Ryan Cabrera

Texas-born guitarist and songwriter Ryan Cabrera initially had no designs on entering the music industry. An encounter with the music of Dave Matthews transformed his casual interest into a deep commitment, prompting him to abandon the loud punk sounds of his teenage group Caine in favor of acoustic work with Rubic's Groove. That ensemble gained traction around Dallas through performances alongside Cheap Trick, Ben Harper, and Third Eye Blind, until Cabrera exited the lineup. He took advantage of studio time gifted by his brother for his birthday and, as a high-school dropout, recorded three original tracks. These impressed the engineer sufficiently to grant a complimentary full album session. The resulting self-released Elm Street achieved strong local sales upon sell-out, earned positive critiques, and attracted numerous online purchases. Atlantic offered him a contract in 2001, planning a 2004 launch for the album Take It All Away. Production contributions came from Sabelle Breer and Curt Frasca, known for their work with Avril Lavigne, along with Guy Chambers from Robbie Williams' circle, and Johnny Rzeznik of the Goo Goo Dolls serving as co-producer. The year 2005 saw the arrival of You Stand Watching, with Moon Under Water following in 2008.