First Avenue celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2020 and is one of the country’s longest-running independent music venues. Here’s a review of Dillinger Four at First Avenue in late 2020. The venue is also known from the film Purple Rain.

Former Landmine Marathon vocalist Grace Perry states:

If you’re lucky enough to call him a friend, you know how much he has given and impacted the local music scene over the past several decades... I spent over 7 years in a band with this hunk of burning love and can’t begin to explain how amazing he really is. Sending him and his family all my love and compassion during this difficult time.

Former Landmine Marathon bassist Matt Martinez states:

Ryan is a great friend to so many of us. Ryan has more than likely entered and impacted your lives through music; As a member of the bands Landmine Marathon, Unruh, Northside Kings and many more, he has released music to critical acclaim, toured the world and established countless lifelong friendships. As the owner and engineer of Arcane Digital recording studio, he produced, engineered, mixed and mastered an impressive catalog of music that fills our record collections... In 2019, Ryan was diagnosed with Wilson’s Disease; this is the same disease that took his mother’s life. Wilson’s Disease is an extremely rare, inherited disease that causes excessive copper to accumulate in the liver. Unfortunately the disease has progressed to the point where liver failure is inevitable. Luckily, Ryan was recently put on the list for a liver transplant. The transplant will eradicate the disease and return Ryan to a much more normal way of life. We expect a suitable donor organ to be found very soon (weeks or months). Knowing that these are both financially and emotionally stressful times for all of us, we are humbly reaching out to our strong and powerful community and extended family to help offset some of the overwhelming financial impact of the journey of healing that Ryan is taking on.

Interested parties can learn more at their website.

Outwit Trade is primarily user-submitted content, seeking additional a community-driven approach -- meaning that the comments section welcomes additional thoughts on how bands can get started, even during the challenging situation this year.