Maddi Ryan

Josh Mattei talks with Maddi Ryan!

Episode Transcript

(00:00):
This week on Country on Deck. My parents listened to a good
amount of country growing up. Like, my mom was a total 80s
girl, but my dad, like, loved like Shania Twain and like stuff
like that. So we were always listening to
kind of a mix of everything. Man, I feel like a woman or
like, still the one I was like, yeah.

(00:21):
Or Miranda Lambert, like mama's broken heart.
I remember when I heard that forthe first time, I was like,
yeah, I love this. Like this is this is great.
Like I feel super empowered. So I kind of just fell in love
with the the feeling that it gave me.
Discover the stories of rising country stars Country on Deck
with Josh Maddie. Kick off your boots and settle

(00:54):
him. Country on decks about to begin.
Josh Maddie's here. Stars on the rise.
Voices of hope. Dreams in their eyes.
Singer songwriters, Stories on phone.

(01:15):
Hearts that wander. Hearts out a bone.
Dusty Rose, She writes Angelinescaptures and journeyings shares
their fries. Country on deck.
We're tuning in. Well, the new star stories are

(01:38):
coming in from a small town. Dreams they're gonna take you
away. Country on deck with just that
A. Hello and welcome to another
episode of Country on Deck, where I sit down with today's
rising country stars and help you discover the stories behind

(02:01):
their music. I'm your host, Josh Maddie, and
I'm back at my desk in Connecticut with another rising
country star on the show this week.
But first, if you missed our conversation.
If you missed our conversation from last week, we sat down to
talk to Eli Mosley. We helped you discover how he
got his start in music and his future plans.

(02:25):
And we also talked to Eli about what it was like back in the day
when people weren't so obsessed with documenting every single
moment at concerts. I opened for Tracy Lawrence.
Nobody has a picture of that. Oh.
Man, that sucks. Everybody had.

(02:45):
Yeah. And we were just so like, we're
going to do a great job musically, you know, that we
just totally were dropping the ball on that.
And, you know, we never promotedit.
We never talked about it. And it was just when it was all
said and done, we were like, huh, There's no proof of that at
all. Maybe it's the sign of the
times, like people weren't so obsessed with that type of stuff
back then. Yeah, it is true.
That is true. Now everybody needs to document
everything. Yeah, and I, and I'm a rancher.

(03:07):
I'm a I'm a country boy. I don't to me, I'm, I'm more
interested in fixing a tractor than doing a TikTok video.
So to me, it's always, that's always been kind of a little
slow to the game on that one anytime, anytime that that's on
the table. You can listen to our entire
conversation with Eli Mosley. That conversation is streaming
below this episode on the platform that you're listening

(03:31):
on. And don't forget to hit that
follow button on the platform that you're listening on.
We release new conversations with new rising country stars
each and every Friday, and we don't want you to miss one.
And if you're already subscribedto the show, first, thank you so
much for doing that. I really appreciate it.
And 2nd, consider sharing the show with a friend so that they

(03:54):
can listen just like you do every single Friday on the show
this week. She hails from just north of
Boston. She got her music career started
performing on her parents coffeetable as a little girl and now
she's performing all throughout New England.
She recently performed at ComicsRoadhouse at Mohegan Sun and the

(04:17):
Washington County Fair in Rhode Island.
I just love that fair. So it's cool to see that she was
performing at at the Washington County Fair.
She also has performed at multiple, multiple writers
rounds are writers rounds at thebarn in Groton, CT Was very
excited to have her be a part ofthose those two shows.

(04:38):
Excited to have her on the podcast now after seeing her
play and and catch up with her and and chat with her and help
you learn a little bit more about her story and her music on
the show this week. Maddie Ryan So Maddie, thanks so
much for for coming on the show.I'm excited to have you on and
help people find out about you and your music.

(05:00):
I'm excited to catch up as well since you played the writers
round a while back and you've played twice.
Exactly. No.
Thank you so much for having me on.
I'm sorry I sound like this. Like I said, I've been dealing
with a cold for the past week, but we carry on and I'm excited
to chat with you today. You're a you're a trooper.
You're a trooper. Your your bio on Instagram says

(05:22):
you're a big coffee drinker. So I got to ask, have you had a
coffee yet today? Did you bring a coffee to the
interview? Of course, of course.
I have it right next to me at all times usually.
What? What's your favorite type of
coffee? Are you a hot coffee drinker?
An iced coffee drinker. See, I am a New England girl
through and through. I drink iced coffee year round.

(05:43):
It does not matter if it's below0 outside.
I will drink iced coffee. Are you big on pumpkin spice
during the fall? OK, no, that's the one thing
I've never been able to get into.
I don't know. I just like a good like vanilla
or caramel iced coffee, iced latte.
Those two things are my lanes, and that's what I'm sticking

(06:04):
with. I'm not.
I'm not afraid to admit it. I'm a big pumpkin spice guy, so
I'm a little basic. I'm a little basic.
Have you, have you always been apumpkin spice guy or have you
kind of come around to it? I would say I came around to it
maybe in the last like four or five years maybe.
OK is there like because I I've only had it like once or twice.
Is there one I should try that might make me a convert?

(06:27):
I've really been loving the the Starbucks just cold brew pumpkin
spice, one pump of vanilla and two of the pumpkin sauce.
I really sound basic now I'm rattling off the menu.
But that actually OK, you put the vanilla in there and the
cold brew so I could get on board with that.
I will try that maybe later today when I need my afternoon
pick me up. It's worth worth a try, right?

(06:48):
Exactly. If nothing else, it'll get you
energized. That's all you need.
Can you believe this? I can't believe summer's already
over. Oh my gosh, I know.
It seems like forever when we were in it, and now it just
seems like a blip. It's crazy.
It was so, so busy. We played so many shows this
summer. My head is still kind of

(07:10):
spinning, but it was so much fun.
Doing the the writers rounds, I feel like it makes the summer
feel even quicker 'cause you're always kind of anticipating that
next event. Do you feel that way with your
with your music and your shows? Yeah, exactly.
Like honestly, I tell people when they're like, where are you
at next? Where are you at next to?
Like, honestly, if I don't look at my Google spreadsheet, I have

(07:30):
no idea where I am. But I do look forward to every
show that we play because it's just an opportunity to do what I
love. And I do this full time and I
have since I graduated college. So it's just really, really
special each time that like I get to be that full time
musician and I get to make my living off of my music and kind
of connect with different peopleand every place we go and each

(07:53):
show we play. So it's it's really, really cool
and I love it. That's awesome that you're doing
this full time. Not everybody has the ability to
do that, so congratulations. Thank you.
It's it's been fun. It's been hard at times, just
like learning because right, you're like the you're the head
of your own business when you'rea full time independent
musician. So it's been a learning curve

(08:14):
for sure at times, but it's beensuper rewarding at the same
time. Yeah, it's got to be a little,
little nerve racking. I like I'd never be able to do a
sales job because I wouldn't be sure as the money would be
coming in. So I don't know how I'd be able
to do what you're doing. Honestly, like once you take the
jump and you do it for a little bit, you're like, OK, I can do
this. Everything levels out after a

(08:35):
certain point, you're like, all right, I know what to do.
I know what steps to take. Like it can seem scary, but I've
kind of done the same thing and I'm just going to build on it
and build on it and build on it.You You began your music career
performing on the top of your coffee table as a kid.
Oh, yeah. I as a child, I was an only

(08:55):
child. So a lot of the times, like my
mom was home with me, but I, sheand I would just sing and I
would have to like, amuse myself, right?
So I would dress up in my sparkly outfits, stand on the
coffee table, give my parents flashlights as like spotlights.
I would pretend I was like Mary Poppins at the beach with the
beach umbrella and run away withit and start singing.

(09:16):
One time my mom said when she came home, my dad was watching
me and I was probably like 2 andI was in the bathtub with one of
her bras on singing The Little Mermaid because I thought it was
Ariel. It runs.
It's always been a part of my life.
I've always been singing so. Your imagination was at full

(09:37):
peak there. Oh, definitely was.
Definitely was. What were some of the songs that
you remember singing? Oh.
My gosh. Definitely supercalifragilistic.
I sang that a lot. What else did I sing?
Literally anything. A lot of The Little Mermaid,
like I said, like, look at this stuff.

(09:58):
Isn't it neat? Just kind of a lot of Disney
princesses. That was my, you know, as every
little girl, they want to be a Disney Princess, and I was all
about that. Did you ever fall off the coffee
table? No, luckily, no.
I am a very clumsy person and that is the one thing I never
did. I I've broken many bones, but

(10:19):
not from falling off the coffee table as a child, so not a.
Lot of space on there, so I can't picture having like a full
blown concert, you know? I, I did my best.
I, I did my little tap dance androutine.
I, I had like a fake microphone.It was.
It was the whole production. Oh wow, A lot of that.
That's a lot of talent. I started young, what can I say?

(10:44):
And everybody was kind of singing around the house, not
just you. They're like the whole family,
yeah. Totally.
My mom, my mom actually has a really good voice, although she
will not admit to it, but she was always singing and singing
to me when I was a baby. And my dad, he has like a very
deep, kind of like church voice,I would say.
So when we go to church, like hewould sing, my mom would sing.

(11:05):
So I just kind of, I picked it up and my family was musical.
I learned piano really young. My great grandfather used to sit
at the piano with me and show melike little things to play.
And I just, I loved it and I couldn't get enough of it.
Oh wow, so they must have been very supportive.
Definitely. I'm very, very lucky that my
family has been incredibly supportive of me being a

(11:27):
musician. Your your first professional
gig. It was in Nashville.
Yeah. So that's pretty.
Cool when I was. Around 15, I was in a band with
another musician, and his name is Colin Axwell, and he got a
slot playing at CMA Fest at one of the bars down there.

(11:50):
And he was like, hey, do you want to come open for me?
And I was like, yeah, of course I want to go play in Nashville.
Like yes, let's go. So I got to play like a little
couple. I think it was like 4 song
little opening set for him. And I just I thought it was the
coolest thing. I was like, Oh my gosh, this is
what I want to do and I can do this.
Was was that your first trip to Nashville or you had you been

(12:12):
there prior? No.
That was my first time to Nashville.
Oh wow, so you were playing? That's pretty crazy.
CMA Fest 2015 first trip. Wow that's that's big.
It was. It was pretty nuts.
Like it. It kind of felt like a movie to
me in a way. Like I got off the plane.
I had all my equipment, I had myparents with me, and it was just

(12:33):
like the lights and like all themusic in my eyes just went wide.
And I was like, OK, yeah, I get it, I get it now.
Yeah, I could. See where that would have such a
big impact on you? Totally.
Where Where were you playing gigs prior to that?
Like just throughout New England.
Yeah, like little restaurants here and there.
Basically when I wanted to startdoing this, my mom was like, OK,

(12:58):
I'm going to help you, but you need to learn enough songs for
like 2 hours first. We need to like practice this
and then I'll I'll help you get a gig.
So that's, that's what I did. I learned them within like two
or three days, enough for like 2hours, 2 little sets.
And so we booked my first gig ata little restaurant the town
over from where I live, and thatwas, that was kind of it.

(13:19):
Then I kind of had more consistent gigs through that,
branched out to a couple different restaurants, and it
just grew from there. Oh wow.
Your mom really held your feet to the to the fire.
She's like, you're going to you got to do this and this and
then. Oh yeah.
She's like, she's always she andmy dad have always really
instilled with me like once you commit to something, you need to
follow through. There's no like quitting
halfway. Every time I joined a sport or

(13:41):
something or I, I started lessons with something, they're
like, OK, you need to follow this through to, to the end of
the season, follow it through tothe recital.
And then if you don't like it after, we don't have to do it
again. But you need to learn the follow
through and you have to do the hard thing.
I was the exact opposite. I was the kid that was signing
up for karate every single, every, every single year.

(14:06):
And I would never get past the the white belt.
I would always just quit and they would always have this
pizza party at the beginning of the new like karate season.
And my mom caught on after a while.
She's like, are you just signingup for karate to go to the pizza
party? Sneaky.
I like it, yeah. So she wouldn't end of that
after a while, but I had some good pizza over the years, you

(14:28):
know? You know what I'm not mad at?
Good pizza. So you did what you had to do.
I think I had like 6 or 7 white belts lying around the house.
Heck yeah. There you go.
You were a super white belt so. Yeah, I'm in the Guinness Book
of World Records for the most amount of white belts.
You. Should see if that's a thing

(14:48):
maybe, yeah. I should look into that Boston
College you graduated in in 2020.
Oh. I went to Boston University or
Boston. University.
My bad. We're.
Rivals. You don't want to do that, Josh.
Oh. Geez, that's a big mistake right
there. No, no, it's all.

(15:09):
It's all good. Yeah.
I went to Boston University. I graduated in 2020 when the
world shut down, which was really, really crazy.
I remember my mom a couple weeksbefore the end of the semester,
She's like, you know what, we have a couple days off like you
have, there was like some holiday from school and she's
like, let's just go into the city and pick up a few of like

(15:30):
your bigger things from your dorm.
So like move out isn't so hectic.
And I was like, yeah, that sounds like a great idea.
And as soon as we got to the school and got into my
apartment, they sent an e-mail being like, OK, Covid's a thing,
everybody needs to move out. And I was like, Oh my gosh,
like, good thing we're here. So we just, we moved everything

(15:51):
out. I moved home and everything shut
down, as you know. Yeah, You're you're you're
studying communications? Yeah.
Yep. Did you ever have like visions
of being on television or or radio with that degree or
actually? Yeah, so BU has an incredible

(16:13):
communications program and they actually have a TV and radio
station in there. And I was actually like a
producer on some things. I was like a Co host and anchor
on their TV station. I think for a little bit I
thought I was going to be a newshost.
I could see it. That'd be cool.
It was Maddie Ryan reporting. Yeah.
Exactly, like you have to get the voice down and everything

(16:35):
like oh, my business casual closet was all built out.
It was fine, but that was really, really cool.
But I even though I love that and that was in like surrounding
me kind of when I was in school,I still went back to music every
single time. It was just kind of undeniable
for me. So you were taking all these
communication classes and getting your degree, but you

(16:56):
were always kind of gigging and playing music throughout your
whole college experience. Yeah, so.
Basically, BU I don't know how familiar you are familiar you
are with the Boston area, but B.Well, I got the colleges wrong,
so yeah, so. BU is basically on an adjacent
St. to like where Fenway Park is.
So it's basically like Commonwealth Ave.

(17:18):
You go through Kenmore Square upthe street and like Fenway's
right there. So I played a lot of gigs when I
was in college, like up the street at like Loretta's Last
Call. I had a residency there.
I still play there to this day. We play there a lot.
That's kind of been our home base throughout just like my
career so far. It's pretty cool.

(17:38):
So yeah, that's what I was doingon the weekends when my friends
were like out partying. I was just like, ah, no, I got a
game. I got to go to like New
Hampshire or Connecticut or wherever.
That kind of connects the dots for me now, while you're always
at Loretta's, because I see you there a lot.
Yeah, Yeah. I've been playing there a long
time. I love the people over there.
I've met some of my like best friends through just being over

(17:59):
there. So it's it's a great spot.
If you're in Boston for country music, go there.
I also heard that you at one point had interest in being a
lawyer. I.
Did I wanted to be an entertainment lawyer because
that's kind of also music adjacent.
And I actually did have an internship with an entertainment
attorney, but I was in college and I really like that because

(18:22):
it dealt a lot with record dealsand like all the like sync
licensing and like you learned kind of like a little bit of the
insurance and outs of all the, all the things that they get to
deal with. But like, you're not the artist,
you're kind of like more on the business and legal side,
obviously. But it did teach me a lot about
like that, that side of it. So the outside of the creative

(18:43):
portion of artistry. So it was really, really cool to
see. Oh wow.
Well if you ever change your mind and have an interest in
that, you can last week's guest,Sophia Lee Davis.
She's a a lawyer and has interest in entertainment lawyer
as well so you guys should link up.
She could do her own contracts. Good for her like.

(19:04):
Yeah, it sounds interesting. Yeah.
Sounds like a definitely an important job for an, for an
artist to have someone backing them like that.
Totally. Totally.
But at the end of the day, it was just always music for you.
That was what was in your heart.Yeah.
It was just, every time I tried to like go do something else, I

(19:25):
always came back to music because it just, it's what made
me feel the most, you know, like, like, and it just like
calmed my mind in a way that like nothing else has.
So it's just always been the thing I, I fall back on and I go
to. Well, they do always say that
music is medicine, so I could see it truly.

(19:48):
Truly is. And and music brought you your
husband? Yeah.
So I actually met my husband through playing music out.
The people I was playing with atthe time, I I needed a new
drummer. And they were like, oh, we know
this guy named Charles. And I was like, OK, cool.
Like you guys think he's good. You know him, Bring a man.

(20:09):
We did a rehearsal and he just became part of the band.
And we were, we were friends fora good bet.
And then we started dating probably like a little over a
year into playing together. And now we've been married for
just a little over a year. Thank you and.
We've been together for almost 6years.

(20:30):
I want to say, Oh my God, I sound old.
Six years. It only gets worse.
Oh, I'm. Sure, this is the oldest I've
ever been so. We were talking about COVID
earlier, I turned 30 and then like two months after that the
whole pandemic hit the fan. Oh my God.

(20:53):
Somebody gave me a birthday card, not even exaggerating it,
the birthday card said it's onlydownhill from here.
Oh my God, that's so. You.
Jinxed me. You jinxed me.
Oh my. God, but hey, look, look where
you've come from that though, like you have the country on
deck podcast, you have the really successful writers
rounds, like you're doing such acool thing.

(21:14):
So it it was uphill. It was opposite, true.
Just just some bumps in the road, right?
You got to go down to come back up, right like.
I I appreciate that. It was awesome being able to
meet your husband at the the writers round that you played.
And I thought it was cool like that.
You guys write music together. Yeah.
We do I, like I said, I think I said it at the writers round

(21:37):
too. I always wrote breakup songs
before I met him. And now that we're we're
together and now that we've beentogether for so long, we still
write breakup songs. But it's just about our past
experiences. We do write some love songs now.
I will say we have written a few, but it's really funny to
write breakup songs with your husband.
I think that's very ironic. Yeah, how?

(22:00):
How does that work? I've tried to wrap my head
around that. Like everybody has like past
experiences or just like things they've seen their friends go
through. So we kind of just pull from
from kind of like our, our knowledge of what we've kind of
experienced through our lives, seeing our friends or whatnot.
Do you feel like that brings youguys closer together?

(22:21):
Yeah. I think we've always been
incredibly honest with each other and that's, that's
something I think that our relationship makes our
relationship work so well. Like incredibly honest about
like everything. So just being able to be super
honest and vulnerable about like, past experiences and
writing stuff like that, I thinkin a way brings us closer even

(22:44):
though we're writing about breakups.
But we can just be like, oh, yeah, I felt like this.
Like, I'm happy right now, but this is how I felt.
Like this is kind of like what happened in this relationship or
like this is what my friend wentthrough or, you know, it's just
like that honesty. They say communication, good
communication, is the a key to aquality relationship and that's

(23:07):
certainly a unique way of communicating.
Definitely, it definitely, definitely is well and
especially I think we've gotten really good at it because we
work together too. So to this day he's still my
drummer, right. So we not only are married and
live together, we also work together pretty much every
single day so. You ever want to be like, just

(23:27):
get the heck out of the house? Not often.
We're very good at like, giving each other space.
And he he actually also owns a vintage drumming guitar shop and
studio. Oh wow.
That's cool in new. Hampshire, where we currently
live. So he, he gets to run off to his
corner. I get my own little corner.
So he's there pretty much like during the day doing his thing

(23:51):
and I'm, I'm doing my thing and then like we have gigs together.
So we're we're going to giving each other space.
We've we've learned kind of thatroutine and that how to how to
work through that you have. Your your own projects and
little side side tasks. Yeah, definitely.
Definitely your. Your EP Growing Pains, you put

(24:14):
that together kind of as a collection of songs that
represent your your upbringing. Yeah, it was just kind of like
how how I was feeling. And it's in a collection of
songs I wrote when I was like a little bit younger, spanning
from probably when I was like 16or 17 to kind of just around the
pandemic time. And I really just wanted to put

(24:36):
them out into the world because they, they were things that like
felt really special to me and like really rang true at the
time when I wrote them. So it's just kind of like going
through the growing pains of like breakups and then like
going through loss and going through like anxiety struggles
and like stuff like that, not knowing what I wanted to do next

(24:58):
or like falling in love, right? So there's kind of just going
through all the growing up stages.
My my favorite song on the EP isNothing Better.
I really loved like the ballot vibe to it.
Oh. Thank you.
That's actually Chucky and I wrote that one together, so it
was really, really special for us.
Awesome. Yeah, that's like the only song

(25:19):
on the EP that's a Co, right, Right.
Yes, yes, you're right about that.
So the the other 4 you wrote completely by yourself or Yes, I
did. That's that's pretty awesome.
Not not everybody, not everybodydoes that.
That's pretty. That's a good accomplishment.
Yeah. I.
I write a lot, a lot of it. Like I've been writing more with

(25:41):
friends and other artists like in the area, which is super,
super cool and trying to get more of that kind of like going.
But a lot of the things up untilthat EPI was just writing kind
of by myself in my bedroom and then with nothing better.
I had written the first like verse and chorus of it.
And Chucky actually stayed out at my house during during COVID.

(26:07):
So he basically like moved in with my parents and I during
COVID and base. And like I was writing that song
one day and I called him and I was like, hey, I just wrote this
like, please don't judge me. It's it's kind of mushy.
And then he heard it and he's like, yeah, let's write the rest
of this. This is great.
So that's how that song was kindof born.
It's been a couple years since that EP came out, 2023.

(26:30):
Where? Where do you feel like you're at
with your music now? Like what's a big difference
that you've seen? I think my my writing has
changed a little bit. I think it's gotten a little bit
more mature. I'm currently working on another
batch of songs that I, I really think I found more of my sound

(26:50):
as an artist. So I'm like, I'm super, super,
super excited to share those very, very soon.
But yeah, I think I've just grown into myself a little bit
more. And so I think that's what
you're going to hear off the next a couple of releases I have
planned. Is it going to be a Growing
Pains Part 2 or is it going to be something a little bit like

(27:12):
more upbeat and I think. You're going to find a mix of
stuff kind of like on growing pains you're going to find a mix
of like upbeat and like a littlebit slower.
But I think you're going to hearlike that I've grown up right?
So growing pains and now you're like a little bit more
grown-ups. So I think it's going to be kind

(27:32):
of a continuation of that like alittle bit, but I.
I remember when you played the the writers round, you made a
joke. Maddie Ryan's playing a an
upbeat, happy song like this is so shocking.
Like, well, why? Why do you?
Why do you feel like people should be like, almost shocked
by that? I don't.
Know, I just, I don't know why, like I love upbeat songs.

(27:55):
I love like, like tapping my foot to something and like kind
of bopping around. But whenever I go to write for
the life of me, I always end up writing like a sad you did me
wrong, like song. I don't know.
I just that's that's where that's where my brain goes
towards for some reason. But I I've been getting out of

(28:15):
that a little bit more. So we'll we'll we'll see.
We'll see what you guys think when the new stuff comes out.
Well, it it was for a debut EP, it was definitely very well
received. You got a a bunch of of awards
for that one. So congratulations.
Yeah, we. Got we got a bunch of
nominations. I am our.
Nominations rather. Which was super, super cool.

(28:35):
We got nominated for I think Country Artist of the Year and
Album of the Year at the New England Music Awards.
And then I got nominated for Country Artist of the Year at
the Boston Music Awards last year, which was our first Boston
Music Award nomination, which was so incredibly cool.
I freaked out. But yeah, yeah, that's awesome.

(28:57):
How's it feel to be recognized by by like your home base, like
your your region of where you'realways gigging?
Honestly, I I know I've been. Playing in this area for like
such a long time and whatnot, but it's still every time like
something like that happens to me, I, I'm absolutely shocked
because I'm just like, Oh yeah, I'm over here doing my thing.

(29:19):
Like I don't, I don't need the award.
Like I just, I just, I'm doing what I love.
So that's, that doesn't give me any like, Oh yeah, like like
this is like this kind of like reconfirms what I'm doing.
Like it does in a way, but it's just kind of like incredible to
me, I guess that people are seeing what I'm doing when I'm

(29:41):
just like, Oh yeah, I just feel like I'm off in the corner doing
my thing. And like, if you see it, you see
it. So it's just it's cool to be
recognized by like a larger bodyof creatives.
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Colchester Connecticut. Old school not old fashioned.
The ultimate experience. The EP It was written between
New Hampshire and Lai was curious, why not Nashville?
Well, actually the producer we used is out of LA currently.

(31:11):
So he was, he's from around herewhere I live, but he moved to
LA, so we worked with him. So that's why we were kind of
going back and forth between like New Hampshire, Mass, to LA.
Did you ever have like, talks with anyone in Nashville to work
with them or you, you just had like, a great bond with this

(31:31):
person in New Hampshire? Yeah, we.
We had we had known him, his name is Anthony Rusta.
He is an an incredible musical genius, like so crazy.
He's worked with like some really, really big names.
And he actually, I believe went to school with Chucky's mom.
And I also knew him through another friend of mine.

(31:53):
So everybody was like, you got to work with him, you got to
work with him. And so we ended up like chatting
with him and he's like, yeah, I would love to work on your
stuff. And we've just kind of like
built this friendship and like work relationship.
And it's, it's been so super cool.
And he's just, he's so insanely talented.
So it was such an honor to work with him and.

(32:13):
And you, you still work with him?
Yeah. Yeah, yeah.
So the couple times we went out there, we worked with him in
person. But we've also done like some
remote stuff back and forth, like when we when we can't
travel. But it's, you know, there's
nothing like being in the studio.
Like he has a studio in Laurel Canyon.
So it's like, it's so historic and like just being out there is

(32:34):
a whole vibe. But it's been so, so cool to
work with him. He's incredible.
I can't say enough nice things about him.
Was the EP Growing Pains? Was that your first time in a in
a studio? No, actually I've, I've recorded

(32:54):
a few things like here and there.
I remember one year for my birthday, my parents got me like
time in a recording studio and I, I recorded a couple things
here and there. I don't even know where those
recordings are. They're like lost on ACD
somewhere in a bin at my parents' house.
And I've recorded stuff like at home, I used to stay up all

(33:18):
night and like record things into like garage bands and try
to like produce things. So I've always been kind of in
that recording world and Chucky,like I said, has a studio at a
shop. So we would literally like live
in the studio for days on end just like working on things.
So I've always kind of been likein and out of the studio, but
this is my first like, OK, we'regoing to sit down, we're going

(33:40):
to do this project and this is what it's going to be sort of a
thing. So there's probably like a
million unreleased Maddie Ryan projects out there.
Oh. There, there are, there's,
there's a lot and hopefully a lot of them will never see the
light of day because it's probably just me screaming into
a microphone at 2:00 AM so. Did you, being from New England,

(34:06):
were you always passionate aboutgoing in a country direction or
did you ever look into like a pop or any anything else?
I, I did so when I started at least doing vocal lessons and
stuff, I really like, surprisingly, I really loved
Broadway music. So I thought that's kind of

(34:29):
where I was going to lean into. And then I went to kind of like
contemporary a little bit. And then my grandma was like,
oh, I found this really great vocal teacher and he does opera
and I think that'll be really good for you.
I was like, OK, yeah, like I'll,I'll try anything once.
And I ended up loving it. And I saw him for a bit.

(34:51):
So I did a little bit of opera, which honestly, to any artists
that are listening, if you've done that, you know, like what
it does for your, your vocal range and just like your breath
control and support, it's like crazy.
And then I ended up going back into contemporary and kind of
falling in love with country music just because there's

(35:13):
always, there's always a story, right?
There's always like that raw emotion that goes into it.
My parents listen to a good amount of country growing up.
Like my mom was a total 80s girl, but my dad like, loved
like Shania Twain and like stufflike that.
So we were always listening to like, kind of a mix of
everything and it just like, man, I feel like a woman or like

(35:37):
still the one I was like, yeah, like, or Miranda Lambert, like
Mama's broken heart. I remember when I heard that for
the first time, I was like, yeah, like, I love this.
Like this is this is great. Like I feel super empowered.
So I kind of just fell in love with the the feeling that it
gave me. You you mentioned some of the
artists that you kind of discovered with your mom and

(35:57):
dad. Who are some of the artists that
you discovered on your on your own when you started listening
to country kind of like independently?
I really like, I loved Maren Morris's early stuff.
When she came out, I was a huge,huge fan.
I, I still am, I still like her stuff.
I know she's kind of weird out of the country market, but I

(36:18):
love like obviously Taylor Swift, who doesn't like her
early country stuff is incredible.
Kacey Musgraves, I love all of her catalog from from like, what
was it, Merry Go Round to Deeper.
Well, love that Tyler Childers has been a big thing for me in

(36:39):
the past couple of years. I've really gotten into him and
I think he's just such an incredible songwriter.
Like ridiculous, his new album, I can't stop listening to it.
And like even older stuff, right?
I love Patsy Cline like I've always loved like Crazy by Patsy
Cline. That's a song that I've always
kind of like fallen back on to like, like my mom loved that

(37:02):
song. My grandma loved that song.
So I would just like sing it andJohnny Cash love Johnny Cash.
He's he's one of the Ogs too. Funny enough, I actually have
the same birthday as Johnny Cash.
Oh really? We have February 26th.
That's interesting. That's a interesting tidbit.
And I. Always usually wear all black

(37:23):
too so it must just be somethingabout February 26th Pisces.
I don't know, but yeah, I'm literally in my closet right now
and all I'm seeing are like black clothes so.
You do. You do like a toast for Johnny
on your birthday as well. You know what, I've I've never

(37:46):
done that, but I think we have played Folsom Prison a good
amount of times. If I had a gig on my birthday.
So, so we do, we do pay tribute to the man in black.
That's pretty cool. Was it?
Was it cruiser that said you're you have the height of Taylor
Swift and the voice of Kelsey Ballerini, Cruiser from country
91025 That was 1. 025 Yeah, I am.

(38:08):
I'm a very tall human. I'm 512, so yeah, I've just
always been a very, very tall person.
I love it. I still wear heels.
I don't care. And I think it's really, really
cool. But it's also really funny if
people see me online and they meet me in person and they're
like, Oh my gosh, you're like way taller than I thought you

(38:30):
were. Yeah, I'm pretty sure.
So when I saw you in person at the round, I was like, wow, I
feel like a Midget right now, but.
Well, if you need anything off the top shelf, I'm your girl.
How did the local country fest go in at Indian Ranch?
Oh my. Gosh, that was so much fun.
That was my first time ever being at Indian Ranch.

(38:51):
So it was, it was very, very warm that day.
All the other artists were super, super friendly and
welcoming. It was great to like hang out.
And just like I saw a couple of people that I've known for a
long time, like Kevin Hirchen, Isaw him and got to talk to him
for a little bit and got to kindof like see a bunch of the other
artists that are like in that New England country music circle

(39:14):
that I don't get to see because we're, we're all working at the
same time. So unless we're on a build
together, there's rarely a time where we all get to see each
other. So it's really cool to just like
hang out and experience like what they're doing.
Yeah, I've kind of noticed that at the round when everything is
all wrapped up and and finished every, all the artists like kind

(39:35):
of like gravitate to each other and are chatting and it's cool
to watch like everybody like kind of just gravitate and chat
and. Yeah, it's, it's kind of like a
reunion in a way, right? You don't see each other for
probably like months on end because everybody's working at
the same time. Then you're like, Oh my God, a
friend that like understands exactly what I'm doing and what
I'm going through and like all like the the work that we do,

(39:59):
you know, there was. One that before the show we had
to start the sound check and everybody was like broing out
and. Talking to each other and I was
like, how do I pull them away todo the sound check?
Like, I don't want to be a jerk,you know?
You're all good, seemed. Seemed like everybody was really
having a great time, just kind of talking well.
That's a good thing. I, I love that.

(40:19):
Like everybody, like from what I've seen, everybody just gets
along. There's no really like
weirdness. So that's, that's really cool.
And that was something that was cool about both of the rounds
that you invited me to. Thank you again, by the way, was
that everybody was so friendly and welcoming and just so, so

(40:39):
nice and genuine. So I really, really had a great
time, not only playing, but likejust getting to talk to the
other artists that were there and see kind of like where they
were on their journey and just how they were doing.
Well, you have my better half toto thank for that because after
the first one she pulled me aside.
She's like, I really liked Maddie Ryan.
Her songs were really good. I was like, I'm going to have to

(41:00):
ask her back then. Yeah, I remember you told me
that that was that was literallyso cool.
When you said that, I think I went back to checking.
It was like, Oh my gosh, like this is so cool.
Like she because you said she had listened to my stuff and
it's like, Oh my God, like theseto me.
I'm just like, Oh yeah, my albums out there, like nobody
listens to it. It's just like, I just put it
out there. Then when somebody says they
listen to it and I was like, really?

(41:21):
You did like, Oh my God. Like I get so excited about it.
I don't know if that's weird, but.
It's actually kind of a big dealbecause she's usually not a huge
music person. Like she just listens to it like
for the beats and the and the backtracks and stuff.
But for her to like go in like intentionally search someone's
name and like start listening, it's kind of AI was kind of
shocked when she said that. So you must have really liked

(41:43):
it. Well, that's.
That really that truly means a lot to me.
So please thank her again for me.
I will, I will. But I feel like that, like the
talking thing that's like a New England country music thing in
in general. And that the only other place
I've ever witnessed that is kindof Nashville, like where
everybody, there's maybe competition amongst the the

(42:06):
artists and but everybody still like gets along and, yeah,
coexist with each other. Yeah.
I don't like there's no winning in art.
So like, I don't, I don't know. I don't get when when things get
like that. So I'm just like, OK, whatever
you do your thing, I'm going to do mine.
It's a it's a marathon, not a race.
So, and we're all in our own little lanes with ourselves so.

(42:32):
Yeah. And I feel like if everybody, if
one person wins, everybody wins because then like you can up,
you know, lift up that next person after you.
Exactly. Like you can leave the door open
like for other people to, to come through and then help you
and then they can leave the dooropen for you.
So it's just kind of like like achain reaction, you know, you
help somebody, it keeps going. So I guess what I mean is like,

(42:54):
you would think there'd be competition, but there's not.
I guess it's. No, exactly, exactly.
No, I haven't found anything like that.
So. I also saw that you played one
of my favorite fairs of all time, the Washington County Fair
in Rhode Island. I love that fair.
Oh my God. That was so much fun.
This is our second time playing it, but this our first time on

(43:17):
the mainstage over there and it was so cool.
It was so, so cool to be there. The staff there is incredibly
nice and awesome. Like everything about it was
just like most perfect day you could have asked for.
Did you get a chance to kind of walk around and take in all the

(43:38):
booths and grab some food? We got there, we set up, we
soundtracked, we played the show.
And then after they gave us this, the spreadsheet, the, the,
the workers for the entertainment part of it gave us
this like spreadsheet and they're like, just check off
whatever you guys want. We're going to go run and get it
for you. And I was like, I was like, what

(44:00):
like this is this is crazy. Like I can totally go get myself
like a piece of pizza And they're like, no, no, no, you
guys hang out. And so we tried a bunch of the
different things. Everything was so good.
I got like a Buffalo chicken grilled cheese and I had to try
the fried Oreos. I just have to, that's like the
thing I have to try at every single fair.

(44:21):
And they were incredible. And then after we we walked
around a little bit to walk off some of the food and it was
just, it was so awesome. We got to see Lewis Bryce play
his set and got to meet him afterwards.
He's so super nice and so crazy talented.
It was just like an awesome day through and through.

(44:42):
That sounds really dangerous. Like all you gotta do is check
it off. Like, I'll take this, I'll take
that. It was.
Crazy, I was like, you don't have to do that.
Like it's really hot outside. Like I can just go get myself a
slushie and like like a piece ofpizza and they're like no, no,
no, no, no. You guys like hang out in the
air conditioning. I'm like okay, like this is this
is so nice. Have you played other fairs

(45:04):
where they do that or it's just them, like a lot?
Of the times, like you'll get like a like a food comp for
something, but it was just it was just so nice that they were
like, Oh no, you guys like we'rejust playing in the hot sun,
like we'll just go grab the foodfor you.
So it was just, it was really, really cool.
Oh wow, props to Washington County Fair.
That's that's cool. They're.
Awesome. They're so, so awesome.

(45:26):
What was it like opening up for Maggie Baugh?
That that looked like a big show, too.
That was that was really, reallycool.
She's another one that incredible musician, but also
like just like the showmanship and her shows, the way she like
talks to the crowd and like interacts with them is awesome.

(45:46):
She has she has that down. But that was like one of the
first, I think that was the first time I've ever played at
Tafeda and like the only time upuntil now.
But it was such like a receptiveroom.
Like everybody just wanted to listen to the songs and like, it
was so quiet. I was like, it kind of got me

(46:08):
nervous. I don't know.
I'm used to playing like loud bar rooms for the most part.
So when everything's like more quiet, I'm just like, Oh my
gosh, everybody's listening. Like everybody wants to hear
like the words of my song. So I better not like mess up the
words. But it was, it was a lot of fun
and Maggie was so nice and like so supportive.

(46:29):
So it was a great experience. I don't, I don't know if you
know this, but fun fact about Maggie, she spent a lot of her
summers growing up. She spent in Connecticut.
Yeah, I. Didn't know that because she is
she from Florida right? She's from Florida, Yeah, but I
believe she said she spent a lotof summers in Old Lyme.

(46:51):
Oh, cool. In Connecticut.
So she's got some, some New England to her, you know, I
think. A lot of her like family and
friends were there that night too, which was super cool.
So it was like a whole big party.
Yeah, that's got to be. She's been doing some huge
things with Keith Urban, so that's a cool person to open up
for. She's a killer guitarist and

(47:14):
like fiddle player. Like you go when you see like a
really good, like, female musician, it's just like, it's
awesome. Who's who's next on your bucket
list to kind of work with in thefuture?
Oh. Gosh, honestly, like I want to
work with more, more people likein the New England music scene

(47:38):
to kind of like build that up more because there are people
who work together and I, I've written with a bunch of people
in the area, but I think just like building more collaborative
space. So it's kind of more like a
national thing up here. So I just, I want to expand that
and work with more people up here because there's so much
talent up here. So I'm like, why?

(47:59):
Why can't we just like all work together up here?
Like, why do we need to go to Nashville to work together up
here like? Well, well, count me in any any
way I can help. I I'm all about actually I.
Have I have a couple things in the works I will I'll hit you up
about that. That that sounds fun.
But yeah, I love the bringing the Nashville to New England

(48:23):
vibe for sure. I think it's, it's a a growing,
it's kind of a growing vibe, like the whole country music.
Like when I think of country music, I think of Kenny Chesney
at Gillette Stadium. But I wish we could think of
other things as well, not just that.
I think the scene is definitely growing and has grown a lot in
the past couple years, but I think it could it could grow

(48:45):
even further. Especially appears as they such
like a country music like presence, which is funny.
Like you think about Boston. The first thing, like you said,
you think about isn't like just like it's like Kenny Chesney at
Gillette. It's not like, oh, country music
bars and like country music festivals all over the place.
Like I think there could be so much more of that that we can

(49:07):
all build if we all, like, work together for it.
A lot of great artists around here as well, like you and Nick
Bossy, and you could just rattleoff a ton of names.
It's real impressive. You could just rattle off a ton
of names. And there's, like I said,
there's just so much talent up here.
But why? Why can't we all kind of like,

(49:28):
band together and and do the thing up here?
So if I'm gauging what you're saying correctly, it all, it
sounds like you wouldn't really have much passion of relocating
to Nashville. Oh no.
Like. I would, I would definitely do
it. I'm just, I'm saying that like I
think there's also a lot of talent up here.
So why can't like Boston be a hub and Nashville be a hub and

(49:50):
people can go back and forth to both places for the music?
Yeah, that'd be that would be cool.
Yeah. So what's what's next for you on
the on the horizon? I feel like 2025 is going to be
over in the blink of an eye. Like what's your, I know you
mentioned some new music at somepoint, but what what's your like
big goals going forward? New music.
A lot more travelling. We actually just bought a big

(50:13):
van so we can fit all the gear band and just like have van will
travel is that I've been tellingpeople.
So hopefully more John's like out of New England.
So like going to Nashville or like going down the coast or

(50:34):
going across the country. I want to I want to really like
branch out a bit more. So that's definitely on the
horizon and just playing playingmore shows.
Obviously this year we're going to by the end of the year, we're
going to be close to 300 shows for the year.
Holy. Moly, what is that the most

(50:54):
you've ever done? Like what's your other highest?
I think it's. Like around there or maybe just
a little over 300. I know my gig tomorrow will mark
show 192 of the year. You're.
Busy, busy. Psychotic, you know, whatever.
But I, I just, I love it. And like I said, I do this full

(51:16):
time and I don't like just sitting at home doing nothing.
I'm the type of person that likeI have to be doing something.
So I just love traveling around.So it's been really fun.
The summer was super packed. Like in August, August has what,
31 days? We played like 35 or 36 shows.
Oh my God. It's it's been fun.

(51:38):
My bandmates are really, really good sports.
It's really great that we all get along so well because I
think everybody would highly dislike me by this point, but
no, they couldn't. Hate you, Manny.
That's not. They're likes my honestly,
they're some of my best friends.Like literally my, my guitarist

(51:59):
Alex is actually Turkey's best friend from Berkeley.
And our, our bassist Paul, he's the one he's only been with us
for like like a like a little over a year at this point.
But like we're all, we're all like best friends at this point.
We have like group chats. We have like just like inside
jokes. Like it's the whole thing.

(52:20):
I always say we should have ATV show because we just get into
ridiculous shenanigans. Maybe down the road at some .0,
yeah. I'm like, I need a video camera.
I'm going to mount it to the inside of the fan and just get
all the ridiculousness that happens.
Watch out for the new YouTube vlog coming 2026.
A girl, A van in a van. Oh yeah.

(52:42):
Oh yeah, it's one girl, three guys.
What? What can go wrong in a van for
16 hours? I don't know.
Well, Maddie, I hope after our conversation you gain some more
friends along the way and they go check out your music and
learn, learn a little bit more about your story.
And, and I just want to thank you for coming on.

(53:04):
Thank you. So much, Josh, thank you for
having me on here. It was so great to talk to you
and thank you for having me at the writers rounds.
And yeah, good luck with everything.
I love watching you grow countryon deck and I'll like the
different artists that you have on.
It's really, really cool and really inspiring.
So thank you for what you do forus as artists.
That's going to do it for this week's episode.

(53:25):
Thank you so much to Maddie Ryanfor making some time for us.
She is officially, no doubt about it, no doubt about it,
officially a full-fledged memberof the Country on Deck family
playing the writers round event at the barn in Groton, not once,
but twice. And now coming on the podcast

(53:45):
for a full length conversation where we got to learn a little
bit more about her and her storyand and her music.
So thanks so much to Maddie Ryanfor for making this time for us
and, and being a part of the theCountry on Deck family.
We just can't thank her enough. We're so, so thankful.
You can learn more about Maddie Ryan at her website,

(54:06):
maddieryan.com. That's MADD iryan.com.
You can find out more about her EP Growing Pains and stay up to
date with her Future Music. So ahead to our website, check
it out. Go check it out.
We'll be back next week. Next Friday, another rising
country star on the show. So make sure you hit that follow

(54:27):
button wherever you're listening, the platform of your
choice. Hit that subscribe button so you
don't miss Next Friday's episodewith another rising country
star. Until then, I'm Josh Maddie and
this is Country on Deck. Kick.

(54:50):
Off your boots and settle them country on this.
About to begin. Josh Maddie's here.
Stars on the rise. Voices of hope, Dreams in their
eyes. Singer songwriters, stories on

(55:13):
phone. Hearts of Wonder Hearts out of
bones When Dusty rose to rise. St. lines capture their journey,
shares their fights. Country on Deck We're tuning in

(55:34):
When the new star stories are coming in from a small town.
Dreams, they're gonna take you away.
Country on Deck was drunk. Bad day.
Thank you so much for listening to the Country on Deck with Josh
Maddie. Josh is back at his desk every

(55:55):
Thursday talking with a new country artist, so make sure you
hit that follow button whenever you're listening so you don't
miss an interview. Follow Country on Deck on social
media. All social media links can be
found by going to LINKTR period.EE slash Country on deck.