Ryan Dunlap Now Rolling with The Tires

Ryan Dunlap, has spent the past 13 years rocking local audiences with solo gigs, paving the road to becoming a locally respected solo musician. But in the past four months, his solo road has opened up a few lanes—  the guitarist now shares the stage with his new band, Dunlap and the Tires.

"I love all of those guys, and without them, I'm not nearly as good, and it's not nearly as much fun playing," Dunlap says of the group.

Hitting the road

The band's membership isn't really set in stone yet— their official Facebook page describes the group's lineup as "interchangeable"— but its core began to take shape a few years ago, after Dunlap had spent a long time playing solo gigs at local coffee shops and bars with guitarist Justin Marchand and saxophone player Currey Long.

The group didn't quite gel at that point: Marchand was serving in the military, and Long ended up moving away from Toledo for a while before later returning. Then, late last year, Dunlap got a call for a gig with his then-group, the Fling, but several members were unavailable.

"I called Justin and Currey, and said, 'I'd love it if you guys would just come out and jam.'"

Everybody just clicked

The new, makeshift group had its first gig on New Year's Day, and everything just came together. "It was like one of those magic moments, man. Everybody just instantly kinda clicked. We put out one heck of a good sound."

Since then, the Tires have semi-regularly been rocking gigs all over the Glass City area. Dunlap still plays solo gigs on a weekly basis, and recently held a successful Kickstarter for nearly $4,000 to record a new album. But it's clear from the joy in his voice that for Dunlap, there's no thrill quite like jamming with a full band.

"It's so fun. Every single one of the guys in that band— whether it's the five of us that we started it with, or any of the three or four dudes we rotate in when we need someone for whatever reason— it's just a blast, man. It's a fun jam band."

For more information on the Tires and their upcoming gigs, visit their Facebook. 

Ryan Dunlap, has spent the past 13 years rocking local audiences with solo gigs, paving the road to becoming a locally respected solo musician. But in the past four months, his solo road has opened up a few lanes—  the guitarist now shares the stage with his new band, Dunlap and the Tires.

"I love all of those guys, and without them, I'm not nearly as good, and it's not nearly as much fun playing," Dunlap says of the group.

Hitting the road

The band's membership isn't really set in stone yet— their official Facebook page describes the group's lineup as "interchangeable"— but its core began to take shape a few years ago, after Dunlap had spent a long time playing solo gigs at local coffee shops and bars with guitarist Justin Marchand and saxophone player Currey Long.

The group didn't quite gel at that point: Marchand was serving in the military, and Long ended up moving away from Toledo for a while before later returning. Then, late last year, Dunlap got a call for a gig with his then-group, the Fling, but several members were unavailable.

"I called Justin and Currey, and said, 'I'd love it if you guys would just come out and jam.'"

Everybody just clicked

The new, makeshift group had its first gig on New Year's Day, and everything just came together. "It was like one of those magic moments, man. Everybody just instantly kinda clicked. We put out one heck of a good sound."

Since then, the Tires have semi-regularly been rocking gigs all over the Glass City area. Dunlap still plays solo gigs on a weekly basis, and recently held a successful Kickstarter for nearly $4,000 to record a new album. But it's clear from the joy in his voice that for Dunlap, there's no thrill quite like jamming with a full band.

"It's so fun. Every single one of the guys in that band— whether it's the five of us that we started it with, or any of the three or four dudes we rotate in when we need someone for whatever reason— it's just a blast, man. It's a fun jam band."

For more information on the Tires and their upcoming gigs, visit their Facebook.