Today we’d like to introduce you to Wes Ryce.
Hi Wes, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I was born into music. My grandfather was musician. It passed down to my dad, who started on drums then transitioned to singing and playing guitar. My Mom also sings, and plays a little guitar & piano. I was surrounded by music from the day I was born. I began my interest in drums at 8 years old. At 13, I finally got my own kit. I began with my Dad’s collection of The Beatles, Skynyrd, The Eagles, Steve Miller and more. In 1994, Green Day released Dookie and everything I knew about drums changed. Tre Cool was my 1st massive drummer influence. A few years later, Blink 182 hit the scene with Travis Barker on the kit and I was hooked. Drums were my passion all the way through college, with a majority of my playing being in the Pop Punk genre. After playing in a few bands, I started to write a little and started adding some harmonies.
In 2003, I took a chance, drove to New York and auditioned for MTV’s Say What Karaoke. When I received the call that they wanted me to be a contestant, the casting manager mentioned that the Friday shows would be live, with a live band. At that point I asked if I could be the drummer rather than a singing contestant. That was not an option. However, after finishing 2nd on my episode, the executive producer informed me that I indeed was going to be the drummer. So I got to spend the rest of the summer in NY filming the rest of the season.
Fast forward to 2007, I was married with 2 daughters. I had been in several original rock bands and a cover band. I decided to start a cover band of my own with a different business plan of expanding the band into a full time career. We played a full spectrum of genres from the 60s to the most modern hits. That did and did not go as planned. We spent a dozen years playing 100-150 shows each year, then I decided to shut it down. We do still get together a few times a year for special events.
In 2018, I released my first EP. It was a collection of songs I had written over a handful of years. At this point, I had really fell back into the roots of country music I remember growing up with. Waylon Jennings, Hank Williams Jr. George Jones were some of the earlier songs I learned in life. I was studying them while also becoming a huge fan of Zac Brown, Eric Church, and Dierks Bentley. The release day was phenomenal, with my EP climbing all the way to #11 on the iTunes country chart. A couple months later, my Dad passed away. Shortly after he was gone, I wrote “By My Side”. It became the single that took my to Nashville. My first session was produced by Buddy Hyatt, of Journey & Toto. The one and only Brent Mason played lead guitar. Nashville hosted several of my next recordings with that same session of musicians continuing to be the back bone of my sound.
With the success of my EP, we contemplated making the move to Nashville, but decided it was not in the best interest of my daughter as she was going into her senior year of high school.
I still continue to travel back and forth from Maryland to Nashville for recording sessions and other events. Oddly enough, I have become friends with members of some of my favorite bands and am lucky enough to get to hang out with them with they come through Maryland.
My career has transitioned into a hybrid of National Act Opening Slots, solo cover gigs, and a full band country rock show. The music has also continued on to my children. My 21 year old daughter, Karlee, has a phenomenal voice and is a great song writer. She has also released several singles on all streaming platforms. My 16 year old son, Cohen, has picked up my love of the drums. He holds down the grooves at our church on a regular basis.
One of my goals for 2027 is to play a show at every Margaritaville location. Long live Jimmy Buffett
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
The music industry is the worst. It’s easily the most subjective field. Sure, some people like the music I’ve created, but plenty of people don’t. In today’s world, it’s more likely that a hater will speak up with comment to trash a song long before it will get love.
The other biggest struggle is the distribution of music. We all have some form of streaming, which means we have any song and every song at our fingertips at all times. So, I can write a song that you love, but it ends and the next song comes on. 10 minutes later, you’ve forgotten my song because the next one is already being jammed in your ear holes.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
A majority of my songs are based on true events. This makes it easier to sound honest, which people connect to. The downside of this is, I’m not that great at making up complete stories with no real meaning behind them. It often stalls my writing process.
Do you have any advice for those just starting out?
Write everything. Try all styles. Try all genres.
Write with people. Do not get trapped into keeping every song only for yourself, as your own idea.
Play different genres, with different types of musicians. Good, great, bad, rock, country, jazz… it will all make you better.
Stay away from the business. Play for the love of playing and the business will come to you.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.wesryce.com
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/wesryce
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/wesrycemusic
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@WesRyce
- Other: https://open.spotify.com/artist/4VxgmIgPD2DfytnJgeQ2hd?si=fE_GJPmOQcaQGFFvipO8Fg
