"Greetings, my name is Ryan O'Callaghan and I play guitar and trumpet in Defying Belief. I also sing for the band and thoroughly enjoy the occasional bottle or two of cough medicine." It was an odd thing to say, given his general distaste for cough medicine. The singer/songwriter of the band began his musical career in 3rd grade, learning to play Viola. "I play Viola," said a 3rd grade Ryan. From there, he quickly turned his attention to playing brass instruments in middle school, in particular, the trumpet. "I think I would like to play trumpet," said Ryan, shortly before changing instruments. His interest in trumpet continued throughout high school and college, however, his tastes in music varied greatly. Growing up listening to a mixture of punk rock, alternative rock, classical, and funk/jazz/r&b/hip hop he cultivated his playing styles. Ryan met Andrew in high school. Andrew soon became a very good chum. Chum, in this case, is a synonym for the word "friend" or to the layperson, "buddy". Not a descriptor for a bloody mess that is tossed over board to catch sharks. Although, Andrew has been descrived as a mess, he is usually un-bloody. But I digress. Ryan and Andrew attempted 2 or 3 different musical ventures throughout their high school career. These were usually ska bands that did nothing but eat pizza and go to Radio Shack.

In 2004, Ryan and Andrew had a conversation that went something like this: "Hey man, wanna start a band?" to which was replied "Sure". Ryan learned to play guitar in college on his own under the tutelage of the internet and Andrew. Ryan helped co-found Defying Belief and has since written many songs for the band. He currently resides in Greensboro and has been married to Jennifer Lane. It was a hot July 15th and an event to remember. "Hot Damn," said Ryan, remembering that day. "It sure was a scorcher".

The End