Ryan Pardey | |
|---|---|
 Pardey performing in 2011 | |
| Background information | |
| Born | (1979-02-25)February 25, 1979 (age 46) Las Vegas |
| Genres | indie folk,indie rock |
| Occupation(s) | musician, singer, song writer,promoter,tour manager, actor, DJ |
| Instrument(s) | Guitar, Vocals |
| Years active | 1999–present |
Ryan Pardey is a musician, singer, songwriter,promoter,tour manager, actor, left-handed guitar player, and DJ fromLas Vegas.[1] He is best known as the singer and songwriter forHalloween Town, which has featured members ofThe Killers,Louis XIV, andThe Shys.[1][2][3] Pardey is also well known for portraying Santa Claus onA Great Big Sled (2006) andDon't Shoot Me Santa (2007), two Christmas music videos released by The Killers. Pardey appeared as Santa again for The Killers in the two sequel Christmas singles,I Feel It in My Bones (2012)[4] andDirt Sledding (2015).[5] He also appears in the videos and as illustrations in the artwork for both singles.[4][5]
Ryan's father was professional poker playerRodney H. Pardey. His brother isRodney E. Pardey, who is also a professional poker player and musician.[3] Pardey attended high school at theLas Vegas Academy of International Studies, Performing and Visual Arts in Las Vegas during the late 1990s. In his senior year, he played the lead role of preacher C.C. Showers in a production of the controversialThe Diviners, where he acted on stage besideMatthew Gray Gubler,Baron Vaughn, andRutina Wesley.[3]
After graduation, Pardey soon became the owner and operator of Café Espresso Roma, a coffee shop and music venue located across fromUNLV. While helping to jump start his career in event promotion, the café also served as the breeding ground for The Killers.[3]
While touring with The Killers as their assistant, Pardey became known as "The Captain" by members of the band's fan club.[6] During the tour, he also appeared as Santa on stage with The Killers during their performance onThe Tonight Show With Jay Leno, and during their performance in Los Angeles for theKROQ Almost Acoustic Christmas. He continued as tour manager for The Killers until the release ofHot Fuss in June 2004, when he was replaced by long time tour manager Jeremy Bates. At this time, Pardey began writing the first Halloween Town album.[7][8]
The songQuestions with the Captain is a secret song that appears on the albumSawdust, by The Killers, and was written about Pardey's tenure as "The Captain". The song is also used as the theme song for aweb series starring Pardey, in which he interviews members of The Killers.
After returning home from touring with The Killers, Pardey experienced what he refers to as his "darkest most self-destructive period". He tellsLas Vegas Weekly, "WithoutMark Stoermer there'd be no Halloween Town...I knew I needed to stabilize my life. Mark helped me bring my ideas to life."[1] With the encouragement of Stoermer, who was Pardey's roommate at the time, Ryan began writing songs for Halloween Town, a name Pardey has said he used to serve as a metaphor for Las Vegas.[9] Stoermer would later play bass for Pardey's band at their first show.[1]
In 2008, while writing for the album, Pardey test performed the songs for live audiences, opening for such acts asThe Whigs,Tokyo Police Club, andThe Silent Comedy.[10][11] In Feb 2009,San Diego–based rock bandThe Shys joined Pardey as his backing band on stage in Las Vegas, and again later that month atBed Rock Studios inEcho Park.[12] Ryan continued to utilize The Shys primarily as his live band, while he began recruiting members ofLouis XIV as his studio band, along with The Killers bassist Mark Stoermer.[13]
In September 2009, Halloween Town opened for The Killers at theMandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas.[14] The band's live performance featured members of The Shys, Louis XIV, andTransfer. Immediately after the show, Pardey and company appeared at The Aruba Showroom to celebrate the Las Vegas music festivalNeon Reverb, where Halloween Town performed for the release of their EPSummer (The Dreamer From 1997), which the band released onvinyl 7".[7][15] Ryan toured theMidwest as a solo artist in December 2009.[7]
Halloween Town continued to play concerts through 2010, opening for the Killers at a secretHighline Ballroom show inNew York City in January.[6] Between shows and traveling, Pardey took up a DJ residency at the Beauty Bar in theFremont East music district where he also began hosting a karaoke night.[16] In March, Pardey relocated from Las Vegas toAustin, Texas, where he would play in theSXSW music festival, after which he continued to perform shows in and around Austin for two months before relocating again to San Diego, where he would begin recording the band's first LP.[17]
In June 2010, Pardey returned to Las Vegas to perform new songs from his forthcoming Halloween Town album at a benefit for Arbo De Vivo, a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping impoverished people of the world. This specific event focused on support forHaiti after thedevastating earthquake that ravaged the nation earlier in the year.[17]
In May 2011, Halloween Town began a residency atThe Palms hotel in Las Vegas. When asked when the Halloween Town LP would be released, Pardey responded by saying, "I guess some time in July...Since I'm an old man already, I don't need to rush."[9]
On September 9, 2011, Halloween Town released their debut LPZafra Ct. on Cornstalk Records, a label created by friendMatt Gubler.[18] The album was named after the street Pardey grew up on, and features collaborations and production by a star lineup of musicians, which include Shaun Cornell (Transfer), and Michael Stratton (12 Volt Sex),Mark Stoermer andDave Keuning of The Killers,Jason Hill andBrian Karscig of Louis XIV, and Matt Dublin ofThe Red Romance andAmbulance LTD.[19]
Zafra Ct. was voted one of 10 best albums of 2011 in Las Vegas byCityLife magazine.[20] In a 2012 reader poll given byVegas Seven magazine, Halloween Town was selected as "Best Unsigned Vegas Band That a Big Label Should Go Ahead and Sign Already".[21]
In October 2015, Pardey led the second reopening of the Las Vegas venue bar known as The Bunkhouse. The venue was sold toTony Hsieh's Las Vegas–basedDowntown Project in June 2013, closed, renovated, and then reopened in August 2014, only to close less than a year after reopening. Pardey was brought on as Entertainment Director when the venue reopened for a second time in late 2015.[22]
In November 2015 Pardey appeared in theMatthew Gray Gubler-directed music video for the songDirt Sledding by The Killers. Pardey sings on the song, which features actorRichard Dreyfuss, and he appears in the artwork for the cover of the single.[22][23]
{{cite web}}:External link in|title=| Studio albums | |
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| Compilation albums | |
| Live albums | |
| Extended plays | |
| Singles |
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| Other songs | |
| Christmas songs | |
| Concert tours | |
| Related articles | |
