HEADLINES

Grand Rapids singer and guitarist making Ronald Whitemyer his mark

Ronald Whitemyer wants to get signed. "I write songs everyday, when I'm working, when I'm relaxing, even when I'm driving. I would be a great assett to any label's roster! I was in my car the other day and a chorus popped into my head. Then a guitar riff came. So I grab my phone and quick record them into voice recorder. When I got home I picked up my guitar and figured out the riff. I use Garageband on my iphone for recording. Within an hour the song was done and posted online". This is pretty much a usual occurance for the Grand Rapids artist. Wether driving the car or working at RIT music selling guitars, the songs just keep coming. "I feel like the songs I post are demos. I need a label to help sort out the good ones and give me some direction and tour plans."

Things werent always so smooth for Whitemyer. Although from 2001 to 2008 it seemed like he was well on his way. "My band Cycle formed in 2001. Our first gig was at GVSU Fieldhouse opening for American HiFi. There were about one thousand peope there. Should have been more, but 911 happened, ticket sales were light." Cycle went on to share the stage with acts like Harvey Danger, Sponge, Bowling for Soup and Pop Evil. "We played with Pop Evil a few times back in the day. We used to hang out at the old Intersecion a lot. Drinking and playing gigs. They were just another band on the scene. Look where they are now!" Cycle were also featured on the WGRD Bootleg 2K2 compilation cd, alongside 30 Seconds to Mars, Butch Walker and Dishwalla. But Cycle eventually slowed down, and they played their last gig in 2008. "I had gotten into a relationship, so the band kind of took a backseat. We thought about getting married but it just wasn't to be." It ended with her in 08 as well. "I lost my band, my girl, and my place to live. Things just went downhill."
But there were good things to come. "I got sober in 2016. It took a lot of rehab, counceling and aa meetings. I had to get to a point where I realized it was either living or dying. I had done it all, every nightmare substance you can think of. My advice, there are two key things. You have to really want to get sober, and you have to stick with it. You have to have faith to stick it out. Faith that it will get better. Because it sure doesn't feel like it at first. But life gets so much better."

Asked about his philisophy, or lack thereof for songwriting. "Anything goes, let's be honest. How many times have you heard an artist say, 'oh it's not about anything, it's up to the listener.' Yeah, I have said it myself. But I can tell you this, every song I write has a meaning to me. Just ask me." And where does all that inspriation come from?  "It's everywhere. I wrote a song about my buddy Phil at the guitar shop (RIT) where I work. It was really busy, about ten minutes to close. People wanted those guitars restrung! "Phil's not even having fun!" There is one called "The Nihilist." It's kind of a Metal thing. Crack the Skye era Mastodon-ish. It has several parts, it's epic. But it isnt complete as far as recording goes. Part 1 of it is posted on my Reverbnation page." What about radio, is radio dead? "

I still like to hear a song and after one listen, it's stuck in your head. When something is radio friendly, that's what I'm talking about. That's what I'm doing, the stuff I'm writing. Short, simple and catchy. Rock and Roll is pretty young. The way we know it anyway. CD, Radio, Internet, Record Player lol. The packaged, three minute, delicious little bit of audio candy. Millions of songs, think of all of them!"
"If somebody could only come along, give me a little bit of a budget. In a real studio. With a great producer. Producer's get so little praise sometimes. A good guy at the board knows what the song needs, what it doesn't need. So many times, he has everything (or almost everything) to do with making or breaking a hit. What you hear in your ears may just have underwent many major re-construction's before it hit the airwaves. I know from experience, and I hope to know again..."
Though he was featured in recently released Lifoti's October/November 2019 issue 10, you can check it from below link's for your country:

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