RIVERSIDE

Confession: whenever musicians reach out to me at The News I kind of panic. Reporting for a small-town weekly means you pretty much have to know something about everything, but music is one of my weak spots. Ever since a classmate corrected me in sixth grade when I thought the Bangles were singing about just another “Magic Monday,” I knew pop-rock expertise was not going to be my thing.

So when I opened an email from Bryan Bielanski about his upcoming performance at the Riverside Casino July 4, cue the panic. I read over the list of 49 states and handful of countries where he’s performed, skimmed the list of positive reviews, and tried to think of someone else I could hand this story off to. Or maybe just pretend it was spam.

I clicked around, listed to a few songs on his “Bryan’s Super Happy Fun Time 4” album and watched an interview he did with a TV station out of Topeka. I checked out his Facebook page.

A person started to emerge. Someone who loves performing so much, he’s willing to live out of his car while he travels the country. So much, he performs nearly every day of the year. So much, he spends his off-hours in libraries and coffee shops cold-calling venues to line up more gigs. So much, he’ll perform anywhere from senior centers to the main stage.

When he posts a map of the shows he has lined up so far this year, all over the U.S. and Europe, someone comments, “How do you do it?”

“I put in a lot of hours on the laptop and the phone setting things up, live a frugal lifestyle and treat people the way I’d like to be treated,” Bielanski replies.

He posts a photo of himself at a Kansas rest area with a jar of store-brand peanut butter -- his breakfast -- smiling.

Well, he’s got me now. Can’t exactly click delete on a guy like that.

Bielanski’s music appreciation began almost day one.

“My earliest memories with music were when I was a baby in my crib, watching my parents and older sister dancing to rock-and-roll records like The Beatles,” he says. By the time he reached age 12, “I made up my mind that music was going to be my pursuit in life.” He notes being inspired by The Beatles’ “The White Album” and Nirvana’s “Nevermind.”

By high school he was lead singer/songwriter in a punk rock band but quickly outgrew its “screaming and angry” style, trading it for life as a solo artist. His own sound is “old school rock and roll with a twist, inspired by the greats,” he says. “I definitely have a sound that stands on its own.”

His four-plus albums bear that out. In “Thank God for Tacos,” he breaks out the kazoo and rolls his bilingual R’s all over the melody of “La Bamba.” “Still Living in My Car” has the carefree vibes of the Beach Boys. And “Living My Dream” suggests the influence of R.E.M. in their acoustic moments.

And then there are the lyrics, mostly humorous, often mundane, and sometimes food-centric.

For example, the aforementioned “Thank God for Tacos,” which was inspired by once being paid, in part, with all-you-can-eat tacos after a performance. “I once ate nine in one sitting/I’m not saying that’s a good idea/It’s not a good idea but it really happened,” he sings.

How can you not smile at that?

“Food is a high point on the tours, and it is something everyone across the board can agree on,” he says.

Some of the best meals he’s had on tour include authentic gyros in Greece, pierogies in Poland, and bierocks in the Midwest. While in Iowa, he’s looking forward to corn nuggets.

It turns out Bielanski is pretty serious about food; you won’t find him throwing $2 frozen pizzas in the microwave when he’s at home in Charlotte, North Carolina.

“Before I started doing music full-time, I worked as a chef in several restaurants,” he explains. “I love especially cooking seafood like shrimp scampi, crab legs and lobster.”

Having the opportunity to try such a range of cuisines is also a perk of touring, which Bielanski admits is a lot of work.

"It’s definitely a full schedule. Between driving city to city, performing, and managing all the business affairs, I easily put in 90 hours a week to make it happen,” he says. “I try to stay balanced by eating healthy, exercising, and getting plenty of sleep when it is possible.”

In the past three-plus years, he’s put 174,000 miles on his Toyota Corolla hybrid. He’s had rewarding experiences meeting people and discovering different cultures. And the range of venues he’s played staggers, everywhere from the waiting room at a dental office in Mexico, where he performed for other patients while waiting for his own appointment, to a Thanksgiving Day parade in Charlotte, where he rode a float with animatronic dinosaurs while 125,000 people looked on.

Bielanski’s first world tour was in 2014. What does he hope to be doing in 20 years? I ask him.

“I honestly see myself doing exactly what I’m doing now,” he replies. “It’s too much fun to stop!”

“I’m Your Super Mario,” is a track on “Bryan’s Super Happy Fun Time 3” album, available at Bandcamp.com in digital or CD format.

Expect “a high-energy, catchy and unique rock-and-roll show with positive vibes” when you head out to the Riverside Casino on Saturday, July 4 at 6:30 p.m. to catch Bryan Bielanski on his 2026 Super Happy Fun Time tour. “As the name implies, I hope they have a Super Happy Fun Time!” he says.