My name is Ryan "Smitty" Byrne and I am the bassist for Stephen Cochran & The New Country Outlaws! I am also a founding member of the veteran New Hampshire-based rock band, Nostalgic Distortion.
Male
35 years old
Nashville, Tennessee
United States
On bass I tend to play country, rock, punk, celtic/Irish folk, and jazz styles.
On saxophone I tend to play big band swing, jazz, legit, and some rock stuff.
But I listen to EVERYTHING! You name a style or genre and I probably listen to it or want to learn more about it!
Movies
I'm not a big movie person but I tend to like Sci-Fi, Action/Adventure, and Comedy films. I also like movies based on real life stories.
Television
GAC, CMT, VH1, MTV, Discovery Channel, Public Television,
Books
Non-fiction, like books about country/rock/folk/jazz history, books about the music industry in general, biographies of singers, musicians, and business tycoons.
Heroes
The unsung heroes; all the men and women who are serving or have served our country. Because of them I was able to choose my own path in life. Everyday I think about what an honor and privilege it is to be an American.
On The Road
The following slideshow contains pics from both on and off the stage taken during our various travels. Photos are arranged (for the most part anyway) in reverse chronological order so that the most recent photos are first.
A big thank you goes out to all the friends of the band that have shared their photos with me and have made it possible to put this little slideshow together!
Bassist: Stephen Cochran & The New Country Outlaws
Ryan Byrne's Schools
Plymouth State College
Plymouth, NH
Graduated: 1999
Student status: Alumni
Major: Music Education
Clubs: Jazz Ensemble, Jazz Combo, Symphonic Band, Chamber Singers, Concert Chorale, MENC,
Gorham High School
Gorham, NH
Graduated: 1992
Student status: Alumni
Clubs: Band, Jazz Band, Chorus, FBLA
1988 to 1992
Ryan Byrne's Companies
Byrne Auto Center / Byrne Corner Store Gorham, New Hampshire US You name it
Forever
Berlin Jazz Berlin, New Hampshire US Saxophonist
1989 - 2004
Nostalgic Distortion Plymouth, New Hampshire US Bassist/Vocalist
1994 - Current
Lafayette Regional School Franconia, New Hampshire US Music Teacher
1999 - 2004
Bethlehem Elementary School Bethlehem, New Hampshire US Music Teacher
1999 - 2004
"St. J" Jazz (Big Band 2000 - Big Band 2004) St. Johnsbury, Vermont US Saxophonist
2000 - 2004
Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum Nashville, Tennessee US Sales Supervisor (Visitor Services Department)
2005
Nashville Community Concert Band Nashville, Tennessee US Saxophonist
2005 - 2006
Metropolitan Nashville Public Schools Nashville, Tennessee US Substitute Teacher
2006 - Current
Stephen Cochran & The New Country Outlaws Nashville, Tennessee US Bassist
2006 - Current
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Ryan Byrne Orthodox Christians in Russia R celebrating Christmas Day today (Jan 7th), which prompts the question: Does anyone have any gifts 4 me? ;-) Posted 20 hours ago view more
Thank you for tuning in to the "Ryan Byrne Network" MySpace Page (myspace.com/RyanByrneNetwork): The MySpace Home for Ryan "Smitty" Byrne - bassist for Stephen Cochran & The New Country Outlaws.
I'm Ryan Byrne and I would love to have you as a friend here on my page. I maintain this page and my other sites/pages by myself and I try my very best to reply to your messages whenever possible.
Please feel free to also visit me and become my friend at the following sites:
Click below to watch the YouTube version of Stephen Cochran's video/single, "Wal-Mart Flowers"! Call your favorite country station today and request it!
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Click below to check out a YouTube clip of Stephen Cochran & The New Country Outlaws performing "Thinkin I'm Drinkin" live from Times Square, New York City on Fox News Channel's "UParty 2008" New Year's Eve show!
Click below to check out a YouTube clip of Stephen Cochran's debut video/single, "Friday Night Fireside"
Stephen Cochran's self-titled debut album is available online from:
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And now back to our feature story on the "Ryan Byrne Network"
Welcome to my story; a modern day Clark Kent-esque yarn-spin with a musical twist.
Off stage I am known as Ryan Byrne, the former public-school music teacher from New Hampshire with a love for life and a penchant for trivial information.
But just before I step onto the stage with Stephen Cochran & The New Country Outlaws, I go into the backstage dressing room and emerge shortly after as "Smitty", the blue-mohawk-wearin', tasmanian-devil-spinnin', bass-playin'-superfreak . . . er, I mean superhero, the likes of which country music has never seen before.
In The Beginning . . .
I was born in New Hampshire's largest city of Manchester, but raised in the small town of Gorham (NH) from the 3rd grade up.
I started playing saxophone in 4th grade and electric bass the summer after 6th grade.
After high school graduation I spent one year at Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts. It was one of the best years of my life.
For many reasons I ended up transferring to Plymouth State College (now Plymouth State University) in Plymouth, New Hampshire where I earned my B.S. in Music Education.
Not only did I learn a lot about life and meet some of my best friends at Plymouth, but I also started a rock band, called Nostalgic Distortion (ND), with some of my college friends that went on to stay together for 10 years, releasing 3 albums and playing small clubs around New Hampshire, Maine, Vermont, and Massachusetts.
Though we all hoped ND would one day provide us with full time work and a good living, we all had to find "real jobs" when we graduated from college.
I became a public school music teacher in a small, rural town in New Hampshire not too far from where I grew up. I loved the job and ended up staying for 6 years, all the while playing with ND on the side.
However, when I turned 29 years old, changes were taking place all around me and it forced me to reevaluate my life. Members of ND were getting married and starting families and it became clear that they wouldn't be able to give ND the same priority it had once held in their lives.
Still a dreamer at age 29, I realized I had to make some big changes in my life if I really wanted to pursue music full-time. I put my teaching career and ND on indefinite hiatus, packed my minivan with all my music gear and a few personal items, and moved to Nashville.
I changed my focus from co-fronting my own rock band to pursuing a sideman position as a bassist/back-up-vocalist for an artist.
I networked and played around town for two years for several different local artists before the opportunity with Stephen presented itself.
As a member of Stephen's band I have been able to open up for or otherwise share the stage with a multitude of artists/bands from a variety of genres, playing everything from small clubs for a few hundred people to large summer music festival crowds of nearly 50,000!
Who I'd like to meet: Great Friends and Fans on the road who love and get our music and lives. As Stephen has said "It's not just music, Its a lifestyle".
Good Times, My Friends, Good Times
The following slideshow is just a bunch of random shots of me and my friends livin' it up and havin' fun. Cuz after all, life's too short!
Smitty & You
I am slowly but surely building a collection of photos of me with different friends and fans out on the road. If you have any photos of yourself with me, please feel free to send them to me and I will add them to the "Smitty & You" slideshow.
May 2010 be a better year for all of us! The very best of Holidays to you and yours from Nashville! Jimmy Roberts - Songwriter / Pedal Steel Guitarist :)
Whats up witcha? Whens the next show? Havent hears from anyone lately everyone ok and doing well?I have to get off here trying my hardest to find a radio station to help me get the word out for my voting ya know I am trying to make the skies limit lol. have a photoshoot in the morning doing a calendar and posters for concrete magazine have to get the beauty rest lol!! Well doll I wont be on here by the time you read this so get back with me k soon TTYL Hope all the new work is picking up for you guys ya'll rock
Online Now!
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