Ryan Monro

Ryan Monro (born 26 July 1981) is an Australian bassist, known for playing with Australian ska and jazz band The Cat Empire.^[1] He was bassist for The Cat Empire from its inception until 2021 and also plays in jazz trio "The Genie", which includes fellow Cat Empire members, Ollie McGill on keyboards and Will Hull Brown on drums. His cousin is Shaun Taylor, a farmer, and chef.

Monro originally started playing guitar in grade 9 at Frankston High School but soon moved to electric bass. He later picked up double bass and after graduating from high school, attended the Victorian College of Arts. In late 1999, Monro met and began playing in a trio with Ollie McGill on keyboards and Felix Riebl on percussion and vocals. Calling themselves "The Cat Empire", they started playing a wide variety of gigs in clubs like Dizzy's and Bennett's Lane in Melbourne. The band soon expanded in 2001 adding Harry James Angus on trumpet, Will Hull-Brown on drums and Jamshid "Jumps" Khadiwala as a DJ.^[2] With the band, he released eight studio albums. It was announced in March 2021 that Monro was retiring from the band. He was scheduled to play his last show at the Sidney Myer Music Bowl on 6 March 2021,^[2] however he rejoined the band to play their final Melbourne shows in December 2021. He played his final show with the band on 16 December 2021.^[3] Since 2017, he has played bass for Melbourne band The Meltdown.^[4]

He created a recording of Telstra's speaking clock before it went offline in 2019 and used the recording for a new website, 1194online.com.^[5][6]

Discography

Solo

• Isolated Bass (2021)^[7]

with The Cat Empire

• The Cat Empire (2003)
• Two Shoes (2005)
• Cities: The Cat Empire Project (2006)
• So Many Nights (2007)
• Cinema (2010)
• Steal the Light (2013)
• Rising with the Sun (2016)
• Stolen Diamonds (2019)

with The Genie

• Here Come the Scissors (2011)^[8]
• Two (2013)^[9]

Other session work

• Jackson Jackson – The Fire is on the Bird (2007)
• Jackson Jackson – Tools For Survival (2008)
• Bran Nue Dae (2009)
• Washington – I Believe You Liar (2010) (on "One Man Band")
• Magnolia – This is Magnolia (2010)^[10]
• Owl Eyes – Faces EP (2010)
• Jackson Jackson – Dave EP (2011)
• Felix Riebl – Into the Rain (2011)
• Luke Howard – Sun, Cloud (2013)
• Ella Hooper – In Tongues (2014)
• Felix Riebl – Paper Doors (2016)
• Luke Howard – Two Places (2016)
• Olivia Newton-John: Hopelessly Devoted to You (TV score – 2018)
• Delta Goodrem – I Honestly Love You (2018)
• Daniel Farrugia – Replicants (2021)
• Felix Riebl – Everyday Amen (2022)
• The Meltdown – It's a Long Road (2022)^[11]

• Kate Ceberano – My Life is a Symphony (2023)
• Rob Grant – Lost at Sea (2023)
• The Meltdown — Live at the Nightcat (2023)^[12]

References

1. ^ "The Cat Empire". ABC Radio National. 2009-03-07. Retrieved 2021-09-01. Four members of larger than life Melbourne-based band the Cat Empire (Felix Riebl, Harry James Angus, Ollie McGill, and Ryan Monro), came in to play us an acoustic set and talk about life on the road…
2. ^ "Ryan's hanging up his touring boots – The Cat Empire". The Cat Empire. 2021-03-10. Archived 20 April 2021 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2021-07-09.
3. ^ "Last night was...". The Cat Empire. 2021-12-15. Retrieved 2022-02-16.
4. ^ "The Meltdown". The Meltdown. Retrieved 2022-02-16.
5. ^ "When Telstra shut down the Talking Clock, one man took the time to salvage it". Australia: ABC News. 2019-10-15. Retrieved 2021-09-01.
6. ^ "Ryan Monro". Australia: ABC News. 2019-10-16. Retrieved 2021-09-01.
7. ^ "Isolated Bass, by Ryan Monro". Ryan Monro. Retrieved 2023-10-03.
8. ^ "Here Come the Scissors, by The Genie". The Genie. Retrieved 2023-10-03.
9. ^ "Two, by The Genie". The Genie. Retrieved 2023-10-03.
10. ^ "This Is Magnolia, by Magnolia". Magnolia. Retrieved 2023-10-04.
11. ^ "It's A Long Road, by The Meltdown". The Meltdown. Retrieved 2023-10-04.
12. ^ "Live at the Nightcat, by The Meltdown". The Meltdown. Retrieved 2023-10-04.

External links

• Official Website