Ryan Alvanos is a poet by training, editor by trade, songwriter by passion, busker by calling, and whim-blown vagabond by good fortune. He likes to walk while writing lyrics, and draft after draft, his notebooks fill with lines and strikethroughs until the songs sing themselves. With the wisdom of a stream's biggest fish and the whim of an anecdotal angler, Sharp Little Hooks (2014) sheds new light on the old-school art of fly fishing. The recording features The Blue Ribbons-James Rohr, Mike Castellana, Jef Charland, and Tauras Biscus-and is available as a 12 vinyl record, CD, and digital download. From Here (2011) is a collection of songs that study places and hinge on lovingly turned phrases. This album features a heaping helping of local-crème musicians, including Tom Bianchi, Raleigh Green, Sean Staples, Eric Royer, Dan Blakeslee and Vance Gilbert, and lyrics that shimmy between East and West, abundance and scarcity, and between taking off and staying put. Ryan's fleet finger style and savvy writing result in oddball yet memorable tunes and live performances that leave audiences stroking their chins and tapping their feet as if it were easy. 10 ; 2, The Woolly Bugger's Hairy Mary Blues, Weekending, The Keepers, Troutsong, Dry Flies
