From The Desk Of Ryan Monroe: Bill Callahan

Ryan Monroe hadn’t considered himself a control freak by nature. Then he found himself at Redstar Recording in Silver Lake, Calif., with its myriad instruments scattered around, just begging to be fiddled with. For a guy who can play just about anything, it was impossible to resist. So Monroe took a breather from his continuing role as the 34-year-old bastion of versatility in Band Of Horses to record A Painting Of A Painting On Fire (RCM). Monroe hopes to tour this summer behind A Painting before things get too busy with Band Of Horses, which is finishing its fourth album with producer Glyn Johns and eyeing a September release. Monroe will also be guest editing magnetmagazine.com all week. Read our new feature on him.

Monroe: I have just recently been affected by Bill Callahan in the best possible way. I’d heard Smog before and thought it was great but having recently fallen in love, his music and mysterious lyrical style has hit me like a ton of bricks. It seems like his music has been sitting around waiting for me my whole life. He’s been substantially influencing my writing and the way I try to make my demos sound as of late. He’s one of those artists that reminds you that there’s an endless supply of good music in the world and makes you want to hunt for some. I wish I had the patience that Bill seems to have. He’s a definite memory-making force in my life at the moment. I would love to record a song with him one day. Thank you, Bill (from the rivers to the ocean).