Story & Lesson Highlights with Ryan Smith of Milford, Pennsylvania

Ryan Smith shared their story and experiences with us recently and you can find our conversation below.

Ryan, we’re thrilled to have you with us today. Before we jump into your intro and the heart of the interview, let’s start with a bit of an ice breaker: What is something outside of work that is bringing you joy lately?
Writing music. This summer I finally started writing how I like to write again – full drum kit, gutar, bass and vox at the ready with a few microphones. This time the only space I had was my kitchen, so the kitchen became the studio. My girlfriend was on tour, I took off work. Everyday I would wake up, make coffee and consider what realm I would enter, what puzzle I wanted to solve with music. By the end of the day I usually had one or two demos done of songs. Since July, and my girlfriends back, I still am setting up in the kitchen when I have free time and she’s working, and I’m getting my ideas out the way I like to, full rock band style where I play it all as I’m writing. It had been about 4 years or so since I really did this consistently in the fashion I like to, usually I’d be making songs with fake drums with garage band, and that never scratches the itch entirely.

Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
I’m Ryan Smith, I am the song writer for Crusasis. My band has been going for 12 years, starting in 2013 in Brooklyn. I am a multi-instrumentalist and have played drums on tour for many projects over the years, from art-punk through europe (Teaeater) to sludge doom through the southern USA (Thera Roya). I write under the moniker Crusasis, and thats my main focus in music now, while I still drum for my girlfriends band Francie Moon.

I own a painting company (Tri-State Paint) to make money. Before living in Milford, PA, I traveled USA/Canada on motorcycle for several years, working as a construction worker, farmer and musician to pay my way. I didn’t pay rent for 4 years of my life as I just traveled place to place, settling for a time to work, make music and than moving on to explore and live in this beautiful part of the world. I camped a lot. I put 60,000 miles on my 1984 Honda Sabre v65 1100cc motorcycle I bought for 1,500$ in Alaska in 2018.

Making music for me now is something I deeply enjoy, more than when I was trying to make it my living. I am grateful for my time as a working musician because it has shown me that talent and hard work aren’t what makes or breaks a band, which I thought I was a failure for many years. But basically no one makes it, starving artist isn’t just a myth stereotype. Its absolutely true, and I find it’s very very important as an artist to find success and value in many things in life besides a career in art making.

Great, so let’s dive into your journey a bit more. What’s a moment that really shaped how you see the world?
Splitting my head open this past July 2025. I passed out and my head hit the ground, splitting my eyebrow to the bone. I needed 8 stitches at the ER, I had a bad concussion. It’s been 3 months and I still see black light bursts when my eyes are closed, right where the impact was.

After the impact, I took a week off of work to recover. On the couch, 2 days after the incident, I stared at the clouds while listening to music. I felt peace and understanding, the same feeling of being on psychedelics.

This happened several times in my recovery, and other times I felt close to passing out again at exertion or heat. This experience taught me how thin the veil is really between our reality and the next dimension. It is paper thin. There were things I couldn’t do (drive, walk outside in the heat) that made me feel like an elderly person. I had limitations on my life for the first time in a long time. It all felt so fragile.

Is there something you miss that no one else knows about?
I miss the world before smart phones and social media. It all started in about 2007 when I was a senior in highschool.

I spent many years with a flip phone after people moved to iphones, it wasn’t until 2020 I switched. But even during the times before I personally had a smart phone, the world had changed so much, no one is ever present.

I miss the fact of being in the woods with friends and that was all who was there. No other option. Nothing to look at when bored, no one to text, no chance to look anything up. No checking if someone liked some fucking photo.

Today we are all schismed in ourselves with the reality we are in and the reality we can jump into virtually. Even if I move away from it, it is an act of isolation, where life pre 2007 it was just the way the world was. I deeply miss that world.

Alright, so if you are open to it, let’s explore some philosophical questions that touch on your values and worldview. What important truth do very few people agree with you on?
That culture and identity are holding people back. I am more than any label, and i think its tribalism and wanting to belong that leads people to certain identities or cultures or religions or beliefs. None of them bother me if they aren’t exclusionary, but they almost always are us vs them.

It is a paradox, because life is a story and you have to navigate with certain beliefs, even if their the negation of belief, but on the surface level I think people should be more independent in who they think they are, and find community via empathy and kindness which can be found throughout many of humanities groups.

Thank you so much for all of your openness so far. Maybe we can close with a future oriented question. What do you think people will most misunderstand about your legacy?
From what I gather, how people view me is wildly different from how I see myself. People often think I’m a stoner and adventurer seeker when I feel more like a lost searcher looking to learn about the world. I feel like I’ve fallen into my life rather than chosen most of it, when people ask about work or music it seems like they think it has all been intentional. Like I’m making good, well informed moves. I’m mainly holding on while the storm and uncertainties rip around in this country and world.

I don’t know what they think about my music, but I’m certain it won’t come across how it does to me. To them it is another band, another artist to weigh in view of all others. To me it is my whole energy being expressed.

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