White Citrus, the second studio LP from Ryan Young, is an eclectic collection of ten songs ranging from greasy Southern rock to front porch Americana.  The album is Ryan’s follow-up to 2006’s well-received debut LP, Seven Suburban Spirituals.  A multi-instrumentalist based in Austin, Texas, and a songwriter at heart, Ryan Young creates music that is heavily rooted in blues-inspired melodies with a familiar, vibrant diversity.  That diversity is on display with his new album, White Citrus.  Recorded in Ryan’s own Suite 2E studio, the album swings, twangs, grooves, and rocks.  Sometimes all in the same song.

“I wanted to make a guitar album. Something that wasn’t over the top in terms of technique or showmanship, but more of a return to just really good guitar playing.  I’m a guitar player by trade and I feel like there’s quite a void in popular music for guitar-oriented songs.  Plus, I got to work with two of my absolute favorite guitar players in Scott Clark and Daniel Sproul!” – Ryan Young, on the driving force behind White Citrus.

However focused Ryan was on the guitar, he never lost sight of the most important thing – the song.  “I firmly believe that a good song always wins. I always try to start with a song on just an acoustic guitar.  Can it stand alone completely naked – just guitar and vocal?  If it can’t, then something’s wrong.” White Citrus is ten individual songs, each with their own style and identity, that somehow form a whole which is truly representative of Ryan’s sound.  It’s unique, just like him.  From the coming-of-age tale in “By The Neon Lights” to the strained populism of “Dollar Bills”, nothing is off-limits to Ryan.  “My musical tastes are all over the place, so it only seems right that my music would be as well.  I love mixing styles, and especially ones that may not be familiar together.  That’s usually when the interesting things start happening.”

In addition to producing White Citrus, as well as his debut album Seven Suburban Spirituals and follow up EP Spend, Spend, Spend, Ryan has produced albums and sessions for a wide variety of artists – from folk and country to rock and pop. In early 2010, Ryan will begin production on his second album with Taylor Vieger, (www.myspace.com/taylorvieger), a Dallas-based songwriter featured and showcased by Spin magazine.  2007 gave Ryan the opportunity to produce Taylor’s debut album, Whiplash Ballroom.    That same year, Ryan also produced an EP for the Austin-based band Loose Leaves (www.myspace.com/looseleavesband).  In 2005, he produced an original score to “A Lie of the Mind” for the University of Texas Theatre Department.  An album he produced for the band Fancy Trash in 2002 caught the attention of Krist Novoselic from Nirvana and landed the band an East Coast tour opening for his group Eyes Adrift, which also featured members of Sublime and the Meat Puppets. Ryan accompanied Fancy Trash on that tour, playing guitar and pedal steel.

Before moving to Austin, Ryan gained experience playing in the Dallas, northern Louisiana, and Colorado music scenes.  He has shared the stage with such national acts as Galactic, Vernon Reid (Living Colour) and Rose Hill Drive.  A true DIY artist in practice and spirit, Ryan booked himself on a midwest/Colorado tour in 2006 that culminated in an appearance at Diversafest in Tulsa, Oklahoma, where he was selected as a showcase artist and chosen to lend a track to the festival compilation cd.  A versatile artist, Ryan can perform in just about any setting – solo, duo, or full band – and has performed at such venerable Austin venues as Antone’s, Stubbs, the Saxon Pub, Threadgills, Club DeVille, Ruta Maya, the Scoot Inn, Jovita’s, Waterloo Ice House, the Carousel Lounge – where he held a weekly Wednesday night residency, and many of the fine establishments on Austin’s famed Sixth Street.  Ryan has also had the privilege and the pleasure of performing in such legendary venues as the House of Blues in New Orleans, The Knitting Factory in New York City, and the Fox Theatre in Boulder, CO.    For the latter part of 2008, Ryan was performing solo in many of the hippest coffeshops around Austin – such as Clementine’s, Cafe Mundi, and Thunderbird -but still found the time to rock with the full band.   The majority of 2009 was spent in the studio, with Ryan seeing White Citrus through to completion, as well as producing sessions for a wide range of Texas artists, playing many private events, and even performing weekly at an evening church service. It’s not uncommon for Ryan to record some screaming lead guitar, croon a few Willie Nelson tunes, and perform a Bach piece all in the same weekend! Currently, Ryan is preparing to hit the road to promote White Citrus, with a tour set for Spring 2010 as well as shows in Austin and throughout Texas.

“Crickets In The Soap”, the lead track from Ryan Young’s debut full-length Seven Suburban Spirituals which has been re-imagined on White Citrus, appears in the video game Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 2 (Pocket PC Edition).  “A.C.D.”, from the EP Spend, Spend, Spend, was licensed for use in a promotional web video for WilMax Construction.  Currently, Ryan is preparing to hit the road to promote White Citrus, with a tour set for Spring 2010 as well as shows in Austin and throughout Texas.