Ryan Ross Hernandez' Performance @ 4th Chaos Awards



The Art of Getting By

The second the curtain raises up, lights appearing from all angles, shining on Ryan Ross Hernandez who is seen standing at center stage with his trusty signature, customized, Martin OMRH acoustic guitar strapped around his back. Since the red carpet, he has changed from his eye-catching black-and-white suit to an all black attire of a slick winter coat on top of a simple plain shirt and a pair of black pants and boots. Along with Hernandez, are his band members scattered around, positioned after different areas on the stage. It’s the basic usual arrangement of his; two backing guitarists, a bassist, and a drummer. The only musician and instrument out of the usual norm is a keyboardist who is in command of both a Hammond and pump organs, along with a Celeste. It only takes a few seconds between the time Ryan’s name is called and when they actually begin to perform. The respected singer-songwriter counts up the group of talented musicians behind him, up to four before they all begin playing in sync. From the first chord, the song is of course unfamiliar to the audience at hand and those watching at home since it’s a new song off his upcoming Running Changes album, this being a number built around his liquidly licks and picks on guitar by the soft-rocker titled “The Art of Getting By.” The song being one of Hernandez’s favorites off the album, made him that more much excited to not only finally be able to play a live, but that it’s also getting its premiere at the Chaos Awards. The song is a gentle number which could probably be guessed from the very first few seconds of the performance, beginning with a simple chord progression on the acoustic guitar played by Hernandez, and barely audible drumming with one single drum being played with brushes.

Tonight, I need sometime on my own
To be just me in my home alone
I got a pocketful of California green
So no ones gonna tell me no

Do you remember the old me?
The one in the band with the skinny jeans
I wish I still had time to go back and reminisce
Too bad you can't re-write history

Only after the second verse is when the bass even makes an appearance, deep bass thumping joining the acoustic guitar, with the second guitar following in soon after in a minimal fashion.

It's gonna be a long, long time, 'fore you ever see me again
It's gonna be a long, long time, 'fore you ever see me again
I don't remember this city or these faces
But then again I don't even remember who I use to be

The song is a challenge to conventional standards of what one can accomplish or undertake - despite society's constraints. The most attention grabbing lines are the ones that detail getting stoned or having noncommittal sex with women. It’s an ode to personal freedom from a rock star that is outspoken on his infatuation for women and sex.

I'm gonna go back to my old ways
Call every girl that I've ever fucked
Who'd ever thought that they'd all grown up
Tonight, I'm gonna smoke myself to sleep

Nothing wrong with having meaningless sex
Meeting all of the P.Y.T's under the city lights
I'll bed them all until fate sends me a sign
Wait up, let me buy a pack of Trojans, then I'll be ready to go

Every girl from every city is welcomed too
New York City' trust fund babies
And LA' aspiring actresses
I don't know why anyone would ever wanna give this up
But then again I've never tried hitting the brakes

Before the songs closing verses, there’s a instrumentation interlude, albeit a short one at that, which finally brings the pump organ and celeste into action. Ryan plays a small guitar-picking solo as he steps just a few inches away from the microphone stand. He tosses his guitar pick to the audience, playing without one the last short verses of the song.

Now who's gonna stop me now?
From planning vacations for myself
Or spending Friday night getting a high all alone
I ask, who's gonna stop me now?
Mmhmm

It's been a long, long night in London too
It's been a long, long time since I've felt this free
I don't remember a Nashville gal ever looking this pretty
But then again I have a bad memory and I'm a little stoned

Bittersweet Symphony (The Verve cover)

The new song is met with mostly acclaim from the audience at hand, who quickly rises from their seats and give Ryan a round of applause. He gives them a small nod with a smirk, to serve as a “thank you.” The lights dim once again, Hernandez not spending anymore time taking in the positive response. He quickly hands his acoustic guitar to his tech and walks over to the piano, set up just beside to where he was playing moments ago. The second Ryan plays a single key, a bright yellow light comes from his side to shine on him. He begins to play a steady melody on the piano. The melody isn’t familiar to much of the audience, probably for one that it isn’t a song of his own that he’s about to jump on, and also for the fact that the original version of the cover song is not based around the piano. He brings down the microphone to sit against his mouth as he continues to play the melody. It doesn’t take much more than the first line of the song to be sung before the audience begins to cheer; “'Cause it's a bittersweet symphony, this life / Try to make ends meet / You're a slave to money then you die.” Making it point blank obvious that the cover is of The Verve’s massive song “Bittersweet Symphony,” and likely the song that has already or should serve as Britain’s national anthem since the late 90s.

I'll take you down the only road I've ever been down
You know the one that takes you to the places
where all the veins meet yeah,

No change, I can change
I can change, I can change
'Cause I'm here in my mold
I am here in my mold
But I'm a million different people
from one day to the next
I can't change my mold
No, no, no, no, no

The performance isn’t an entire cover of the song, after the first chorus is sung, Hernandez skips to the outro of the song which are the first notes he hits in a high registration, before returning to sing the chorus one last time.

It's just sex and violence, melody and silence
It's just sex and violence, melody and silence
It's just sex and violence, melody and silence
I'll take you down the only road I've ever been down
Have you ever been down?
Have you ever been down?
Have you ever been down?

No change, I can change
I can change, I can change
'Cause I'm here in my mold
I am here in my mold
And there's a million different people
from one day to the next
I can't change my mold
No, no, no, no, no

RISE from the Burning Ashes

Hernandez’s whispers the last few “no’s” over the melody that’s returning to the gentle pace it began off with. He backs away from the microphone, fading the melody away. As soon as he does though, a hushed electric Hammond organ is played by Ryan’s keys expert who played pump organ earlier in the set. Now more lights come to show his entire band again, the lights are now a mixture of yellow and red to make some sort of a sun effect. Joining in with the prominent organ sound is a building piano melody played by Hernandez as the first verse he sings in his oh-so-famous falsetto vocal tone.

There are things we don't talk about
Rather live without
And keep that bright toothpaste smile.
We are young,
We fall in and out of love,
Both ashamed and proud of our history.
If sorrow is an art,
I should hold the jailer's key

So let the tears stream down your face and smear your make-up,
Death is the only thing in life we cannot escape.
Love is like a warm blanket, but it can wear and tear
Could it be worse?

The organ sound continues in its most prominent sound yet with the piano fading out. Ryan continues to sing in the same falsetto, at the end of the first chorus, the organ finally begins to fade with the piano becoming the dominant instrument.

The lights are blinding and your clock breaks,
She becomes my best friend.
I wanna love her,
Yet I don't know if I can.
I'm wise enough to know that something is broken
And I'll try to fix it
Trying to put the pieces,
Any way I can.

The acoustic guitar finally makes its way into the picture, making a gentle addition to the piano and electric organ, not overtaking or disrupting the key instruments. Ryan's vocals turn down the falsetto just slightly, singing most of the verse with a slightly deep voice, and intertwining them with high falsetto at the end of every line.

I'll paint you pictures,
That you're the queen of this city
As far as my bad vision sees.
I will be your savior
With all that's crumbling,
To steady your shaky hands.

The instrumentation is almost intact from the third verse, except for the fact that now the piano and acoustic guitars are the only instruments heard through the airwaves. Ryan sings the second chorus in a prominent clean, reverb-free voice. If you listen closely enough, you can even hear him take a deep-breath before opening his mouth wide to sing the last line.

The lights are blinding and your clock breaks
And we're as high as the Empire State
And I am trying to fix you.

“If for some reason you’re not on your feet yet, this is the perfect time to do so,” he says in an ever calm voice, as he slides off of the seat and grabs and straps his electric guitar on up from the stand that it was sitting in. Anxiously anticipated was the highest and most intense point of the song, and probably of Hernandez’s up-to-now gentle set. The lights now turn all white, shining bright on the stage and towards the audience. It slowly builds up as it does on the record, with both the guitar playing and cymbal crashing gaining speed and power before exploding some twenty-five seconds in to create a powerful scenery. The snare drum kicks for a second before the drums come in crashing down letting the brewing storm start pouring. As soon as that moment comes, fireworks shoot up from either side of the stage getting all the audience to cheer. Along with it comes a rhythm guitar which sounds that much more heavy than any rhythm guitar should, and a thumping bass line underneath it all. Of course over it all and what holds it together, is Ryan's soulful guitar solo adding a touch of a bluesy sound to the song, creating a very ear-friendly, melodic shower of sounds.

The bridge is continued with the exact powerful string of instruments, adding a jumpy piano melody beneath it. Ryan sings detracting his previous pretty-boy falsetto and just singing loud and with emotion. All members of his backing band are heard singing in the background to provide even more power to the song.

And it's okay to cry
We've all lost something we ache to have back
Tears stream down on your face
And darlin'

You and me are diving into the deep in end
Together
You and me are jumping from the highest ledge
Together
You and me are driving off the cliff
Together
And singing

"Love it takes time, it takes time."

In a blink of an eye, the set of powerful instrumentation is all but gone, and the massive amounts of lights are gone, returning to just one single light shining on Ryan. Now it's just his voice and the gentle piano melody he is playing. He sings one last time in a tone matching the aching tone the piano creates.

The lights are blinding and your clock breaks
And we're as high as the Empire State
And I am trying to fix you

Without any theatrics, the vocals and piano finish in-sync. The song ends quietly, as does the set. Before all the shower of applause and cheers comes his way, Ryan quickly adds, “Goodnight everybody. Thank you.” He gives the audience a quick applause himself before making his way off the stage.

Setlist

The Art of Getting By
Bittersweet Symphony (Intro) [The Verve cover] > RISE from the Burning Ashes

10:00pm - Best Couple

Wow! Ryan Ross Hernandez just killed it as always, great performance.

Next up is a new award, one based not on achievements and skill but one based on … well I have no idea to be honest but apparently it’s somehow an award, seems kind of vain considering this is a music award show, but I guess this is what the modern world has come to where people are more interested in who someone’s having sex with rather than the music that’s being made … Oh apparently I shouldn’t be going on a rant, guess I’ll just get on with it, the nominees of this (*makes quotation marks with hands*) award are, Scott H and Gia Rose, Eric Quillington and Glamazon, Katie Coyle and Andrea Mason and Brandon Caulfield and Hannah Beth, and the winner of this thing is … SCOTT H AND GIA ROSE!!!