Nobody & All His Friends (In Rockaway)

Singer-songwriter Ryan Thomas. Photo by Alec Kugler.

This Sunday, September 24th, don’t miss the party at Connolly’s as they close out the season with a record release show for my talented and “lonely no more” friend, Ryan Thomas, who performs under the name, Nobody & All His Friends. The show starts at 4pm and I promise it will be a super cool time, in space and sound. Things get wonderful early evening with performances by Vera Kahn, Tini Vessel and Sangwich & Sons.

I’d like to share a bit about Ryan, his path to music, and his path to Rockaway.

Ryan’s first solo performance was a cover of “More Than Words” by Extreme. He was three years old and sang from his car seat for his mother while they were driving in the family Ford Windstar minivan on a road trip. He knew all the words, start to finish.

In elementary school, Ryan liked singing in the chorus – Beatles hits and Christmas classics were all the rage. As he was coming of age, Ryan was inspired by his friends’ bands, but he didn’t believe it was something he could do himself. That changed when Ryan took his first guitar lesson above a deli in Westwood, New Jersey. Playing the guitar helped him feel songwriting was possible.

I asked Ryan if he was influenced by any pop artists. It wasn’t someone famous. It was his childhood friends Doug and Jared. Doug’s passion for punk was infectious. A memorable moment was when he introduced Ryan to the anarchy symbol, on the chalkboard at school! Jared played a significant role as well. How? By locking Ryan in his basement and demanding he finish writing a song before letting him out. This tough love worked—Ryan wrote his first song that day.

Both Doug and Jared passed away—Doug in 2010 and Jared in 2014—deeply affecting Ryan. Their influence and memory inspired him to return to music after a decade-long break— honoring their impact on his life.

In 2020, after hitting the road for three years, alone (very alone) living out of his car and traversing the country—spending time in places like Montana, North Dakota, Colorado, and California— Ryan gained a deeper understanding of himself. This new clarity gave him something real to write about. Embracing the chance to create authentic music, Ryan crafted songs that he hoped would resonate with others.

Then, Ryan found Rockaway.

Before his time on the road, he previously lived in Bushwick but felt confined by the crowded sidewalks and lack of space. Rockaway, with its open air, surfing, skating, and music scene, offered the blend of freedom and community that he had been searching for.

I asked about his favorite activity in Rockaway, and Ryan laughed and said, “I feel like the required answer is surfing!” Although more surfing is a goal for his 35th year, his most cherished interest is breakfast at Brother’s on the boardwalk at 106th. He loves Sarah’s famous muffins and with a cold brew in hand, watching people pass by, checking the waves, and waiting for friends to stop by. “I love the sense of community here and the spontaneity of it all. Just chilling at Brother’s feels awesome,” Ryan says. He adds that the way the community shows up for each other is what makes Rockaway truly special.

Ryan’s appreciation for country music deepened as he discovered outlaw country, which aligns with his punk DIY ethos. Although initially put off by pop country’s radio-friendly style, he later resonated with the genre’s themes of isolation and travel, especially while driving across the country. The storytelling in country music now connects with his experiences and emotions and this can all be heard and felt in his debut album Alone Again. He considers his style to be country-leaning and is cautious about fully identifying as a country artist, given his New Jersey roots. Ryan aimed to create honest music for this record based on his personal experiences, including the loss of friends while inviting listeners to find their own meanings in his songs.

Nobody & All His Friends is ironic. When Ryan decided on it, he genuinely felt like a nobody, struggling with loneliness and a lack of friendships. It was his self-deprecating way of poking fun at his situation—naming himself something that implied he had a social life he didn’t actually have. But it comes full circle because here in Rockaway, Ryan found his home, his homies, and the rare community connection we all feel and know.

Let’s celebrate not being alone!  See you at Connolly’s this Sunday—the sea-salt music rodeo begins at 4pm.

Find Ryan Thomas’s music on spotify, and follow him on IG (@nobody.allhisfriends) to learn about his gigs in town this fall.