Ryan's passion for music started at the young age of nine when he picked up the guitar for the first time and hasn't put it down since. Not long after Ryan began learning how to play guitar, he joined a local rock band as the lead guitar player and entered various local battle of the bands contests. The first band he ever played in was "Referral". They entered into a contest a local classic rock radio station hosted by the famous Greg Kihn was putting on called The Last Band Standing.