From acoustic guitar to auto-tune, Spard does it all. Ryan Kennedy, a School of Arts and Sciences freshman and Ned Singh of Ithaca College have collaborated their musical and creative talent to create the best-kept secret within the acoustic progressive rock genre. This unsigned band is an acoustic project expertly crafted together by two best friends, which offers a variety of sounds all in one. Their exclusive sound shows that they are fans of surprising their listeners while showcasing featured vocalists, sound effects and a surprisingly twisted storyline that their songs follow.
Ryan Kennedy tells HC that Spard has professionally recorded a song called 10:23, their oldest and most popular song, but they are releasing a home-recorded and produced EP that will be available on iTunes as well as Purevolume within the next few months. I got a chance to speak with Ryan on campus, and got the scoop on his band and what they’re up to.
HC: So what part in Spard do you have?
RK: I play guitar, piano, and I sing. The other member of Spard, Ned, goes to Ithaca College for Music Engineering and he also plays piano, plays guitar and sings.
HC: Cool, so what type of music do you guys generally make? Do you have any particular influences?
RK: We consider ourselves acoustic, progressive rock. We aim for catchy choruses and meaningful lyrics. Although we cant sing as high, Coheed in Cambria has been one of our biggest influences. But even more so, Jason Lancaster, former singer and songwriter of Mayday Parade and current member of Go Radio is our biggest influence. We even got a chance to meet him just outside his tour bus and had a ten-minute conversation with him.
HC: Wow, that’s awesome! Is there any way we can get a taste of your style?
RK: You can go to purevolume.com/Spard to stream and download most of our music for free. We’re also looking to put our EP, The Loudest Whisper on iTunes after its mastered. And if you’re a Ke$ha fan, we have a “Your Love is My Drug” cover on our Purevolume for free download and also on our YouTube channel.
HC: What is your favorite part of being a musician and being apart of Spard?
RK: Ned and I are great friends and its something we just love to do. It’s a good way to relax and have some fun.
HC: So you are releasing a new EP: how do you plan on getting the word out?
RK: We posted a few songs on our YouTube channel to hopefully get our name out. We’ve also reached out to a few studios just to get a feel for the industry and maybe even get lucky.
Featured in photo: Ryan Kennedy, left, Ned Singh, right