Ryan Dahle

Ryan Dahle is a Canadian musician, best known for his contributions to the bands Age of Electric and Limblifter, each of which have scored several minor radio hits.

The Age of Electric

Age of Electric was a band founded in 1989 that consisted of two sets of brothers, Ryan and Kurt Dahle, and Todd and John Kerns. Originally named just "Electric", the band got their start by playing original music in cover song clubs. Playing four long sets of music, six night a week sometimes 48 weeks a year, they not only learned to play but learned how to fight in these rugged bars and pubs of Western Canada.

In 1994, The Age of Electric released the 'Ugly' EP, which sold well independently. The group gave Cargo Records the rights to distribute the EP, and its title track peaked at #11 on the Canadian Rock Radio Charts with no major label help. Invasion Group Management in New York later helped with the promotion of the album. Innovative videos for the Ryan Dahle penned singles 'Ugly' and 'Untitled' made a big impact at Muchmusic, Canada's version of MTV. No major label deal was in sight, so the group decided to continue to release independently, an LP called Untitled.

In 1995, the group got signed simultaneously to Mercury recordsUS and Universal Music in Canada, and re-released 'Untitled' In 1996 they commenced recording their first major label record and what would be their final Make A Pest A Pet.

Transitional years

In 1995, Ryan, Kurt and bassist Ian Somers formed Limblifter as a vehicle for the surplus songs Ryan had been writing for The Age of Electric. Signing simultaneous record deals with Mercury Records (US) and MCA in Canada, Ryan and Kurt's record deals were now at highest count four. They released a self-titled debut album, which spawned three Canadian top-40 hits, "Tinfoil", "Vicious" and "Screwed It Up". The first single was released in the US the same week their A&R man was fired at Mercury and despite an extremely promising and coveted most added single at rock radio in Billboard magazine, the record was quietly shelved by the label. The project would be put on hiatus soon thereafter, and the brothers once again began to focus on their first group.

In 1997, Age of Electric released Make a Pest a Pet, which would be the band's best-selling record. Spawning their biggest single, the again Ryan Dahle penned, Remote Control garnered heavy airplay at radio and reached #5 on the Muchmusic 'countdown'. In March 1998, shortly after calling it quits, Age of Electric was (somewhat inappropriately) nominated for "Best New Group" at the Juno Awards The Juno went to the band Leahy.

"Make a Pest A Pet" would certified Gold in Canada that same month just after their untimely demise.

Limblifter

The Dahles once again focused on Limblifter (still with member Ian Somers), and released their second album Bellaclava in 2000. Although the album didn't have the commercial success of the band's first album, it did spawn two popular radio singles, "Ariel vs. Lotus" and "Wake Up To The Sun". However, the band didn't have a chance to follow up on their success, as Kurt left the band to concentrate on the celebrated independent band The New Pornographers. Ian Somers would soon move on to form and provide vocals for a new band, Brundlefly, who released a critically acclaimed album entitled "By The Way" in the early part of the 21st century.

Faced with financial shortages, Ryan Dahle lay dormant for a while before recruiting former Matthew Good Band drummer Ian Browne and a few other musicians for a short-lived, but highly anticipated band named Alarm Bell. The group never released any albums or singles. On October 12, 2002, Alarm Bell keyboardist Rupert "Sanka" Parsons died in a tragic (and to date unexplained) on-stage incident involving a circus trapeze, a Hitler mustache and four dumbfounded Mormon missionaries named Sweyn, Hamish, Lindley and Svalbaerd. Dahle has been quoted as saying "I will never forget that night. I have never seen a Mormon remove someone's manhood with their teeth, let alone chew their way to the brain stem."

Clearly disturbed by this event, he spent a year in Dharamsala, Himachal Pradesh, India, studying Zen Buddhism. At some point a monk told him "We actually practice Tibetan Buddhism here" and so, crestfallen, Dahle was left to wander the streets of Delhi mad with dysentery and a scorching case of syphilis.

Ryan would return to his major project, Limblifter, and recruited a new group of musicians, including Meegee Bradfield, Dave Patterson, and another of Matthew Good's percussionists, studio drummer Pat Steward. The band released its third album, I/O in 2004, and toured across Canada as openers for Matthew Good's solo act, during the Put Out Your Lights tour.

Ryan now runs a surf and turf themed restaurant in Vancouver's Yaletown area, "Ryan's Warm Yet Punchy-Toned Shrimp Shack" where he is known to greet patrons with a snaggle-toothed "ALL I SHEE IS UGLEE!" as they walk in and subsequently walk out. It has somehow managed to avoid bankruptcy.