Naugatuck Native Prays for Big Break in City of Angels

Many people dream big. Few actually take the leap to follow those dreams.

But Naugatuck native Ryan Walker has done everything necessary to achieve his lifelong ambition of working in the music industry. Walker, 33, moved from Naugatuck to Los Angeles two years ago and began trying to produce music in the City of Angels. 

The road has been rough – he’s crashed for several months on living room floors and even lived out of his car for four months. But Walker has finally come close to his big break. He and a friend from Susquehanna University, Evan Bane, are working on a project called “Scholar Ambition,” a hip hop album which aims to encourage youth go to school and make something of themselves. 

The duo has just produced its first single, “Pocket Change" and is seeking money to fund a video. The duo has turned to a website called Kickstarter, which raises money from donors to get independently produced creative projects off the ground. As of Monday morning, Walker and Bane had received $5,885 of the $11,000 needed to make the video. 

The deadline to raise that $11,000 is Friday, May 10. If that amount is not raised, donors will get their money back because the video will not be produced. Click here to see a video of Walker and Bane discussing the project and to donate.

Walker, who graduated from Naugatuck High School in 1998, says he developed his love for music through Naugatuck public schools. In high school, he was a member of the NHS choir, the chamber singers, the madrigals and the barbershop quartet. He was also a member of the NHS football team.

“I owe a lot to Naugatuck, and I’m trying to make people proud,” Walker said.

Walker's bio

The musical journey of recording artist and producer Ryan Walker started at a very early age. Before he could even speak he was already making beats by banging away on pots and pans. As soon as his mom dropped the needle on any record, the music would instantly grab him. The groove was powerful; it was undeniable. It is no coincidence that there are recordings of the young boy singing at the age of 3. In a sense, it's fair to say that Ryan did not choose music. Music chose him.

In elementary school in Naugatuck, Ryan studied the saxophone and started writing poetry and short raps/rhymes. But it was at City Hill Middle School where he really started to develop skills that would mold his musical stylings: Singing in choir, playing the drums in jazz band, messing around with the guitar and writing his first full original songs. At Naugatuck High School, it was his singing that became his primary focus. Ryan sang in numerous vocal ensembles and traveled with his high school choir performing in Canada, Italy, Wales, England and Ireland. He formed a band with a few friends that wrote all original music and self produced two full albums throughout their high school experience. In the latter part of his high school career, he also studied music theory and piano.

After high school, Ryan attended Susquehanna University in Pennsylvania, as a music major with an emphasis on voice. During his freshman year, Ryan's college band recorded a few songs at a small recording studio and independent record label, leading to Ryan's first experiences as a producer. He started off playing piano and adding other musical elements to existing tracks for the label. This eventually lead to engineering vocal sessions, co-producing albums and eventually fully producing some records himself. This is also how Ryan met Garrett Evan Bane Thompson. Garrett was a fellow classmate and artist on the indie label under the moniker, Logic. Garrett and Ryan worked on a couple albums together in college under the hip hop group, The Foundation.

These experiences influenced Ryan to move on from Susquehanna and further pursue the technical side of music at Full Sail University. He graduated from this highly acclaimed institution with a 98 percent in GPA and attendance, rightfully earning a degree in the Recording Arts. Upon graduating, Ryan was selected to intern at Right Track Recording in Manhattan, which was then followed by moving back to his home state of Connecticut and working at Trod Nossel Studios.

After his stint at Trod Nossel, Ryan focused on writing music and playing gigs with his band. In 2007, he purchased his own Pro Tools rig and started hitting the producing scene hard. Day and night, Ryan worked on his chops: always creating, always producing, always improving. In the summer of 2011, Ryan made the move out to Los Angeles to pursue his career as a solo artist and reunite with his good friend Evan Bane. Currently, Ryan is fully committed to producing Bane's first solo album, "Scholar Ambition."