RYAN MANHOLE

RYAN MANHOLE

What are your earliest memories of loving music? 

Oldies when my parents would drive us to school or go on trips. I liked the fun 50's doo-wop stuff like "Runaround Sue". Hippie dippy stuff like "Time Of The Season" not so much.

What were your first favorite albums or artists that you discovered on your own?

There was this assignment in middle school where I had to bring in an album I liked. I didn't have one because I only collected comics so my dad pulled out this Beatles double album (the blue one with them looking down at you) and was like "These guys are cool." I took one look at it and was like no way! The combination of it being a huge record, their dumb name and those 4 ugly faces was way too much. So naturally I went out and bought the Ghostbuster II soundtrack on cassette because I liked the movie. I still have it too - my mom wrote my name on it haha. That got the ball rolling though and soon I was jamming out to Phil Collins solo albums and the "King of Wishful Thinking" cassingle on my walkman. I did end up with an REM album though because I liked "Shiny Happy People".

When did you begin to associate music with your personal identity?  

In high school I became a brooding alternative slacker and got a guitar that was paid for by my mom and my dad ;p. I took lessons until I figured out that all the Nirvana songs were just the power chord and then quit. So I guess that's when I officially became a musician. After high school I formed The Manholes and was a college boy in a band / pretending that I was bad XP. It was pretty much a 10+ year manic phase of rolling around in glass screaming "b!&#!!!!!!" and "f@&!!!!!!" while bouncing amps off my head. I also became a black-out drunk, thus solidifying my identity as this total shock rocker with his head up his ass. 

How did you begin your journey as a musician and songwriter? What were those first experiences like, and what were your goals?

Post-Manholes I started recording solo albums on Audacity with a shitty keyboard that had a "fill" button for drums. They were really bad. I was still drinking all the time and trying to impress this girl by being RYAN FUCKING MANHOLE. She wisely rejected my drunken marriage proposals and moved far far away, so I bottomed out and had to get sober so I wouldn't die. After that I made a bunch of embarrassing albums about THE ONE THAT GOT AWAY and then got over it (sort of). It's only just recently that I've started writing stuff that I like.

You are clearly very knowledgable and interested in traditional 90’s pop punk, but your style of songwriting veers significantly from that aesthetic. How did you develop your own songwriting voice and aesthetic?

I found this band on bandcamp called The Cherry Icees that had anime and Hello Kitty stuff all over their album covers and it warped me forever, much like the "Beyond The Valley of the Assfuckers" album did in 1999 - but in the complete opposite direction . I was like "I wanna sing cute songs about 2D girls, ponies and Ben Weasel now!" haha. Helen Love but more ROCK! 

You tend to write conceptually and build upon stories and sagas - what motivates you do to this? Did you move from writing stand-alone songs to more concept-oriented material gradually or was it an intentional shift in your style?

I love those old Orson Welles radio programmes like Harry Lime so its kind of my way of doing that. Nobody ever listens to them in their entirety though so it's kind of a waste of time.

Can you explain why My Little Pony has become a conceptual and aesthetic focus in your work? It comes across as both surreal and strangely relatable. Is there an end goal in mind, or are you just seeing where it will take you?

Back when me and Joe Queer were Facebook friends he called somebody a brony. I commented "Needs to be a song" and he liked it. Years later with no new Queers album in site, I wrote "Big Moose is a Brony (So We Kicked Him Out of the Band) based on it because I though it was a funny concept. I also made up a fake pop punk band for him to be in (The Manholingtons) and made 4 albums under that moniker. After quadrupling down on a joke nobody was into in the first place, I decided to take it one step further and make a BIG MOOSE MANHOLINGTON SOLO ALBUM for laffs. I got all the pony DVDs for research and as I watched it I started thinking it was cool. Now I dream about the ponies (NOT SEXUALLY) and own 2 stuffed ones. I know it sucks, sorry dudes.

Can you talk a little about your work and role as a caretaker? I find that interesting and possibly a source of both positive and negative inspiration for your music.

Music is an escape from my dead end job. Wiping adults' asses is not inspirational in any way, shape or form, but I need to pay the rent and break the first Grim Deeds Commandment of D.I.Y. by eBaying stupid costumes for my lame music videos (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCytZbvENZz7mb_1rOfb_W9g

Something I often ask musicians is the link between depression and creativity. Your experiences seem especially relevant since you also have dealt with mania in tandem with depressed mood. Does music tend to be therapeutic for you?

When I come up with a song or album idea I'm usually stressed because I like to call my shot and set the bar really high from the very beginning (breaking the Grim Deeds Commandment of D.I.Y. #8). However any relief I feel by artistically sticking the landing (IF I do) is almost immediately dwarfed by everyone's total lack of interest. That's when the self-hatred sets in and I begin to feel like I'm being aggressively ignored. Rough Analytics: The Ryan Manhole Story.

Your DIY aesthetic and solo artist approach is similar to mine in many ways. What has inspired you to take this path, rather than the “traditional” path of maintaining a band?

 I hate having to jump through hoops and walk on eggshells just to get things done, so I work alone. Also there's nothing worse than "jamming" with some dude while he's giving you the fuck eyes - like "yeaaah". Hardest pass ever. Band-in-a-Box is the best money I ever spent. Fake band to play my guitar over - no drama.

Do you feel connected to the pop punk community? Do you feel like there’s a place for you at the table, or do you see yourself more as an outsider looking in?

I'm an outsider looking in the opposite direction! Communities are all circle jerks and I wanna have no part of it. When Jason V did that web thing about the Brony tape I almost cried because he didn't need to do it. Dudes like him are totally fucking rare. Joe Queer used to be like that. I still have a letter he wrote me from back in the early Manholes days. Once I put up my hand to get a high five at the start of the show and he didn't get me. I kept it up and he ran over and slapped it as they started the first song. Rare.

Something interesting about your composing and performing style is your preference for echoey, higher register vocals and layered guitars. Do these trappings come naturally or did you seek out a new twist on the tried and true formulas?

That's just me trying to hide my shitty voice and guitar playing. I'm also TRYING to sound cute. When I sing I usually envision myself as an anime idol girl, or more recently, a female cartoon pony haha.

Lyrically you seem to dance the fine line between humor and insanity - what kind of feedback to you get from listeners about your music? What do your friends and family think of what you do? Do you feel that you’re currently reaching an audience of satisfactory size/reach?

I love my family way too much to ever subject them to my music haha. On an album I average maybe 6 hits on the first track and by the 4th 1-2. I'm pop punk fan-fic so nobody gives a shit. They're too busy jerking off to garbage like Masked Intruder.

What are some of your ultimate goals as a songwriter and musician? Are there particular achievements or accomplishments you’re hoping to carve out?

I just want to Joe Queer senpai to notice me. (and also Jason V's phone number).