Bio
“Watch closely, now listen, keep watching right there, see how it keeps going. It’s all live, ALL OF IT.”
That’s a sample of what you might hear in the audience when one person is describing Ryan Patrick Imming, or RPI at one of his shows. Ryan is a singer-songwriter/multi-instrumentalist/loop artist based out of Kansas City. He goes by his initials RPI because, in his own words “spelling ‘Imming’ to people is a complete nightmare.”
“The fact that Ryan put on a full scale concert as a solo artist is amazing! I have yet to see an entertainer that can match him in the creative way that he performs.” Zach Lewis- Assistant Director of Campus Activities University of Central Missouri
Describing Ryan’s live show to new people is not the easiest thing in the world. The art of live looping is growing as the technology becomes more accessible, but the ability to use this tool artistically and fluidly is difficult to master, and therefore is still rarely seen. Ryan uses acoustic guitar, voice, bass, harmonica and an electronic hand percussion instrument to “build” his songs from the ground up in front of a live audience on a nightly basis. What happens is RPI will play 4 or 8 bars of a song with an instrument, he will push a button with his foot to record and replay that instrument and that “loop” will keep going, he then will layer another instrument on top of it and so on and so forth. Everything is created live in front of the audience. There are never any pre-recorded loops or samples used, ever. Every song is a little different every night. Some songs remain acoustic the entire way through, some songs will build during every verse, and some songs will build layers at the beginning, some at the end, it is a musical smorgasbord, every song is different every night.
“If Ryan Patrick Imming’s memorable hooks don’t grab you, his rich tenor voice and rhythmic acoustic guitar will.” Drake Magazine
Ryan’s voice has drawn comparisons to Eddie Vedder, Rob Thomas, Warren Zevon & John Mayer. Stylistically his original songs fit the AAA, singer/songwriter, pop-rock genre. A wide range of music lovers including fans of O.A.R., the Dave Matthews Band, Matchbox 20, Ben Harper, Jack Johnson, Bob Seger, Paul Simon and Dispatch will likely gravitate towards RPI’s brand of homespun acoustic driven midwestern pop-rock.
Ryan’s show has it all, never has the show been the same twice. If you want someone to play to your venue and get your crowd wanting more, RPI is your guy. Great to work with, awesome show, definitely a favorite at The Pub! John Yates Owner/Operator The Pub-Maryville, MO.
Ryan has played over 1700 live shows since quitting his “real job” in 2001 to focus solely on music. In doing so he has played in every imaginable setting, audiences ranging from 25 people to 5000 people. He has shared the stage with a wide range of national touring artists including Dave Matthews & Tim Reynolds, Sheryl Crow, The Zach Brown Band, The Dan Band, Hello Dave, Michelle Branch, Umphrey’s Mcgee, Better Than Ezra, Cowboy Mouth, and more. Ryan’s show suits his venue. Since he is a solo artist he caters his set to the venue he is playing. If he is playing in front of a national touring act for a short amount of time he will play all originals, if he is playing a “long set” at a college event, corporate event, fraternity party etc….you can expect to hear his original songs mixed in sparingly with cover songs from a wide range of artists including Johnny Cash, Paul Simon, Snoop Dogg, U2, and Govt. Mule.
Ryan loves his job, he loves sharing music with people all over the world. Please visit the mp3 page of this website to hear examples of Ryan’s studio work as well as songs from his live show. Check out his youtube page (www.youtube.com/rpimusic) to see some videos from past performances. Thank you for your interest in Ryan and his music, please visit the contact page of this website for booking and contact information.
