Corn's music moves beyond church walls

Ryan Corn is a worship leader at LaCroix United Methodist Church in Cape Girardeau, a position he's held for the past year.

There he sings, plays guitar and oversees the worship team.

However, Corn has taken his music beyond the walls of the church, and recently released a self-titled EP. It came out in January and has five songs.

At LaCroix, Corn has been responsible for preparing music for services and ministering to the musicians, what he calls "investing in their lives." He chooses the music selections for a team of about 30 musicians and vocalists, and they rehearse twice a week.

Corn's new release took about a year and a half to complete, which included writing, producing and recording.

"Ryan Corn," the EP, is under the Curb Records label of Nashville. Though "I did an independent EP before, this is my first release with them," he said.

He did most of the writing alone, but he did some co-writing with songwriters from Nashville.

Speaking of how this new work has been received, Corn said, "Music is consumed differently than it used to be," adding, "Spotify, YouTube and Pandora seem to be the go-to for music lovers."

The single, "Wonderful Things," has done well, he said.

"It is still accumulating quite a few streams on Spotify -- about 1.2 million." The others have about 3,000. He chose "Wonderful Things" as the single because he saw it as a frontrunner and knew it would attract the most listeners.

Music is nothing new to Corn. He has been singing since he was in grade school, in church with his grandmother. "Music just always felt natural," he said.

"I grew up in church, and I've always loved music. I believe in Jesus, and I follow Jesus, so as a lover of Jesus and a lover of music, it just made sense that my faith ... would influence my music."

Corn's father played guitar, and Ryan started playing at 15 and began writing songs shortly afterward.

While others his age were engaged in a variety of activities, Corn's love for music lured him away from most things.

"I put sports and other extracurricular activities aside and honed in on music," he explained.

Describing his musical style, Corn said he has been influenced by James Taylor, John Mayer and Michael Jackson.

This influence is evident in his music, which he described as "singer-songwriter with a pop edge to it" that includes "catchy hooks."

Though his work is faith-inspired, he said his appeal goes beyond the typical Christian genre. Of course, its message appeals to Christians, but, he said, because it crosses over, "even someone who is not a person of faith would be able to relate and understand it, hopefully."

Corn enjoys the opportunity to minister through music at church, and he also enjoys playing out, which he gets to do on the West Coast -- in Portland, Oregon, and San Diego, California, for example. St. Louis also is a place he occasionaly plays music.

Last week, he performed at the South by Southwest -- SXSW -- music festival in Austin, Texas.

Though Corn admitted he is "not one to give much advice," he did have some to share with those interested in launching into the music world, drawing from his own experience: "I love music. That took precedence for me in my life over other things. ... Do what you love, and do it a lot. And don't let anything get in the way of that."

Corn's music may be downloaded at his website, ryancornmusic.com/splash/.