 30
Quote of the day: “Lekker bru… the eternal optimist. You okes have changed my attitude today.” – Heine, post-show.

Thursday 8 April, Fogeys (Muizenberg):

Jon’s minions arrived en masse at the Railway Station restaurant in Muizenburg for one very memorable night. Fogeys has a wonderful retro vibe about it – it’s a genuinely older looking interior but has a warmth and special vibe all its own.

It was good to have Brad (the official RCB live sound engineer) with us and on board for the next few nights. He quickly got to grips with the in-house PA and we were set up on time.

We were now finding our groove and getting used to the set and towards the end we had to give the front row what they came for – a piano solo, followed by the Chuck Berry classic Johnny B. Goode.

The crowd loved it, and even we were slightly surprised at what Juffs produces when put under a bit of pressure. Will probably do that more often!

CD Sales: 3
Attendance: 40
Quote of the day: “Yeeesh bru, where on earth did that come from?” – Rudi, to Jon, after his solo.

Friday 9 April, New Gen Church (Somerset West):
By far the most organised gig of the tour. Minette at New Gen is an organisational guru and has a creative flair which really inspired us, and the venue was impeccably laid out and had a beautiful ambiance about it. Brad on sound again, and we were marvelling at the ability of the diminutive system in the venue… wow!

The day started with me taking a solo trip to the airport (while everyone else was still waking up back at the house) to fetch Adrian and Sharon, who arrived at CT International decked out in RCB T-shirts! It made my day. They also brought additional shirts, which made the band look very impressive that evening with all these groupies walking around branded.

The gig was a scorcher, and the band felt like we were at our best on this night. The audience was awesome, and didn’t miss a beat either! Was so good to see friends and family who we have missed for ages – a very special evening for us.

CD Sales: 6
Attendance: 50
Quote of the day: “Berto, turn down your bass amp 20 percent” – Brad to Roberto. “What’s 20 percent???” – Berto.

Saturday 10 April, The Assembly (Harrington Street) with Plush
Arrived at 5.15pm for sound check with the boys from Plush. Was good to see them again, and we spent a few hours chatting and catching up on news, life and stuff in general while the technical guys got everything set up. I’m always more excited for sound checks and am generally disappointed. The business is mundane and fiddly. Our opening slot was 30 minutes, which went by in a complete blur but was nonetheless worthwhile – we were able to perform to people who normally we would not have.

CD Launch

Ryan — Mon, 29 Mar 2010 11:00:19 +0000

The alarm clock went off way too early this morning at 6.15am. I love the way Michael Griffiths (our graphic designer) puts it: getting to bed early is actually much harder than getting up early. S’truth.

I had good reason though. Last night we launched our new album, On The Edge, at Grace Church International. The joy of being able to share this music first and foremost in its entirety with friends and family is something we had planned from the start. The great thing for us is having kids, teenagers, adults, parents and grandparents in the mix of the audience.

Last night was particularly special in that all five of us were able to perform together for the first time in 8 months. It’s something we have to work really hard at (with babysitters for rehearsals and shows, etc), but the benefits when you’re on stage are immense.

Having an audience in front of you changes the band’s performance dramatically. Prior to last night, it’s hour after endless hour of fiddling through chord progressions and all of us trying to remember the darn cues. But last night Jon’s sense of theatrically had us (the band) in stitches, Roberto goes bananas when he’s in front of people, Rudi actually survived standing up front and Tam went at the harmonica and engaged the audience with the camera (by the way, you can view the pics in our photos section).

It’s hugely rewarding to hear that these songs that were first conceptualized and recorded on a cellphone in traffic jams are now on a CD, and that some people actually like it. It’s even more rewarding to perform them live to an audience. Happy listening, and remember – it is a crazy world, but you can choose to look at life from a different angle and make a difference to the world around you.

Introducing Marlon Hemmero

Ryan — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 10:54:25 +0000

Marlon runs a studio in Pietermaritzburg where the Ryan Calder Band has put together its second album.

To be honest, it feels like a lifetime ago that I arranged to go and visit Marlon. I feel like I’ve known him for years and years. But I remember that particular night clearly – sitting down talking life and music with him, and how we would go about putting together the new RCB album. I remember his passion, his insight and a quiet awareness in his ability as a creative force.

Marlon Hemmero

The man is a consumate musician. What I enjoy about Marlon is not so much his ability (which needs no mention – he is an unbelievable musician), but his willingness. In my mind, that’s a true mark of a professional right there – someone who will take his level of proficiency, his gifts, abilities and everything else he is good at, and willingly offer them to this project.

It’s worth mentioning at this point that every member of the RCB has this attitude, and I love that about them. They’re all far, far better musicians than I am, and yet they support me and give of themselves easily. We need more people like that in this world.

So you’ll hear a guitar solo or two from Marlon here and there on the new album. But as an engineer he also got stuck into me, encouraging me and showing me how to improve and get better at my craft. I have emerged out the past five weeks more inspired than I’ve ever been at being better. At everything.

I like that Marlon is irritated by untidyness. In an industry where the orderly gives way to the creative, it’s been nice to arrive to a clean studio every night. I joke with Marlon and ask him how he would rate his obsessive compulsive disorder on a scale of 1 to 10. He’s probably around a 7… borderline for an artist!

For this project we used Logic 5.5.1, a RØDE microphone and a few items from his Roland keyboard. What more do you need?

Not much, in my view, but Marlon ordered additional microphones for this project (at his own cost), worked with me until late into the night every night for five weeks, and ordered his younger brother Kyle to make me coffee often. (Kyle is another blog entry all on his own!)

Life has been busy, but it’s so been worth it, just to spend time with this guy.

The album now goes to Brent Quinton at Sesalos Studios where it will go through the final mixing and mastering process. Brent has over a decade of experience as a professional, having worked on many prominent South African artists’ albums – Tree63, The Finkelstiens and Nibs van der Spuy to name a few. I am looking forward to hearing what he does with our humble tunes.

Stay tuned…

Ryan Calder Band Album Production #5

admin — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 10:29:19 +0000

Recording more bits and pieces… bass, keyboard and other lesser known evils…

Ryan Calder Band Album Production #4

admin — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 10:29:17 +0000

Recording more bits and pieces… piano, keyboard, guitars, vocals…