Indulge This

Feb. 8, 2006

Musician and vocalist Ryan Whyte has been a mainstay in the region’s music scene for the past five years. His lyrically-intense band Indulge has developed a strong local following and now Whyte feels that it is time to move on. No more Indulge? Far from it, Whyte and the band are moving west to see where their music will take them.
There will be only one opportunity to catch the band before they leave; they have and will continue to be in a performance hiatus until they load up the equipment and relocate to Los Angeles in July. Before they go they have promised to rock Northern Michigan one more time. That last opportunity is this Friday as the band performs at Traverse City Central High School Auditorium.  It will also serve as a CD release party.
Whyte and Indulge have been noticeably absent from the scene but with good reason.
“I felt it was necessary to make some changes in my life. I guess it was the stark realization that I was turning 25 and this industry is mean and it gets meaner the older you get,” said Whyte. “So I know I have this 10- year window to accomplish my goals. Once you hit 35 it seems there are few doors that will open.”
So what are the goals?
“I want to make it as a musician. That wasn’t happening here and, in fact, as I found myself being drawn into the scene I found my goals starting to slip away,” said Whyte. “I found myself partying every night and hanging with people that were becoming a distraction.After awhile I got so caught up in this life I lost track of my goals.”
            
Whyte made a major change in his life.
“I decided that I had to start treating this more like a business. I quit my job, quit the bars and took a job as a garbologist,” said Whyte. “So now I am getting up at 5 a.m. --  heck before I use to go bed at 5 a.m. and wake up at 5 p.m. -- and picking up trash. It sucks, but I am making money and I have been able to use the time each day to think and write songs.”
When Whyte finishes his day, sometimes at 7 p.m., he heads to the computer and checks in with his longtime bandmate, guitarist Shawn McGhee who moved to Arizona to work construction.
“We go back and forth on lyrics, business ideas and our plans for when we arrive in L.A.,” said Whyte. “This music thing is expensive but Shawn and I are committed to this and so is our bass player Joe Alpers.”
 The biggest expense the band has incurred is developing their CD “Tomorrow’s Another Day.”  Whyte has spent over $14,000 and two years to get a sound that he is happy with.
“This is my resume when I go out West. I want it right,” said Whyte. “I am banking my future on this.”

TOUGH CHILDHOOD
Whyte lives each day for his future, and why shouldn’t he? After all his past has been marred by a hell no child should ever have to experience. He says his biological father told Whyte at a young age, “Your mother raised you to be a pussy,” and those were the last words he heard from his father who quit calling after that statement. He says his stepfather beat the shit out of him with a frying pan on a regular basis. In between, various individuals sexually abused Whyte. He spent much of his youth moving back and forth between Washington and Northern Michigan. As a teenager he was homeless, living in his car and eating food scraps from the leftovers on customer’s plate at the restaurant he worked at.
“I was grateful that people wasted food,” said Whyte. “I moved back to Traverse City at 16 and hoped to recapture some of my teenage years. But I learned that the decisions you make in a single second of contemplation reverberate consequences longer than thought.”
But all that is now in his past, a past that serves as a reminder of where he has been and motivation as to where he wants to go. But Whyte doesn’t want to dwell on the negative when writing lyrics. He named the new album “Tomorrow’s Another Day” as a subtle reminder to himself and others that no matter what hand life has dealt today, you get a fresh deal tomorrow.  

SIGNATURE SOUND
“I write songs to tell a story,” said Whyte. “I try to be upbeat with my lyrics. The trend is to be negative today in the alternative scene, but I want to send a message that no matter what is happening ‘Tomorrow’s Another Day.’ Indulge has a signature sound, but each song is different. These songs are definitely self-reflective; they serve as reminders to me personally to strive for the better. Every song is written as a letter to myself.”
Musically, lyrically and vocally Whyte is self-taught; his mother was a singer and performed in the ‘80s metal hair group White Heaven (regulars at Union Street). He learned to play the guitar, keyboards and drums simply by listening. He learned to write provocative songs and thought-provoking lyrics from his life’s experiences. Whyte is grateful for his time here, and for the friends he has made, but knows the area has nothing more to offer him but good luck. 
So one of the region’s most colorful musical characters is moving on. He carries with him the torch lit 10 years ago by WKLT personality Terri Ray who has hoped that Northern Michigan will someday produce a musician that will land a major record deal.  Whyte and Indulge now have been handed that torch and when they pull in to L.A. this summer where 25,000 other bands are trying to get signed the only question to be answered is will they find a way to get discovered? Do they have a back-up plan in case it doesn’t work out?
“Hell no, there is no back up plan. Back-up plans are for pussies. We are going out with there with only one plan,” said Whyte. “If you have more than one plan it becomes to easy to quit. I have been through too much shit to quit now or ever.” 
 
Ryan Whyte and Indulge will make their final performance in the area February 10 at TC Central High School Auditorium. TC senior Whitney Stewart (pictured) will take the stage at 7 p.m. with Indulge to follow. The concert is sponsored by TC Schools’ Central Supply and is part of a series to give teens and young adults a performance venue. Tickets are $10 for adults and $7 for   students. A special visual arts show will take place on stage during the Indulge performance and the band will stick around after the show to sign copies of it‘s new CD. For info on Indulge and to view a video documenting the recording of their CD, visit http://www.indulgeband.com. For tickets call the box office at 933-8586.