- April 18, 2024
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Five O’Clock Charley and John still rockin’.
A late-life career change has worked out well for Charley Ryan, of Ormond Beach. He went from mowing lawns to singing songs about 10 years ago, when he was in his early 50s, and hasn’t looked back.
Any weekend, you can find Five O’Clock Charley and John playing somewhere in the area. And a lot of people are looking to find them. Kim Picard, who handles the mailing list for the band, said she sends out almost 250 emails each week to let fans know where they are playing.
It started several ago when Picard and her group of friends would look for a place to go. She’d send them an email, telling them where Ryan was playing, because they all enjoyed his music. That developed into handling the mailing list for people they meet at the shows.
“We love their music and they’re great guys,” she said.
Ryan said his intention when starting his current music career was to be a happy hour singer, but he started getting jobs that were later at night. They now play a variety of locations, and a variety of music as well, including blues, country and a lot of classic rock.
“Whatever gets the people dancing and having fun,” said John Kreis, who plays the saxophone and sings. Kreis has been with Ryan for about six years.
All the music you hear, even the taped sounds of the keyboards, drums, and rhythm guitar, are original to the band. The background music is recorded by the guys playing the different instruments.
He said he played in bands his whole life, but started lawn care to settle down into married life. He built a successful business that included commercial clients, such as Bel Aire Plaza.
“I worked hard for 17 years, seven days a week,” he said. “Then one day, I wondered if could start playing again before I got too old,” he said.
He sold off the lawn care business in six different sections, because it had gotten so large, with the thought that he could always return to it if it didn’t work out.
“I’ve never looked back,” he said. “I’ve been playing ever since.”
Music has always been a sideline for Kreis, who is an iron worker.
He enjoys the gigs because he “loves music and the crowd can be a lot more entertaining than what’s on TV.”
One regret Ryan has is not being around at night when his kids were growing up.
“I missed a lot of the nights,” he said. “But if I had kept cutting grass, I might have come home dead tired and gone to bed,” he said.
Ryan’s wife, Maryann said the good thing is that he is around during the day, and sees the kids when they are not in school.
“In that respect it’s good for them,” she said.
She said the music runs throughout the family making for a “fun” household.
Elizabeth, 13, plays clarinet, and her twin brother, Patrick, plays French horn in school, and is self-taught in piano.
Bridget, 17, sings, and plays viola in the Seabreeze orchestra, as well as piano and guitar.
“There’s music all the time,” Maryann said. “When we have the drum set up, someone plays the drums.”
Ryan still enjoys the job but admits he feels more energetic some days more than others.
“Sometimes you feel like you’re 16 years old and you practice for two or three days,” he said. “Then sometimes you just want to go sailing or spend time with family.”
He said he still feels like “rock star” when the dance floor is full and people are having fun.
