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Wednesday, December 31, 2008

Liner notes: Barry Ryan CD

LINER NOTES: New Barry Ryan CD

In 2007, I penned the extensive liner notes contained in the booklet of Rockats guitarist Barry Ryan's first solo disc, "And God Said: 'Let There Be Rockabilly,'" it is available on New Jersey's Blues Leaf label.

Here's an excerpt:

"This dynamic solo disc is infused with the same distinctive styling Barry made so crucial to the Rockats's oeuvre, styling that drew on American popular music's blues and country roots and crafted a glorious pastiche at once familiar and excitingly new. (Should you need further testimony to his inimitable fretboard skill check with singer Robert Gordon, who often selects Barry to back him live.)

"Heady, rollicking passages spotlighting his infectious soloing and bubbling with the effervescent fun we all need in our lives are amply represented. They alone would win attention. And for the first time he handles all vocals, demonstrating muscular flair and enhancing the material's uniqueness...

"The electrifying sum is one of articulation as much as instinct, nuance as much as fury...

"Barry's hard-earned experience -- the global touring, the midnight stages, the simultaneous uncertainty and exhilaration of the rock'n'roll life -- informs each twanged, thrashed or elegantly touched-off note."

- DC Larson

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FORMER staff writer for Rockabilly and Pin Up America magazines. FREELANCE credits include Daily Caller, American Thinker, Free Republic, Huffington Post, Counterpunch, Dissident Voice, Independent Political Report, USA Today, Des Moines Register, Iowa City Press-Citizen, Waterloo Courier, Cedar Falls Times, Marshalltown Times Republican, Cincinnati.com, IndyStar, Arizona Republic, No Depression, Goldmine, Blue Suede News, Rock and Rap Confidential, Crackerjack, Blues News, Wrecking Pit, Punk Globe, Prairie Sun, Music and Sound Output, BAM, New Music, and 1980s NYC fanzines Shake, Rattle, and Roll, Rebel Rouser, and Off the Wall. AUTHOR: Shake, Rattle and Rocket!, Ghost Saucers in the Sky!, Stratosphere Boogieman!, Flesh Made Music, That a Man Can Again Stand Up: American spirit vs, sedition during the incipient Trump Revolution, and Ideas Afoot: Political observations, social commentary, and media analyses. WORKED as 2004 Iowa coordinator for Ralph Nader independent presidential campaign; co-founded Iowa Green Party, also served as statewide media coordinator; press coordinator, 2002 Jay Robinson (Green) IA gubernatorial effort. Wrote extensively re Trump campaign..