10 Questions with ... Ryan Star

1) What was it that got you interested in music?

I was always interested in performing in some way or another. I have the embarrassing Britney and Christina past of putting shows on for my family in the living room.

I found music first through my love of the saxophone. I always say that if Pearl Jam and Nirvana never came out I might be here writing this to you as an aspiring Kenny G. In a way, they saved my life. I heard Pearl Jam and I put together my Rock band Stage the very next day.

2) Who are some of your biggest musical influences?

As I said, Pearl Jam and the Seattle gang were my first big influences to Rock music. The list goes deep from R.E.M. to Leonard Cohen, Tori Amos, to Nine-Inch-Nails. Currently, my favorites are local New Yorkers The National, and Regina Spektor. I have to say though, I get most of my musical inspirations through film. It is through film that I find the storytelling to be the most like that emotion I need to pull when I am writing songs. I am just doing the three-minute version of it.

3) Your new single "Breathe" is currently doing very well at Hot AC. Tell us about the creation of the "Breathe For Jobs" video and how this came about?

Essentially, my best friend back home was unemployed and the idea came to me as a way to help. I was touring around the country extensively last year with great acts like David Cook, Rob Thomas, Collective Soul, and The Script. I saw a sad recurring theme of joblessness with my own eyes. When I returned home to make the video for "Breathe," I wanted to make something that would be relevant to this problem. In a world of fast cars and booty shaking (not that I don't like those things) I thought my voice would be better suited to make a positive change out there, and "Breathe" was the perfect song to do that. I had seen it night after night by connecting and touching people, so I wanted to help them through some of the tougher times in their lives.

If you have not seen the video please do. I am very proud of www.Breathe4jobs.com and I am so excited to see this message is being exposed to people through all of the radio support I have received, and now even VH1!

4) What led to your appearance on "Rock Star Supernova" and what was it like participating in a TV talent competition? Do you have any interesting behind the scenes stories you'd like to share?

I don't have much to say about the experience. It drained me from so much human emotion because of the way we were treated on the show. I was there for one reason and that was to get my voice and my music out to a wider audience, which it did. Beyond that, it was a circus and an inhumane way to treat people. We learn from a young age not to judge, yet we live in a world where our biggest and most profitable shows are about just that. I am guilty of it too but it would be nice to change that.

5) Your new album is scheduled to be released in August. Tell us about your experience recording the album 11:59 and working with producer Matt Serletic? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matt_Serletic

I decided to work with Matt because we come from two different sides of music. He has his finger on the pulse of popular music and he knows how to approach it in the most artful way. He is truly a musical genius. I came to it more from the Indie side of things, but when we got together I truly felt we were onto something new. A true collaboration is listening back and saying "I could not have done that on my own" and we both would agree.

I am so proud of the work we did on "11:59." It was a very humbling time, but I have never grown so much by working with such talented people. I used to be the guy playing all the instruments so this experience was so great being able to let go a bit and make something I have never done before. You can really hear it in songs like "Right Now," "This Could Be The Year," and "We Might Fall."

6) How have social networks and sites such as Facebook, MySpace, YouTube and Twitter affected the way you promote your music and interact with your fans?

Making "11;59," I pretty much isolated myself from the world. I lived on the beach in Malice at the time. I would wake up, go for a run, then go to the studio, and then I would go back home. I had my music and these new songs I was writing so I was not lonely, but I was definitely alone.

As I finished up the record, I really embraced the idea of social networking with my fans. I take such pride in knowing them because they are the most passionate people. Anyone who follows me will tell you, I will write them back, call them or even stop by their work to play them a song. I have done it all because at the end of the day, I love people and you can hear that in my songs.

This is a very heavy time we are living in now, and I want to be a part of the positive change that is about to unfold. I have a song called "Brand New Day" off of 11:59 (also the theme song to Fox's "Lie To Me") and its all about this. Every artist needs his time to go trip on peyote in the desert, and when doing that I am not saying to bring your flip cam, because that would be the end of art. There is a time and a place for that, but it is a beautiful thing to have such an instant reaction from the people you are actually writing the songs for.

7) Has anyone ever told you that your voice on the song, "Last Train Home" sounds strikingly like Neil Diamond?

Yes, I get that comparison and I like it! I think it's the chest hair I show off actually. Next, i gotta pick up one of those fancy sequence jackets!

8) If you had the opportunity to work with any act/artist from the past, present or future, who would it be?

Kanye West. I made an independent album called "Songs From The Eye Of An Elephant" and many referred to it as "Tori amos meets Pearl Jam. " It was a collection of 20 stripped down songs with just me and a piano. I feel Kanye's rhythms and touch on the songs like that would be very different and special.

9) What's been the most significant change in the business since you've been in it?

The Internet. Enough said. The good, the bad, and the ugly. The good is that it doesn't cost me a few hundred dollars in stamps to promote my shows anymore. There is a lot of noise out there and the playing field has been flattened. We can go on forever, but I am hopeful that the business is finding its footing. I really believe with the advancement of cell phones being used more as our credit cards in the future music will be valued again and purchased the way it should be.

10) What are the biggest changes you would like to see happen in the music industry?

I would like to see more artists given the incredible opportunity to grow like I have. Atlantic Records has allowed me the freedom to make the album I have always wanted to make. They gave me time to develop on the road and stood behind my songs when nobody was playing my music. It is a hard thing to break a new artist and it takes time and patience. I feel very blessed to be a part of such a family that has this belief still. I encourage the rest of the business to take notes on how to develop and cultivate new real artists because that is where all of our future lies.

1) What do you do in your spare time?

I like to snowboard. I also like to read the "Missed Connections" section on Craig's List. It fascinates me. There are a lot of songs are in there!

2) What has been the biggest thrill of your career?

It's been a long journey. I had my first gig at CBGB's in New York at 14. I played with Bon Jovi at 16. I opened for Kiss in Prague for 20 thousand people at the age of 20, and I jammed with Tommy Lee and wrote some songs with my childhood idols.

But nothing is as thrilling as the news I just received while giving this interview. My song "Breathe" just went TOP 20! I have worked so hard to get here and now I am halfway to where I want to be. So I just gotta stay focused and believe. It's all about believing!

3) How do you balance your family life?

My family life balances me. That is what keeps me grounded and inspired.

4) What are some of the artists we might find on your MP3 player?

The National, Lilly Allen, The Lemonheads, Bon Iver, Peter Gabriel and some random songs that I have written with children. In my spare time when I'm in New York, I work with a local school to teach kids how to write songs and then I record them with them.

5) Do you have a great road story you'd like to share?

The great ones are not PG enough for this site, but I'll give you a good one:

While touring with David Cook, the two camps went to a movie in VA once. One of us dropped the "F" bomb and we were kicked out of this privately owned establishment. Turns out, they have a "no profanity policy." The funny thing is, we were on our way to see "Inglorious Bastards." Explain that one to me?