Ryan Reed fits the profile of a music journalist like a glove. Black rimmed glasses, scruffy face, Modest Mouse t-shirt, hipster attitude, and a bank of musical knowledge that would make even the most skilled of Rolling Stone editors blush. Reed is a freelance writer, who contributes to music magazines Paste, Billboard, and others. He has interviewed countless musical artists. He has been given free concert tickets from left to right. However, all of this means nothing to him at the moment. The only thing on Reed’s mind right now is the chicken teriyaki, the mountain of rice, and the strange pool of a gravy-like substance that he has collected on a plate. Sitting down at a lonely booth in the back of the Chinese restaurant, he prepares himself not for an analysis of his heavily successful writing career, but for a meal that will accompany a chat about Radiohead, a subject that he could talk about for hours. Luckily, this Radiohead discussion is shorter than most and after finishing his quick meal, he cups his hands on the table, smiles, and softly says, “What do you want to talk about now?”
Reed grew up in Williamsburg, Kentucky, where he attended high school and later, the University of the Cumberlands. Growing up, Reed loved music. It was his passion. It was his life. Everything he did revolved around music. He would spend hours upon hours sitting in his room, reading various pop culture magazines, like Rolling Stone or SPIN.
“Rolling Stone was a big deal to my 13-year old self. I spent a lot of time analyzing those pages,” he says.
All of his life, Reed knew he wanted to do something creative, whether it be writing screenplays, producing music, or writing about pop culture, but none of it seemed realistic. They were all pipe dreams, or so he thought. After majoring in English at the Cumberlands, Reed joined the Patriot, the school newspaper. He became the entertainment editor and, as he put it, “I started reviewing albums by bands that only I cared about or had even heard of.”
Opportunities presented themselves when Reed became an unpaid writer for the online pop culture magazine PopMatters. He played it safe for a while, working solely for PopMatters, until after a few months, he joined another online magazine Consequence of Sound, who soon promoted him to Associate Music Editor. This was the morale boost he needed. Reed reached out and achieved a similar position at PopMatters, then started reaching out to other places.
“I didn’t have any connections whatsoever, but I sent lots and lots and lots of e-mails with writing clips and review ideas to just about anybody I could find,” he explains.
Rejection was a common thing, but it never got him down and his persistence would be what would get him writing jobs at high profile music sites like Paste and Billboard.
It didn’t take long for things to escalate and since his time at PopMatters (where he still serves as Associate Music Editor), things haven’t cooled down. Between being given free concert tickets to legendary rock acts like Dave Matthews Band and Paul McCartney, and interviewing one of his personal idols Peter Gabriel, of Genesis fame, Reed has been on a rollercoaster of a successful writing career.
Reed is a small flame in a huge inferno, but any aspiring music writer could use him as proof that it’s not impossible for a young fella from southeastern Kentucky to write for the magazines he grew up reading and to interview some of his favorite bands. Reed has progressed in an extraordinary way, but he will constantly admit it was never easy.
“I’ve gotten as many no’s as I have yes’s. You have to send e-mails. Hustle. Google. Use your noodle. Be creative,” he gives good advice, sipping on a Mountain Dew with a song by the Kinks playing lightly on his iPhone that sits on the table.
Checking his watch, Reed stands up, explaining that he needs to get home so he can be waiting by the phone, being as he will be interviewing Omar Rodriguez-Lopez of the Mars Volta later today.
Before going, though, Reed offers his final words of wisdom: “Don’t let anybody ever tell you that your dream is stupid. Dreams are never stupid. Unless your dream is to watch lots of Tyler Perry movies.”
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