Charleston's Ryan Bonner releases his inner 'Monster'

After four years of playing gigs in Clemson, Ryan Bonner returned to Charleston to further pursue his musical career in 2008.

Since then, Bonner, a seasoned veteran on mandolin, guitar and bass, has been collaborating with producer and pianist Josh Smoak to arrange and record his first release, an EP titled "Monsters in the Hallway."

The record was mixed at Echo Mountain Studios in Asheville, N.C., by Danny Kadar, well-know for his work with the Avett Brothers, Stevie Ray Vaughn and My Morning Jacket.

The debut release is filled with Bonner's deep, soulful voice and the mellow twang of contemporary Americana. The album will be available in local record stores and on iTunes Friday. The "Monsters in the Hallway" release show is Friday at The Tin Roof, where Bonner will be joined by his band, the Dearly Beloved.

This ensemble consists of Smoak on keyboard and Cory Jarrett on mandolin and guitar, with bassist Malin Wagnon and drummer Jack Friel in the rhythm section.

I caught up with Ryan Bonner to talk about the recording process and the future of his career.

Q: How did you go from playing cover gigs in Clemson to becoming a singer/songwriter in Charleston?

A: It was a natural progression. I played for so long in cover bands that it was only a matter of time that I started writing my own songs. (The shows in Clemson) weren't necessarily a creative springboard, but it was good for the experience. It helped out a lot to get comfortable on stage.

Q: What was recording this album like?

A: It took us about a year and eight months. We recorded it all ourselves at our own little studio. It was a learning process. We recorded some songs, then we tried them with a full band, then we started it all over again. We got a glorified souped-up solo record. That's what we ended up with.

Q: How do you feel about the final product?

A: We're really happy with it. It's six songs, some of the songs I had written at the time of recording and some of them I wrote years before. There's a lot of records with just an acoustic guitar and vocals. We wanted it to be more of a production and (more of) an experience than that. We put a lot of cellos and organs, omnichords, stuff like that. We mixed it up in Echo Mountain Studios.

Q: Do you cover any of your favorite songs at live performances?

A: We always throw two or three covers into a set. We do some Rolling Stones. We've done a Bright Eyes song or two. We've done some Beatles. We try to mix it up. You can't go wrong with the Beatles.

Q: Where is the next step for the Dearly Beloved?

A: We're planning a tour in May to Texas and back. We don't know if we're going to take the whole band or if it's going to be a stripped-down band, but we're real excited about that. I'm already writing.

We've got some new stuff that we're already working on for the next record. We really want to play out of town and in some other markets. We don't want to oversaturate ourselves in Charleston, but we'll still be doing things around here.