Photography by Jerry Mazzuca
Ryan Wasoba playing guitar in the seal tunnel at the Saint Louis Zoo.
Released in late February, Ryan Wasoba’s latest work is one that’s undersold by the term “unique.” A recording engineer by trade, Wasoba challenged himself to write 19 tracks, each running 19 seconds, for an appropriately titled release: 19 Second Songs Vol. 1. The tracks were recorded at his own Bird Cloud Recording facility in Edwardsville and, with the exception of a light smattering of guest vocals, it’s an album entirely executed by Wasoba.
We tossed a few questions to Wasoba about the inspiration behind the album, while catching up on his current musical/studio pursuits.
Did this concept come about over a slower-burn notion, or all at once, in a classic "aha!" moment?
I came up with the 19-second song idea about five years ago. I've always had that problem where I get excited about something and want to start a band or start making music like what I'm into that second, and then I get over it before I start. The 19-second song thing really lingered in the back of my head where all these other ideas just went away. About a year ago, I started telling people about it to hold myself accountable, and then I had some free time at my studio in October and decided if I didn't do it now, I probably never would.
If you would, talk about what you were after with the individual cuts. What were the elements you wanted them to contain? How many didn't make the cut?
I think the most important thing to me is that each individual song has a point of view and something to express in full in a short period of time. One of my favorite parts of this project is that it lets me explore something that I don't think would have enough substance to sustain a three- or four-minute song length. There are some I've tried to do and just didn't feel like I could get across what I want to, and I don't feel wasteful just throwing it away or putting it on a backburner until I can crack it. There are others where I get done and kind of laugh and say to myself "OK, this is really dumb," and I'm comfortable with that. I'm serious about this project, but I know it's ridiculous.
Does having daily access to a recording studio inherently lead to more ideas? Or can the opposite be true, that access means "I can get to this/that idea tomorrow" syndrome?
Both scenarios are true. The fact that I can do it any time is what caused me to wait years before I recorded anything. But I also am glad I waited; I think the project lines up with where I am as a person now and I would regret it if younger me tried tackling it. In terms of "ideas," I pretty much write these things in my head. I have a list of these little songs on my phone, but it's only lyrics. This is the first thing I've ever done where I start with lyrics. By the time I sit down to record, I'm sort of figuring out how to make it work, and what the chords are, and what instruments I want to use. Having the studio is invaluable there, because it's so much easier to think "Oh, maybe this guitar part should be on xylophone or piano" and be able to just do it.
There's Vol. 1 attached to the title. Will there be a volume 2?
Absolutely, and a volume 3 and et cetera. Ideally my goal is to have hundreds of these songs and sort of overwhelm people with information. Like when you try to get into someone like The Mountain Goats and you look at their discography and go "Oh jeez..." That might be one of those Sufjan Stevens "I'm gonna do an album for every state" thing that trickles out after two, but that's the dream.
For folks who may or may not know your prior projects, can you list some of the ones you look back on fondly? You've written for the Riverfront Times, written/recorded with So Many Dynamos.... what stands out?
So Many Dynamos is definitely something I'm proud to have been a part of, and I look back fondly on my time in that band. There's an album called Flashlights that is really close to my heart. I don't think I realized how vaguely honest and personal that record was until much later. After I quit So Many Dynamos, I spent a few years writing professionally for the RFT and some other outlets. I'm not stoked on that part of my life in hindsight; it was on the leading edge of the clickbait epidemic, and I wrote things I cringe at now. When I started going all in at the studio, I started making records for other people that define my career. The Albatross by Foxing is a huge one for me, because it was the first time I was very hands on as a producer, and it's probably the most successful record I'll ever have a hand in.
What projects of a non-personal nature are you working on or working toward in early 2019? Any that are particularly exciting to you?
I'm very excited about an EP I made for the band Bounce House that is coming out soon. Through working on it, a couple of the members of the band and I developed this friendship built in part on pushing each other creatively. I honestly don't think I would have started the 19-second song project without those relationships. I think I'm working on some of the best records I've ever done right now: Kangaroo Pocket, which is the new incarnation of a band I always loved named Target Market; a crazy tech metal band called Alan Smithee; the new River Kittens record where they're really challenging themselves; some next-level shreddy jazz for a dude named Matt Villinger. Selfishly, I'm most excited about the Thor Axe record, which is an instrumental band I play in with a couple of the guys from So Many Dynamos and other folks. Some of the songs are 10-plus years old, but this is the first time they've been recorded.
And, for my editor, who specifically mentioned it: What's the story with the cut "Jessie Spano"?
There's this episode of Saved by the Bell where the three female main characters start a singing group and they do "I'm so Excited" by the Pointer Sisters. Token uptight academic Jessie Spano is overwhelmed by the pressure and schedule of doing that group while keeping up with her school work so she starts taking energy pills. She gets addicted and has this big freakout that's probably the most infamous scene in the show, where she's manic and starts singing "I'm so excited, I'm so excited, I'm so, so, scared." It was so ridiculous that everyone always made fun of it. I watched the episode again as an adult and it was still over the top, but it hit me differently after having addiction and death impact me personally. Then when I put the song and video out, I realized that scene isn't as ubiquitous as I thought.
You can stream/buy 19 Second Songs Vol. 1 at Bandcamp.
