Today we’d like to introduce you to Ryan Thaxter.
Today we’d like to introduce you to Ryan Thaxter.
Hi Ryan, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I grew up just South of Boston, MA and started playing music with some friends in grade school, mainly playing guitar and bass on punk rock bands. In 2009, just after high school graduation my friends and I started the band Dubbest with the intention of making real roots reggae and dub music like the Jamaican music of the 70s and 80s which we were so inspired by. After graduating from University of Massachusetts Boston with a music degree, Dubbest hit the road and toured the East Coast aggressively starting in 2014. We started noticing the impact of the West Coast on the reggae scene and felt compelled to at least go tour there. In 2015 we took our first jaunt through Colorado to California and felt immediately like it was home.
So in 2016, Dubbest as a band dropped everything and moved from Bridgewater, MA to San Diego, CA and we all got a house together for a few years, buckled down and made a place for ourselves in this new scene.
Since then, we have continued to tour the country and make new music constantly with no signs of stopping. COVID of course slowed down the touring for a moment, but we used the time wisely to write lots of new material and rehearse and we have begun hitting the studio and the road hard once again. Our latest single is appropriately titled “Unusual Times.”
Also during COVID, I myself began to build my own home studio as an outlet for my extra creative energy. The result has been a wave of new solo music with more of an ambient rock sound. I started releasing solo music in the Fall of 2020 under my full name: Ryan Thaxter, and later shortened it to Thaxter. Since the name change, I have released four singles which are leading to an album which should come out this summer. The album is called Rewind and it is a nostalgic blend of ambient rock-pop that is simultaneously heavy and also easy on the ears.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
It has not been a smooth road but it has been a fun one. For one, I’ve been in the business a long time (more than 13 years just counting my time with Dubbest alone, and I was playing in bands before that); so it hasn’t come quickly. Some of the struggles include long months on the road, sometimes playing to no one but a bartender, van breakdowns, disagreements, and putting our hearts and souls as well as all of our money on the line. But I wouldn’t take any of it back.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
First and foremost, I’d say I’m a songwriter. I love the craft; I love the struggle; I love solving the puzzle. Each song idea comes from a totally unique place, and similarly, they all need a different approach to nurture them into what you’d call a good song; the idea is just the start. I think my specialty is developing and structuring a song, as well as writing lyrics and helping other people do the same with their songs. That is why I started producing my own music because I could see an idea from the very start: the inspiration, all the way to the end: the recording of the final product.
What’s next?
I have so many plans. I have a few more solo singles to drop and then I’ll put out the whole album this summer, which is an exciting journey. I have a bunch more ideas as well to record, I can hardly keep up. Also, Dubbest just recorded a new single called “Don’t Leave Me Out” which drops March 25 and we will be hitting the road in support of its release this spring for the “Don’t Leave Me Out Spring Tour” through Texas and up the East Coast. I love touring and releasing music so I plan to continue doing those things at rapid rates. My goal for this year is to release a song a month between my solo music and Dubbest. I have a few other projects in the works as well, but I’ll leave it at that.
Contact Info:
- Email: ryanthaxterdub@gmail.com
- Website: Dubbestmusic.com
- Instagram: instagram.com/dubbestmusic
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/c/Dubbestreggae
Image Credits
Ruby Moette
