Search - Barb Ryman :: Earthbound

New Release Earthbound: This is Barb Ryman's fifth release and features 14 original and diverse songs from unique contemporary ballads to traditional, country gospel & bluegrass. Guest musicians include Prairie Home Companion s Peter Ostroushko, mandolin & fiddle; Adam Granger, flat-picking; and Prudence Johnson, vocal harmonies. Percussionist, Marc Anderson, and bassist, Enrique Toussaint, both of Speaking in Tongues, and LA guitarist, Dirk Freymuth, also grace the album. A lyricist of exceptional depth and perception, Ryman's new songs traverse the Earth, the heart, mysteries of God, politics, women, love, disillusionment, joy, and the whimsical. Included on this release are the title track "Earthbound", a lively celebration of the creative process, "90 Years 28 Moves", the melancholic tale of an old woman who can t settle down, "This Empire Is Falling", a challenge to the power elite and a call for change, Song For the Mother s Gospel, an archetypal questioning of the fate of God the Mother in the face of praises for God the Father, and, in keeping with her gift for topical humor, "Spam Me", an adaptation of Roger Miller's "Dang Me" bemoaning the woes of email spam. Ryman began her music career when the Minneapolis Star Tribune proclaimed her 1995 CD, Lay Me Open, a heart on sleeve triumph and reviews in Dirty Linen and Sing Out acknowledged her emerging talent. While balancing a career as a speech-language pathologist and a single-parent of two children, she managed to perform throughout the Midwest and record five CDs, receiving nine nominations for Minnesota Music Awards including Songwriter Of The Year, Recording Of The Year, Song Of The Year, and Female Vocalist. In 2002, Ryman won the American Composer s Forum s McKnight Fellowship, no small accomplishment for this self-taught, late-start singer-songwriter. She quit her speech therapy career and began full-time national touring. Also a musical humorist, ABC television bought rights to her satirical song "All American Dysfunctional Family" in 2006. Barb tours throughout the U.S. performing in concert series, folk festivals, house concerts, and radio shows. Her previous recordings include, Winds of Good Fortune (1993), Lay Me Open (1995), Like A Tree (1998), and Falling Down to Heaven (2002). Her songs have aired on folk programs across the nation, in Europe and Australia. You can find out more about her music at www.barbryman.com or at www.myspace.com/barbryman