Arts & Entertainment

Homeward Bound

Singer-songwriter will share his folk-pop tunes
with family, friends and fans at concerts this weekend.

Suzanne Chessler
Special to the Jewish News

R

yan Mintz left Michigan nearly
10 years ago to pursue a career in
film and video, but he returns to
help launch a career in music.
Mintz, 31, has scheduled a show to intro-
duce his first CD, Monkeys & Ice Cream,
which features him performing songs he
has written. The emerging singer-song-
writer will build on that experience in a
series of concerts in and out of his home
state.
The recording, self-produced, will be
available after his show, which starts at 6
p.m. Friday, May 30, at AJ's Music Cafe in
Ferndale. The songs also will be performed
at noon and 3 p.m. Sunday, June 1, at Motor
City Pride in downtown Ferndale and at
times to be announced Saturday, June 21,
at West Michigan Pride in Grand Rapids.
"I decided I wanted to come back home
and perform a show of my music for fam-
ily, friends and supporters:' says Mintz,
who did the studio work in Los Angeles.
"The CD represents me, my feelings
and my life over the past few years. When
I write music, ifs very feeling-based. I like
to process my emotions and tell stories in
a unique way that anybody still can relate
to because of the subjects — relation-
ships, love, travel, adventure, learning and
growth!"
The 12-track folk-pop recording
— Mintz's writing is mainly influenced
by female singer-songwriters of the '90s,
including Alanis Morissette, Indigo Girls,
Aimee Mann, Lisa Loeb, Jewel and Chantal
Kreviazuk — includes "Arapahoe Road:'
which describes his nomadic lifestyle, and
"So Lovely:' whose theme is a gay relation-
ship.
"I've been writing songs for seven years,
and the last few years I've been focusing
on it more seriously and career oriented:'
Mintz explains. "I took professional voice
training in L.A. and guitar training in
Colorado.
"I started working on the CD in the sum-
mer of 2007. I met with my producer in
L.A., and we looked back over the songs I
had written. Most of the songs we chose
tended to be more recent because they
sounded better to us!"
Mintz, who graduated from Andover
High School in Bloomfield Hills and com-
pleted religious studies at Temple Israel
in West Bloomfield, has been interested
in music since the sixth grade, when he

Ryan Mintz: After honing his craft for seven years, Mintz put his most memorable material together for his debut record,

Monkeys & Ice Cream.

started participating in school programs.
He won the title role in the musical Oliver!
and sang in school choirs.
"Music wasn't anything I thought of as
a career when I was at the University of
Michigan:' Mintz says. "Once I got into the
working world, I focused on film and video
and pursued that, first in the corporate
world in Detroit and later in the narrative
and documentary film world in California!'
A conversation with a friend in 2005
motivated him to go to a Colorado music
camp, Song School, where he met people
who built their working lives through
music. He started thinking about a per-
sonal music-marketing plan while sup-
porting himself through freelance video
production.
Mintz, the son of attorney Richard
Mintz and education adviser Judy Mintz
of Bloomfield Township, considers himself
lucky to have parents who are very sup-
portive. One of three children, he opened
up to his family about being gay when he
was 19 and appreciates that his boyfriends
have been included in family celebrations
of Jewish holidays.

"There's nothing in my songs that refer-
ences Judaism although I did just write a
song about spirituality;' he says. "I related
music to spirituality and described how
the experience of music — hearing it or
playing it — makes me feel in touch with
a spirit and alive, thankful, grateful and
loving.
"The song is called 'My Religion; and it
talks about how music can be a form of
religion by bringing out the connection to
the power that makes us!"
Mintz, who went to Israel with a group
from Temple Israel when he was 15, enjoys
international travel. With his belongings
stored in Colorado, he has spent the past
three years moving around from city to
city with special stops in Chicago, Paris

and London.
"There are times when I feel I want to
get some roots, maybe unpack and have
a regular place and community, but at the
moment that hasn't happened:' he says.
Mintz is active in the environmental
movement and has become involved with
the National Resources Defense Council
and Friends of Animals.
"I'm starting my own campaign, the
Green Musician:' Mintz says. "I want to
help musicians become more eco-friendly
in pursuit of their musical business.
"I worked very hard to make my record-
ing eco-friendly [using recycled materi-
als and vegetable-based inks] because I
wanted the product to be in line with my
beliefs." ❑

Ryan Mintz appears 6 p.m. Friday, May 30, at AJ's Music Cafe, 240 W. Nine Mile
Road, in Ferndale. $5. (248) 399-3946. He also will be on the second stage
of Motor City Pride at noon and 3 p.m. Sunday, June 1, in downtown Ferndale
(www.motorcitypride.com ) and appear at West Michigan Pride Saturday, June
21, at the John Ball Park,1300 W. Fulton, in Grand Rapids (http://westmipride.
orgy. For more information or to purchase a CD, go to www.ryanmintz.com .

JN

May 29 • 2008

B9