Singer-songwriter/guitarist Ry Bradley isn’t easily bound by musical convention. Currently based in Nashville, but with a nomadic past (physically and musically), his songs and albums have traversed rock & roll, country, rockabilly and more. “Miss Treat Me Right,” his new single, is a sweaty, swampy groove that brings his musical journey back around full circle to the root of it all: the blues.
“When I was 15 I lived on the north shore of Oahu, and it was big deal to go into Honolulu and get a cd. I was a punk rock kid, but when I got Rock Boppin’ Baby, the rockabilly compilation on Sun Records, it was life-changing. That stuff hit me as harder and more raw and real than any punk record I was listening to at the time. I didn’t know what the blues were, per se, but what I heard then was a magnet for me; the blues sounds were what I went for. The rock and roll I love lives inside the blues; they’re inescapably linked.”
The multi-entendre-laden “Miss Treat Me Right” not only echoes his embrace of the music he holds closest to his heart, it represents freedom. From a decade-plus whirlwind of activity that included a publishing contract, a record deal, radio airplay, some songs in TV shows and performing all over the US at any venue that would book him, to settling down in Nashville, starting a family and finally getting to a space where he’s creating the music he wants to create without compromise or regard for ‘the music industry.’
“It’s mostly about fear. At least it used to be. You get into the industry, try to make things that work. You make choices, you try to make money. I’ve finally gotten to the point where I don’t care what anyone thinks anymore, I just want to play what I hear in my head. If you’re really in this because you love making music and writing, then at some point you just don’t give a shit and you’ve gotta do wht you love the most. Regardless of what the world says or thinks, when you get to that point then you’re being true to yourself and your craft.” He’s tapped into his true essence as a songwriter and musician, and there’s no looking back.
