When Ryan McMahon went up to accept his Album of the Year award at the Vancouver Island Music Awards Saturday night in Victoria, he was quick to insist that his producer, Richard Leighton, go up to the podium with him.
Album of the Year was one of a record three awards the Ladysmith singer-songwriter received throughout the ceremony. McMahon received the award for his solo acoustic album All Good Stories, which was recorded at Leighton’s home studio in Lantzville.
“Having [Leighton] there was fantastic because he completely changed the way I looked at recording,” said McMahon. “In my previous recordings, I had always been concerned with layering things quite a bit. When I first went into the studio with [Leighton], I had all these different parts arranged from doing my demos at home. I was all prepared to do these two- and four-part harmonies … His big mantra was ‘why did the song come to be.’ It’s all about the mood of it, not the technical points. It made the songs themselves really stand out. He’s been a huge help.”
McMahon was the only multiple award-winner during Saturday night’s awards ceremony, held at Fairfield United Church in Victoria. He was nominated for five Vancouver Island Music Awards, and he took home a record three awards — Album of the Year, Male Vocalist of the Year and Artist of the Year.
“It was fantastic,” said McMahon. “All I really hoped for was to not get swept. It was a huge surprise, especially Artist of the Year. It was great that the album Richard Leighton worked on was recognized so we could get him up there because he did a fantastic job.”
McMahon, who also performed a song and presented an award during the ceremony, was nominated for Male Songwriter of the Year as well, and the Ryan McMahon and the Company Damn video “One Way,” produced by Tash Baycroft, was nominated as Music Video of the Year.
“Being nominated alongside songwriters like Mike Edel and Lindsay Bryan and Shane Philip was huge,” said McMahon.”Especially Artist of the Year is, to me, such a silly thing. Everybody in the category is working so hard. I think it’s pretty fantastic we’re able to get all of Vancouver Island in one setting and celebrate what we do. There’s a lot more talent on Vancouver Island than a lot of people realize, and to be nominated alongside them is great.”
McMahon doesn’t spend a lot of time basing his worth on awards, but as he gets set to hit the road for a Western Canadian acoustic tour with Cory Woodward and Christopher Arruda from May 5 to 31, he says winning the awards could help catch the attention of people in new markets who haven’t heard his music before.
“It just allows people to discover me,” he said. “I think it’s something that looks good on your musical bio or your musical resumé.”
“I would be doing this anyways,” he added. “The proof of that fact is I’ve been doing this for 13 years. It’s cool to be recognized for your art because I care about it so much, and that’s fantastic, but the truth of it is I’d be doing it under the radar or above the radar.”
McMahon can’t really say why All Good Stories is getting so much attention, but he believes the fact that this recording most captures the feel of his live performances plays a big part in it.
“I’ve always gone into the recording process with the best intentions,” he said. “You never know when you throw something against the wall what’s going to stick. This one is pretty representative of what I do live. It’s the most honest recording I’ve done to date, and it most closely resembles what I do in a live setting.”
McMahon won’t be playing his hometown on his May tour, but he will play in Nanaimo May 30 and Duncan May 31. Find out more by clicking here.
