Through the vision of pop mogul Lou Pearlman, the journey to the creation of O-Town began, with the ABC reality T.V. series "Making The Band" in 2000. THe program was intended to present viewers with an insight into the process of creating a boy band, from early auditions to their pursuit of that all important record deal. The show was a moderate hit, although O-Town went on to find legions of fans and a number of hit singles as a result.
Formed of Ashley Parker Angel, Erik-Michael Estrada, Trevor Penick, Jacob Underwood and Ikaika Kahoano, the members successfully beat over 1,800 applicants over months of auditions to become the final five members. Kahoano left the band shortly after, citing personal reasons, but was replaced swiftly by Dan Miller and the remaining members quickly found themselves with a record deal, signing with Clive Davis' J Records.
Their debut album, "Liquid Dreams" arrived in 2001, with the reality T.V. series documenting the whole process, eventually lasting over three seasons. With their first album, they made two Top 10 hits, selling over three million albums worldwide. With their second, 2002's "O2," they failed to meet the same levels of popularity, only just becoming certified Gold, with the band losing their contract as a result the following year in November 2003.
After this failure, the band split, with the members departing to pursue solo careers. However, in 2013, they reunited as a quartet, with Erik, Trevor, Jacob and Dan bringing back O-Town's music to their former legion of fans. The band quickly returned to the studio to work on new music, with the result being the single "Skydive," serving as a teaser for their third full-length, "Lines & Circles."
From a young age it was Cabrera’s exposure to the Dave Matthews Band which really inspired him to pick up the acoustic guitar and begin his pursuit as a musician. Initially playing in rock band Rubix Groove who supported Cheap Trick and Third Eye Blind, Cabrera embarked on his solo adventure self-releasing his debut album “Elm St” in 2001. Although not a commercial success, the release caught the attention of Atlantic Records and signed with them in 2001.
After years of collating material for his major label debut, Cabrera released the single “On the Way Down” in 2004 peaking at number 15 in the US charts and certifying gold. Later that year he released the album “Take It All Away” produced by Goo Goo Doll John Rzeznik charting at number eight. The album churned out two more hit singles “True” and “40 Kinds of Sadness”.
In 2005 Cabrera released his second album “You Stand Watching” debuting at number 24 in the Billboard charts. The track “Photo” was inspired by Cabrera’s relationship with pop star Ashlee Simpson largely documented in her MTV reality show “Autobiography”. Three years later he released his third album “The Moon Under Water” featuring the singles “I Will Remember You” (which became a fixture on the third season of reality television show So You Think You Can Dance as the exit song) and “Say”.
In 2013 Cabrera launched the bi-monthly web series on Stage It “Live from Ryan’s Living Room” where he invites celebrity guests to perform with him while raising money for charity with past guests including Gavin DeGraw, We The King’s and Billy Ray Cyrus. The following year saw Ryan become the first artist to sign to Dynamite Music and release the single “House on Fire” from his forthcoming EP “Wake Up Beautiful”.
In the heyday of 90s boy bands, MTV decided they wanted to be part of the action and started a show called Making the Band. The end result: O Town. The group consisted of Jacob Underwood, Ashley Parker Angel, Erik-Michael Estrada, Trevor Penick and Dan Miller and had really caught tremendous momentum in gaining popularity.
Not surprisingly, the audience was about ninety percent tweens and teen girls at their shows, with the scattered parent who had to drive and supervise a group of girls. The show itself didn’t have much live instrumentation but it did have a lot of flare. The choreography that was performed was just as entertaining as any of the other relevant boy bands at the time. You also better believe that almost all of the crowd knew and sung along to every single song, not to mention danced along as well.
One of the benefits of the band coming from a reality show was that all of the members did have actual vocal ability. When you saw them live, you got what you expected from their voices. Their shows never really reached the same level as the Backstreet Boys or N’Sync, but they had still given and energetic, fun show.
There are thousands and thousands of singer songwriters all doing the same thing. There is a singer songwriter on every street corner it seems. There are singer-songwriters who play the odd song at the odd gig here and there, and then there are the dedicated if a little decedent songwriters like Dallas Texas native, Ryan Cabrera who do tour after tour and album after album. He is a hard working musician, who over the last decade has achieved chart success, released four studio albums, and done countless tours. Not to mention a string of beautiful singers/actresses that he’s dated, of course this isn’t about that what so ever. This is all about the craft that Cabrera has worked so hard at, tailoring his distinct pop/country/rock songs, and keeping his loyal fan base happy. He takes to the stage, acoustic guitar – clad, to a chorus of cheers and screaming and launches into his mid tempo hit, ‘Photo’, it is as though the crowd know every single word, which clearly humbles Cabrera who pushes on through his hour long set. Another highlight is his song, “On the Way Down”, probably the loudest sing along of the evening.
There is a quieter moment when Cabrera takes to the piano for his song true, which the audience this time; are completely silent. You know that an audience appreciate an artist when they respond with such applause, you feel as though it would bring the roof down, but can be so quiet and appreciative that the only noise other than the voice and piano that you hear, is the ventilation system.