Ryan Bingham Burns Country Bridge
(Ryan Bingham’s new album Junky Star is on sale for a limited time through Amazon for $3.99. CLICK HERE.)
Hey Ryan, it’s me, Country Music. I’ve been hearing some interesting things lately, about how you’re eager to dispel that your music is country. This puts me in a weird position, because I’m used to people using my name to call things “country” that are not. But I heard your first two albums, and though I wouldn’t say they are solidly country projects, without question there some country there, more country than most that fly my flag. And how about that Oscar, for a country song in a movie about a country star? Do you really think its that perplexing that some people think your music is country? It can’t be nearly as perplexing as some of your moves lately, including this one.
I mean what’s going on here Ryan, I thought we were buds? What, are you ashamed of me? Is it a sore subject with all of your new friends out in LA? If this is about you being ashamed that country has been overrun by pop then say so, but you didn’t seem so quick to distance from country when you were living in Texas and using traditional country infrastructure to make a name for yourself.
I mean, didn’t Lone Star Music help fund your first two self-releases? Didn’t your appearance on the BBC’s Bob Harris Country help you get your name out there? How about you playing on the COUNTRY Throwdown tour this summer, with Hank Jr., Jamey Johnson, Eric Church, etc.? Didn’t you spend years on the bull riding circuit? It doesn’t get more country than that!
If you want to burn bridges, well hell man, don’t let me stand in your way, in fact I’ll light the torch myself! But I don’t want to see a Waylon Jennings album or a pearl snap shirt near your new hatless, Hollywood Heights scene, and don’t come crying back to me if Marc Ford and the rest of your LA good time buddies leave you high and dry. No country concept albums, no “reconnecting with your roots” projects in the future. You don’t want to be known as country, then fine. ITS OVER!!!
Have fun stroking your Oscar.
–Country.
August 31, 2010 @ 7:30 am
I may be going out on a limb here…don’t you think it’s possible that he may be talking about Nashville’s idea of country? If that is the case then his music IS nowhere near country music. I don’t know that much about his history and all so correct me if I’m completely off base here…but he may not know much about the underground outlaw country movement and isn’t thinking of that when he says country music. I actually just recently started listening to his music and I’m a fan.
August 31, 2010 @ 7:37 am
Sandman,
I don’t think that’s going too far out on a limb, and I referenced the idea that this might be going on up above. But if that is the case, why doesn’t he say that? And why did he sign up for the Country Throwdown tour this summer that included Eric Church and Montgomery Gentry? If he’s got a problem with Nashville, there’s your problem right there. I think this is another symptom that he’s trying to Californicate his image. He won an Oscar, and now he’s gone Hollywood. It’s a shame, because I like (or did like) this guy.
August 31, 2010 @ 7:52 am
Sorry but I gotta agree with Sandman on this one. I think Ryan is simply trying to distance himself from commercial radio country. Unfortunately it is just a plain fact that to the masses ‘country’ means what is played on country radio. Who wouldn’t want to distance themselves from that garbage and try to discourage a bunch of dudes smelling like Tim Mcgraw coming to their shows. Could he/should he have been more specific? Sure. You never know, maybe he was. Spinner is not the best source for an interview. If he had been interviewed by someone which he knew understood and appreciated what country music really is he likely would have put a disclaimer on his comments. Plus, look at the other articles around the one linked to, ‘eric clapton hates his voice’, ‘robert plant turns his back on rock’. Their staff writers don’t seem to be too concerned with actual music news.
August 31, 2010 @ 7:59 am
Triggerman, Just saw your comment about the Country Throwdown Tour. Now that I agree 100% with you. Why the hell he went on that tour is unexplainable. I like him, so I hope it was simply bad management trying to squeeze everything out of ‘Weary Kind’ possible. It’s tough out there. Personally I forgive 1 maybe 2 bad moves by artist I really think get it. Throwdown is one bad move, making a habit of talking shit about country music in too generic a context could very well become number two….
August 31, 2010 @ 8:00 am
Interesting to note.. he pulled out of the country throwdown not even a 1/4 of the way through.
What I know about bingham is that he could care less about image. He just is. always has been.
August 31, 2010 @ 8:07 am
I thought the Country Throwdown stuff was promotion for his single in the movie…since it was his biggest hit yet. Maybe this comment is in reaction to experiences on that tour. If that is the case, it’s kinda refreshing. Too many artists get a big hit in a genre they don’t normally fit in and change their style to appeal to a new fan base. The more I think about it, it sounds like him just saying “I am who I am and I’m not changing because of a hit I had in mainstream country music.” He probably does see what he does as rock more than country, even if his sounds fits our idea of country.
August 31, 2010 @ 9:00 am
Hey y’all could be right, that he’s reacting to the bad image of country. But if that’s the case he needs to say so. Didn’t know he pulled out of that tour, but I don’t think he was the only one. That tour was a train wreck. I was supposed to see it in Dallas and they canceled it along with a bunch of other dates. I’m glad the “country Warped” took a dump, esp. with the country douche Eric Church on board.
I’m seeing a pattern here though.
1. Lost the hat.
2. Moved to LA.
3. Agrees to Country Throwdown.
4. Wins a Oscar.
5. Says he’s not country.
I want to like Ryan. He’s from Texas/New Mexico just like me and I like some of his tunes. And it may not be all about image, hell I don’t know. But when you’re hanging in LA the people tend to wear off on you. We’ll see what his next move is. That might gives us some new clues.
August 31, 2010 @ 9:08 am
I need to listen to the new album before I determine if your take is an overreaction to one quote in a short “article” (it read more like a press release). I liked Bingham and thought Mescalito was fantastic. His performance on Austin City Limits was pretty damn good, as well. You can’t deny that “Bread & Water” is not exactly a country song, though “Southside of Heaven” might qualify.
Basically, I don’t care if he considers himself country or not. As Sandman said, I’m not even sure what that means anymore. He has made some good music, and these days “going Hollywood” is less of an idictment than “going Nashville.”
August 31, 2010 @ 9:11 am
I enjoy a lot of Bingham’s music. And I hope that he is trying to distance himself from the Nashville politics. Maybe he got this idea when he was playing with Eric Church and heard “Smoke a Little Smoke” one too many times and said to himself, “I gotta get as far away from this bullshit as possible.”
PS: Try keehttp://new.music.yahoo.com/Eric-Church/videos/view/Smoke-A-Little-Smoke–218699348ping your lunch down after watching this…
August 31, 2010 @ 9:12 am
http://new.music.yahoo.com/Eric-Church/videos/view/Smoke-A-Little-Smoke–218699348
Sorry about that link…
August 31, 2010 @ 9:43 am
I’ve known Bingham since he was 20 or so- have even fed and sheltered him back when he was living in his truck and eating American cheese sandwiches and I can tell you he is a taker who never looks back at those that have helped him. Not just me- I’ve seen the pattern over and over for several years. He went LA way before the Oscar. I sincerely wish I could be proud of him and still call him a friend.
October 12, 2010 @ 2:54 pm
Thank you, sir. The whole damn internet is full of nothing but people sucking Ryan off. I think he is a phony and his lyrics and playing are mediocre at best.
August 31, 2010 @ 10:24 am
Triggerman,
I agree that his personal journey has taken him away from a tried and true “cowboy” (country) image. I’m from Texas too and saw him for years play Adairs and other small hole in the wall places around the state. He’s never called himself a country singer or any type of singer. He’s as diverse as they come.. that isn’t some made up media BS that his management is promoting. hell he’s living up with a bunch of hippies and surfers 🙂
my point in saying that and my other comment is that, in my opinion, his music isn’t about a genre, but more what comes from within him. A lot of the progressive (outlaw) country guys from the 70’s fit that same exact pattern. I’m sure you’ve read some of Chet Flippo’s stuff about that time frame.. or if not, a quick look at the back of Wanted: The Outlaws tells that exact story. Those guys (and Bingham) gave up on defining what they were doing.
I think that is what is at the heart of what he is saying. “you guys have me in a country box. I want out of that box”.
As to the throwdown.. yes it was due letting them only play a short set and the whole thing being a joke. i think officially it was about money, but the whole thing smells like poor booking/management. he’s booked by CCA and those guys will do anything. hopefully lots was learned from it.
BTW, he still wears that hat (he did when I saw him in Baton Rouge in May).
August 31, 2010 @ 11:15 am
I saw the trailer for the movie & thought it would be awesome. I bought the soundtrack & was so unimpressed I still haven’t seen the movie. I say if he’s not country it’s no big loss.
August 31, 2010 @ 12:10 pm
“these days “going Hollywood” is less of an idictment than “going Nashville.””
Good point Big A. This really has nothing to do with his music. I need to give the new album a good listen to myself. It has more to do with a pattern of behavior. And that hes so flippant with people who may consider his music country. Is it that hard to believe when he’s putting his albums out on country labels, winning Oscars for music in a country movie?
August 31, 2010 @ 12:13 pm
Dugan,
That sucks to hear. I’m glad so many people are coming her to defend him. There’s many artists that are much worse than Ryan Bingham. But if what you say is true, it would fit the pattern that he used indie country infrastructure to get ahead and now is trashing it to replace it with the southern rock scene in southern California.
August 31, 2010 @ 12:15 pm
Tank,
I hear what you’re saying. Really we can all surmise as much as we want. What we really need is for him to clarify his statements, which hopefully he will do soon.
August 31, 2010 @ 12:41 pm
I think what you are saying is true. He got his start in indie country (I REALLY love that name, BTW) and now seems to progress across genre’s. In my review of the album I even said it feels somewhere in-between country and rock. But I think we are reaching if we say that he intentionally is using it as a stepping stone. I doubt he’s that intentional. His label… his management… maybe.
I wouldn’t call Lost Highway a country label, though.
August 31, 2010 @ 12:43 pm
oh.. and that last track.. All Choked Up Again… feels like it came straight off a Waylon record circa 1977. And not just the out of phase guitar. Bingham can say whatever he wants… that my friend is country.
Junky Star – Ryan Bingham | iTunes
August 31, 2010 @ 2:04 pm
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August 31, 2010 @ 3:48 pm
I’ve never thought that Ryan was country, country overtones sure, but I tend to classify him in that nebulous non-label genre of “signer-songwriter” along with Colin Gilmore, Justin Townes Earle, John Wesley Harding and anyone else that is at their best in a small club with only a beat-up guitar. That said, Ryan is just going to have to accept the label “country signer” from most media until he writes a song for an Oscar award winning movie about an aging rock star.
August 31, 2010 @ 6:33 pm
I believe it’s a career move, as he doesn’t fit CMA and there is no current “country” alternative in the real marketplace, that is, country music for all practical purposes no longer exists. All I know is I saw him on Letterman last night and, not only was he neither kind of country, he wasn’t too good.
August 31, 2010 @ 7:37 pm
I don’t care what he calls himself. I dug a good deal of that soundtrack. Liked the movie. I haven’t yet bought any of his shit but I have heard some and it goes about 50-50 with me. Without knowing too much about him, I would say he might be in the “tweener” class along with the great Townes Van Zant. Some of what he does is right in there with classic Waylon, some wanders into the singer song writer territory. I would like to see him try to parlay his success into furthering the underground country movement, but it may be too-little-too-late for that. In the end, he should do what is in his heart, which may or may not be country.
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August 31, 2010 @ 9:34 pm
You all keep saying Bingham should have “clarified” his comments more – but how do you know that there wasn’t more to his comments in the first place? This entire assumption is being made merely off of ONE quote that was most likely from an interview that who knows how long it was. He may have in fact clarified it – but we weren’t there – so not really right to assume in my opinion.
And also I think it’s interesting that Bingham mentions he doesn’t like being judged by his image – yet here you are – in fact judging him by his image ONLY…what he wears, where he lives, etc. At the end of the day, it should be about the MUSIC (which you even yourself admitted you haven’t even really delved into the new album yet), and it sounds like that’s what Bingham was trying to convey as well – no genre labels, branding, etc…
August 31, 2010 @ 11:17 pm
Alex,
You make some good points, though I think him signing to the Country Throwdown tour is a tangible thing that isn’t just about image. It was clearly a country tour. Nobody was freaking out when he joined because he wasn’t country. They were freaking out because he was putting his name beside Eric Church and others. In fact I’d say my criticisms are more behavioral instead of image-based. But you’re right, the music is what should matter first and foremost.
And yes, there was probably more to this interview, and that is why I hate these stupid soundbyte blogs that don’t tell the whole story. That’s why my articles are so long, and I loose readers because of it, but it is not fair to the subject matter to cut so aggressively. But the writer did characterize that he was “eager” to distance from country. I can’t see him making that up.
I’m glad Ryan Bingham fans are coming to defend him. He has talent, and even IF he has taken a turn for the worse, he’s still not nearly the sellout as many other mainstream artists.
And honestly nobody should take this article as my judgment on his music, though I know that’s a pretty easy judgment to make. As gay as this sounds, I tried to write it from the perspective of “country music” as if it were a living breathing thing, and what country music would say when they read Ryan’s comments. I know there’s going to be confusion, but I’m a big boy and can take criticism, and in fact enjoy it.
September 1, 2010 @ 12:57 am
With regards to Country Throwdown tour – I’ve actually heard myself mixed messages on that in particular…and I’m not sure if it was really “him” at the end of the day signing onto it. I think it may have been a bit more of misguiding than anything by poor mgmt – and yes, he was the first one who left tour too after it started up(I would assume once he realized). Btw – I also don’t think he’s with the same mgmt anymore…could be related…
Not sure if you guys have seen yet either – but here is a video from his CD release show in Los Angeles a week ago…definitely still seems the same ole Bingham to me in my opinion – even in LA!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EBUiqr8Glsw
September 7, 2010 @ 1:05 pm
I personally think he is just taking the same approach Cross Canadian Ragweed did as well. Not all of their music is country and some can be taken as a country song but they don’t wanna be pigeonholed into one genre of music. The way I look at it is you have your “outlaw” scene like Hank III and then you have your “Red Dirt” scene which I consider Ryan to be part of. A large group of different musicians/bands that play all types of music from Country, Southern Rock, Tejano, blues, etc.
June 24, 2013 @ 10:54 pm
Well i am sure that Ryans last CD put this conversation to rest. Although each of his albums have been different the newest one has went way past anything that could be recognized as country.
June 16, 2014 @ 10:33 pm
I mean who care if he’s not country anymore. What country music has turned into makes me sick. He’s a good artist just leave it at that. I listen to his music all the time. If you don’t like him then don’t listen to him. But instead you sit behind a computer screen and write negative things about him. Wow man you must be one bad mother fuck huh?
June 16, 2014 @ 10:41 pm
Jesus, this was written four years ago. Not even sure how you found this. Here’s an updated opinion about Ryan:
https://savingcountrymusic.com/40th-annual-willie-nelsons-4th-of-july-picnic-live-blog
“Can”™t say enough about Ryan Bingham. Not sure if he was just on it today, if the crowd was right, if the big sound system that can gooble some artists up complimented him, but man, he nailed it. Excellent band behind him as well. Two guns up!”