Ryan J. Downey

Ryan J. Downey (born November 7, 1973) is an American musician, journalist, producer, podcaster, and host who was born in Indianapolis, Indiana.[1] Downey began his career as the vocalist of the hardcore punk band Burn It Down's vocalist, followed by additional projects such as Her Black Wings and The Family Ghost.[2] During this tenure, he moved to California and beginning working for MTV.[3] He also began Superhero Management, by request of Bleeding Through, who asked him to manage them.[3] Superhero Management would go on to manage Zao, Living Sacrifice, Throwdown, Demon Hunter, The Dillinger Escape Plan, and Killer Be Killed among others.[3]

Ryan J. Downey
Born (1973-11-07) November 7, 1973
Indianapolis, Indiana
Genres
Occupation(s)Musician
InstrumentsVocals
Years active1998-2002
Associated acts
WebsiteOfficial Website

He has also been involved in three podcasts - Speak & Destroy, No Prize From God, and PopCurse - and has written articles for Alternative Press,[4] MTV,[3] MSNBC,[3] Rotten Tomatoes,[1] Looper,[5] and many others, as well as writing one article for Huffington Post.[6] He has also created the podcasts Speak & Destroy Podcast, PopCurse Podcast, and No Prize From God Podcast. Downey previously also was an associate at Blood Company, which merged with Superhero Management.[7] He also created the resource known as Stream N' Destroy to provide data about the latest analytics of the music industry, specifically with heavy metal and hardcore punk.[8] Downey has crafted a plethora of biographies in his time as well, including Crowbar, Ice Nine Kills, Periphery, and Impending Doom.[9]

History

Ryan Downey was born and raised in Indianapolis, Indiana. According to him, his parents would not buy him an instrument, which led to him being the vocalist of any band he would be involved in.[10] Eventually, he met John Zepps, Todd Gullion, and Scott Datsun and began the band Burn It Down.[10] Throughout the band's time together, the band released a 7", an EP, a split EP with Racetraitor, and a full-length album.[11] In 2001, the band broke up. Downey would move to California to work for MTV, as well as briefly perform vocals for Time in Malta.[12] In September 2003, Downey created Superhero Management to assist Bleeding Through as their manager, although he denied payment at the start.[3][10][13] A month or so later, the band began paying him.[10] Following Bleeding Through's admittance to the management company, bands such as Throwdown and Zao asked Downey to manage the two acts.[3] Throughout his career with Superhero Management, he managed acts such as The Dillinger Escape Plan, MxPx, The Black Queen, Demon Hunter, and producers Zeuss and Ross Robinson.[3] He also worked as Greg Puciato's manager with the supergroup project called Killer Be Killed, alongside Gloria Cavalera managing her husband Max, and the late[14] Nick John managing Troy Sanders of Mastodon.[3] While Downey began managing acts, he simultaneously began writing for magazines and publications, including Alternative Press, with his first article being on the history of Coalesce.[3] As of 2015, he was a senior editor at the magazine.[3]

Personal life

Downey is a professing Christian. In the podcast, No Prize From God, he discusses artists faith or lack thereof, he has discussed the topic of faith and lack of faith with artists and filmmakers such as Max Cavalera (ex-Sepultura), Ryan Clark (Demon Hunter), Nergal (Behemoth), Darren Lynn Bousman (director of Saw II, Saw III, Saw IV, and Spiral) and Jesse Leach (Killswitch Engage).[15] Downey is a large fan of Metallica, which led to the podcast Speak & Destroy, which covers other individuals' stories about the band.[16]

Downey also hosts Hoosier Illusion alongside Neal Taflinger, which discusses their upbringing in Indiana, and the PopCurse Podcast, where musicians discuss their favorite movies.[17]

Discography

Burn It Down[18]

  • Burn It Down (1997)
  • Eat Sleep Mate Defend (1998)
  • Make Them Talk (1999; w/ Racetraitor)
  • Let The Dead Bury The Dead (2000)

Guest performances[18]

Production[18]

Filmography
  • This Is Love, This Is Murderous - Live at the Glasshouse (2004)
  • Coming Attractions (2004)
  • Together. Forever. United. (2004)
  • The Lesser Lights of Heaven (2005)
  • MSNBC at the Movies (2005)
  • Vendetta DVD (2005)
  • The Rotten Tomatoes Show (2009-2010)
  • The Grid (2010)
  • Attack of the Show! (2012)
  • This Forgotten Day in Fright (2015)
  • The Disc Dive with Ryan J. Downey (2020-2021)

References
  1. "Ryan J. Downey". IMDb. Retrieved January 2, 2022.
  2. "Ryan Downey's (ex-Burn It Down) New Projects". Lambgoat. February 24, 2002. Retrieved January 2, 2022.
  3. Downey, Ryan (August 30, 2015). "Ryan Downey of Alternative Press / Superhero Management". As The Story Grows Podcast. Interviewed by Travis Turner and Seth Werkheiser. Retrieved January 2, 2022.
  4. "Ryan J. Downey". Alternative Press. Retrieved January 2, 2022.
  5. "Ryan J. Downey". Looper. Retrieved January 2, 2022.
  6. Downey, Ryan (October 8, 2011). "How to Walk Away". Huffington Post. Retrieved January 2, 2022.
  7. "Blood Company Merges With Superhero Artist Management". Celebrity Access. Retrieved January 2, 2022.
  8. "About". Stream N' Destroy. Retrieved January 2, 2022.
  9. "Biographies". Ryan J. Downey. Retrieved January 2, 2022.
  10. Downey, Ryan (July 3, 2018). "Ryan J. Downey". A New Level Podcast. Interviewed by Rob "Blasko" Nicholson. Retrieved January 2, 2022.
  11. "Burn It Down". Discogs. Retrieved January 2, 2022.
  12. Downey, Ryan (March 26, 2018). "Ryan Downey (ex-Burn It Down, Superhero Mgmt, MTV, Speak & Destroy Podcast)". The Ex-Man with Doc Coyle. Interviewed by Doc Coyle. Sound Talent Media. Retrieved January 2, 2022.
  13. "Contact - Superhero Management". Superhero Management. Retrieved January 2, 2022.
  14. Stutz, Colin (September 12, 2018). "Mastodon's Longtime Manager Nick John Dies". Billboard. Retrieved January 2, 2022.
  15. "No Prize From God Podcast". Retrieved January 2, 2022.
  16. "Speak N Destroy". Retrieved January 2, 2022.
  17. J. Downey, Ryan. "PopCurse". PopCurse. Retrieved January 8, 2022.
  18. "Ryan J. Downey". Discogs. Retrieved January 2, 2022.
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