Walter “Monsta” Ryan – An Xperience Interview

Walter “Monsta” Ryan – An Xperience Interview – by Rob Smittix.

RRX: How’s it going on the road?

WR: Great, I think we’re in Maryland somewhere or close to it. Murphy’s Law is playing Maryland tomorrow night. We’ve had a really good tour so far, everything’s great … playing shows, rocking, hanging out and seeing our friends, you know? It’s awesome, bro.

RRX: It’s gotta be, I love Murphy’s Law. I love how connected Murphy’s Law is to the Capital Region.

WR: Yeah, I was born in Troy, but I moved around a lot, so I never lived in Troy when I was a kid. We ended up moving around all over the place Upstate, and then I ended up going to California. Ever since the early to mid-nineties, I started going back and forth to New York City, going in and out of different bands or whatever. Just doing that, and then I ended up in Florida for four years, and then I’m back to New York. But I live Upstate now, and I’m happy that I live Upstate. I actually live in Troy, where I was born, which is cool. I love it there now because I don’t have to worry about paying a gazillion dollars downstate in some dinky ass closet for the amount of money that I pay for the house that I live in. I don’t have any neighbors next door to me, you know? In New York City, you’re up each other’s butts, you know what I mean?

RRX: You sure are.

WR: I’m cool with not being down there anymore. I love it, I go down there, I hang out, I have band practice down there, I see all the fellas, I see my friends. But that’s it, I get to go home to a nice place to chill, and it’s great!

RRX: That’s what it’s all about. I always thought, if I didn’t have my family, I’d probably be living in Manhattan or at least living on Lark Street or something, but it’s totally different when you’ve got other people to look out for.

WR: Yeah, for sure. I help my Mom with everything, and it’s kind of like … we take care of each other right now. So it’s good.

RRX: Good. So, it sounds like you just got off some really fun shows and are about to do some more.

WR: Yeah, we’re getting towards the end here. We got two more shows on this tour. We’ve been out for almost a month, and then we did probably four month-long tours back-to-back-to-back-to-back. It was great. It started out with AF (Agnostic Front) and Violent Way out in Europe, and then we did the States together. And then Murphy’s Law went out and did a run with Total Chaos; those guys are from LA, they’re a great punk band. And then, this tour is with the Take. Everybody knows about the Take, they’re like a great rock and roll oi band. You’ve got Scott (Roberts) on vocals and guitar; he was in the Spudmonsters and also in Biohazard. And then on bass, they’ve got Craig Ahead from Sick of It All and every other band possible in New York City. Then you got Will Shepler on drums, who’s one of my favorite hardcore drummers, period. He used to be in Agnostic Front and also Madball.

RRX: Hell Yeah!

WR: They’re just ripping! Murphy’s Law, we’re doing great. We have Phil Caivano, who’s one of the guys that was on a few different albums, back in the day. We got him back on guitar. We have Brendan (Porray) on bass, who has played for everybody. He used to be with Sheer Terror, played with Madball every now and then. You got me drumming and Jimmy (Drescher) singing. We have a great rotation of amazing guitar players from other great bands. We’re gonna have a new record out. We wrote 19 new songs, and we have one cover song.

RRX: That’s great!

WR: We’re gonna put out a 7-inch with a couple of songs on it just so everybody knows what’s up. And then shortly after, we’re gonna do the full-length album and then maybe an EP or so. We’ll just keep writing and we’ll keep going forward.

RRX: That’s it, man. Keep at it.

WR: Yeah, for sure. I’m pretty sure that everyone’s gonna love it because we try to encapsulate all the vibes from all the other albums that have been out previously, but also keep it up to date with today’s style of hardcore. We’ve put a little extra heaviness on it than normal, but also kept it rock and punk. It’s fun, just like the other albums. I think everybody will love it.

I’m in two other bands as well. I’m in a band from Troy that’s called Murderer’s Row. It’s an oi rock and roll band with Bob Riley and Leo Curley. Those guys are awesome people and awesome players. We, too, recorded a bunch of stuff, but we’re gonna go back in and get some more songs written, and then redo everything, so that it’s closer to a full album.  And then, I’m in another band as well, and it is called Faded Line, and most of the guys are from Springfield, Mass, and uh …

RRX: And Vegas (Nacy).

WR: Yes, exactly. I did all my drum tracks before this tour, and they just did their guitar stuff. We just need Carlo (D’Amato) to do his bass and Vegas to do his vocals, and then we’ll put it into production. So far, it’s sounding really good. It’s gonna be heavy, it’s got some new stuff, and we did a couple of the old joints to make them a little fresh or whatever. I’m super stoked on all my bands. I think everybody will like all this stuff that’s coming out.

RRX: Well, I’m a fan of all of your bands already. How does it feel to have your hands in so many cool projects at the same time?

WR: It’s actually really cool because it’s been a long time for me (that I’ve been in multiple bands). I mean, there was a while there where I was just in DRI or I was just in Powerhouse, you know? Then – bang – all of a sudden I moved back to New York and it’s like … hey, do you wanna play drums? Hey, can you play drums? I was like … alright, let’s go!

RRX: Let’s hit sh**!

WR: Yeah, I’m getting old, but I still feel like I can play. I’ve had a couple of things that happened to me physically that really messed up my body, from a work accident and also a car accident, but I’m not letting that deter me. Because there’s something about drumming that just makes me feel good, and I know that it makes other people happy with what I’m doing. So it makes me happy too, man.

To get to go out and see your friends, play shows with everybody, travel, meet new people, and see new killer bands, it’s a win-win. I’m enjoying it while I physically still can do it. I don’t know how long I got, but I’m trying to get to 20 albums. If these 3 come out, that’ll make 17, so that means I need to do one more album with each band before I hang it up. But I wanna keep going until I can’t.

RRX: That’s the way to do it.

WR: Every day I wake up is an amazing day; I definitely am blessed, and I thank my man upstairs. I’m super grateful, I have great friends, I have great family, and I have great bandmates.

RRX: Any positive messages to leave with the fans?

WR: Keep listening to music … music and food are the two things that really bring people together. Everybody needs to put positivity out there in the world because there’s so much BS and negativity already, just keep that sh** away from me!

RRX: I agree with you there, man.

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