Ryan Gosling is taking a break from his acting career to focus on his musical project, a rock band called Dead Man's Bones. Well, he is looking more rocker grungy than actor messy here. (JOHN WHITE photo)

LOS ANGELES -- Ryan Gosling, arguably the finest young actor of this generation, is so ahead of the game that he can stop. Look. And try something else.

Gosling, star of The Notebook and his Academy Award nominated Half Nelson, has cleared his acting schedule and will concentrate on his music for the next few months, his agent says.

What started as a hobby for the 28-year-old London, Ont., lad -- his doo-wop type band -- has turned into a full-time job.

Dead Man's Bones is Gosling and partner's Zach Shield's new group. If you haven't caught the sound yet, the songs on the new album are now available for download, and there are music videos on YouTube.

Catchy, culty and really upbeat with fun tales of zombies with broken hearts, Gosling plays guitar and sings while the rest of the band alternate instruments such as harmonicas and banjos.

The group kicks off its tour this week in Cambridge, Mass., (for the smart Harvard crowd) and enters Gosling's native Canada Oct. 19 for a gig in Montreal, and another the next day in Toronto. They'll hit Vancouver Oct. 14 before coming back to Los Angeles.

He's got two new movies coming out next year -- Blue Valentine with Michelle Williams and All Good Things -- and both are edited and ready to go, leaving the young Gosling to follow the rock 'n' roll road.