Brian Ray

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For alt-country musician, see Farmer Not So John.

Brian Thomas Ray (born January 4th, 1955) is an American session musician, musical director, rock guitarist and songwriter.

Mondo Magneto, the cover of Brian Ray's new solo CD

Contents

[edit] Early career

Brian Ray grew up in Southern California. His elder sister Jean's (born 1940) record collection spurred his interest in rock music. In the 1960s, she sang in the folk group the New Christy Minstrels, then continued in the folk duo "Jim and Jean", with Jim Glover. In 1973, just a short time after he graduated high school, Ray became the guitarist and musical director for blues legend Etta James, a predecessor for other impressive jobs, such as musical director for Rita Coolidge, and guitarist for Johnny Hallyday. In addition to these accomplishments, Ray co-wrote Smokey Robinson's hit "One Heartbeat" (1987), which to this day has received over 2,000,000 airplays. More recently, "Nickel Romeo", another song Ray co-wrote, appeared on The Bangles 2003 album Doll Revolution. It was originally written as a mash up of Led Zeppelin riffs.

[edit] Paul McCartney

In 2002, Ray's friend and fellow Johnny Hallyday bandmate, drummer Abe Laboriel Jr., told him that Paul McCartney was in search of a guitarist who could easily switch to bass between songs, a talent that Ray possessed after professing to learn a new instrument for an ambitious New Year's resolution. After meeting with McCartney's producer David Kahne, Ray joined McCartney's band for the new, long awaited tour in support of his Driving Rain album. Although Ray did not take part in the recording of Driving Rain, he was a great addition to the band.

The "My Band" of Paul McCartney continued on to tour Mexico and Japan as part of the "Driving" tour. They continued touring after the "Back in the US" 2nd leg in 2002, and made their way to Europe, playing the legendary gig in Moscow's Red Square. The "Back in the World" tour concluded with a show at the Glastonbury Festival in Britain, where "My Band" stole the show.

McCartney's US Tour 2005 was a major success. "My Band" had a sell-out in all venues in a matter of minutes, a new record.

[edit] Solo album

In 2006 Ray released his first solo-record Mondo Magneto through his own independent label, "Whooray Records". With guest appearances from Ray's former boss Etta James, Davey Faragher from Elvis Costello's band, Scott Shriner from Weezer, and other Paul McCartney bandmates. Ray continues to tour with Paul McCartney, and performs his music in Los Angeles clubs, such as The Viper Room and The Mint, in his spare time. Ray's own band, Black Unicorn, includes Peter Thorn on guitar, John Button on bass, and Matt Laug on drums. His record release party was held at the Mint in L.A. on January 21st, 2006, where he was joined up on stage by Black Unicorn, as well as old friends and "My Band" bandmates Rusty Anderson and Paul "Wix" Wickens.

[edit] Selective discography

[edit] External links

  • Brian Ray's Official Site [1]
  • Whooray Records [2]
  • Maccareport's Brian Ray page [3]
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