"Cocktails In Cozumel" |
ABOUT
RUSSELL RAY
Russell
Ray is making waves. In music circles, that's a very good thing.
Growing up with Greg Gilley as one of your best buddies will put
you around some influential sounds, like... Mickey Gilley for
one. But of course, when we're young, we rebel. So, Russell Ray
started a rock band. No surprises there. Then he became a cop.
Okay, there's a little surprise. But of course the music kept
calling, as it always does, and now Russell Ray is one of the
hottest Texas country acts around.
Ray's current offering is "COCKTAILS IN COZUMEL"
(Ranch Records) and it is an eleven plus five treasure. (for the
newbies, that's eleven tracks plus five, count em, five bonus
tracks) Most of the cuts are songwriting results of Russell Ray,
Ken Reynolds, and Doug Deforest, a formidable trio whose talents
are truly expansive.
Ray covers the Baker Knight hit "Girls All Get Prettier at
Closing Time," made famous by Mickey Gilley. Trust me, Mickey
never did it like this. It's a country rocker that will get more
than your toes moving. Duane Propes (Little Texas) is covered
on "Bigger Than Dallas" and there are a host of talent
co-writes on this disc. In the hunt for an Album of the Year nomination,
this disc is well-produced, expertly performed, and certain to
make more waves as Russell Ray shines bright as a Texas star. |
BIOGRAPHY
Russell
Ray grew up in Galena Park, Texas. In tenth grade at
Galena Park High School, he became a member of an elite
school pop band called, "The Group". This
sparked Russ and fellow "Group" member, Greg
Gilley to pick up the guitars in an attempt to further
their musical interest. By the twelfth grade, Russ was
not only singing in "The Group" but was playing
bass as well. He and Greg went on to form a rock band
called "RokBergade".
It shouldn't surprise you to know that being in the
same band as Greg Gilley would give you a good excuse
to spend your spare time at "Gilley's Club"
in Pasadena. This gave Russ exposure to a host of country
music superhero's with the list being topped by Mickey
Gilley. The RokBergade endeavor produced an album with
a number of tunes CO-written by Russ. The band played
locally throughout the Houston area with the likes of
Molly Hatchet. Despite many efforts by the band, by
the late 80's RokBergade had disbanded.
Disheartened by the RokBergade breakup, Russ put up
the guitar and decided to attend the Police Academy.
After working near Fort Worth, he ended up in Sugar
Land, Texas as a Police Detective working major crimes.
With the music buried inside of him, it was just a matter
of time before he came back to his senses and back to
his true love, MUSIC. He started singing locally on
the Southwest side of Houston. After winning a talent
contest he decided to put together a band. He did just
that and has been hitting it hard ever since. Members
of his band, "Last Call" are currently: Dwayne
Boehnemann, Chris Davison, Ken Reynolds, and Ralph Cadriel.
He and his band pride themselves on an enthusiastic
show where people can have a good time.
In January of 2000, Russ went into the studio with producer
Duane Propes (formerly of "Little Texas")
and recorded five songs: Going Down Swinging(written
by Phil O'Donnell, Cole Degg, and Michael Calley), Texas
Will(written by Joe Khoury and Brent Cartwright), Bigger
Than Dallas(written by Duane Propes, Billy Alcorn, and
Jeffery Steele), Aloha With A Steel Guitar(written by
Duane Propes, Dave Gibson, and Wynn Varble), and Mama's
Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up To Be Cowboys(written
by Ed Bruce and Patsy Bruce). This project ended up
as a self promoted EP with very good show sales. Russ
also did a television commercial with Mickey Gilley
for the Cowboy Ranch Restaurant in Pasadena, Texas.
Russ
has a new CD called “Cocktails in Cozumel”
which was released in October of 2003. Most of the songs
for the CD were co-written and co-produced by Doug Deforrest
and Ken Reynolds. Since the release of the CD, Russell
has been nominated for an MTM award as “Male Vocalist
of the Year” 2003. He appeared at the MTM award
show with the Last Call Band. The first release from
the new CD was a song called “Bigger Than Dallas”
and it broke the top 40 on the Texas Music Chart. To
promote the new CD Russell has been on the road doing
a radio station tour. In addition to radio visits, Russ
and the band have been playing shows throughout Texas
promoting the CD. He has done shows with David Allan
Coe, Perfect Stranger, Roger Creager, Jason Boland,
Bleu Edmondson, Andy Griggs, Ty Herndon, Tim Rushlow,
Hal Ketchem, Gretchen Wilson and other Texas and National
Artist. If you are interested in finding out more about
Russ and the band or booking us for a show, please email
us at RussellRay.Com.
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