Ryan has had many experiences in bands. He played acoustic guitar in Elementary School. He had a band (not a good band) with fellow class mates who called themselves the "Metal Heads". They used boxes as drums, strummed the six strings of a small acoustic guitar, and just sang and screamed along. It was the beginning of what was to come. He was always interested in music. He loved Nirvana in fifth grade and still holds on to many of their CD's. He was traumatized when front man Kurt Cobain killed himself. He always wanted to be like Kurt, have a three piece band with him as Vocals/Lead Guitar. In 1996, his dream came true. He became the front man in "Freon", which later changed it's name to "Cherry Cocaine". With 25 watt amps, the band played only at a school talent show and a couple of birthday parties. Cherry Cocaine was together for almost three years until they realized that they were not making any progress and decided to let the band die out. It was a good experience for Ryan, because if he was never in Cherry Cocaine he might not have succeeded in Gothic Cow. Ryan learned how to play drums while in Cherry Cocaine. It was like the drums came natural to him. He took his experience at the drums a step further by being in the school jazz band and punk band called "Nutrition Facts". Being in the bands gave Ryan enough experience to play drums in an official rock band. Now Ryan is improving his drumming qualities with lessons, and plans to become the next Paul Cook.