Ryon Rood (above) doesn’t just play guitars – he makes them at his shop in Montrose. On April 15, he will perform at the Reimel Center in the Slanted Art Co-op on Church Street.
Story by Rick Hiduk / submitted photos
(originally published in the Susquehanna County Independent – http://www.susqcoindy.com/PS/)
The Reimel Centre was opened inside the Slanted Art Co-op at 158 Church Street in Montrose as an intimate, cabaret-style performing arts venue. On Saturday, April 15, organizers will debut a new Meet the Musician event, and Bryon Rood of Montrose will be the first featured performer. Bryon is a 2007 graduate of Blue Ridge High School and is a luthier by trade, building and repairing stringed instruments at his business, Rood Guitars.
Fliers promoting Meet the Musician note that featured artists will do more than just play songs. Audience members are invited to come ready to learn the complexities of how live music is brought to the stage. Reimel Centre owners Susan and Chaz Zellner hope to create a base from which to grow the pool of talented musicians sharing live music in the Susquehanna County area.
“We know that performing arts is very important to our area, and there isn’t another venue this close to us,” Susan explained. The room has been in use for presentations and special exhibits since the building was purchased four years ago, but the addition of new flooring and tables have really changed what they can offer there. “It’s finally hitting it’s stride,” Susan related.
And Bryon is anxious to keep the ball rolling. In his own Facebook post announcing the event, which runs from 6 to 8 pm, he promises to talk about his experiences in the music industry and answer questions from the audience. “I’m also doing something I’m really excited about that I’ve dreamed of for a long time but never did on stage,” Bryon wrote in a post. “From start to finish, I will be building a song in front of the audience, playing all of the instrument parts like I do in the studio, using loop pedals.” The finished piece will include layered tracks of the rhythm and bass guitar parts, percussion, and other elements. “It’s so awesome that I’m able to have an opportunity to make my dream a reality.”
As a student at Blue Ridge High School, Bryon was involved in both band and chorus and performed with fellow student musicians in various combos and ensembles. While he has mastered a number of instruments, the guitar has always been his favorite. He was enamored not only of the sound but how they looked and how they felt in his hands when he was playing them.
After studying business administration at Keystone College, Bryon attended the Roberto-Venn School of Luthiery in Phoenix, AZ, and first apprenticed with the director of the school before moving to Santa Cruz, CA, to apprentice with renowned guitar maker Scott Walker. He returned to the area in December 2020 and met the Zellners at Slanted Art Co-op. He convinced them to bring in a musician friend of his from Orlando, FL, named Mark Kroos, who is a master of the double-necked guitar and for whom Bryon has made three guitars. In August 2022, Bryon collaborated with the Zellners again to bring in Australian-based guitarist Adam Miller. Bryon and his father, Jack Rood, built the stage for the performances, and Bryon had an opportunity to play a few of his original compositions at both shows.
“I asked why he didn’t play them more often because they were so good,” Susan recalled. “And he shared that people want to hear what they know.”
His answer echoed what she was hearing from other musicians and artists, like Rob Weinberger, a well-known woodwind musician from the Binghamton area. “He was talking about his challenge of playing to the market, and how he realized that his energy and proficiency was higher when he was playing in a city like Manhattan. Retrospectively and introspectively, he realized that he was not playing as well when he was playing locally.”
A co-op member and painter essentially told Susan the same thing – that she often forgoes the subject matter that really speaks to her for painting landscapes because they sell better. “That’s what promoted me to start this series so that people can meet the artists, have dialogue with them, and maybe there will be more of a connection,” Susan suggested. “They’re proficiency will hopefully be much better when they are doing what they want to do and not what they think we want to see and hear.”
Bryon is ready for the experiment. Though he will be primarily playing his original compositions, he plans to slip in a cover song or two, mostly in the adult alternative genre. “I want to see if the audience can hear the difference in the emotion behind them,” said Bryon.
Overall, Bryon hopes to provide audience members with a better idea of what its like to be a musician and how important it is to support their local music scene. “The main thing is that I want people to leave with the feeling that they’ve had a great experience,” adding that he prefers playing locally, where it feels more like a social gathering. “The community aspect of it is much cooler than playing for strangers.”
Bryon began building his business upon his return to the area. Though he is trained to make a wide variety of stringed instruments, he prefers electric and acoustic guitars. His products are a combination of commissioned, special orders and those drawn on his own imagination that supporting retailers provide space to sell. Bryon currently does not have a retail location but does entertain serious inquiries to visit his shop. Rood Guitars cosponsored the aforementioned concerts with the Reimel Centre, which is run as a separate entity from the art co-op.
“In short, the Reimel Centre is becoming a sought-after performing arts venue because of Bryon’s help, support and guidance,” Susan remarked. “I hope this concert will be the catalyst he needs to launch his own music to our area and beyond.” Bryon maintains Facebook pages for both his play dates at wineries, breweries and other venues and his guitar building business. His music can be found on iTunes, Spotify, and dozens of other major music platforms, including YouTube by searching Bryon Rood Music.
Meet the Musician events will take place every other month, and tickets can be purchased at the co-op or online at Eventbrite.com. ‘Ask the Artist’ will take place during the alternating months and follow a similar format. Oil painter Jane Zieger and fiber artist Stevie Tiongco will share the bill in May, demonstrating their crafts and engaging the audience in discussions about the arts.
“Art is an opportunity for dialog between the artist and the audience,” Susan stated. “We hope that we are offering something that people will come to love.”