Bio

The Bryson Group - Dry

Dry is the debut collaboration of two men completely immersed down to the bone in rock n' roll. Two guys who love their job; Jesse and Wally Bryson. Between them they have created a testimony to their closeness and their affinity for what makes a fine melody rock. "We were going for good, pertinent music, good sounds on the instruments, good harmonies and just staying true to the songs. It didn't feel like we had anything to prove or anything like that; it just seemed like such a natural thing", according to Jesse; Wally states "Our voices blend well for harmonies". Producer Jimmy Ienner said of the Dry CD, "The harmonies are so good, they're absurd. The world needs to hear this music". Jimmy loves Jesse's lead vocals, commenting, "Jesse's vocal quality is 'radio-friendly and believable' ...a hard combination to get; you can't buy that and you can't teach it". Dry is an exciting display of talent and an interesting map of influences.

"Dry" features sixteen songs written by Jesse (Wally co-wrote 2 of the songs). They were recorded at Suma Recording Studio. Engineered and mastered by Paul Hamann, this unique father and son project has been a labor of love, trust, and mutual respect. Jesse relates, "I got tired of always looking for good musicians to play with. I was kind of down and out, and I just thought about it. I had all of these songs, and I wanted to get them down the right way. Who better to have as your guitar player? Not to mention the harmonies and overall knowledge of the game. I've always been an incredible fan, and felt like my father is one of the true unsung heroes in Rock & Roll. He was a fan of the songs I had been showing him, and he had a lot of ideas. So we agreed, with some coaching by my mom (Kay), to do it together. It was a really cool opportunity to have something to look back on and have on record for all time. Plus, I knew the two of us could make something important to us. He really got the best out of me producing the lead vocals, and is genius at either revamping existing harmonies or coming up with better ones on the spot".

The singer/songwriter, guitarist Jesse, at seventeen, with his first band Qwasi Qwa, won top prize in the first annual High School Rock-Off in 1997. The competition, sponsored by Mountain Dew and Belkin Productions was held at Cleveland's renowned Odeon Concert Club. The band played live at all the best venues regionally and recorded a debut live CD called "Shaking Hands with the Governor", receiving critical acclaim in the local press. Qwasi Qwa's talent and favorable press won them a showcase at the acclaimed SXSW international music competition in Austin, Texas in 2000. Bryson's songwriting, vocal, and musical talent showcase his versatility as a seasoned musician. He has recently recorded a CD with well-known Cleveland band Rosavelt, and has earned his performance legs playing solo, duo, and band gigs with many of Cleveland's top musicians.

On Dry, the Bryson's were determined to get what they needed for each tune. Between the engineer Paul Hamman (Pere Ubu, Michael Stanley, Lenny Kravitz, Stephen Stills among others) and Wally Bryson, there was a lot of studio experience. Paul and Wally's extensive music backgrounds enabled them to get the most out of the studio. Both men were instrumental in getting Jesse's vision of what he wanted and heard. Wally's first regional hit, "It's Cold Outside", was recorded with Cleveland Ohio's The Choir for Roulette Records. As lead/rhythm guitarist, singer and songwriter in the world renowned Raspberries, Wally recorded four albums with Capitol Records in the early 1970's with their song, "Go All The Way" reaching #4 on Billboard's Hot 100 charts and earning the band a gold record. In the mid-70's he recorded an album on Motown's Prodigy label with his band, Tattoo. Wally later teamed with Dino Danelli and Gene Cornish of The Rascals to form the band Fotomaker, recording two albums for Atlantic Records.

Jesse had the vision, but was flexible enough to let the songs grow with the other musicians. According to Jesse, "They passed on to me some nice tricks, and we were able to use them. We used musicians that we admired and had worked with in the past, as a show of appreciation and respect-some older, some younger. We used musicians that understood how to play for the song. And we tried to make sure that all of them had their own voice. We pretty much let them do their own thing." Dry attests to Wally's assertion that they were going for an overall band feel. The sound is sharp and together.

On working with his dad Jesse relates, "I tried to take more of a hands-off approach in certain aspects of the record because I wanted to really give my dad a chance to be "a producer" and I was a bit disorganized. But sometimes I just couldn't hold back and had to throw my two-cents in." Wally pushed for certain songs and made sure that good basic tracks were there from the start. "When my dad would ask for suggestions on his parts, I could only say make it ballsy and natural. I wanted it loose and real. Plus, I wanted for him to have his guitar voice and show that he still rocks like a MO'FO."

Dry displays Jesse's fine ability to craft a rock ballad or a rocking pop song. Wally's playing has never been better. This new collection of songs displays the talents of a father and son crossing musical career paths at an important junction in their lives. They've communicated their unique perspective, a mix of the up-and-coming with the established talent. They've combined great material with outstanding talent to achieve a successful conclusion, Enjoy.