Who We Are

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I have been in love with music my entire life. From the early days of banging on my mother’s good pots and pans (when she wasn’t home) to the time I began to learn how to read and write music, melody has always been a part of who I am. I took piano lessons for ten years, and also joined band briefly in high school. I finally was able to get my first drum set on my 12th birthday at the Port Huron Music Center. My mother agreed that she would help pay for half of it. I beat the shit out of that drum set day and night to the point of having family members forcibly remove me from playing (Apparently drums are really loud?).

I have played with many musicians in different community bands, string orchestras, brass and wind ensembles, and various garage and basement projects. Along the way I have learned to play guitar, and bass as well as a plethora of percussion instruments.  

I’ll never forget that one beautiful sunny Tuesday evening. I had finished work early for the day and decided to get out of the house and go for a walk. I decided to walk around the downtown area from my home (which is a good mile). I was strolling along the river when a little boy, who was fishing, approached me. I smiled and acknowledged him as I continued to walk. He smiled back and said, “Hi, are you going to Lynch’s tonight?” As you could imagine I was quite taken aback by this boy who couldn’t have even been tall enough to even see over a bar. Maybe I misheard him? Curious, I stopped and took the bait. “Um, well… I know there is an open mic night going on tonight, but I’m not going” I said. What the boy said next still rings in my ears today. He looks up at me and says “You should go, throw your net on the other side and you will catch some big fish”. Before I could even begin to process what was happening, or what the hell he was talking about, the mysterious boy giggled and walked away carrying his bucket and fishing pole in his hand. 

After that encounter, you bet my ass I went to open mic. Sure enough, some of the other band members of The Haberdasher approached me about joining their band as a new drummer. It wasn’t until months later after being in the band and understanding the stories of the The Haberdasher, that I even made the connection that I had met The Haberdasher that day. I can only interpret our encounter as destiny; a nudge to put me on the right path. Why he appeared to me the way he did as little boy I will probably never know or understand, but I hope that we can meet vis-à-vis one day again. 

Ryan Michael George McInnis, Ryno. I began writing music at around 8 I'm told. Started with keyboards but found it difficult to sing so I picked up a guitar. I played in many bands over the first several years of my musical journey, ranging in genre from acoustic to industrial to full blown metal. 

Then the dark times came. My anger and disillusionment with society drove me to the very precipice of madness. It was then that The Haberdasher spoke to me. I went on a sojourn of sorts to the Red Rocks of Arizona. I had picked up a local artists recording of Native American Drum and chant music and was listening on repeat for days when one morning it unexpectedly snowed. I was on my regular morning jog through what had become an even more surreal landscape when He appeared to me. A rather large and beautifully crested bird landed on a trail marker near me and beckoned me near. As I approached he flew further down the trail. Each time I got nearer him he did the same, leading me down the path, until finally he ceased to advance and stood perched on a snow covered cactus. I knew he meant for me to stop as well so I began to look around me. To my left the wild expense of Red Rock country during a blizzard. To my right, the face of a giant rock formation and there in stone wall, a tiny cave. I decided this must be what I had been lead here to see. The cave was just large enough for me to sit inside of out of the snow. So I sat and listened to that music and gazed out on the outlandish vista until the snow stopped falling. To my surprise, when I crawled out of the cave and descended back to the trail, my bird was still there. He lead me all the way back to the trailhead and we said our goodbyes.
This experience changed my life. I picked up music with fervent excitement once more. Started an alternative rock band called The Juxtaposers, started playing the bass guitar and began my inevitable rise back to the light.
More than a decade later it is now evident to me that The Haberdasher was with me that day. He appeared to me as glorious bird. He put me back on the path, both literally and figuratively and has guided my steps ever since. He lit my darkness with the wisdom of the elders and set me free from the tangled thorns of anger. I now walk the path.