Ryan Gould began his musical life with the guitar. His study of guitar led him to play the death metal and punk rock of the late 1980s and early 1990s in bands around the Philadelphia area.

After his service to the country as a United States Marine, Ryan returned to southeastern Pennsylvania with a keen interest in traditional Irish music. He began studying the Uilleann pipes with the great Irish piper, Roy Rogers. Irish music aroused in Ryan a heightened awareness of American folk music that led him to bluegrass, then jazz, and on to his new home, Austin, through the string bass.

Ryan arrived in Austin in 1999 ready to work, helping to form bands like Shorty Long and Les Niglos. He subsequently found himself working with such Austin luminaries as Erik Hokkanen, Floyd Domino, Wayne Hancock, and The Jazz Pharaohs.

Currently, Ryan performs regularly in Austin with Erik Hokkanen and The Hip Replacements, The Jazz Pharaohs, Aunt Ruby’s Sweet Jazz Babies, Giant City/Three, Albanie Falletta and Her Fellas, The Floyd Domino Trio, and The Big Jug Band; and, occasionally, in San Antonio with The Jim Cullum Jazz Band at The Landing. He draws great inspiration from a vast pool of musicians of many different genres as well as from the experiences of his daily life.