Charl Ry

Interview With Charl Ry

SBS:  Hello and welcome to ya!  It’s always best to start off with some kind of introduction to who you are and what kind of music you make, isn’t it?  Tell us a bit about yourself & the history of your music, and give the people out there reading a couple of concrete reasons as to why they should be listening!

Charl:  Hello and thanks for having me, Jer.  I’m Charl Ry, maker of many an oddball tune.  I’ve got one album and one single under my belt with another album coming very soon – in a few weeks.  Here are three perfectly paved concrete reasons to listen to my music: There is no AI involved, it doesn’t suck (I’m like 45% sure), and it’s a healthier alternative to smoking.  It’s not completely healthy – there are still some risks like ear vomiting – but comparatively, my tunes are much safer.

SBS:  While we’re still getting to know you and quite possibly introducing you to these pages of ours, what would you say is the newest and/or most exciting thing you’ve got going on with your music right now?  Is there anything you’ve been working on that just got released, or something happening behind the scenes that you haven’t mentioned yet?  What should your fans be looking forward to this year?

Charl:  I’m excited about the new album coming out.  It’s gonna be called Detective Fever because I’ve been reading a ton of old detective novels (late 1800s-early 1900s) and every song in the collection is inspired in some way by what I’ve been reading.  The inspiration is obvious in a few of the tunes.  In others, I simply borrow a phrase that stuck with me or an emotion of a character to expand upon.  Regardless, I do consider it a concept album, at least on a personal level, and I believe the concept makes this particular collection of songs nice and cohesive.

SBS:  So far to-date, what do you feel like is the song of yours that listeners respond to the most?  Do you feel like you knew they’d like it when you first created it, or was it just another song to you at the time?  Sometimes it takes a few spins and a bit of time before we realize how special a song truly is.  What is it about this particular track that you feel people connect to?  If someone was to ask you to play one of your songs to get them interested in your music, would you choose the same one that listeners seem to enjoy the most, or would you risk it and choose something different from your catalog instead?

Charl:  I’m gonna go with “If Fortune Smiles” here.  The first line of the tune is quite the attention-grabber – I got Final Destinationed in a dream.  From there, the lyrics develop into a kind of social manifesto before arriving at the climax that ties it all together – Will our final destination be regret?  The lyrical twists and turns are smart and impactful (I’m like 45% sure), and I believe that’s why listeners have responded quite well to this tune.  Oh, and the chorus is catchy too.  That doesn’t hurt, right?  Even a guy like me will accidentally stumble upon a good melody every once in a while!

SBS:  Is there a concert you’ve been to that…maybe it was the best you’ve seen, maybe it wasn’t, but it was a completely unforgettable moment in time that you might not even see from the same band or artist again if you saw them play in the future?  Know what I mean?  Like, maybe a band you saw was touring a certain album and they never played those songs again…or like, maybe an artist climbed up the frame of the stage like Eddie Vedder did, and of course he’s probably not doin’ that now as an older dude…there are countless examples of amazing shows from the artists & bands we love most that we will never see happen twice.  Tell us all the details you can remember about an unforgettable show you saw, and why you don’t think that if you saw that same artist/band today that it could all happen again.

Charl:  I’m going to narrow this down, not to a specific show, but a specific song.  Loudon Wainwright’s song In C, in my not-so-humble opinion, is one of the best songs ever written.  The first time I heard this song was live in concert.  I’m not gonna say I shed tears, but I’m not gonna say I didn’t.  It was just Loudon and his piano, and mannn, there aren’t many out there that can do the thing like he does.

SBS:  I’ve heard it said many times that it’s harder to write a song in a happy mood than to write one when you’re feeling down.  Of course, for some folks, the opposite is just as true…I guess maybe that’s a reflection of who we are on the inside perhaps?  From YOUR perspective, what’s the particular emotion you associate with the most, or connect to the strongest when you’re creating your music?  How does it play a role in what you write & why do you feel like that specific emotion gets the best songs out of you?

Charl:  I’m a happy guy, but I very rarely write happy tunes.  I suppose my creative outlet is also my pessimism outlet.  If you can get all of the sad and mad and bad out of yourself through some tunes, then you leave the writing desk a pretty jolly bloke.  And this, my friends, is why I make music.  If I didn’t, the sad/mad/bad would completely take over.  I’d turn into the SadMadBad Monster and ruin everything I touch.  We don’t want that, right?  So I make some music instead.

SBS:  Let’s ask ya this…would you rather create a massive hit song that the whole world knows and sings along with, or risk toiling in obscurity for the length of your career to fully keep your artistic integrity intact?  Is it really that much better to be one of those artists or bands that are only known for one song, or is it better to build a whole catalog you can proudly stand behind that might not be known at all?  One-hit wonders tend to get judged pretty harshly and are often crushed under the weight of constantly trying to find that second hit – but the flipside of that coin is the right hit song can be so financially lucrative that it can often be enough to build a whole career around.  Still…I have to wonder whether or not that would suck all the joy right outta the craft…maybe it’s really better to have no hits than one hit – what do you think you’d prefer and why?  Do you feel like creating a hit song is truly crucial to a music career?  If it’s not, what’s the alternative?  Can you still have a career without really becoming known?

Charl:  Well, I’ve been toiling in obscurity for as long as I’ve been doing this, and since I’m still doing it, I suppose the Obscure Toil Dance isn’t such a bad set of moves to be making.  When I was younger, the idea of writing a hit song appealed to me, but these days it’s all about the art and how far I can push myself.  I tend to look at songwriting like a puzzle.  There are a bunch of pieces (notes, chords, etc.) and you can fit them together however you want.  It seems to me that most people, especially those striving for hits, stick to the same formula when they put the pieces together.  On the other hand, I will purposefully choose pieces that don’t quite seem to fit just to challenge myself.  It keeps things fresh, unique, quirky, and all that.  In other words, I’d rather be myself than make tons of money churning out the same old I/vi/IV/V progression.  So yes, this is a career, but instead of popularity, I make artistic progress.

SBS:  Alright.  Personal taste.  It’s a weird thing right?  Impossible to predict, isn’t it?  We always talk about A-sides and B-sides when it comes to making music, and I like to believe that albums are generally put together with the artist or band bringing their best (theoretically, the A-sides) to an official release.  But once a song has been put out there into the world, it takes on all kinds of different meanings to every set of individual ears listening, doesn’t it?  For example – I’ve heard plenty of songs on what are considered to be B-side albums, or second songs that came along with a single that I might like even more than an A-side.  On the same side of that coin, just about every artist and band I know of tends to like certain songs they release much more than the ones their fans respond to the most.  So…I guess the question is…is there really such a thing as an A-side or a B-side to begin with?  What’s the point in worrying too much if everyone out there will draw to their own conclusions about what they like anyhow?  Should we just put absolutely everything we make out there online & let people be the judge?  When we label something as an A-side or a B-side, doesn’t that somewhat limit the listener’s objective ability to assess how they feel about a song on their own?  Who really decides what’s an A-side or a B?

Charl:  Wasn’t Yellow Ledbetter a B-side?  What a great song!  Anyway, the A-side/B-side debate is really all about the business aspect of music, which I couldn’t care less about.  Maybe that’s why I’m doing that obscure dance.  It goes back to what’s a hit and what’s not, and yeah, I try to steer clear of all that.  I judge the song by the song for better or for worse.  With my own music, I am absolutely terrible at choosing which ones are the catchiest, most engaging tunes because I put everything I have into each one.  What really sucks is that today’s scene is all about releasing singles and I’m still an album kinda guy.  One or two of my tunes from each album will do ok, and then the rest of the songs just sit around in digital purgatory.  But hey, attention spans are dwindling and that’s just the way it is!  So I just try not to worry too much about these labels and I release anything I think is good on an even playing field.

SBS:  Who’s someone you would be able to pinpoint as an influence on your music, or who you are as an artist, that even your fan-base might not have expected?  How has that person affected the way you make your music, and do you really feel like the influence ends up showing up in your sound, or not?  Maybe it’s something they said, maybe it’s something they did, maybe it’s something they accomplished that you hope to as well someday…maybe they’re simply iconic, or have become legendary.  Tell us why this particular inspiration matters to you & how they made an impact on how you view the art of music.

Charl:  Interesting question.  The first not-so-obvious influence that came to mind was Kurt Cobain so that’s who I’m going with.  I almost hate to go with him because he’s such an obvious influence on so many others, but here we are!  Now, I would assume that anyone remotely familiar with my music would not really expect him to be an influence, but there’s one thing about his writing that has stuck with me for decades: apathetic lyrics.  Personally, I find mushy-gushy lyrics more cheesy than emotive so I steer clear of them, usually choosing to go the route of apathy, detachment, disinterest, mockery, etc.  This is likely the direct result of being a kid in the early 90s obsessed with Nirvana.

SBS:  I’m going with a motto of being unafraid to fail this year, because I think even though I’ve failed in so many things that I’ve tried, maybe I still haven’t failed enough to have learned to not be so afraid of it yet, you know what I mean?  We can learn so much by failing…by trying different things…by stretching outside of our comfort zones – and heck, we don’t even know if we can find success at all unless we’re really willing to see what we’re capable of, right?  So let’s ask you this – what do you consider to be your biggest failure with your music to-date, and ultimately, how did that experience actually end up helping you later on?  What did you learn from whatever mistake you made & how did it assist your evolution?

Charl:  I’m confident in my songwriting skills, and I’m becoming more confident in my production skills, but there are a few records I’ve made in the past (under different names) where I just completely missed the mark in the mixes.  If I were the kind of dude that occasionally revisits the past, I’d love to re-mix these records because the songs are awesome and probably deserve better.  But, I’m not that dude – I’m always looking forward.  So anyway, I live with those records existing knowing that I did my best at the time and it was all a learning experience.  They are relics of their own times and honestly, that’s probably what they should remain.  Long live the failures!

SBS:  As I always like to remind people participating in our interviews, there is no such thing as an interview that has ever covered everything that someone would want to talk about, this one included.  We cover that here at sleepingbagstudios by offering you the ‘open floor’ at the end…a space where you can talk about anything else you want to.  You can mention anything we didn’t bring up.  You can talk politics if you want to.  You can swear.  You can tell us which websites we should go to in order to listen to your music.  You can tell us your favorite movie if you like.  Heck, you can full-on repeat yourself and say something you’ve already said if you feel so inclined – it’s YOUR space to say whatever YOU would want to say to the people out there, completely free of our influence on the conversation…all I suggest is that you take it for a ride and make good use out of it.  Thank you so much for talkin’ tunes with us!!!

Charl:  As mentioned, my next album is coming out in a few weeks.  I’m super proud of the work and I’m looking forward to seeing what kind of impression it makes on other ears.  My favorite track is the album opener, “Remove My Eyelids,” but I have a funny feeling that others may think of this track as rather boring.  So should it have been the first track?  Should I have stuck it somewhere in the middle of the set?  To me, it sets the mood and tone of the rest of the album quite nicely and that’s why I chose it as the opener.  However, it’s definitely not an attention-grabbing kind of tune.  It’s a slow burn I tell ya!  The reason I’m saying all this is to point out the fact that there are so many other artistic decisions songwriters have to make even when the songs are done.  This is just something I’ve been thinking about a bit lately and so I’m rambling on.  Track-lists are important for continuity, but there’s no science to it and oftentimes, I find myself too inside the box to be able to tell whether or not my decisions are actually for the best.  So again, do I put a track like that first because that’s what’s best for me in an artistic sense?  Or do I go with something more exciting right off the bat because the opener is likely the determining factor of whether or not people continue on to track two?  Look at me.  Here I am asking the interviewer questions.  That’s a big no-no, right?  But like I said, I’m really just rambling for the sake of rambling.  Obviously, these questions need not be answered.  Perhaps they can’t be answered.  But since the album is done, these are the questions I’ve been thinking about lately.  It’s where I’ve recently been.  It’s likely the songwriter’s curse of overthinking.  Anyway, again, thank you so much for having me, Jer.  You’ve been a great friend and a true artistic inspiration to me for many years now and I hope that’s something I’ll never take for granted.  Long live SBS, long live the Jer, long live the Obscure Toil Dance!

Find music by Charl Ry at:

Apple Music – Spotify – Amazon

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