LOCAL LIMELIGHT
After 15 years of singing other musician’s songs, Ryan Stolte-sawa is performing her own tunes.
For years, her father urged her to find a pen and write personal verses.
The singer, violinist, guitarist and tattoo artist shrugged off the suggestion until last year, when a potential romantic partner stopped responding to her.
“He wasn’t available to talk through things, so I had to learn to do it myself,” said Stoltesawa, 33. “I guess songwriting is a way for you to get the last word in.”
Although Mery Steel, her countrytinged first project — she’s also working on Very, an ‘80s dream-pop band — is still in its infancy, she hopes her songs will enable others to receive the same relationship closure they’ve given her.
On Saturday, Stolte-sawa will play her music in front of a public audience for the first time at Kafe Kerouac during “Marry Yourself,” a solo show also featuring female songwriters Mukiss and Sam Corlett.
Q: Why did you start Mery Steel?
A: In 2017, I had a really rough breakup. It was really devastating. … At the time, I hadn't lived alone really. I’d been cohabiting with people in back-to-back relationships for the better part of a decade. When I broke up with my boyfriend, I suddenly had all this space, and it was all mine. It Ryan Stolte-sawa, who performs country-flavored music as Mery Steel
was an entirely new experience for me as an adult. When you live with someone, you can turn to them for comfort when you feel bad, but in living alone, you have to turn to yourself for company. That’s when I started writing songs.
Q: How does tattooing connect to your music?
A: This one-on-one super-intimate experience of giving people these forever reminders on their body is sort of an expression of that desire to incorporate magic
into my everyday life. Music sort of touches on the same stuff. Music has become a ritual through which I process my feelings or my thoughts or what’s going on in my life. Tattooing is a way to memorialize or honor the parts of (my life) that I feel need to be permanent.
Q: What can listeners expect from the new project?
A: I grew up listening to Counting Crows and Sheryl Crow — all those '90s crows — and I love that sound. I’ve always loved the twangy side of rock, and I’ve also played with a ton of roots and country-adjacent bands because I play violin. I’m going for a more intimate feel.