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Show Look at some of Katy Perry's biggest hits, like the relentlessly positive "Roar," said Shupe, as well as the panoply of bands that, despite playing acoustic, are thought of as rockers. "We're in this spot, and that's who we are," said Shupe, using bis hands to indicate a small niche in the spectrum of popular music, "and the landscape of music has continued to shift under our feet. I look at what's out there now and say, 'Ob my gosh, this is what I've been playing all this time!' All of a sudden, there's this weird renaissance of Ryan Shupe music." The humor and whimsy of Shupe's music is also newly relevant, he said. "I think people are saying, 'Why can't it conic back? Why can't songs be fun?' " he said. "People don't always want to hear sad songs. Sometimes they want to hear something that's going to pump them up and make them feel like they can take on the world." Shupe also appreciates the newer emphasis on songwriting. He likes writing his own music. "When I was in Nashville, the first thing they said was, 'You can't write your own songs.' I said. 'This is what's missing in your acts.' We were just there eight years too soon. Now, I hear the first thing they ask is, 'Are you a songwriter?' " Shupe did get hack to bis roots in making the new album, though in some characteristically unexpected ways. Some of Shupe's earlier albums were collaborations between Shupe and his rotating group of bandmates, in which everyone had a voice in the final sound. The process for the new album was much like his first record: lie wrote the songs himself and even did most of the recording alone. "It helped the focus," he said. "I was able to really take time with the arrangements and add things I would not have added otherwise." That focus is another change from previous albums, which often hail separate songs reflecting Shupe's diverse influences — a gospel song, say, followed by a pop-vibe number with a rap, followed by a country-influenced song. "This time, I thought, why don't I just focus?" he said. "It was hard, but this one is more focused as far as theme and vibe. Instead of making one album out of five albums, I just made one focused record." That doesn't make his sound any easier to categorize, for fans or for Shupe. But, whatever it is, he is happy with it. He's found the career that's right for him and the sound that's right for him. Who cares if it's not easy to explain, as long as Shupe, his hand and his audience are happy? "I honestly feel like this is the best-sounding, most awesome top-to-bottom album I've ever made," he said. "It just sounds really great. It sounds like us. We just have a certain mindset that we believe things will get better." k TICKETS ON SALE WHAT: Ryan Shupe will bring his beloved Christmas concert back to Ogden for the third year, kicking off the holiday i with aone-n' performance. Seating is reserved. Adults/$18 in advance, $23/ day of; children, students, day of. $1.50 facility fee; Order online through Smith's Tix (smithstix.com), by pi at 801 -689-8700 or in per i 2 and 6 Roger Archibald and Ryan Shupe perform. Wasatch View 113 |
