Ryan Bingham: 'Playing bars was better than digging holes'

‘You can’t start a fire without a spark’. The spark that lit the fire illuminating the career of Ryan Binghamafter a few years of honest work, arrived in 2009 when he was called to interpret two songs (and a small part in the film) for the film’s soundtrack ‘Crazy heart’ played by Jeff Bridges – which was awarded the Oscar Award for this test – directed by Scott Cooper. Those two songs are “THE don’t know” And “The weary kind”. The latter written by Bingham himself together with T Bone Burnett. “The weary kind” it’s the spark. In 2010, thanks to that song, Ryan won the Golden Globes for Best Original Song. After which he also won the Oscar Award for best original song and the Grammy Awards. And again, it’s the song of the year American Music Association Awards. An all-round triumph.

In ‘Crazy Heart’ it tells the story of an elderly country singer adrift musically and humanely. It’s not really the story of Ryan Binghambut the 45-year-old musician based in Texas has also lived a life where there has been no shortage of difficulties and turnarounds of fate. Growing up with two alcoholic parents (with a suicidal father), working on a ranch, in rodeos and in the oil fields, before realizing that his passion for music could give him a future. “Most of the time I had a day job, doing heavy construction work or digging holes. I could go to a little bar and earn about the same amount in a couple of hours as I did digging holes all day. That’s when I realized… if I could make $100 a night playing guitar in bars, it was way better than digging holes.”

Since that magical 2010 his name has earned a certain notoriety and respect. His albums have since gotten good attention. An attention that the new one will certainly also receive “They call us the luck ones” which comes seven years later “American Love Song” (read the review here). A record he recorded with a new band, i Texas Gentlemencomposed of Ryan Ake (guitar), Daniel Creamer (piano and organ), Paul Grass (drums and percussion) e Scott Lee (Bass). They were added to these Richard Bowden (violin and mandolin) e Cody Huggins (electric guitar, acoustic, pedal steel).

Talking about the new album Ryan Bingham declared with satisfaction: “This album is probably the one I had the most fun with ever. I’ve always loved records that sound free, alive, rough, with a bit of soul, where the imperfections of the moment stay inside. Working with talented musicians like the Texas Gentlemen allowed me to push in that direction like never before. There was an unspoken understanding between us about what each song needed, so we recorded almost everything live, with very few overdubs, letting it be the feeling to guide us. I finally felt like I was capturing these songs exactly as I always imagined them. We can’t wait to take them on tour and share them with the fans.”

In “They call us the luck ones”as usual, Ryan Bingham portrays the America he knows best: that of the blue streets and towns far from the metropolises, that of the people who lead their lives between great dreams and daily toil, that of those who sometimes can do well and sometimes – unfortunately – can do badly. And it’s Texas out there.