Clearly you have too much time on your hands! Here is the life story... My name is Ryan David and I am an Australian musician, vocalist and writer. Originally from the city of Sydney, Australia, I released my first solo album in September 2001 and proceeded to tour and record extensively before moving to Los Angeles in November 2003. I am primarily a vocalist and guitarist although I do play piano, bass and drums. Upon moving to the US I formed a band called MELOTIA with Clark Skelton and John Maryanski. Melotia has released two CDs, has toured the US extensively and remains my primary focus. I was born in Sydney and have two older siblings, a brother (Craig) and a sister (Meaghan). I attended catholic private schools for my entire education. After graduating from high school I went on to earn a degree in Computing Science at the University of Technology, Sydney. I first became exposed to rock music at an early age due to the fact that my father owned a record store. He introduced me to bands like AC/DC, Deep Purple and The Beatles to name a few. I blame him for everything... I was intrigued by all aspects of music from a very early age. I asked my parents for a drum kit at the age of six. At the time my brother and sister were both taking piano lessons. The piano teacher refused to teach me as I was supposedly too young at the time. So I began to teach myself. My parents took note of this and eventually convinced the piano teacher to take me on as a student. At nine years of age I began to take guitar lessons and continued my tuition through to the age of eighteen. I have never received any formal vocal training. I've always been a singer from as early as I can remember... At the age of fourteen I formed my first band, Dear Suicide (inspired by the Dead Kennedys song Dear Abby). Dear Suicide, a mix of pop and punk music, recorded and performed several shows in local bars and clubs around Sydney. My sister would drive me to and from shows as I was both too young to drive and was required by law to be supervised by an adult in bars since I was under the age of eighteen. By the age of sixteen I had formed Flower Stone, a band that recorded some material but never performed any shows. During this time I was also the singer and guitarist for my College Jazz Band. We performed in many reputable concert halls including a performance at the Sydney Opera House to a few thousand people. After graduating high school I formed a band called Pilgrim with my brother Craig. We had trouble finding a bass player and given that Craig and I are both guitarists I opted to play bass. I had never played bass before but picked it up quickly. Pilgrim enjoyed some success before disbanding after two years when our drummer suddenly quit the band. Shortly after Pilgrim’s demise I joined another hard rock band called Jar. Jar had shared the stage with Pilgrim several times. At the time that Pilgrim broke up Jar was without a vocalist. When the drummer of Jar (Nathan Baker) learned that I was no longer in a band he called me up asked me to audition. I auditioned, got the gig and became the frontman of Jar. Throughout my university years I maintained a casual involvement with Jar, recording and performing regularly before quitting in late 1998 due to personal differences. Nathan Baker and I went on to form a punk rock trio called Caddison in 1999, recruiting bass player Ramon McDrury (formerly of Frostbane). At the time Caddison became my most successful band to date. The band enjoyed consistent music media attention and played regularly at bars and clubs in Sydney, opening for reputable Australian bands such as Skunkhour, Fini Scad and Nitocris. Caddison recorded a fourteen track demo (unofficially called Easily Distracted) and our song Under The Thumb made the final rounds of Triple J’s Unearthed competition in 2000. We were preparing to record our debut album when I decided to end the band in 2000 due to frustrations with the band’s commitment. In an attempt to remove dependencies on other musicians I recorded my first solo record in 2001, Volume 2001: Through The Sound Portal. I wrote all of the music and played all of the instruments on the recording, including drums and bass. The album blended elements of rock and funk, straying somewhat from the heavier guitar sound of my previous bands. I assembled a band to allow me to perform my solo material live. Nathan Baker (Jar, Caddison) came in on drums and Michael Forster joined on bass. We embarked on several Australian tours in support of the album. By the time we were touring my solo music had begun to sway more towards my earlier heavier style and I was anxious to record my second solo album. In 2002 I bought some recording equipment and taught myself how to record music. I then recorded a demo of eleven songs and circulated CD copies to over one hundred of my fans in Australia. Before I could begin recording the album an unusual chain of events resulted in my forming a new band (In The Name Of...) with the ex-members of Australian heavy metal band Cryogenic. I spent a few weeks in Los Angeles with In The Name Of at the beginning of 2003 and we relocated there permanently in November 2003. In The Name Of performed more than sixty shows over a period of six months in the Los Angeles area. After winning recording time at Hollywood’s Westlake Audio recording studios and attracting the attention of reputable record producer Mudrock, we recorded three songs and began shopping them to labels. Personal differences and our living conditions were taking their toll causing In The Name Of to formally split in July 2004. I remained in Los Angeles and proceeded to endure the most difficult period of my life at that point, living in a van and surviving on very limited means. All the while I set about forming a new band. By the middle of 2005 I had recruited drummer Dustin Partin (formerly of Ashes to Dust) and guitarist Nick Booker (formerly of Shatter) and formed the band Melotia. We spent almost an entire year writing and recording music. John Maryanski joined on bass at the beginning of 2007 and our debut album Every Waking Moment was released on 15th June 2007. Melotia proceeded to tour extensively in support of the release hitting California, Nevada, Arizona, Utah, Texas, Colorado, New Mexico, Oregon, Washington and Idaho. In September 2007 Dustin Partin quit the band due to a back injury and Clark Skelton (formally of A.G.E.S.) took over on drums. Melotia continued to tour persistently through 2008. In September 2008 Nick Booker quit the band due to personal commitments. Melotia began writing new material as a three piece and recorded six songs between October and November 2008. This collection of music was released on 14th April 2009 as an EP entitled Saving August Divine. We are currently making preparations to tour in support of the release. I am planning to record more of my solo material in 2009. Over the past seven years I have written literally hundreds of songs. Most of this material could be considered of the more “mellow” variety. Due to my fierce commitment to bands over the years I have repeatedly neglected recording any of my own solo music. I’ve finally decided it is time to get some of this stuff recorded and released. This year I will be recording an album worth of material - one song at a time. I will be uploading each song to this website and myspace for FREE download as they are completed. At some stage I will group the material together and release it as an album. There is no deadline for this. Aside from my music career I have always been an avid writer. I keep daily journals and write abstract literature, the type of thing you have to read to understand exactly what it is. I have written several as yet unpublished books including a journalistic booked titled The Train Chronicles. This book documents my life from 2001 to 2004. Visit the books page to read more about it. Other books include a poetry book featuring poems written between 1992 and 1998. I am planning to publish The Train Chronicles in 2009. I've also recently established a Record Label / Book Company called Viral Notes. The main purpose of Viral Notes is to release my own music and books. Due to my intense schedule I am not planning on putting anyone else's work out initially. However, I would like to put out albums and books by other musicians and writers in the future and help good art get some exposure. Bands/Projects Dear Suicide (1990-1992) Flower Stone (1993-1994) Pilgrim (1994-1995) Jar (1996-1998) Caddison (1999-2000) Ryan David (2001-2003) In The Name Of (2003-2004) Melotia (2004-2009) Bits and Pieces I have been a vegetarian for fourteen years I workout at least five times a week by jogging and lifting weights I like snowboarding, surfing and skating I am a qualified sound engineer, software engineer and graphic designer I have bachelors degree in Computing Science I would describe myself as a reclusive and solitary person I am a keen reader and am more inspired by writers than musicians