It was a little surprising to hear Ryan Gosling is in a band that just released their debut album, so Starpulse had to see him perform to determine if he is the real deal.

Ryan already faces the challenge in his personal life of living up to his Noah (The Notebook) status of the perfect man. Now he's putting himself out there with the likes of Bruce Willis, Billy Bob Thornton and Kevin Bacon as an actor turned musician. Can the guy sing and will he actually be successful in music? We decided to check out the first stop on his 13 city U.S. tour at The Middle East in Cambridge, Mass.

Dead Man's Bones was formed by the actor and his best friend, Zach Shields, two years ago when they reportedly bonded over the Haunted Mansion ride at Disneyland and a mutual fascination with monsters, '50s doo-wop, '60s girl groups, and children's choirs. The band's concept, consisting of a choir of children, various instruments and a dark and creepy theme seems intriguing and edgy, but are they actually good?

Ryan described the concept of incorporating the kids in their songs to Pitchfork.com: "You know when you're a kid and you get crayons and papers and just draw whatever you want and it's just a bunch of messy lines, but to you it makes sense, and then they put it on the fridge? From that point on, you're always trying to get back on the fridge, you start drawing things that look like something, like, the more it looks like a horse, the more chance you have of getting it on the fridge. We wanted to get back to that place before we were trying to make the fridge. We wanted to work with people who hadn't been affected in that way yet."

Prior to Dead Man's Bones, neither Ryan nor Zach knew how to play an instrument, but that didn't stop them from learning. They were determined to form a band whose songs portrayed death and darkness as a love story, and they succeeded. The self-titled album was released on October 6, and their tour kicked off on October 14. Because the young voices in their songs are so important, they will perform with a local chorus at each tour stop. Ryan knows some of his band's fan base will be interested only because of his celebrity status but also hopes Dead Man's Bones is just odd enough to attract a niche audience beyond that, according to Boston.com.

Naturally we were overcome with curiosity and had to see Dead Man's Bones for ourselves. Walking into the club, our eyes go directly to the backdrop, which was decorated as if it was Halloween, and multiple instruments were scattered across the stage. Having no prior exposure to their music and seeing the flocks of girls who came just to see Ryan, our fascination grew. The opening act was a guy in a sheet playing the keyboard and making odd noises through the mouth hole in his outfit. This was all very interesting and captivating at the same time; the crowd was hooked and wanted more.

When Ryan and Zach came on stage in their matching suit pants, white button up shirts and vests, amid the shrieks, a good vibe overcame us. We were excited and ready to discover Dead Man's Bones for ourselves. Then a group of children, dressed as ghosts with their faces painted black and white like skeletons, joined the boys onstage. They began their set, and we were impressed - blown away, actually. The music was literally sending chills through our bones. Ryan and Zach played the guitar, keyboard and drums and sang in such a natural and comfortable style that it felt like a jam session with friends. They were there to have fun and create fun.

Along with the choir and Ryan and Zach, the band was joined by a girl for a few songs, and there was constant movement and rotation of instruments being played onstage. Ryan's sultry voice combined with Zach's charm gave their music an intense romantic feel. The mix of clapping, stomping and snapping in a few songs was welcoming and brought a sense of togetherness with the crowd. They are eclectic, yet charming in a dark way and with songs like, "My Body's a Zombie for You" and lyrics like, "You'd look nice in a grave." They pull off the sense of a romantic underworld they were striving for. Ryan even smirked in some parts of his performance as if he knew what they were doing was silly and he seemed humbled by the sold out show.

We highly recommend seeing a show (check out the tour schedule on their website www.deadmansbones.net) or picking up their album. Their timing with Halloween couldn't have been better, these guys are geniuses.



Starpulse writer Erin Demchak with Ryan Gosling at the Dead Man's Bones concert




Story by Erin Demchak

Starpulse contributing writer