Written By: Jayme Face
We talked with music producer and songwriter Jeremy Ryan to discuss his latest ventures including his Oscar-nominated song “Answers” performed by Emery Kelly in the major motion picture Max Winslow and The House of Secrets!
Photo Courtesy of Jeremy Ryan
upfrontNY: Can you tell us about the song “Answers” performed by Emery Kelly and how that collaboration came about?
Jeremy Ryan: Emery was working as an actor on the movie Max Winslow and The House of Secrets and we had an opportunity to write the song for the movie, a soundtrack song. I spoke to the producers Johnny Remo and Skipstone Pictures about the scene and his character, Aiden Ross, and how it was going to be placed in the movie. We talked about it and we decided on creating an anti-bully song. It is more of that good feel power ballad making sure that it’s a transition moment where you can see yourself being better. In the scene that was happening in the movie. So, I went back and got my guitar and wrote a song and then brought in my producing partner, Cooper Anderson. Then we brought in Emery, had him re-sing the song and make it his own- put it more towards his vocal ability and his melodies. That’s pretty much how we got it done. It was a very smooth transition. Emery is pretty flawless when it comes to recording vocals.
Photo Courtesy of Jeremy Ryan
Jeremy Ryan,Emery Kelly, and Cooper Anderson in-studio creating “The Answers”
upfrontNY: You’ve written music for many movies; is it typical for you to write a song for a movie, do you write a song and it just fits or is it a combination where you go back and change the song?
Jeremy Ryan: Yeah. So, normally I get a script, read the script and then I focus on what scenes that I think would best fit that song. Especially if there’s like a scene written in there where something is playing in the car, there’s a transistor radio or just a scene or even a moment where there’s somebody walking, somebody holding their hand at the end of the movie where it would be that tear jerker moment. That’s pretty much how I write the songs. I don’t just have songs, well I have songs many songs in the library, but I don’t just go in there and think ‘Oh, this song will be good for this one.’ I specifically write the songs and music for the actual script to put in that particular soundtrack for the movie.
upfrontNY: How did you first get into the music industry and specifically music in film?
Jeremy Ryan: In the music industry itself, when I was younger I moved to Orlando, Florida. That’s how I began this career. I was a singer myself. I was a performer. I was in boy groups. I’m dating myself, this is when N’Sync, Backstreet Boys, LFO, Pink, they were all just coming out back in the day- Britney Spears, Eminem just started things like that. I came up with those guys and I was with the management companies and record labels down in Orlando, Florida. When they were coming through there were a lot of people getting signed a lot of people that were not getting signed and I was one of those people who were not getting signed so I moved back north by New York and New Jersey where I’m living now. I just continued working and continued my music career writing songs more. Before I was the performer, I was in the boy groups so I was getting the music written for me and I did that for four years and when I came back I started writing my own material. It started progressing from there. It really took a turn when I met my producing partner Cooper Anderson about 12/13 years ago because he did everything that I was unable to do and I was doing things he was unable to do. We sort of meshed and brought our talents together music production-wise. He was a Berkley College Graduate and working under really popular and well-known producers. We got to work together on projects and be a part of these things. We got to work on the song “We Are Young” by Fun that eventually won a Grammy for song of the year; so, we got the Grammy credit as well. We worked on Kanye West and “Gold Digger”, we did John Legend’s “Once Again”. That’s where it started going as a writer and producer. I started realizing that every song I wrote didn’t have to be for me. A lot of times it’s very hard for young artists to see that. It’s challenging because every song you write is so good that you want to do it. Then in recent years, about 2/3 years ago, is when I started writing specifically for movies. I also work with individuals for some signed and some unsigned artists. I got into writing music for film and I loved it. Writing specifically for somebody, for something that can get somewhere. It’s hard when you’re writing songs for artists and you put it out and ten out of ten people you meet are writing songs too. It’s very hard to break through in this industry.
upfrontNY: You have collaborated with some big names; who have you not collaborated with yet, but would love to in the future?
Jeremy Ryan: Someone that I would love to collaborate with that I haven’t yet would be Alicia Keys. Yes, I would love to do a record with her. Actually, someone I am working with now worked with Alicia Keys and a lot of different artists and I can’t wait to pick his brain and get some stories about that. She’s definitely one of the ones I want to work with!
upfrontNY: You have been in the industry for 20+ years; how has the industry evolved?
Jeremy Ryan: Just the way that you are allowed to release music for one. Anybody with a cellphone and twenty dollars can release a song and it can go viral at any moment. That’s one difference. You don’t need a record label; you don’t need to go through all the different channels to get your music heard. Yes, it is a lot harder because of that, but you just need one song like ‘Baby Shark’ and you’re a millionaire! And of course, another way that music has evolved is the music itself. I was a 90s kid so I listened to 90s grunge and rock songs and R&B that transitioned into your 2000s pop boy groups. Then it got into that Akon stuff and went on to Daddy Yankee and all these different things in pop music itself. Spanish was really huge at one point but now, I believe it’s like the 90s Emo of it all is coming back. With the young writers, these days they’re all so open about anxiety and emotional, but it’s with more trap and hip hop type beats. It’s like Billie Eilish. She’s very low singing, very calm, laid back, and relaxed. It has those types of beats, but a very emo, very sad music these days that kids are writing. But it just depends on which genre you’re working in. That’s why I love movies because you can write any genre. You can write any decade. I just wrote a soundtrack all 1920s, 30s, 40s and 50s music. It was enjoyable. I loved it. You get into the character. That’s what I like about it all, I don’t have to act, but I get to play the role through my music and then I get to put it onto the big screen. It’s pretty cool!
upfrontNY: Can you tell us about your most recent partnership with Deanna Brown Thomas and how that came about?
Jeremy Ryan: Yeah! So, Deanna Brown is my business partner now and she is the daughter of soul legend James Brown. We met and started working together about 5/ 6 years ago. We remade one of her father’s songs called “Get Up Offa That Thing” which is out now and we also had Emery feature on that song. Emery is on that song along with the James Brown kids from the academy that Ms. Brown founded out of Augusta, Georgia. It’s been out and released right now. We’re working with the NBA to get that out on television at the games like when you’re watching a basketball game and it goes to commercial and the song plays when the logo comes up.
The newest venture is she and I are going to be creating movies. I’ve been writing music for movies for so long I’ve decided to produce my own and I’ve built a really strong team. She and I just founded our company, Brown Light Productions. We are going to be producing our very first feature film with some very big names that I cannot tell you yet!
upfrontNY: Can you tell us about the Jeremy Ryan Music School of Sound?
Jeremy Ryan: It is not your typical music school. It is a school where you can come learn how to write, record, mix, master, produce and release your own music. Anybody can come learn, but I’m focusing on children that go to these places called ‘School of Rock’ that know how to play an instrument, but once they know how to play what do they do with that music? There are 8 year olds that are playing the ax like Led Zeppelin. It’s amazing! It’s incredible! However, they don’t have the knowledge or know how to record that or do anything with it. Sometimes they’re playing some band shows and sometimes they are doing things out of their garage, but they’re not putting anything to it. Now these kids are growing up and you wonder why you go to a party (pre- Covid) and one of your coworkers goes to the piano and they start playing Billy idol to the tee and you’re like holy cow! Because this kid learned it when he was 15, but he was never taught how to do anything with it and he lost that and he just became an accountant. So, we don’t have to have these kids go in that direction. That’s why I made the school of sound there’s really nothing out there like it. We don’t just teach you how to play the music, we teach you how to record it and produce it, mix it and release it in the right way and put it out on music streaming platforms.
upfrontNY: What advice do you give to those kids just getting started?
Jeremy Ryan: The best way to get into it is to is to surround yourself in the atmosphere. You have to live in it in order to become it. What I mean by that is if you are dying to be a basketball player, but all you do is go to the skate park you’re never going to become a basketball player. If you want to be a writer and a musician start hanging out with musicians and songwriters, surround yourself with the school band, surround yourself with the school play, surround yourself with other artistic people. The people that you bring into your life you can feed off each other. That’s going to be the immediate thing on how to begin this process. You put yourself in the surroundings to make yourself successful. Learn an instrument, obviously. Take classes, take guitar or whatever instrument or you can come to the School of Sound. I would say education is also a big factor because you have to know what you’re doing. Education and surround yourself with the right people that you want to be surrounded with.
upfrontNY: Living in the New York area what is something you love about the music scene here?
Jeremy Ryan: Broadway! Unfortunately, it’s not open, but I love musicals because you’re taking music and making it visual. It’s really cool to see music come to life. That’s one of my favorite things about New York, aside from it’s the city that never sleeps. I’m looking to create a Broadway show too someday. It’s one of my passions; a dream of mine!
Social Media:
Website: jeremyryanofficial.com
Instagram: @djconnectofficial
Co-Founder of Brown Light Productions (A James Brown Family Movie Production Company): brownlightproductions.com
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