We were lucky to catch up with Ryan Ebaugh recently and have shared our conversation below.

Ryan, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Can you talk to us about a project that’s meant a lot to you?

I have a new album coming out titled “YMSD739” I’m really proud of it and excited to release it. The first day of 2024 my car got broken into and a bunch of stuff got stolen including my soul. This sorta set off a domino effect of loss. I went to a few shows during this period, one particularly to see William Parker play with Patrick Shirioshi and that inspired me to start working on my music. I booked a 7 am hour time slot and my nearest practice space (Yore Studios) and recorded for an hour straight. I feel like it revived myself creatively and I immediately booked another 7 am session a few days later, this one being on my tenor saxophone. The sounds and songs that are on this release reflect a lot of pain but also I hope reflects a lot of my recent inspirations of old and new saxophone players such as Charles Gayle, Frank Lowe, James Mckain, Tom Weeks etc. to summarize this release In the words of Charles Gayle if I can be so bold… “they might like, they might hate it, but they’ll never go eh”

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I’ve been immersed in the music scenes here in San Diego since I was 14. I’ve always loved music but seeing people close to me perform changed my life. I started playing in bands when I was 16, ranging from wanting to sound like The Cure to wanting to sound like Swans up until maybe two years ago. I was a guitar player all my life but during the pandemic I started to learn the saxophone. I got very into the late 60’s free jazz stuff and listening to players like Archie Shepp gave me the push towards this transition. I had a band called “Ebaugh” with my friends Orion Good, Max Turner Oestreicher, and Ali Mehraban Ramírez. We have some releases that represent the different chapters in the band, but our self titled encapsulated what I wanted to do at that time with that band. I’ve toured up California and Portland, going to the East Coast later this year as well. Regarding things I’m most proud of, I’d say it’s my current relationships I have with the people I play music with. One person can’t achieve anything alone and I’m grateful for the people I’ve met along the way. Good and bad haha. My name is Ryan Ebaugh and I love playing the saxophone and playing free/improvised music.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

The most rewarding aspect is the ability to perform with people and to see progress in my playing. There’s a lot of bad out there, and I’ve helped contribute to it plenty, but it’s nice to listen back occasionally and think oh this is good!

Can you share your view on NFTs? (Note: this is for education/entertainment purposes only, readers should not construe this as advice)

You mean the monkey?

Contact Info:

• Website: https://ebaugh.bandcamp.com/album/ymsd739
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ryan.ebaugh?igsh=OGQ5ZDc2ODk2ZA%3D%3D&utm_source=qr
• Youtube: https://youtube.com/@ryanebaugh?si=5Yv19-xsRbJj63Sx