Meet Ryder McGinnis of Edmonton, AB, Canada

Today we’d like to introduce you to Ryder McGinnis.

Hi Ryder, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
Music is a passion which, the more I learn, sparks new curiosities. I started playing guitar with my arm in a cast, having broken it at a swim meet when I was 14. All I could play at the time was the James Bond theme with my thumb on the low “E” string.

I continued to swim for my first couple years on the varsity team at University of British Columbia, and during this time I also started playing my first open mics. I started with covers, but quickly fell into songwriting and began to experiment with recording.

The rigour of athletics didn’t leave much time for exploration, and I felt a pull to dive more deeply into songwriting, performance, and ultimately rock ‘n’ roll. In my last couple years of university, I joined up with a student music club, Blank Vinyl Project, where I volunteered organizing networking events for musicians, and met the members of my first band. Together, I think we played as many as 20 shows at various venues around Vancouver, and I was hooked on music for good.

After finishing my degree, and a gap year as a golf course maintenance worker, I applied for a bachelor of Music program at MacEwan University in my hometown, Edmonton. I felt that there were a lot of gaps in my musical knowledge that could only be filled in by intense, immersive education.

Currently, I’m coming into my last year at MacEwan, where I’ll be graduating with a major in Composition. My new band, Ryder J. & The Storm, has played 20+ gigs across the Edmonton area, and I’m exploring grant-writing opportunities to fund our debut album. I’m continuing to refine my artistic voice, and have also been lucky to get my first professional contracts as a composer, sound designer, and music director for Albertan theatre.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Covid was a big hurdle for obvious reasons. I was finishing my degree in Vancouver when it hit, leading to an anticlimactic graduation. My band at the time couldn’t play gigs, social connection became strained; my loneliness and the uncertainty in the world made motivation a real struggle.

I still feel some of the residual effects of that lapse in motivation. For example, I put a lot of pressure on myself as a band leader to have a clear vision and a plan. When that doesn’t feel like the case, I get very caught in my head about it, I let things pile up, then I feel bad about that, and it adds up to a lot of self-doubt. It’s an easy spiral to slip into, but when I get like that, I try and focus on accomplishing one thing at a time (like this interview!), and each small win gives me a bit of confidence and momentum.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
Currently in my career, I’m focusing on breadth and versatility! I want to be able to do a bit of everything and do it well. I want to take my folk and pop rock band, Ryder J. & The Storm on tour and build us up to playing festivals across Canada and the United States.

As a composer, I’m currently interested in minimalism and contemporary chamber music; small ensembles and simple repetitive structures that incorporate gradual change so that the music always feels new and is changing, but is also familiar.

I have really enjoyed composing and sound designing for theatre, and am hoping to do more of that. I would also really like to try my hand at composing for film, as I think my compositional style would complement films with a variety of moods: wistful, tense, nostalgic, more that I can’t think of right now!

Alright, so to wrap up, is there anything else you’d like to share with us?
I want to work with people to create art! I’m just getting my feet wet in this industry, I’m open to wherever opportunities take me (jingle writing, composition, performance art, too many to name!)

Pricing:

• Film scoring and Sound design: negotiable
• Production/songwriting/jingle writing: negotiable
• Performance: $100/hr per person (solo, duo, and band options. Local to Alberta only for now)

Contact Info:

• Website: https://ryderjmusic.ca/
• Instagram: @ryderdude4
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@ryderj.5169