RYAN ROSS HERNANDEZ LIVE AT THE 3RD CHAOS AWARDS
Glad to Be Unhappy (Frank Sinatra cover)
As soon as Ryan's name is introduced by the presenter, and everyone is cheering, turning their attentions to the stage, a curtain is seen in front of the stage. The curtain works as some sort of a projector that shows an old fashioned, black-and-white countdown. The images purposefully flick and fuzz with each turn of a number. When at one, the lights dim and turn to shine onto the stage as the curtains rise.
When the curtains are raised completely, one can see, at the very least a twenty-five person orchestra. It includes multiple violins, violas, and cellos. Even a harp. It is largely made up of strings sections, a pianist and a single trumpeter, with Hernandez's usual bandmates in front of the orchestra, with their respective instruments. His new drummer Aaron Andrews to the side of them all. Strangely enough, there was no sign of Ryan Ross Hernandez. There wasn't even a microphone set up at the front of the stage, as there usually is for him. A slow paced, jazzy trumpet intro is played, followed along by the gentle strings from the orchestra section. The lights dim again to give the performance as intimate feel. The audience applauds as they finally see Ryan walk onto the stage, as smooth as ever, with a microphone stand in hand. Surprisingly, he doesn't have a guitar around his back, as most have come to know him by. You never see him on stage without a guitar attached, until well now. This very moment. He is wearing a black suit, more slick than the one he was wearing when he previously arrived at the award show. He gives the audience a small nod and smirk before taking the mic off of the stand and starting to sing over the peaceful jazz arrangement in what could very well be the most soulful voice we've heard from him yet.
Look at yourself, if you had a sense of humor
You would laugh to beat the band
Look at yourself, do you still believe the rumors
That romance is simply grand?
Since you took it right on the chin
You have lost that bright toothpaste grin
My mental state is all a-jumble
I sit around and sadly mumble
He is covering the popular jazz standard song "
Glad to Be Unhappy", which was made famous by the legend that is Frank Sinatra. Of course, Hernandez doesn't have the vocal skills that Sinatra had, not by a long shot. Reason why the moments in the song when originally would be the vocal highs are maintained at a steady level so he doesn't have to force any notes out.
Fools rush in, so here I am
Very glad to be unhappy
I can't win, but here I am
More than glad to be unhappy
Unrequited love's a bore
And I've got it pretty bad
But for someone you adore
It's a pleasure to be sad
What makes the song that much intimate is the fact that Hernandez's soulful singing is accompanied by a gorgeous arrangement of instruments. The second he releases the final vote in the verse, the trumpeter who started off the song returns to the limelight to perform a trumpet solo that sounds as jazzy as the song can get. The solo lasts for over a minute, each second Ryan is leaned back and appreciating the brilliance.
Like a straying baby lamb
With no mammy and no pappy
I'm so unhappy
But oh, so glad
So glad
When the solo ends, he quickly steps in and sings the final verse in a calm and laidback voice tone. As the song comes to an end, the lights rise as the audience applauds him. "
Thank you," he tells the audience placing the mic back onto the stand. "
Give it up for Mister Bryan Lipps and the Boston Pops Orchestra." Ryan turns his back and gives his backing musicians a hand.
I Got a Woman (Ray Charles cover) / RRH Preaching Banter
When the lights go out on the stage, and the arena is completely dark, a tech runs onto the stage and hands Ryan a red Gibson es 335 guitar. The crowd as he steps back into the limelight, as the lights shine on the stage again. Now gone is the orchestra, and on stage with him is his core bandmates. "
Chuck Wilson, keys extraordinaire. I know you have a piano, a keyboard, everything behind your little station there. Do you have a B-3 Hammond organ?" He turns his attention to Chuck who gives him a thumbs up. "
Okay. Play me some really gospel notes. I gotta take this people to church for a minute. I gotta preach." He says into the microphone with a laugh, the keyboardist does what Ryan asks him and some deep, gospel notes are held and hear through the PA system.
"
Ladies and gentlemen of the congregation. Oh, they will try! They will try to distract, shock you, and awe you. Look, I can't compete with a glossy magazine! I can't, I can't! I can't move faster than the internet moves. I might not be able to write, record, mix, master, publish songs, faster than they can write it. But I take my time! You say what you want from week to week, and I'm still sitting with my arms folded tapping my foot going, 'That's nice, keep it coming. That's nice, keep it coming. That's nice, keep it coming.' You know why? Because time is on my side. Yes, it is. Listen, you can write and say whatever the fuck you want about me on your blog or the award show you're hosting. But I've never heard a solo in it! I never saw some crazy caption about a dumb shirt I was wearing that had music in it. You give me a fucking photograph of me coming out of a restaurant that sounds like a B-3 Hammond organ and I may give you the time of day. Come and get me!"
Ryan takes a short pause as he leans back from the microphone stand to laugh. His preaching receiving a positive response from most of the audience.
"
They say I'm a womanizer! I say, I haven't met enough women! How are you suppose to learn about yourself if you can't go out and meet lots of different ladies in your lifetime. You have to inform your sensibilities. Inform your sensibilities. I see a cute girl right there. I see a cute girl right here. I see a cute girl over there with a cocktail dress on. I see a lot of cute girls. Turn the lights up. Let me see the cute girls."
The lights are turned back on the audience, as he starts to point into different directions where he sees a cute girl. "
Cute girl. Cute girl. Cute girl. Wait no, that's Chantal. Kuh-yoot girl. Kuh-yoot girl. Kuh-yoot girl." He points at a variety of different famous girls, from his own girlfriend Nadia Berry, to her bandmates, and even the likes of Jenny Hudson, Ellie-Grace, Katie Coyle, and Lily.
He gives the audience a second so the eager ladies can calm themselves down. "
Listen. When you die, which I hope is many, many, many years from now. When you die, there is only one person who is going to lay in your casket, and it's you. Unless anyone else wants to come lay on top of you for all eternity, you live your life the way you want."
As soon as he finishes his banter, the lights dim down again. Ryan signals for his drummer to start off the song. He starts to play a bluesy drum beat. Each piece of the song comes one by now. The drums start the song, followed shortly by a very deep bass, then Ryan coming in last with the guitar. "
This song is for all the cute girls," he adds with a quick laugh. Just by the music, the song isn't recognizable until Ryan starts singing in a very falsetto voice the opening note of the song.
She give me money when I'm in need
Yeah she's a kind of friend indeed
I got a woman way over town she's good to me
As soon as he starts singing, the audience quickly recognizes he is now doing a very bluesy cover of Ray Charles hit song, "
I Got a Woman". That or they got confused and thought he was singing Jaime Foxx's version of it that he sings for the chorus of
Gold Digger.
She's there to love me both day and night
Never grumbles or fusses always treats me right
Never runnin' in the streets and leavin' me all alone
'Cause a woman she knows her place is right there now in her home
I got a woman way over town she good to me
oh yeah
You would think it wouldn't be a good idea for Ryan to cover what could be considered the most misogynist song not in the rap genre. But as most things Ryan does, he makes it sound sexy and charming. After singing the bridge, he dives into a solo, consisting of very bluesy guitar licks. He delays the final chorus, as he holds plays his guitar solo for over three minutes. As always he gets into the solo putting every inch of his body into perfecting the solo.
I got a woman way over town she's good to me
oh yeah
I got a woman way over town she's good to me yeah, yeah, yeah
She give me money when I'm in need
Yeah she's a kind of friend indeed
I got a woman way over town she's good to me
Oh yeah!
He plays out the song with another solo, a shorter one this time. All the musicians finish in-sync, the lights going out on the stage again.
Everything She'll Ever Be (New Song)
The same guitar tech runs on stage taking the guitar Ryan was just playing and handing him his signature, customized, Martin OMRH acoustic guitar. He straps it over his back and shoulder. He grabs a guitar pick from the stand and strums a few notes as the limelight shines on him again. "
This song is for a girl I hurt recently. It's a new one. Cheers." He goes on to play a more set melody on the guitar. By the looks of it all, it sounds as this one will be a solo performance from Hernandez. He leans back against the microphone stand as he starts to sing in a gentle tone.
Beautiful, stop trying so hard,
You don't have to see yourself through some other eyes.
See, the mirrors are a game nobody ever wins.
It's just some glass that shows you backwards anyway.
Are we in it for this lovely magic and painful misery?
Moments come and go without a care.
But everything she'll ever be,
You already are to me.
The song so far gets a positive response from the audience, especially from the females in attendance.
When you were only six years old,
Playing princess in your mother's dress.
I was standing right next to you,
With my cardboard sword and playground shoes.
Singing "On my darlin' tell me if I'm wrong somehow,
May the dragons come and tear me down.
'Cause everything a girl can be,
You already are to me."
The verse is followed by a short guitar solo, as he steps back and plucks a few strings swiftly. A few women in the audience can be seen in tears or at the brick of them. Arguably the most romantic song he has done since his debut album.
Why, I can't tell you why.
'Cause I don't know why I think I need to hurt somebody.
How, I can't tell you how.
'Cause I don't know how but I just sit back down and I see my way right through the fire.
The memories are twelve feet tall,
There are shadows on each others' bedroom walls.
When you pull the curtains and kill the lights,
Can you hear me singing out tonight?
Can she hear me singing out tonight?
He's pretty much crooning all the way through this song. The higher points he sings higher, the low ones he sings low respectively. The sound of the song is very simple, guitar wise, he isn't doing a bunch of tricks with the revolver as he usually does. Perhaps it's to indicate that the song has been very freshly written and melody put to it.
Days are long and the world is cold and cruel,
But no one gets the best of you.
'Cause everything a girl can be,
You have always been to me.
Yeah, yeah,
Always been to me.
Yeah, always been to me.
Yeah, yeah,
Always been to me.
He fades both his vocals and the guitar out slowly, ending the song with a small smile forming off the corner of his lips. "Thank you," he says with a small bow as the audience cheers and applauds his performance. And just like that he quickly leaves the stage disappears to the backstage area.
SETLIST
Glad to Be Unhappy (Frank Sinatra cover)
I Got a Woman (Ray Charles cover)
Everything She'll Ever Be (New Song)