Meet Ryan Brisotti | Songwriter, Producer and Musician

We had the good fortune of connecting with Ryan Brisotti and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Ryan, how do you define success?
I think success is often thought about as a goal, kind of like an “I made it” moment, whether it be as a musician or in a business or in your profession or whatever you’re pursuing. But I think of it more as an ongoing process. I’ve always wanted to make music my job and the fact that it’s been my job for a couple of years now is success to me. But I’m still always trying to write bigger songs, play bigger venues, produce for bigger artists etc. and build on what I have achieved so far to become “more successful”. I think that’s the healthiest way to be ambitious. Appreciate how far you’ve come while keeping an eye on where you’d like to go and working to get there. I guess the short answer would be success is the ability to make your life real life look as much like your ideal life as possible. The closer that real and ideal are, the more successful you are.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
What I try to do as a songwriter is I really try hard to keep the song authentic to the artist. I want the music to sound and feel like them, but hopefully them at their best and most creative. I try to put myself in their mindset when writing and really understand the emotions they’re trying to express in the song and figure out what’s the most impactful way to do that that feels like it came from them and their own experiences. And I usually do that by relating the song to something from my own life. There’s no better feeling than a song you wrote with someone feeling special to them. And if it feels special to you too, that’s even better because if you and your co-writers can all relate to it, that means a whole lot of people can all relate to it. Songwriting is what led me to take the leap into production and got me back into live performance again and I’m most proud of the songs that I not only co-wrote, but produced and played on. I love having a hand in the whole process, from the moment an idea is pitched or a chord is strummed, right down to signing off on the final mix. I worked years of odd jobs, often multiple jobs in one day to leave as much of the rest of the week free as possible to work on music. It was exhausting, but I got through just by believing it would be worth it. The main lesson I learned is just say yes to everything and then figure it out later. That builds your skills and confidence, and if you’re determined you can figure out almost anything. That would be the main thing I want the world to know about me and my story. It’s been a a long, slow journey of clawing my way up, but it’s worked so far. and if it works for me it can definitely work for you.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I’ve only been to Atlanta once so I don’t really know it beyond the little bit of downtown I saw, but it was quite nice and I’m excited to be going back soon! If someone were to visit my city of Nashville though, I’d take them to all the hot chicken restaurants in town so they could decide which one is really the best. We would definitely have dinner at The Listening Room and go to The Bluebird Cafe to hear some world class songwriters play their songs, and hopefully they’d hear a few they love performed by the people who wrote them. We’d spend at least one night downtown on Broadway just so they can experience the chaos (and fun!) of downtown Nashville on a typical summer night. We’d go swimming in Percy Priest Lake one day to cool off and get away from the city crowds and we’d definitely spend some time in East Nashville so thy can experience the cities quirkier, more “indie” side. And if they’re a country music fan we’d hit the Country Music Hall of Fame and walk around Music Row so they could see where some classic records were made. Then we’d end that little walking tour with a drink at Bobby’s Idle Hour Tavern, the last surviving songwriter bar on the row.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I wouldn’t be where I am without my family. My mom has always been so incredibly supportive. She used to come to almost every gig I played when I still lived on Long Island. My dad helped inspire my love for music by playing a ton of classic rock records when I was a kid and we still listen to and talk about music together all the time. My grandma used to write songs herself and would listen to everything I ever wrote, and I still get excited to show her songs I think she’ll like. My grandfather would always drive me to teenage garage band practices or pick me up from school when I had to stay late for rehearsals with the jazz band or the school event band. And my brother Sean is always hyping me up and sharing my music on social media, and will often show me new bands he’s been listening to when I go home. I grew up very close with my extended family as well, and all of my cousins, aunts and uncles have always been my biggest cheerleaders. I definitely would not have made it this far without all of them.

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ryan_brisotti/?hl=en

Image Credits
Adazia McDonald, Kayla Eileen