Bio
The SHORT version:
If you’re a fan of youtube and acoustic music, then you might already know Ryan Knorr. The 25 year old singer/songwriter based in Des Moines, IA uploaded his first video to the popular site in 2007. In only two short years, he had hit the one million mark in total video views, and had risen above the masses of new artists that seem to crop up on a daily basis. But it doesn’t stop there. Knorr continues to gain thousands more views per day and is growing a fan base from all over the world. This might seem fulfilling to some, but for Knorr, he wants more. Having just completed his latest full length album entitled “The Path of Greatest Resistance,” he looks to build his youtube success, and to continue to grow his fan base and exposure. “I’m a do-it-yourself artist and it’s challenging, but also rewarding in that I control my own destiny. I don’t make music for fame or fortune; I just want to be able to reach out and connect to people with my songs.” With youtube videos being uploaded regularly and a live show that surpasses even his studio recordings, Knorr is reaching his goals, and setting bigger ones every time.
The WHOLE story:
It’s hard to imagine all of the different career possibilities when you grow up in a town that doesn’t even contain a single stop light. Sure, kids still have dreams of becoming a professional athlete or pop star, or more realistically, of becoming a doctor, a dentist, or a police officer, but how many actually follow through with those dreams? In this town there are no large corporations. No upper class CEOs living in their mansions. No skyscrapers to stick out of the flat land in the distance. In this town you will find nothing but hard working people and the mentality that you do what you have to do to make a living. Growing up in this exact scenario was Ryan Knorr, a now 25 year old singer/songwriter from Fulda, MN. With a population of 1,200, this town doesn’t exactly lend itself to big world possibilities. However, early on, the only thing Knorr knew of the world he lived in was the fact that he couldn’t stay away from music. Whether it was hours of practicing the piano, or teaching himself to play the guitar, it didn’t matter, music was front and center.
It was once said that life isn’t anything like being in school. In school you learn the lesson, and then you take the test. In life you take the test, and then you learn the lesson. Knorr had a choice to make at the end of high school. Go to a technical college that focused on music and recording, or head down the “traditional” road and get a four year degree that might land him a good job. He couldn’t afford either, but he soon realized the latter seemed to be a safer choice. The financial debt that college would bring was something he didn’t fully understand, but at that time, following his true passion was too bold of a move. Too much “big-city” thinking for a “small-town” upbringing. His decision lead him to Iowa, where a new journey began.
College was a life changing experience. It’s a time when a young adult can wipe the slate clean and become the person he or she really wants to be. Knorr shed a good portion of his shyness, made lifelong friends, and even met his future wife on campus. But still lingering in the shadows was the fact that he hadn’t found a career path that really excited him. He still denied music as a realistic option, but he had begun to enjoy the craft of songwriting. Wanting to fuse together music and a real world job he, along with a music professor on campus, proposed the idea for a Music Production and Technology program. After some deliberation, the proposal passed and a new career path was born.
For an independent musician, being in a music production program not only accelerates your career in the aspect that you can get ahead by recording your own music, but it’s also a great excuse to continue to write original material for use as school projects. In 2007, with access to the equipment and late night hours to experiment, Knorr decided it was time to try to record a new album. He had completed his first album in 2004 while on a summer break from school, a ten song album entitled “Emotion”. However, lacking both experience in both songwriting and recording, this album was just a beginning point. Now with more experience, his creative juices flowing, and the equipment to make a decent recording, Knorr delivered a 7-song acoustic album entitled, “Reverie.”
By the time the students were dressed in caps and gowns, Knorr had little clue of what the next step would be. His then fiancee, and now wife had graduated a year ahead of him and had already settled in Des Moines. A year apart from each other had taken a toll on their relationship and with their wedding just a few months away, he decided Des Moines was the place he needed to be as well. But what about music? What about that recording job? What about the degree he just spent four years working for? It all seemed for not as reality set in.
It didn’t take long for Knorr to realize that the debt from college was going to be an issue. Bills don’t tend to pay themselves and he needed a job to start paying what he owed. Any job he found left him unfulfilled, but in the back of his mind he figured this wouldn’t last long. It would only be for a couple of months, right? Something would pan out and his music dreams would come back into view.
Just days before he was to get married, Knorr sat alone in his apartment, strumming on the guitar when a certain line caught his ear. A melody followed and he scribbled down a few phrases on a sheet of paper. Within just a few minutes he had put together a song that was unlike his others, something that described exactly how he felt about the situation his life was in. At that moment “What About Me” was born, a song that was written out of the sheer confusion that life can bring. A song about doubting the dreams that you somehow once believed in. But something else occurred that day. Sitting in front of his computer Knorr decided to record a video of himself playing his new song and upload it to youtube.
It seemed like an interesting concept. Recording a video instead of only audio might be the new way to record a “demo”. For Knorr, he thought it would better help him document his songs and would become a reference for the initial arrangement of his original works. But after more thought, posting his videos on youtube might also be an easy way to show family and friends his latest musical creations. A few video views started to accumulate. Then a few comments here and there. And then came a sort of epiphany. Maybe this was a promotional tool all its own? Knorr decided to upload another original song, and also a couple of cover songs. The idea was that viewers would be looking for songs by their favorite artists and might stumble upon his cover song videos, and in turn, check out his original music. He wasn’t sure where it would lead, but it seemed like a logical next step.
Just when things started looking up, a strange phenomenon all its own was brewing. Maybe it was the struggle of working a job that was less than appealing, or maybe it was his debt that now seemed to shackle him in place. Whatever it was, it slowly tore down any hope that Knorr had left of pursuing his musical endeavors. He put his guitar in the closet. Left it there for months at a time and told those closest to him that he might never play again. There was no drive, no passion left for the thing that he now loved to hate the most. It seemed that he could only be knocked to the ground so many times before he didn’t feel like getting back up again. And so the search went on, for a more realistic career path and one that would leave music out of the picture for good.
“Good things come to those who wait.” That’s the cliche. For Knorr, it seemed to be the only remedy to his ailing view of his dreams. He waited, and waited, and waited. Months and months went by and then, finally, one day he sat down with his guitar and felt the need to try to write a song. Even if it was only to make sure he remembered how. He longed once again to feel the sense of accomplishment that can only be felt by creating an original piece of art that no one could ever take away from him. He wrote the song “Isle of Eroding Sand” and was back on track toward what he should have never put on hold.
Adding to his newly renewed drive to succeed was the fact that he was witnessing more and more views with each new video he uploaded to youtube. Soon a couple of videos of cover songs were nearing 100,000 views a piece. The positive reinforcement from so many gracious comments was exactly what Knorr needed to rekindle his passion for writing. He continued to write and was once again thinking about a new album. Wanting to outdo his last album, he decided that adding full arrangements to some of his songs would fulfill that goal.
Before finally booking studio time and beginning his new album, a milestone of sorts had been completed. In December of 2009 Knorr crossed over the 1 million mark in total video views on youtube. This was a welcomed surprise and a sign that progress was being made. What started out as a random experiment, turned into his most useful promotional tool yet and the reason he had reached viewers from all over the world. With more and more listeners discovering Knorr and his music, he continues to gain thousands of video views per day.
In early 2010, production on the new album had finally begun. Knorr recorded many of the initial tracks in his home studio and then moved on to The Sonic Factory Studio in Des Moines to work with session players who recorded the bass and drum tracks. After many long hours and 5 a.m. bed times, Knorr had completed his latest work entitled “The Path of Greatest Resistance.” 14 songs that stay true to his acoustic foundation, but also turn the page to a more well rounded production. From the stripped down and emotional “Meant To Stay” to the full band rocker, “Blue.” From the piano and string ballad “Cold Tonight” to the upbeat guitar showcase in “Glass Half Full.” And from the positive themed “8:14″ to the newly refined full band version of “What About Me.” This is the album that both he and his fans had been waiting for.
It seems that this story has come full circle. For a journey that seemed like it had taken forever, it’s really only just begun. Knorr continues to live with the hard working values that were placed in him in that small town just years before. He works two full time jobs. The typical 8-hour shift just like any average adult, and countless more hours at home on both the business and creative aspects of his music. He’s a genuine and humble person like any artist should be. He reads every email, every message, and every youtube comment he receives, and realizes he will go as far as the fan’s support will take him. And for this reason it is that Knorr continues on this path that will likely always be met with resistance. It’s not for fame or fortune or for anything that comes along with that lifestyle. It’s only to share his talent with anyone and everyone who will listen, and hope that the music will connect with the listener in a way that they’ve never experienced before. If he can do that in even one person, then he will have done his job. I think by now we can say with certainty, he has.