We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Bryan Ruby a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Bryan, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Did you always know you wanted to pursue a creative or artistic career? When did you first know?

Growing up on the ballfield, Country Music was always playing over the loudspeakers wherever we went. I started out like anyone else- as someone who casually listened to the music and hummed along to my favorite songs. Everything changed when I picked up my Dad’s old hand-me-down guitar- a 1982 Kramer- and started teaching myself a few chords and songs. Playing guitar casually turned to bringing my instrument on the team bus during baseball roadtrips- a perfect way to kill some downtime in between games. As I became more serious with the guitar, I started to experiment with writing my own songs and playing them for friends and family. One trip to Nashville later and I was hooked, convinced that Music City was where I needed to be. I saved up my money, worked as an Uber driver in my hometown, pooled enough cash together for first month’s rent and a bit of spending money to get me started in Tennessee, packed everything I owned in the back of my truck, and made the move to Nashville. After four years in the country music capital of the world, 22 songs I’ve written have been recorded by country and pop music artists, and many more are on the way. Within the last year I have started putting out songs of my own, which has been a terrifying but worthwhile pursuit as well. Sometimes I still feel like that kid on the baseball field back home, humming along to my favorite country songs in between innings. I believe in order to do something at a high level, you need to really have a passion for it and a purpose that sparks you every day. For me, the music flame lit up a long time ago, and it’s not burning out any time soon.

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

As a country music songwriter, my goal everyday is to bring out the extraordinary in the ordinary. As the old saying goes, country music is three chords and the truth. Even though the genre has evolved from its original format over the past few decades, I still believe that authenticity and real-life storytelling are what makes our genre special. When I walk into the writers room every day, I try to dig into what’s been going on in the world, in my life, and in my friends’ lives for inspiration. You never know where the next great idea is going to come from, so you have to keep an open mindset and be prepared to receive at a moment’s notice. At the end of the day, if people find meaningful connection in my songs, that’s a win.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

March 2020 brought about two very difficult obstacles that knocked us musicians down flat in our tracks. First, East Nashville was hit with a terrible tornado that leveled many of the thriving small businesses and homes in our neighborhood. None of my friends were killed, luckily, but many lost their cars, their homes, and their businesses. One independently owned music store I frequent regularly was hit really hard, and a music venue that showcases many of my friends and songwriting collaborators was leveled beyond repair, necessitating a complete rebuild. If that wasn’t bad enough, a few days later Covid-19 hit and the typically fast-paced entertainment industry ground to a complete halt. Many people don’t think much about us entertainers because we are precisely that, just ‘entertainment’ for the masses. Why would anyone care about music during a time when millions of people were dying around the world? As a working musician, however, being able to write songs and perform is how I pay my bills and keep the lights on. Our industry changed overnight, and we were forced to adapt to survive. My co-writers and I started writing songs over Zoom, which can be a very tedious process because it’s hard to digitally capture the human connection and magic that needs to be in the room in order to write good songs. Co-writing with my friends over Zoom wasn’t pretty, but it enabled us to stay sharp and have material ready when the world opened back up. Don’t get me wrong, I’m glad the Coronavirus Pandemic is in the rearview, but I’m proud us small musicians were able to persevere and hold on long enough to keep our jobs and keep going.

What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?

A lot of my life growing up was spent in the closet, living publicly behind a mask and living in fear of embracing my LGBT identity. Now that I am on the other side of coming out, I find a lot of joy and satisfaction in creating the type of music that I wish my younger self could have heard, back when I was struggling and closeted. My brand of country music is inclusive and for everyone, and I’m proud to be part of the new generation of country music creators living out our ‘3 Chords and the Truth’ in song.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.bryanrubymusic.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bryanrubyofficial/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bryanrubyofficial/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bryan-ruby-a7429b181/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/proudbaseball
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@bryanrubyofficial
• Other: https://hyperfollow.com/bryanruby

Image Credits
Ashley L. Evans, Jonah Van Bemmelen, Josh Fogel