Meet Ryan Ridley | Founder and bassist of Until I Wake. Owner of DayDreamer Apparel.

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

Hi Ryan, what is the most important factor behind your success?
I would say that the most important factor behind the success of my band “Until I Wake” is the mutual understanding that as a unit we are “all in”. There is no alternative route, other option or a different career path outside of playing music for the rest of our lives. So the fact that we all have the same mindset where music is everything to us, we know that we have to grind every day and grow this band as much as we possibly can.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I am the founder and bassist of a band called “Until I Wake” as well as the owner of a clothing brand called “DayDreamer Apparel”! In regards to my musical career, I believe what separates “Until I Wake” from other artists is that we are stuck in a mindset where creatively we can do whatever we want and none of our fans have any specific expectations other than that we just release some sick jams. But that possibly comes with the fact that we are such a new band. We were releasing music for less than a year by the time we were signed to Fearless Records so other than putting out the best music we possibly could, nobody has a specific sound they would relate to the band yet. Of course we have been compared to certain bands out there and you could say generally we are a metalcore band, but we have so many different sounding songs to come that will really surprise people. I guess I don’t know if I would necessarily consider that making us different than any other bands because there are a bunch out there that just create whatever they want.. but maybe the fact that it is so early on for us and Fearless put faith in us and trusted us to just continue to crush the music we put out that we’ve been in this position where we could realistically create whatever sound we wanted as long as it kicks ass.
As for DayDreamer Apparel… there’s often a certain demographic that a clothing brand will appeal to. Certain ways that the brand will portray their clothing in ads, having people with a particular image representing their clothing. I like to think that DayDreamer Apparel can be a successful brand while not necessarily appealing to such a specific demographic. The brand was created with the idea that it would be for anyone who puts focus into living a goal oriented life style and I would love to dedicate the brand to hyping those people up!

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?
If a friend from out of town was visiting Buffalo, New York the first place that I would take them would have to be Niagara Falls. It’s such an awesome place to just go chill and enjoy life. Other than that, there are tons of other awesome scenic places to visit, hike, and enjoy the outdoors. There’s plenty to do in Buffalo based on whatever kind of mood or adventure you’re looking to get into! I’d say some of my favorite places to go would have to be scenic places. Whether it’s to a park with some waterfalls, trails to hike and a nice view or abandoned places!

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
There are definitely a handful of people who have played a massive role in any success I’ve had along my life’s journeys. My bands producers and great friends Nick Matzkows & Jon Eberhard have played a huge role in the growth of “Until I Wake”. We absolutely wouldn’t be where we’re at without them working with us, creating the best possible music that we could. After plenty of prior projects that I’ve been a part of where I’ve always tried to stick to the idea of picking the best possible people to be involved in the project and having the best producers I know involved is like the cherry on top! One of my closest friends Adam Seitz has been around and super supportive for most of my endeavors! He’s currently my bands photographer, helps out with photos for my clothing brand, and overall is just always around to help out and support however he can.
Finally, I definitely wouldn’t be where I’m at in the slightest without my best friend, biggest supporter and girlfriend, Brooke! She has always been extremely supportive over whatever goal I’m chasing and she’s been by my side throughout the absolute biggest obstacles and most difficult times in my life.

Website: www.DayDreamer-Apparel.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ryanridleyaf/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/ryanridleyaf

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/daydreameraf/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCxEltxZaLuaouyxAx45YBLQ

Other: Until I Wake Social Media Pages https://www.facebook.com/untiliwake https://www.instagram.com/untiliwake https://www.twitter.com/untiliwake Link to latest Until I Wake release “Nightmares” https://youtu.be/47F7dq-8fNU

Image Credits
Adam Seitz Photography