Hey everyone.

If you listened to my recent mobile post, then you know what “The Acoustic Sessions” are. For those of you who haven’t, here is a quick rundown…

This past week I got all my co-writers from my debut album together, and went over to SortedNoise Studios here in Nashville. We basically set up a soundstage…audio, video, the whole nine yards (courtesy of the crazy talented, Jimmy Jernigan). Then, while tracking and taping, we talked about each song (where it originated, the motivation behind it, etc.), and performed them, as well as a cover called “The Last Thing on Your Mind” by Lights, acoustically.

This was an amazing experience for a couple reasons. It was really cool to revisit some of these songs and remember the stories behind them that we had forgotten. It was also really cool to get creative and experiment with the acoustic versions. You are so limited with what you can do, it forces you to be creative.

Anyway, I will be releasing the YouTube vid of the Lights cover in the next couple of weeks, and then all of my songs, one by one, starting in the next couple of months. So, stayed tuned! For now, here are some pics (also courtesy of Jimmy Jernigan), from the taping…

Jason Collum, myself, and Perrin Lamb performing “Not Today”

Jason Collum, myself, and Brian Van Meter getting ready to perform “Starting to Rain”

Nathan Walters, myself, and Jason Collum performing “Happy”

Me listening to the magic that was just created

I will be putting up more pics like these on “The Images” page very soon. So, come back and see me!

Talk to you soon,
Joshua

P.S. Thanks to everyone who helped make “The Acoustic Sessions” happen! Check them out people…

Jason Collum
Jimmy Jernigan
Perrin Lamb
Nathan Walters
Lee Hester
Brian Van Meter

Mobile post sent by secretsinstereo using Utterz.  Replies.  mp3

Hey guys and gals.

I just found out that my song “Quit and Go Home” will be featured in a Nickelodeon movie called “Gym Teacher - The Movie.”The film will be released this fall, and stars Christopher Meloni (Law and Order: SVU… you would recognize him if you saw him), Amy Sedaris (Strangers with Candy… any Comedy Central fan knows she is absolutely hilarious), Nathan Kress (iCarly… apparently a huge Nickelodeon teen star), and David Alan Grier (In Living Color).

One pretty cool tidbit… this will be Nickelodeon’s FIRST PRIMETIME MOVIE. Pretty rad.

If you want to know more on the film, here is a link to the press release.

peace out.
j

The title to this post is an abbreviation of a quote from this inspiring article in Wired.com about marathon runner Dean Karnazes. I came across the article while reading this great blog from CDbaby founder Derek Sivers.

The full quote goes…

“Somewhere along the line, we seem to have confused comfort with happiness”

I’ve been thinking about that confusion a lot lately. Two years ago, it wasn’t an issue for me. The line between being truly happy and being just comfortable in life was as defined as Mariah Carey’s abs (Have you seen those things lately? I think she’s on steroids). I don’t know if it’s because I’m two years older, or I’m just letting fear win out. But, recently that line has become blurred for me. And I don’t like it.

Today, I’m reminding myself that a fancy job title I can tell all my friends about, 3 subordinates I can boss around to make myself feel important, and a decent paycheck are not what makes me truly happy….they just provide comfort. Having passion about something, and possessing the balls to chase that passion are what makes me happy.

I leave you with another great quote from the aforementioned article…

“Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention to arrive safely in a pretty and well-preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming: Wow!! What a ride!”

Hey guys and gals!

I’ve been keeping this one close to the vest until it was a done deal. Well, last week it became a done deal.

So…

My song, “Happy,” has been chosen to be the official trailer for the season 1 DVD of ABC’s Private Practice. For those of you who don’t know, Private Practice is a spin off of Grey’s Anatomy.

This is probably my most important placement to date. The trailer will be seen as a preview on other DVD’s, in theaters, and in TV commercials.

BIG DEAL.

I don’t say it enough, but thanks for your continued support.

joshua

Hello all. Here are some images (courtesy of Kenneth P. Welborn) from a show I did in in March at On the Rocks in Nashville. They are just cell phone pics, but you get the picture. (No pun intended… actually, yes. There was a pun intended. That was on purpose.)

Here ya go…

Hey everybody. 

So, MTV has a new show right after “The Hills” called “The Paper.”  It’s a reality show that follows a high school newspaper in Florida.  At 10:30 pm Eastern on Monday, April 21st, my song “No Such Thing” will featured in the show. It should air towards the end of the episode. 

A couple of thoughts on this placement… 

One, this is my 4th song placed on MTV in the last 8 months, and I feel like I’m developing a really cool relationship with them. They are very cool people, and it’s been a great experience so far.  They are even creating a “Secrets in Stereo” band page for me that should be up by Monday.  

And two, “No Such Thing” is an interesting song for me.  Although I like all the songs on my record, it’s probably my least favorite as far as how it turned out overall.  But, on the other hand, it’s my favorite as far as the message… truly realizing daily that each day might be your last, and to live it to the fullest. 

It should be fun to see how MTV uses the tune. Find out with me on Monday!

j

My debut release has recently been reviewed by two very noteworthy websites. The first is the Barton/Holt Ad Agency-run tunejar.com. And the second, a prominent indie music e-zine called indie-music.com. 

From tunejar.com…

“Secrets in Stereo, a project by Josh Ryan out of Nashville, proves that indie music doesn’t have to be sloppy, or ‘raw’, or quirky, or any other adjective usually associated with what we call indie music today.  Secrets in Stereo lets us know that good indie music can actually be- dare we say- ‘pop.’  Whether it’s the anthemic “Not Today,” the One Republic-esque ballad “Happy,” or the Yellowcard pop-punk of  ”All the Things I Hate,” the music is good…period.   It’s polished, each song is well thought out and crafted, and the lyrics are universally meaningful.  It’s unashamedly pop, and at the risk of getting blogged about by indie hipsters grousing the insanity of all things main stream (ironically most likely while carrying an iPhone and sipping a starbucks), i will unashamedly say that it’s great music that needs to be heard.” 

From indie-music.com…

“Hooks galore! Nashville-based songwriter Josh Ryan and Secrets in Stereo know how to write ‘em, sing ‘em, play ‘em and package ‘em up for the MTV tween to twenties crowd. On the self titled debut release from Secrets in Stereo, Ryan and co-writer/producer Jason Collum, deliver some really punchy pop tunes. …the boys do know how to write a song, to that there is no doubt. They also know how to tap into the tricks of arranging to make the songs fun to sing along with and easy to dance to. I don’t see why these guys wouldn’t have a publishing contract in the near future.”

Thanks to T.J Stafford and Darryl Gregory for their kind words.

I stumbled upon a movie the other night that rocked me. It’s called “Once.” It is an indie film out of Ireland that cost about $160,000 to make and uses non-actors in the lead roles. But don’t let that fool you. “Once” is absolutely, the most inspirational story I’ve come across in awhile. After watching it, I wanted write, record, and perform a song all at the same time. And I think it will do the same thing for you…especially if you are someone chasing a dream.

The story is simple. A struggling singer/songwriter finds motivation in a girl that shares his passion. But just like life, things aren’t always as simple as they seem. The movie is a musical, but not in the normal sense. I describe it like this… In a typical musical, the music drives the plot. In “Once,” the plot drives the music.

If you feel like you are in a rut…watch this film. If you have been procrastinating on something…watch this film. And if you are a singer/songwriter…DEFINITELY WATCH THIS FILM.