Hi Ryan,
My younger brother is also named Ryan.
I don’t know why I felt compelled to lead with that (I don’t have Tourette’s)
Something tells me you are accustomed to getting some fairly strange comments here?
Such a great page and wonderful living tribute you have assembled. I haven’t looked through anything else on your site beyond this page, but intend to.
Your gift for writing is strong, and seems to reflect the unburdened lightness of someone who refused to allow a depressing environment and repeated tragedy to define them. If that came off clumsy or pandering it’s because I rarely say things like that, especially to someone I haven’t met.
Thanks for sharing the stories about your brother and some of the the music you made together.
I thought I was listening to early recordings of the Indigo Girls…
(that was a joke 😬)
I really enjoyed the haunting strangeness present on all tracks despite what I’d wager was Rhett just trying to sound “normal”.
So funny to see him in that captains hat while listening to the very Beach Boys inspired, Floatin’
I have to wonder if he was trying to mimic Mike Love who wore that hat while completely unaware that he was clearly the far more talented Brian Wilson?
I was blown away by how many very specific details in your story that parallel my own, growing up in a strict JW house while secretly playing and recording music, navigating gigs, etc, but I won’t get into that
I arrived here at your page through a link someone posted on a FB group I’m a member of with the caption “JW Music Prodigy”
Might as well mention that the group was the Vast Apostate Army. I gather from your mention of having Buddhist leanings, you too have left PandaLand and the WT long ago. I too haven’t seen or heard from my JW mother in well over a decade, but I can’t stop wondering how you have come to terms with such a strange way of literally losing yours? It’s the unresolved nature of it that remains so troubling.
Sorry I’m ending this as awkwardly as I started.

Great work!

Be Well,

Sascha