Ray Vanderby
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It was proclaimed by his music teacher in 1965 that at 12 years of age, Ray Vanderby was the "youngest semi-professional organist in Australia!".
Ray Vanderby was born in Sittard Holland on 17th January 1953, the son of a coal miner and carpenter. He immigrated to Sydney Australia with his family in 1959 and after a few years of living in Sydney, Black Springs, Yeoval, Wellington and Bathurst, finally settled into Autumn street Orange with his parents and 3 sisters in 1963. The following year he attended Orange High School and went to the Methodist Church Sunday school in Anson street where he first laid his hands on a piano at the age of 11. He watched a girl play "Heart and soul" and when she had finished, walked on up and played it himself. He immediately began Hammond organ lessons after it was revealed he had an ear for music and a natural talent for the keyboard. So for the next 12 months he studied cabaret, standards, musicals and show tunes. With the help of his parents he got his first Hammond organ, an M100, and within one year he became the "youngest semi-professional organist in Australia!”. He played a 4 year residency in the ballroom "Regency Room" of the Hotel Canobolas Orange for MC, Geoff Riley, playing weddings and private functions. He took dancing lessons with Harry Brewer's Dance Academy so he could play the correct tempos for his dance performances. He went on to study Bach, Debussy, Grieg and Mussorgsky with Canon Gordon Smee and played the pipe organ and hymns for the congregation of the Orange Baptist Church until the age of 16 when he started a piano tuning apprenticeship with W.H. Palings & Co. His boss Ian Mcmaster was to show Ray his first minor blues scale and this changed everything as it opened a whole new door. He began to study blues improvisations with artists like Jimmy Smith, John Mayall, Al Kooper.
Vanderby moved to Sydney at age 20 and got involved with the blues and rock scene and became a sought after session player for recordings and tours with EMI studio 301, Blackfeather, Stevie Wright, Doug Parkinson, Marcia Hines and many others.
In 1987 Ray landed in rehab and got straight after 3 marriages and 20 years of alcoholism and drug addiction saw him homeless on the streets of Sydney. In 1991 he won the WROC/BMG Australian songwriting competition out of 2,500 entries nationally.
Over the years Vanderby has had his own line ups of bands such as Eros, 93-D, Cosmic Nomads and now Roadhouse Rebels.
 Ray Vanderby 2007 |
Roadhouse Rebels are 4 piece band based in Orange NSW and an indulgence for Vanderby to celebrate his love for Southern Delta Blues. The band features Ray Vanderby on Hammond C3 organ and lead vocals, Paul Jones on guitar and vocals, Ray Campbell on bass and Allan Brown on drums.
