Music Review and Interview with Ryan Pennatune – Golden Boy

Golden Boy is a sharp sounding collection of distorted guitars and melodies. It has the heaviness to make it feel like a freedom at the weekend kind of track, but it also has the stylish and memorable tune of the lead vocal – to give it that necessary element of familiarity. I was reminded of the somewhat more popular albums from The Offspring, the unusual structure of the song and the creative play within the verses and instrumental breaks, reminded my a little of their style – though it is entirely new sounding in all honesty, with only a slight hint of influence, plus the gravelly and hard hitting sound of the vocal.

Ryan Pennatune – Golden Boy

It’s been a while since I’ve heard some indie rock or punk with creative song writing standing strong amongst the gritty angst of distortion and attitude – it’s really nice to hear a track with so much thought and skill having gone into it, rather than just a band who thrash their guitars around and hope people start dancing to it. This is genuinely a great song, having listened several times now – it would fit well for me during a drive down to or slap bang in the middle of an extreme sports session. I enjoyed the lead vocal, I enjoyed the chord progressions and the way the instruments work together so tightly – which of course makes perfect sense when you consider that Ryan Pennatune wrote and performed every part himself. An awesomely talented artist, writer, and multi-instrumentalist.

I particularly enjoyed the extended guitar solo towards the end; it’s unexpected, for me, it has the glamorous flair of a Queen song in many ways, but sort of modernised, almost electronic, yet still maintaining that organic indie sound. It would be a great experience to hear the song performed live – it’s well worth taking the time to check out Ryan Pennatune and lookout for his début solo EP ‘Recess’ on the 29th of April.

By Rebecca Cullen

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW:

Exposed Vocals: So tell us your story. Where did you grow up? What made you decide to become an artist?

Ryan Pennatune: I grew up just outside of Detroit, MI. My father was a big fan of The Beatles and The Rolling Stones. I grew up listening to albums in his collection and I just connected with it immediately. Playing music wasn’t just something I wanted to do, it was something I felt like I had to do. I first started playing music when I was 7 years old. I got a really cheap beginner acoustic guitar for my birthday and a really cheap beginner drum kit for Christmas all in the same year. When other kids were outside playing sports, I was inside listening to “Exile on Main St.”

Exposed Vocals: What do you think about online music sharing? Do you ever give your music away for free? Why?

Ryan Pennatune: It’s tough. I feel that artists do deserve to be paid for their work. At the same time, you want the maximum amount of ears possible hearing your music. At the end of the day, people who engage in music sharing are people who just want to hear music. A lot of times they’re the biggest fans of music. There are people listening to your music that otherwise may not have if not for music sharing. In 2016, it’s just something that comes with the territory. As far as giving away free music, I am not opposed to the occasional freebie.

Exposed Vocals: Do you ever make mistakes during performances? How do you handle that?

Ryan Pennatune: I have broken guitar strings, forgotten words, accidentally unplugged things…it happens. You’ve just gotta keep going. Don’t stop playing unless you absolutely have to and never let it get you too flustered.

Exposed Vocals: Where do you usually gather songwriting inspiration? What is your usual songwriting process?

 
Ryan Pennatune: I’m inspired by everything. We live in a crazy world. If you can’t find something to be inspired by you don’t have your eyes open. I don’t have a set process for songwriting. Sometimes a line or idea will pop into my head and I’ll end up building a song around it. Often times I’ll stumble upon a riff or a chord progression when I’m just messing around with a guitar. A melody will pop into my head to go along with it and that will be the genesis of the song. I will say for me, lyrics tend to come last. There are so many ways to write a song though and none of them are right or wrong.

 

Exposed Vocals: Do you have a band website? What online platforms do you use to share your music?

 
Ryan Pennatune: My official website is ryanpennatune.com – I am also on Twitter and Instagram (@ryanpennatune for both) and you can find me on YouTube and Soundcloud. My upcoming EP “Recess” will be available on iTunes, Spotify & and all of other major digital outlets on 4/29/16.

 

Exposed Vocals: What are some really embarrassing songs that we might find on your mp3 player?

Ryan Pennatune: It doesn’t embarrass me but I’m sure I would lose some “cool points” for “Only In My Dreams” by Debbie Gibson. I don’t care though. That song rules. You’re the ones that should be embarrassed for NOT listening to it.

Exposed Vocals: If you were given half a million dollars and a year off, what would you do? How would you spend it?

Ryan Pennatune: I’d load up on some new gear, fund some other things I want to do outside of music, and buy loads of Lebanese food.

Exposed Vocals: Any planned studio upgrades? What are you working with now?

Ryan Pennatune: I currently have a home studio setup in my basement. It’s a pretty simple set up but I like it & it works for me. Nothing new planned for now but I’m always on the lookout for new gear so you never know. Different vocal mics are always fun to try out. New guitars are always fun to play. Although, no matter how many guitars you have, there’s always that one you find yourself going back to more than the others. For me it’s a single-pickup humbucker Strat that I picked up second hand. Some dude customized it years ago and I love it.

Exposed Vocals: How do you find ways to promote your music? What works best for you?

Ryan Pennatune: Social media is hugely important. At the heart of it is finding ways to actually connect with people. You’re not just a name on an album cover anymore, you’re someone that people can actually communicate with and get to know. The artist/fan connection has never been stronger. The combination of putting out quality material and building a solid relationship with your fans can go a long way.

Exposed Vocals: If you could perform anywhere and with any artists (Dead or Alive) where and who would it be with? Why?

Ryan Pennatune: There’s a chap named Ginger Wildheart out of England that is one of my favorite songwriters of all time. I would love to do something with him someday. Being able to do something with Mick Jagger, who I consider to be the greatest rock and roll frontman of all time, would also be pretty cool. I’d also love to do something with Dave Grohl. Dave Grohl is one of the great rock frontmen and songwriters of the modern era. However, I don’t think I could resist the temptation to ask him to get on the drums.

Exposed Vocals: So, what’s next? Any new upcoming projects that you want to talk about?

Ryan Pennatune: I left the last band I was in earlier this year and didn’t know at first what my next move was going to be. I had always wanted to do something on my own and it felt like it might be time to finally go through with it. So I wrote some new songs and took a few other ideas I had been kicking around and started recording. I hit upon 4 songs I liked a lot and decided to put them out as an EP. The EP is called “Recess” and will be released on 4/29/16. I sing and play every instrument on the thing so it is a solo effort in the truest sense of the word.

Exposed Vocals: If you weren’t making music, what would you be doing?

Ryan Pennatune: Thinking about making music! That’s a really tough question to answer because music is so much a part of who I am that the idea of not making music just feels so foreign to me. I do have some interests outside of music still related to entertainment that I would like to pursue but hopefully music will always be part of the picture. Although, perhaps I could become a town crier and just shout about random happenings going on in the community as one would have done in the 1700’s. I would wear the proper wardrobe too. Where have all of the town criers gone? This is the question on everybody’s mind.

Exposed Vocals: Do you remember buying your first album? Who was it? What was going through your head?

Ryan Pennatune: The first album I remember actually getting on my own was Enema of the State by Blink 182. This was a year or so after it had been released. Blink were all over MTV at the time and my friends and I took great pleasure in their brand of humor. Say what you want about Blink but they also had some really great songs. I still love Blink. This album and Dookie by Green Day were my gateways to alternative music.

Exposed Vocals: How do you juggle the rest of your responsibilities while trying to stay ahead in your music life?

Ryan Pennatune: It’s something I don’t really think about and just kind of do. When you have responsibilities you just have to find a way to make it work. There’s always a way to make anything work if you want to badly enough.

Exposed Vocals: What should fans look forward to in 2016?

Ryan Pennatune: I hope everyone checks out the new EP. I can say though that this will not be the only new music from me this year. This may be the most exciting time ever for making music as we live in a time where the artist can be in total control of their career. I plan on taking full advantage of that.