Check Out Ryan Lehmuth’s Story

Today we’d like to introduce you to Ryan Lehmuth. 

Hi Ryan, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
I’ve always had a fascination with music, I can remember all throughout my childhood I engaged with music in various ways. I liked to sing in the car and I’d dance around to tapes I had of like Muppets songs or stuff like that. It was always a part of my life, and I’ve always been creative, but I was mostly interested in writing and drawing as a kid. I think I was around 14, I wanted to sing in a band, but nobody in my high school (I went to a small high school in Broomfield so the options were limited) really played guitar, so eventually, I was just sort of like “I can teach myself how to do this”, and I picked up the acoustic we had in the house and just sort of started using the internet to learn. I’d like to say that it came naturally but I think in a lot of ways I really had to work for it. I feel that way about most of the creative endeavors I get myself into, I always started off from a place far below humiliating and just wanted to make something I was proud of so badly that I stuck with it. I really didn’t know anything about what I was doing. For quite a few years I barely knew what chords were called, I just sort of understood that you could move certain shapes up and down the neck and used that to write little tunes that came into my head for years. After having a few stints playing with other people I started writing and releasing music more seriously, and now I’m studying jazz on the side at UCCS, which has been an incredibly important tool for my creative growth in the last couple of months. I think the language of jazz is very deep within me, and realizing my connection with it has been very enlightening. 

I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle-free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
I think the biggest overbearing feeling when I think about my journey writing music is frustration. I’ve always felt like I didn’t understand enough about music, about my instrument, or about my own creative process to write the kind of music I’d like to hear. Certainly, that has diminished with time, but definitely, in the moments where I’m on the floor in my room tweaking lyrics or trying to reharmonize a melody, I can get frustrated by doubt. 

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I first came into local community writing music as The Downer Party, although recently I’ve begun writing a collection of songs I plan to release as Ryan Danger that feel much truer to myself both as a person and as a creative. I play guitar, bass, and sing, and I produce arrangements of all of my work by myself. Since I’ve started my journey into jazz, I am extremely interested in ways that I can convey it within a modern context. One of my favorite vessels for this is the language of LoFi Hip Hop, which to me is a natural extension of the warmth of jazz. I try to write my songs with a Bebop structure, having a verse and chorus, and a solo section that utilizes the chord progression from each. I have done a lot of experimenting with time signatures outside of standard time. My goal with Ryan Danger, ultimately, is to create something beautiful. I love ornamentation, I love the warmth and sophistication of complex harmony, and if I can make something that does those things justice, I would be very proud. 

What are your plans for the future?
I am planning to release several original songs and my take on a few jazz standards as Ryan Danger, both as singles, and periodically as records. I think I’m going to take a step back from playing shows and really dial in my songwriting. I’ll be releasing a song every two months for 2022, and I’m looking forward to sharing what I have with everyone. 

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ryan_danger_lehmuth/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCMqL2HKfbIjE2O64c2RXSVQ
• SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/downerparty

Image Credits
Chris Montross
Ryan Lehmuth